My Turn At Carmichael Gallery: A Group Show With A Street Art Lean (Curated By Bumblebee)

Bumblebee

The appearance of materials such as stencils, spraypaint, and unconventional installation materials makes sense when one considers the curator of the show is none other than Los Angeles street artist Bumblebee — an individual that really runs with his moniker to create miniature beehives and models that he attaches to abandoned phone booths. In this group show, he pulls his work off the street and into a gallery setting. What is perhaps most impressive about the curation of this show is that beneath its sophisticated facade, each and every artist knows how to get down to the nitty-gritty and how to take his or her works to the street.

Perhaps this quote can serve as a fitting summary for this show:

“There are many artists in the urban / street art movement. For this show, each artist was selected based on his or her unique voice and ability to push the boundaries of the genre, while remaining true to its origins.” – Bumblebee

Hyuro

Valencia by way of Buenos Aires artist Hyuro makes drawings which blur the lines of where individuals begin and end. A heavy aspect of this all-in-oneness lays focus on hair, which she textures delicately and with great dimensional purpose. Expect a post soon about her street art brilliance.

Penny

In the piece below, Departure of the Witches, London’s Penny uses overlays an impressive number of hand-cut stencils atop one another and spraypaints them onto a sheet of 32 $1 bills. This combination of mediums and the artistic style Penny employs seem to bring museum-quality renderings in touch with the daily grind.

Klone

Though they are fully-formed ideas, Klone‘s watercolor pieces leave one with the sense that they have a lingering, and often difficult-to-read, spirit behind them. The Ukranian artist now lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Stinkfish

In a style reminiscent of Day Of The Dead folk art, but with a more refined and updated quality, Bogotá artist Stinkfish will put ink on any human face that magazines and vinyl covers deem fitting of such a treatment. When paired with covers of Playboy and old images of Gwen Stefani, the ornamental opulence is certainly welcome.

Moneyless

Using graphic acrylic chalk and ink on paper, Milan’s Moneyless has created a series of symmetrical geometries which have qualities so delicate some lines are barely perceptible upon first glance. This combination of textbook-illustration clarity and acrylic chalk graininess are what truly gives these pieces worth — a combination of stylistic and textural decisions that would be otherwise lost in a more digital or less dynamic realm.