Fab 5 Freddy "New York: New Work"
Gallery 151
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Gallery 151 presents the solo exhibit of Fred Brathwaite, hip-hop pioneer and legendary graffiti artist known as Fab 5 Freddy. In the early 80's, Mr. Brathwaite was notorious for his 1980 homage to Andy Warhol, an entire subway car covered in Campbell’s soup cans. He was a creative force helping to lead the Cultural Revolution in which graffiti based artists transitioned into galleries and the art world.
On June 8th, Gallery 151 presents NEW YORK:NEW WORK, the New York debut of Brathwaite’s series of stunningly vivid mixed-media works on canvas - some figurative iconography and others an abstract exploration of his graffiti experience. Brathwaite has developed a modified pointillism technique using hand-laid lead crystals to explore and deepen the viewer’s relationship with his work. This process of embellishing the form, one grain of color at a time, is also a delicate and personal celebration of his subject. Graffiti - and it’s new manifestation, Street Art - is one of art’s most transient forms, often existing for mere days if not hours. NEW YORK:NEW WORK is not only a celebration of Brathwaite’s newest work, but also a celebrated recognition of the permanence of these works on canvas.
Brathwaite’s is currently a featured artist in MOCA’s “Art in The Streets”, the first major museum exhibition in America on the history of graffiti and street art.
FAB 5 REMIX
Introduction to Fab 5 Freddy's Solo exhibition at Gallery 151
By Jeffrey Deitch, Director of MOCA Los Angeles
Fab 5 Freddy came by last year to announce that he was going back into the studio. At first I assumed he meant the recording studio, or the movie studio. No, Fred explained, it was the painting studio. Courtesy of The Art Production Fund, Fred had taken a studio on West Broadway to return to painting.
During New York’s explosive convergence of hip hop, punk rock, graffiti and new figurative painting in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Fred Brathwaite was everywhere, a central figure in every scene. Now as we look back at the history of this remarkable time, it becomes clear that Fred was not just present in the train yards and at all the seminal performances and gallery openings, he was the crucial connector. More than any other individual, Fred was the one who made the introductions that linked uptown and downtown, rap and punk, and who articulated the connection between hip hop culture and wild style graffiti. This amazing confluence and its progression into popular culture would not have happened the same way without Fred.
Fred’s 1980 Campbell’s Soup can car is one of the most famous subway paintings of all time, but despite his early prominence as a painter, Fred eventually became better known as a film producer and director, and as the co-host of the legendary TV show, Yo, MTV Raps. Although Fred had become a star in a larger cultural arena, painting remained central to his artistic identity. With his return to the painting studio, Fred has been able to use the medium to connect all of his creative interests. His new paintings are a platform for the convergence of all sides of his aesthetic.
Just like Fred’s personality, his new paintings are bold. He heats up one series with the sparkling bodies of boxers and exotic dancers. The works have the instant impact of the colorful cartoon figures that the Wild Style artists would spray paint on trains. They can make an impact when seen for only a minute and from a long distance.
I was especially impressed by the new painting that Fred sent for our current exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Art in the Streets. It is a fascinating remix of icons from his early career. An abstraction of a Wild Style graffiti tag is turned and twisted and painted on of a grid of logos for Yo MTV Raps and the seminal Wild Style movie that Fred helped to produce. It encapsulates Fred’s connections with both cultural history and the history of abstract expressionist painting.
Painting is a medium that can encompass innovations in every other art form. Fred is using his new paintings as a platform to revisit his own history as a connector who links high art and popular culture. He is remixing his experience with current trends to create something fresh and new.
Media
Schedule
from June 08, 2011 to July 01, 2011