Maximillian Gallery is pleased to present “What Graffiti is to New York - Street Art is to Los Angeles,” an exhibition curated by Melrose and Fairfax, featuring the top Los Angeles Street Artists - a dream team line up of the best street artists in Los Angeles and the world. The show features not only the best artists but the juiciest stories, including everything from a 9-year old street artist, to a porn star street artist, and ranges from an artist who had a flattering interview with Forbes, to a street artist featured on national news for being arrested.
Through these artists’ vision, we discover and gain a rare insiders’ look into the very heart of what is happening on the streets today. The show presents original, cutting edge artworks from each of the artists, exclusive never-before-seen action photos from Melrose and Fairfax, unique sticker packs, and Limited Edition Maximillian Gallery at Sunset Marquis embossed prints.
Los Angeles has set itself apart as the worldwide center for street art. LA has the busiest streets, the biggest name artists, and the most local talent. It is widely recognized as the hottest spot for street art in the world. From Banksy's latest visit, to the MOCA exhibition, and on every street corner and rooftop in between, the force of this movement is undeniable. In a similar manner to the way that New York is widely recognized as the home of graffiti, Los Angeles is currently experiencing the same definitive movement in the world of street art.
“Melrose and Fairfax has been curating the streets of Los Angeles for over a year,” says Maximillian Gallery Owner & Director Caradoc, “We are thrilled to be working with the top street artists in LA and some of the best in the world. These artists are doing some marvelous things. And it is really exciting for Los Angeles to be at the center of this ever-growing street art movement. We really look forward to working with Greg and the artists."
Greg Linton, Publisher of Melrose and Fairfax, adds “It is going to be epic. This is the show that will define the genre and solidify LA's place in the street art scene to the rest of the world and I am super excited to have Caradoc and Maximillian Gallery behind us.”“The show is going to be monumental. Street artists are the rock stars of the art world, and the Sunset Marquis is home to the real life rock stars, so there couldn't be a better setting than Maximillian Gallery at the Sunset Marquis for this important exhibition,” says Caradoc.About Maximillian Gallery Maximillian Gallery at Sunset Marquis makes connections between those desiring meaningful, cutting edge art and emerging, contemporary artists and street artists. Maximillian Gallery provides sales and art licensing representation for talented fine artists, serving a wide array of creative intellectual property owners, including painters, sculptors, photographers, and illustrators, with new artists being added regularly. The gallery also features a collection of unique art gifts.
Melrose and Fairfax is a celebration of street art in Los Angeles and the most street of any street art site. It serves as an online gallery and is the second ranked street art blog in the world, which is remarkable considering Melrose and Fairfax only focuses on one city while the rest have a worldwide scope. To give its popularity a wider frame of reference, based on hits and web traffic, Melrose and Fairfax gets more activity than 99.8% of all websites in the entire world. The numbers really demonstrate how powerful LA's grasp is over the street art world, and this show features Melrose and Fairfax's hand picked 'Best Of' top artists on LA's street art
scene.
Alec Monopoly - Alec Monopoly is this generation's pop art star. Alec launched his career on the rooftops of Los Angeles, and has now put up street art and hosted sold out shows in Boston, NY, Miami, and London.
Free Humanity - Free Humanity explores the deeper things in life, and the meaning of humanity, through street art. Free's art 'bombing' has been so successful that the LAPD bomb squad was called out to one of his installations.
Smog City- Smog City combines hard hitting graphic imagery with a campaign for cleaner air quality. Smog is one of LA's top get-up artists, and the message behind the art makes for a powerful street presence.
Bankrupt Slut - Bankrupt Slut spreads rock n' roll sluttiness all over LA. Featuring strong sexually empowered women, and with over 30,000 stickers and other pieces on the streets of LA this year alone, Bankrupt Slut's presence has been nothing short of prolific.
DeeKay - A few months ago, DeeKay posted a piece of street art entitled ‘I Have A Secret.’ With this piece, she made the announcement that this street artist was none other than world famous porn star Kylie Ireland. Kylie's, or DeeKay's, street art features a mix of her sexy self interacting with images, more specifically signs, taken from her own personal photography. With her dive into street art, Kylie Ireland has shown that she is not only beautiful, but also a great artist.
Bod Bod - Bod Bod is the youngest street artist getting up on the streets of Los Angeles. He has a deep understanding and appreciation for art and the streets, which is especially impressive since he is only 9 years old. But even though he might be young, his impressive work on the streets speaks for itself, and BodBod has earned a name on the LA scene.
2wenty - twenty's 'Facebook Social Cigarettes' image has been a smash sensation. Everyone seems to identify with the addictive nature of social networks, and major mainstream networks have picked up on the image, garnering 2wenty impressive press, including an interview with Forbes.
Snyder - Snyder has developed a unique artistic aesthetic that is directly influenced by Jackson Pollock’s drip technique, Banksy’s stencils, Van Gogh’s palette and texture, Cezanne’s meticulous attention to composition, and Warhol’s iconography. And Snyder does some of the most amazing public interventions happening anywhere in the world.
Gregory Siff - Gregory Siff excels in the studio and the street. His artwork can be found in the collections of many top celebrities, and Gregory has recently been commissioned to paint big walls at The Standard and De La Barracuda.
KH no. 7 - KH no. 7 is one of the few classically trained artists hitting the streets, and the results are very powerful. KH no. 7 is known for nostalgic imagery with a gritty twist.
Smear - Smear was such a prolific writer that the LAPD linked him to one of the biggest graffiti busts ever. And even though he hasn't actively tagged in years, LA's city attorneys are pressing a landmark case against Smear with an injunction against using his artist name. It is a true honor to have Smear, LA's original 'Outlaw Artist.'
Desire Obtain Cherish - Desire Obtain Cherish has been killing the streets of Los Angeles. Everything from billboard takeovers, to larger than life size Oscar pastes, to art-walk interruptions, the quality of work is consistently breathtaking. Desire. Obtain. Cherish.
CYRCLE. & DD$ - CYRCLE. & DD$ keep pushing the boundaries of street art. Bombing the streets and 'blowing your mind' with everything from Mr. Brainwash takeovers to 8-foot hand painted murals on unsanctioned walls, CYRCLE. & DD$ are bringing fine art to the streets.
Leba - Leba's street art is diverse and impactful. From politically themed stencils to massive hand painted rooftops, to wheat pastes of fascinating Lady GaGa interpretations, Leba is one of the top visual and cognitive artists on the LA scene.
Homo Riot - Homo Riot is one of the most brazen and bold street artists anywhere in the world. Homo Riot is the street manifestation of the idea that homosexuality must be seen and acknowledged. Through the brazen use of sexually loaded imagery, Homo Riot has conquered LA, and many other major cities, by storm.
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