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RISK and COOZ @ LBP Culver City (8/20/11), by johnsonerica on Jul 22, 2011 23:07:44 GMT 1,
LeBasse Projects presents:
Risk and COOZ :: โThat Was Then, This Is Nowโ August 20th โ September 3rd, 2011 Opening reception: Saturday August 20th, 7-10pm
Culver City, CA- โThat Was Then, This Is Nowโ is the first major collaborative exhibition by Kelly Graval and Nathan Ota, aka Risk and COOZ. The traveling exhibition reunites these artists whose friendship began before they would respectfully become graffiti legends in the streets and revered artists in galleries and museums internationally.
Risk and Nathan Ota collaborated together over 25 years ago when they were classmates in high school. After high school, they went their separate ways but reconnected once again through their mutual friends in the artist community. Two friends with similar beginnings have taken two very different paths are now back together again with new skill, understanding and maturity as artists.
The artistsโ collaborations were initially revived when Nathan Ota invited RISK to join him as part of an exhibition with apparel brand Hurley at their corporate offices. The success of that show led to the commitment from both to continue their work together and launched the first stop of this traveling exhibit at San Franciscoโs 11 Minna โ a stalwart of the Cityโs arts scene.
About Cooz:
For years, Nathan Ota has been pursuing new worlds, both dark and fantastic, to explore in his paintings. Ota has used his stand-ins โ a blind bird, a drunk monkey, a one-eyed robot lost in the woods โ to travel through dreamlands that hold fantasies and tragedies, even landing him in the unlikeliest destination โ the world inside the artistโs own studio.
Nathan majored in Illustration and received his Bachelors degree at Art Center College of Art and Design, Pasadena Ca. 1993. Ota currently teaches at Otis College of Art and Design and Santa Monica City College.
About Risk:
In a career spanning 28 years, RISK has impacted the evolution of graffiti as an art form worldwide. Risk is one of the most prolific graffiti artists to date. Los Angeles based, RISK gained major notoriety for his unique style and pushed the limits of graffiti further than any writer in L.A. had before: He was one of the first writers to paint freight trains, freeways, buses and he pioneered writing on โheavens,โ or freeway overpasses. At the peak of his career he took graffiti from the streets and into the gallery with the launch of the Third Rail series of art shows and later parlayed the name into the first authentic line of graffiti-inspired clothing - which led to the birth of the street wear genre.
Risk focuses on the traditional aesthetics of letter formation. He combines this with his unique deconstruction and color layering to achieve a visual texture of color and surroundings. Graval majored in Fine arts at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Ca. 1992. The art of RISK is currently on exhibition in both the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Pasadena Museum of California Art.
LeBasse Projects 6023 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 Phone:(310) 558-0200 Gallery Hours: Culver City: Tue โ Sat, 12 โ 6 pm
LeBasse Projects presents: Risk and COOZ :: โThat Was Then, This Is Nowโ August 20th โ September 3rd, 2011 Opening reception: Saturday August 20th, 7-10pmCulver City, CA- โThat Was Then, This Is Nowโ is the first major collaborative exhibition by Kelly Graval and Nathan Ota, aka Risk and COOZ. The traveling exhibition reunites these artists whose friendship began before they would respectfully become graffiti legends in the streets and revered artists in galleries and museums internationally. Risk and Nathan Ota collaborated together over 25 years ago when they were classmates in high school. After high school, they went their separate ways but reconnected once again through their mutual friends in the artist community. Two friends with similar beginnings have taken two very different paths are now back together again with new skill, understanding and maturity as artists. The artistsโ collaborations were initially revived when Nathan Ota invited RISK to join him as part of an exhibition with apparel brand Hurley at their corporate offices. The success of that show led to the commitment from both to continue their work together and launched the first stop of this traveling exhibit at San Franciscoโs 11 Minna โ a stalwart of the Cityโs arts scene. About Cooz: For years, Nathan Ota has been pursuing new worlds, both dark and fantastic, to explore in his paintings. Ota has used his stand-ins โ a blind bird, a drunk monkey, a one-eyed robot lost in the woods โ to travel through dreamlands that hold fantasies and tragedies, even landing him in the unlikeliest destination โ the world inside the artistโs own studio. Nathan majored in Illustration and received his Bachelors degree at Art Center College of Art and Design, Pasadena Ca. 1993. Ota currently teaches at Otis College of Art and Design and Santa Monica City College. About Risk: In a career spanning 28 years, RISK has impacted the evolution of graffiti as an art form worldwide. Risk is one of the most prolific graffiti artists to date. Los Angeles based, RISK gained major notoriety for his unique style and pushed the limits of graffiti further than any writer in L.A. had before: He was one of the first writers to paint freight trains, freeways, buses and he pioneered writing on โheavens,โ or freeway overpasses. At the peak of his career he took graffiti from the streets and into the gallery with the launch of the Third Rail series of art shows and later parlayed the name into the first authentic line of graffiti-inspired clothing - which led to the birth of the street wear genre. Risk focuses on the traditional aesthetics of letter formation. He combines this with his unique deconstruction and color layering to achieve a visual texture of color and surroundings. Graval majored in Fine arts at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Ca. 1992. The art of RISK is currently on exhibition in both the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Pasadena Museum of California Art. LeBasse Projects 6023 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 Phone:(310) 558-0200 Gallery Hours: Culver City: Tue โ Sat, 12 โ 6 pm
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RISK and COOZ @ LBP Culver City (8/20/11), by johnsonerica on Aug 17, 2011 23:30:40 GMT 1, Here are some pics from the installation:
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RISK and COOZ @ LBP Culver City (8/20/11), by johnsonerica on Aug 24, 2011 22:42:55 GMT 1, Here are some pictures from the opening Saturday night:
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