WOW – Work Of the Week – CLANDESTINE CULTURE “Isis Drinks Pepsi”

Posted on January 9, 2017 by admin in - WOW!

CLANDESTINE CULTURE
Isis Drinks Pepsi
2016
Acrylic on wood
45 x 71 1/2 in.
Signed on verso

About This Work:

For some years now, the streets of Miami have been covered with enormous posters bearing the CLANDESTINE CULTURE hallmark. They are works that stand out not only because of the anti-establishment message implicit in them, but also due to their artistic quality.
CLANDESTINE CULTURE is an American contemporary artist working in Miami who, despite his fame, has maintained anonymity.
CLANDESTINE CULTURE was born in 1970 and moved to Miami in the early 1990’s. By the year 2000 he started working as a urban artist and in 2012 he had his first solo gallery exhibition.

His work acts as visual cultural criticism and commentary, with established social and political agendas serving as targets for a unique style of illustration made using several different media, such us canvas, neon and banners.
His art production is s diversified in different formats from painting and sculpture to street art installations and it is often characterized by large format works on paper, that use wheatpaste applications on urban buildings. The works have CLANDESTINE CULTURE written within the work.
Known it for his strong social criticism and portrayal of taboo subjects, that sometimes can appear disturbing, no one can deny the controversial characteristics of his work.

On July 20, 2013, one of his most important projects, The Banner Project, started.
The concept of the project was to raise or hang flags around the city of Miami as art installations. The first flag was raised illegally over Julia Tuttle Causeway on a street light, property of the State Of Florida. The size of the banner was 10 x 16 feet, made of synthetic fabric and painted with latex paint, featuring a black and white image of a police in riot gear, with a red CLANDESTINE CULTURE sign painted at the bottom. This flag was raised on a High-mast lighting, at a height of 98 feet. The method used to raise the flag has never been revealed. The waving flag remained for five days, until it was removed by the Florida Highway Patrol.

The flag on Julia Tattle Causeway, Miami – July 20th, 2013.

By the summer of 2014 another The Banner Project took place, this time in the Miami Marine Stadium. The size and materials were similar to the one used on the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

Approaching December of the same year, Culture acted again, on this occasion in front of the Miami Beach Convention Center, during Art Basel Miami Beach 2014.
Since then no other flag has been placed in the area of Miami.

The police removing the banner at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Art Basel Miami 2014

Many other “street pranks” have occurred. For example, during the NBA Finals in 2013 Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs, CLANDESTINE CULTURE placed a sign that read “CITY HALL” and has arrows pointing to the sewer in the street.

The CITY HALL sign next to the sewer placed by the street artist during the NBA Finals, American Airlines Arena, Miami 2013

As for the name, the artist explains: “When I first wrote this phrase on the street six years ago, it was very personal, I was not happy with my life and the way society treated me. It seemed as if ‘they’ thought they were right and I was wrong. ‘They’ always told the truth and you had to obey them. ‘They’ never asked how do you feel, or if you agree with what ‘they’ are suggesting. ‘They’ are always correcting you. One night I was walking on the street by a commercial area close to my neighborhood. I passed by a big garbage container. I stopped, and with an oil stick I wrote, “I’M CLANDESTINE CULTURE. WELCOME TO MY WORLD.” I did not know why I did it, I just did it and it worked. I was feeling better after that. I released all my anger and all my frustration in just one phrase: CLANDESTINE CULTURE“.

Still today, the artist chooses to remain anonymous. He hits the street with his face and head completely covered. He believes that the painting and the message is more important then the artist. He uses the faces of everyday people, images and words, to show that in the end, we the people are all part of one world wide culture… a clandestine culture.

WOW – Work Of the Week – Hank Willis Thomas “Black Power”

Posted on November 21, 2016 by admin in - WOW!

HANK WILLIS THOMAS
Black Power
2008
C-print
16 x 20 in.
Edition of 30
Signed and numbered in ink

About This Work:

Hank Willis Thomas is an American artist who employs the familiar, or “what-goes-without-saying”, to draw connections and provoke conversations about issues and histories that are often forgotten or avoided in our commerce-infused daily lives.

He gained wide recognition with highly provocative artworks which address the commodification of African-American male identity by raising questions about visual culture and the power of logos.
His most important work is represented by the so-called Branded Series, among which is the dynamic piece Black Power, probably the most famous of the series.
In this work of the week, Black Power, Hank Willis Thomas presents a set of teeth on which a gold grill reads BLACK POWER.

Black Power, as well as other works by Willis Thomas, deals with issues of grief, black-on-black violence, the contributions of corporate culture to the crisis of black male identity, and African-American representation in advertising and media.
For this reason, some art critics have categorized Willis Thomas’ work as belonging to the “post-black” genre, where racist stereotypes are reinterpreted or reconstructed, and have described his work as “un-branding advertising”: stripping away the commercial context, and leaving the exposed image to speak for itself.

Something very important about Willis Thomas’ work is that it has been heavily influenced by the tragic loss of his young cousin, Songha Willis Thomas, who was murdered by another black man outside a Philadelphia night club in an incident of violence involving a gold chain.
The artist credits this event with helping him find his “artistic focus”.

Hank Willis Thomas (born in Plainfield, New Jersey, 1976) received his BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and his MFA in photography, along with an MA in visual criticism, from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco.
Since then, he has exhibited in numerous galleries and museums in the United States.

With his characteristic strong dark humor, every time Willis Thomas creates a visual dialogue about the pressing issues of race, representation, and a sort of present day enslavement through consumerism which applies to the American society, with a focus on African-American youth.

Ahol Sniffs Glue New Print Release “REDRUM”

Posted on July 25, 2016 by admin in - Events


GREGG SHIENBAUM FINE ART is proud to present its second editioned work with Miami Artist AHOL SNIFFS GLUE

Limited to only 50 pieces. This new work titled “REDRUM” is in the style of Abstract Expressionism. Highly influenced by this movement, Ahol breaks away from his well known style of the “classic pattern”. In this screenprint the viewer can see the brush strokes of raw emotion poured into the work. This print is a very meaningful work to the artist. It is his first screenprint on paper published with Gregg Shienbaum Fine Art, and it is a work that depicts his feelings about the state of our nation and the world. Ahol’s Eyeballs represent the eyes of the working class. Usually seen in his typical pattern, Ahol paints these eyes to let the everyday working class person know that he is with them. Painted on walls, cars, canvas, and anywhere he can, Ahol throws up a shout out to the regular guy, just going through the daily grind, of just making it to survive. REDRUM (Murder spelled backwards), depicts the sad state of the killings in our communities, here at home, and around the world. Innocent victims being shot down for just trying to get by, and live their lives. Whether it is everyday working people in our streets and communities, law enforcement, people at a night club, or a someone overseas. This new screenprint by Ahol depicts the chaos, the turbulence, the anger, and the sadness of what is going on in our neighborhoods. Painted in fluorescent red ink, to symbolize the blood spilled, and running through our streets, this expressionistic style allows for more artistic freedom that the Ahol has been wanting to achieve. This style not only portrays the tension, and whirlwind of emotions that effect the people and the community, but also gives us a sense of the artist’s pure inner feelings. This new style has more of a free flowing quality, that shows the artist’s emotion, growth, depth, and dimension. GREGG SHIENBAUM FINE ART IS PLEASED TO BE PART OF THIS NEW WORK, AND CREATIVE PROCESS!! The details of this new edition are below. Ahol Sniffs Glue REDRUM 2016 Fluorescent red ink screenprint on French Construction Blacktop 80# Coverweight card stock 25 x 19 in. Edition of 50 Signed and numbered $300 Ahol Sniffs Glue signing the REDRUM screenprints. Ahol Sniffs Glue in front of his work REDRUM Click HERE to see the video of Ahol signing the screenprints.