Virgil Ortiz is a Pueblo artist inspired by two loves: the traditional figurative ceramic style he learned from his mother, and Star Wars. These influences resulted in Revolt 1680/2180, a sculpture series retelling the story of his ancestors’ rebellion against Spanish colonizers in 1680, complete with laser blasters and an ancient astronaut vibe.
Read MoreARTIST & PUPPETEER WAYNE WHITE
A puppeteer from Chattanooga who gets his big break in New York developing a groundbreaking television show that ends up influencing a generation, then goes on to make his mark in the art world — not a story you hear every day, but one that describes the beginning and current career of artist Wayne White. Squeezed in the middle somewhere, is the move to Hollywood, award-winning music videos, and even more television shows, which is not bad for a kid from the deep south who took inspiration from Robert Crumb comics.
White’s latest work, Monitorium, explores the Battle of Hampton Roads in a multi-media installation and is currently on display at Virginia MOCA. The artist recently sat down with RVA Mag founder Tony Harris to discuss the exhibit, his fascination with history and dark humor, and how he jump-started his career with puppet shows.
Read MoreCRAOLA, POP SURREALIST
From being shot at while writing graffiti in a concrete-lined river bed in Compton, California, to painting large-scale acrylic paintings found in the collections of famous musicians and actors, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art’s Turn the Page artist, Greg “Craola” Simkins, has bridged the genre gap with the help of fellow artists and friends, childhood books, and the brief but intense Pogs game fad.
Simkins started out painting graffiti in the early 1990s in Torrance, California, just south of the city of Los Angeles. He soon began meeting other writers from nearby Compton and South Gate who had witnessed his work, and they brought him to their own spots to letter, painting in riverbeds and under freeways off of the 405 and 710 highways outside of his home area. He exchanged black books, a graffiti artist’s prized sketchbook, with other writers, adding detailed tags of his own to theirs, a routine in which he became highly sought-after.
Read MoreTHE MYSTERY MEN BEHIND ASVP
Since leaving the corporate world and advertising industry to form their own artistic duo, ASVP has developed a graphic style marrying Eastern and Western iconography with nods to advertising, pop, and comic book culture.
Their identity layered behind the acronym that labels their effort, they continue to make impacts in every city they visit with their own unique visual language.
Based in Brooklyn, the duo recently immersed themselves in the gracious Richmond scene in order to take part in the Richmond Mural Project. Their work, located at 2315 West Main Street, was a strong part of this year’s showcase, and fans and artists alike have raved about the duo’s unique contribution helping to fuel the city’s vibrant energy.
Though mysterious and reticent at times, the duo recently sat down with us and discussed their time in Richmond as well as their current and future projects. More importantly, the duo pulled back the curtain on their artistic philosophy and what drives it, offering a unique insight into one of the art scene’s most sensational artistic partnerships.
Read MoreHI-FRUCTOSE MAGAZINE CO-FOUNDER ATTABOY
I recently had the chance to catch up with Attaboy, co-founder of California-based art magazine Hi-Fructose, at the opening of Virginia MOCA‘s exhibit “Turn The Page” in Virginia Beach which celebrates 10 years of publishing the magazine.
As a fan, it was fun to be surrounded by the artwork that made the publication a favorite of art lovers worldwide. As a publisher with a decade under my belt, it was a meeting of kindred spirits. Attaboy was nice enough to answer a few questions for us in between tacos and proofing their next issue.
Read MoreD*FACE, STREET ART LEGEND
“My older daughter said, ‘Daddy, if you’re famous, why do people not stop and take photos of you in the street? If you’re famous, why is it if you come to a restaurant, there are no people with cameras, like a true paparazzi star?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not really famous. But then when you get into the art world, I’m fairly well-known in the street-art world. That’s why there’s people who want to get things signed… and that’s why nobody really knows who I am when I walk around the streets. It’s perfect.’”
Read MoreSTREET ARTIST DAVID FLORES
As part of the Richmond Mural Project, David Flores came to RVA with his partner in crime, Olivia Bevilacqua, to paint the town. From the start of his career in the 90s with Shorty’s Skateboards to his recent work creating iconic stained-glass-style murals around the world, Flores has received many accolades in the skateboard, street art, and design worlds. He’s left his mark deep in many underground cultures, and in turn has influenced the mainstream of current culture. His work as part of the Richmond Mural Project indicated both underground and mainstream influences; his giant painting featuring Snoopy and Woodstock, Charles M. Schulz’s universally-recognized characters from the Peanuts comic strip, now dominates the downtown landscape. It was fun sitting down and asking him about it all, from his earliest work to the way he views his legacy. We covered a lot, and had to go a bit off script to do it, but sometimes leaving the beaten path is the best way to have a great coversation.
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