BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAYLooking at the cavalcade of new Retna paintings for his “Hallelujah World Tour” New York debut, currently on display at a pop up shop in West Soho, you’ll see elements of anthropology, historical academia, and the current street penchant for the remix, or mashup.
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna is one of a handful of today’s Street Artists with a background in graffiti taking the art form into the abstract, making it feel genuinely fresh and forward-looking. No doubt the literal meaning on the canvas might add an extra dimension to the piece but that’s probably not what the artist had in mind when he began exploring and developing his style as a graffiti writer in Los Angeles. It’s about the jolting energy of the street. Best viewed from the distance – his kinetic letters and symbols cannot remain still. The bold handstyle is spare, elegantly unpretentious and perfectly anarchistic.
How do you spell Retna? (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The effect of this stunningly lit and somehow crowded traveling show (despite a 10,000 square foot exhibition space) is mystery, monastery, in motion. It is also very exciting to witness in person; A periodic splash of red in the monochromatic scheme of white, black, and silver.
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Using the concept of the graffiti tag as a starting point to craft a secret language of symbols, the canvasses are messages known to him and his inner circle alone. His approach and style has been compared to hieroglyphics, the Egyptians, Incas and Eastern calligraphy but is probably more analogous to the coded graffiti of Brazilian pixação that his southern contemporaries are spraying in black throughout favela streets right now.
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
RETNA “The Hallelujah World Tour”
560 Washington Street, NYC
Thursday, February 10,2011 – Monday, February 21,2011
Daily Hours: 10 AM – 6 PM
General Inquiries: 212 242 2905
238
138
45
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
The powerful use of words and images is playing an important role in directing the events that lead us forward, or backward. It is right for us to be alerted to fake news, although the recent bashing ...
Street artists and fine artist David Hollier has made innumerable portraits of political and pop figures in the last couple of decades - often with their own words, and often with stunning capturing ...
New Zealand artist/muralist Owen Dippie has not been painting much outside lately, so it’s a pleasure to welcome him back to BSA today with a new portrait and tribute. “I painted this mural of my frie...
We knew that Rammellzee deserved an intellect and artist operating on his wavelength to give a fair examination of his work and this exhibition, and very few can rise to the occasion the way that EKG ...
“After 4 days of driving from Detroit to Reno we felt empowered by the incredible landscapes we had driven through, from salt lakes to deserts and the Rockies, not one part of the trip was unexcitin...
