![]() What I mean is, there are artists who were invited to paint murals that function as billboards for print releases and decor for posh hotels, and artists who are invited to install “interventions” (Nuart’s euphemism for illegal street art). That was more true than ever this year, with an artist line up including Martin Whatson, SpY, Tilt, Fra.Biancoshock and others. ![]() Nuart is a brilliant schizophrenic beast, oscillating between Martyn Reed’s seemingly dueling interests of creating a spectacle of corporate art and disrupting The Spectacle. Whatson’s art also decorates the inside of the hotel. Martin Whatson (with BON and Alex Face) at Stavanger’s Scandic Hotel. They produce some blockbuster murals, but usually not from the artists you would expect. Living Walls has the uncanny ability to launch or at least predict the impending launch of a muralist’s career. They are the model of a well-run muralism conference with next to no budget, sometimes stumbling but always trying to do something great for Atlanta. Living Walls is one of the most professional DIY outfits I’ve ever encountered. Grottaglie now has one of the finest collections of murals, graffiti and street art in the world. He just wanted to invite amazing artists to town to paint walls and maybe make a print or two at his studio. In the small town of Grottaglie, Italy, it would be easy for anyone to track down Milano and confront him about painting on their home. It can be difficult to tell what’s been painted legally and what’s been painted illegally, and festival organizer Angelo Milano doesn’t hide his face. John FeknerįAME is (or was, since it’s no longer active) perhaps the only no-holds-barred street art festival. But, out of the three, Nuart has always confused me the most. For me, the three models of muralism festivals that I look to most often are Nuart, FAME and Living Walls. I went first in 2009 as a tourist, returned in 2012 to participate in Nuart Plus (the conference portion of the festival) participant, and finally this year participated in and helped a bit to plan Nuart Plus. His original work can be found in private collections and institutions with solo exhibitions featured in cities from Tokyo to LA, London to New York.This year was my third time visiting the Nuart Festival. Martin’s work features with festivals, projects and walls globally. His original work can be found in private collections and institutions with solo exhibitions featured in cities from Tokyo to LA, London to New York. Martin's work features with festivals, projects and walls globally. whether immersing entirely or embellishing a detail, the images disappear beneath expressive, spray-painted strokes of assorted colours and textures. True to form, no gray space stays gray for long in Martins presence. The ashen tones of the compositions and vacant backgrounds are reminiscent of his alternative canvases, the concrete. Almost stylised, these minimal figures are constructed of a few layers of hand-cut stencils. ![]() Delicate and organic characters feature butterflies, ballerinas and animals all rendered in empty grayscale space. With as many works on walls as on canvas and paper, the relationship between vulnerability and strength remains constant in each work. This balance would come to define his creative approach. The evolution moved him closer to a simple yet effective aesthetic he believed could bridge the gap between the passion and spontaneity Graffiti held for him, with the fragility and transience of nature. In the early 2000s, this interest in layers became more literal with the introduction of stencils into his work. ![]() The same deconstructive processes can be seen in his creative influences of Jose Parla and Cy Twombly. The physical architecture of the city was a constant inspiration, the elaboration and destruction of each generation contributing to the urban infrastructure. Growing up in Oslo Norway, Martin was an active part of the emerging graffiti scene of the early 90’s which at the time maintained zero tolerance. His works can be seen to mirror the rise and fall of the streets, as he symbolically recreates the urban environment, then vandalises it to reveal his vibrant transformations. Over the past decade, Martin has developed an unmistakable aesthetic combining abstract movement with figurative stencilled compositions. Martin Whatson (b.1984) is a Norwegian street artist best known for his calligraphic scribbles in grayscale voids.
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