Phella's blog

Fernando Carlo, also known as Cope2 is from the birthplace of hip-hop music, The Bronx, NY, but it's another form of art that has made him a recognizable figure for decades, graffiti. Cope has practiced this art form since the late 70's and his work has been commisioned by Time Magazine, Adidas, Converse, Mark Ecko and several other major brands. This Boogie Down Bronx legend is a pioneer for the wildstyle form of graffiti which was popularized in early rap videos, 80's films, and remains part of the street art landscape till this very day.

Know Hope is an artist from Israel, a street artist no less. Using paper pastes, cardboard, and a ton of other practical mediums, Know Hope is known for these remarkable and highly emotional installments. His characters are extremely sensitive and vulnerable. They represent the complexity in us all, according to Hope, the gray area we live in as we try to make sense of our past and possibly predict our future. With concepts deep and his willingness to leave his art open for the taking (literally), makes Know Hope more than a a street artist, but someone who is giving back to the public. His installments are often snatched up not long after he's done working on them by passers by who simply can't resist. His pieces have been exhibited all over the world from Rome to Los Angeles, instilling hope in art lovers one at a time.

The Australian street art scene brings us Meggs, an artist from Melbourne whose work has on streets and galleries far beyond Australia. Meggs' style is one that is filled with expression.

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." That's the message neatly stitched onto a face which for all intensive purposes seems to be patient. It's the work of street artist Joe Iurato who evokes spirituality, faith, and the kind of wisdom you would expect more out of a philosopher than a man who paints walls. Iurato's work has a sort of calm to it. The emotions on the faces he paints are true to life and it's easy to tell after just a quick glance that he pours soul into his work. From paintings of sports icons like Muhammad Ali to a wall to wall installations appealing to the youth to "please, step forward", the emotion remains intact. Iurato's message of meeting lives challenges with optimism rings true. His work is encouraging and in some cases healing. Where some artists go for the more deviant route, Joe Iurato appears to have made a choice to put positive and thought provoking imagery in the world with his art, and so far the job has been well done.

Looking at Faile's wood artwork and the first thing that comes to mind is New York City. There's a reference to the city that never sleeps in majority of the pieces. Faile also has a lot of political and social messages within the boldly painted wood pieces. From political figures to messages like "Young People Grow Up", these acrylic on wood installments seem to say a lot. The back of magazine, bunched up collage style that Faile often uses allows for a multitude of portraits, colors, and thoughts in just one piece. Faile's work is anything but minimalist; it's a lot, it's loud, it's colorful, and it's filled with enough variety to make you think the work of several different artists had to have been brought together.

Pixel Pancho is a young and energetic street artist out of Italy. He's a student of all kinds of art, who has attended recognized Fine Arts institutions in Turin and Valencia, where he's continued to master the craft he sought interest in as a child. Not even thirty years of age yet, Pancho's youth shows in his work. He often paints giant murals of comic book-like figures and robots seem to be a favorite of his. His unique style and the locations where he chooses to paint (such as "Robot Invasion" done in Mexico City) help to separate Pixel from the pack. And his fine art studies allow for him to jump from medium to medium; Pancho often brings his robots to life digitally or with life size sculptures. 

Wow. That's the first thing that comes to mind when you view Kris Kuksi's sculptures. The intricacies and great level of detail, the statements being made, the old time feel he brings to modern day artwork -- all leave you in awe. Kuksi's paintings, however, in contrast to his sculpting are much more subtle and quiet. Extremely clean and polished with the focus being on one subject at a time. His canvas work seems almost the polar opposite of his sculpture work. Much more contemporary and colorful but equally as amazing. The fairly young artist from Missourri takes all of his experiences and knowledge of life growing up and channels it into his art to show the world his unique perspective. He embraces that which the world is reluctant to accept and challenges that which is easily accepted, be it religion or materialism. Finding an artist able to gravitate from medium to medium with Kris Kuksi's level of skill in each one is extremely rare and it's easy to see why he's touted by everyone from Nike CEO's to hollywood greats for his work.

Remi Rough is a legendary street artist from London with a passion for his work that extends far beyond his own work. Rough often gives praise to other street art greats, old and new, in his interviews and on his personal blog. He lives for the culture and has stated that he would like to see it continue developing as opposed to becoming safer and safer the more the general public begins to accept it. For a man who put up his first work in the mid 80's, his youthful spirit and excitement remains in tact, even as he's gravitated to doing more abstract pieces. "All the things I learnt as a writer inform my strokes and decisions", says Remi Rough in a recent feature with cyfe.com. These days the 40 year old keeps plenty busy whether it's recording music (which he's done for nearly two decades in addition to his art), hanging out at festivals such as Miami's Art Basel, or working on new projects with the up and coming generation apiring to follow in his tracks. 

Anthony Lister originates from Australia but has travelled all around the globe putting his brilliant art work on display. Lister works with a variety of mediums, including but not limited to painting, drawing, videos and digital art. Popular culture is often his target subject. Without completely defacing our known icons and superheros, Lister adds his own personal street art touch to recognizable figures. His bold in-your-face style straddles the fence between art and comic book. The artist currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with his family, who also often are subjects of Lister's artwork.

Today is Valentine's Day so this is even more appropriate. Dabs Myla is a painting duo originally from Australia currently working out of L.A. Unlike other duo's, this work is being produced by a couple who live together, wake up, create art, and repeat -- every single day. They claim not to be tired of each other but instead having fun with their lives and their work. The happiness shows in the art too. A smiling face can be spotted from a distance in almost all of their paintings. The colors are vibrant, the faces are playful and full of energy. It seems like work only a couple in love -- with themselves and with art -- could produce.

World reknowned artist, Gabriel Specter, is as much researcher and historian as he is a street artists. Where as most of his counterparts are in search of locations where they can leave their stamp, Specter seeks neighborhoods and locations with rich history and a story then attempts to use his art to illustrate that. The Brooklyn Based artist not only paints, but also sculpts, draws, and molds to get his vision across. The natural rebel spirit that most street artists have isn't lost on Specter, part of his collection has him altering advertistemnts of brands like McDonalds and Taco Bell to change the messages behind them. Specter's choice of locations and his socially conscious mind allow his quiet (rarely does Specter paint massive pieces) work to stand out the way it does.

Artist ZED1 takes color and uses it as a vehicle to take us to the surreal. His canvas portraits and graffiti work challenge reality and then some. In a ZED1 piece, his caricatures have little bounds or limits to what they can do, yet there still remains enough real life emotion to keep you from writing him off as a cartoonist or a playful artist. These pieces have seriousness, sadness, joy, vulnerability and life all breathing out of them. 

When you look at the fine art of Saber you immediately get a graffiti feel. That's because Saber is a street artist who just happens to be capable of masterful oil paintings at well. Even so, his street roots aren't left far behind. In his canvas work, Saber evokes the free writing style used by graffiti artists on the streets. The same kind of shadowing, rebelliousness and disobedience he leaves on the walls of Los Angeles, he's able to do with a paintbrush as well. Saber was introduced to the graffitti world at age 13 by his cousins and since then he's been on it. He is credited as having the largest piece of graffitti ever -- a football field size creation on the infamous LA river bank. His account of his first attempt at "The River" plays out like many of the hollywood films shot on the river. It has him hopping barbed wired fences with gallons of paint, his legs and hands bleeding, being chased by police helicopter and hiding in his friends van to return another day. He believes graffiti artists are not only expressing their emotions with their work but at the same time controlling the landscape of the cities they paint in. That fearlessness passion for his work is what has made Saber a legend in street art, not only in Los Angeles but all over the world.

The artwork of Josh Taylor has plenty of political undertones and social commentary embedded in it. Similar to a cartoon TV show like The Boondocks, Taylor's paintings appear playful but underneath lie messages about society, the government, and the world in general. The color schemes and vivid ways in which Taylor distributes acrylic paint will draw in anyone, teenager to full grown adult, to appreciate it's aesthetic value; but only an audience paying careful mind will see beyond the beauty of the artist's work and notice the many statements he is making. According to his website, Josh Taylor died in 2037 and his art, which is far better than anyone else's, was taken by the government due to it's controversial nature. Obviously that is said in gest but Taylor clearly wants his fans and anyone who comes across his work to be aware that he's not just a painter who paints to paint, he is saying something.