June 27, 2009 through July 25, 2009
NEW YORK, NY (June 1, 2009) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Top 10, a solo exhibition of new works by the Parisian street artist known as Invader. Returning to the gallery for his first solo show in New York, Top 10 marks a highly anticipated event for this internationally celebrated artist. Known for using mosaic tiles to re-create popular characters from vintage 8-bit video games (such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man) on the streets of cities around the world, the artist’s individual mosaics are carefully cataloged after placement in context to their surrounding environment. Yet, since the project has grown on a global-scale, each piece also carries considerable significance from a larger perspective—populating what is now a worldwide installation that stretches across the planet. Invader’s mosaics can be found on the streets of over 40 cities, on all five (inhabitable) continents. Like the game, his mission is literally an invasion of (public) space.
Top 10 introduces a new series of original two and three-dimensional works featuring the artist’s signature pixel-based aesthetic, created in mediums such as mosaic tile and rubik’s cubes, which clearly translate the concept of pixilation (the division of visual information in digital format). Invader is the first artist to bring pixels to life, both in the physical world and in the art world. Echoing the neo-Impressionist painting technique of pointillism, with a contemporary voice, his evolved methods bring the composite image concept into the digital age. The show title Top 10 references popular music, as the artist has selected what he believes are the top ten album covers of his generation as subjects for re-interpretation using his own innovative technique of Rubikcubism. The term Rubikcubism is used to describe an art movement of which Invader is believed to be the originator, using Rubik’s Cubes (a 3-D mechanical puzzle game popular in the 1980’s). This exhibition also includes large-scale mixed-media sculptures in bright primary colors and a video installation of projected time-lapse footage, which reveals the geometric complexity of the artist’s incredible process in creating pieces in this show. To preview the video online, please visit:
www.jonathanlevinegallery.com/?method=Blog.Video
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Invader’s work illustrates the overwhelming effect technology has had on contemporary culture while also critiquing it, using the ancient and traditional technique of mosaics to simulate digital pixels. Referencing the 1978 Atari video game, the artist began placing mosaics featuring Space Invaders on the streets of Paris in the late 1990s. Joined by Pac Man ghosts and other popular 8-bit characters, the works soon became a familiar sight to encounter in any urban environment. Invader’s usage of tile to create street art, rather than paint or stencil, is not only a unique choice of medium—it also emphasizes his commentary of how digital information networks have affected and transformed our society. Sightings of the work have spread over the last ten years on a global scale as the artist continues invading public spaces across five continents. Currently, Invader’s work can be found on the streets of over forty cities, worldwide.
WK Interact
Motion Portrait
Solo Exhibition
Opening Reception - Saturday, June 27th 7-9pm
June 27, 2009 through July 25, 2009
NEW YORK, NY (June 1, 2009) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce Motion Portrait, a solo exhibition of new works by the New York based French street artist known as WK Interact. WK’s ephemeral artwork includes wheat pastes and large-scale murals of figures in high-contrast black and white; each piece is site-specific and his imagery is always placed in accordance with its surrounding environment. Known for his elaborate creative process, scouting and sketching locations, staging models for photo shoots, and distorting their image on a copy machine, the artist creates exaggerated visual effects (or illusions) to convey rapid movement. In an age where the evolution of civilization seems to be accelerating at a speed of development—much like the figures in WK’s work—faster than we are able to process the change, the artist conveys themes of violence and mortality through a strikingly graphic and gritty aesthetic, one that is internationally recognized and regarded as distinctly his own.
In addition to mixed-media pieces containing found objects and WK’s trademark style of distorted figural imagery, Motion Portrait will also feature a group of large-scale paintings. Expanding upon his signature monochromatic aesthetic, this portrait series—entitled 12 Angry Men (referencing the classic film)—portrays the faces of twelve male subjects painted in black and white acrylic on raw canvas. These larger-than-life scale works, each measuring six feet square, mark a new direction for the artist. Shifting focus to the faces of his subjects is a departure from much of WK’s prior work, which involved the entire body in motion. Using a looser approach to painting the series of portraits in this show, WK allowed himself merely one chance to achieve the desired effect. With a sponge and large brush as his only tools, he left some areas of the rough canvas partially exposed. A degree of risk was also involved by choosing not to paint-over anything, firmly committing to every drop of paint. Using broad gestural smears and splatter techniques, blurring the forms into perspective, WK continues to capture explosive movement with powerful emotional depth and raw energy.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
WK Interact was born in 1969 in Caen, France. He currently lives and works in New York. At a young age, WK was interested with the human body in motion, his paintings of figures frozen in a flight of movement reflects this infatuation. The artist’s technique of twisting an original drawing or photograph while it’s being photocopied, results in the monochromatic palette and streamlined moment-in-time appearance of his finished work. WK site-determines his placements by finding an appropriate location first, then his imagery is chosen specifically with a concern for encounters in an urban environment or "interactions" (as the artist indicates in his pseudonym). In the late 1990s his images began appearing on building facades in downtown Manhattan. He has exhibited in galleries (and on the streets) around the world, but has lived and worked in New York City for the past fifteen years. Over this time he has seen many changes—inside and outside of the art world—but his work remains inspired by New York, complimenting the constant stir of bodies and the perpetual motion of contemporary urban life in the fast-paced city, driven by intense passion and fear.
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