On November 5th at Portland's Compound Gallery...

Shadows of a thousand years rise again, as Tastes Like Gold and RDH take over
the gallery with a collection of new works in an exhibition entitled "HORROR SHOW".

With roots in both graffiti and illustration these emerging young artists have been hiding out in caves, preparing nonstop for this upcoming event.

“Muahahahaha” - RDH
 
"Been wantin' to come back for awhile, Portland's crazy! So when the opportunity to do a show up there with *RDH* came up; it was on!" - TLG

The show will feature nearly 60 new pieces as well as live painting and a large instillation piece.


***HORROR SHOW*** ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!! PEOPLE WITH WEAK STOMACHS AND PACEMAKERS CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN FIRST!

Show opens Nov. 5th from 7-9pm

Compound Gallery
107 NW 5th, Portland OR 97209
503-796-7233
compoundgallery.com

tastelikegold.com
rdhkills.com

Casey Eklips Interviewed by Katie Zuppann for Juxtapoz

If I'm not mistaken, Known Gallery started off as a venue for Seventh Letter artists to show of their work-both on the streets and on canvas. Why did you organize the group as Known Gallery?

You are correct. Known Gallery was started to showcase our friends and family which turns out to be mostly The Seventh Letter artists and our associates, much like The Seventh Letter is made up of mostly AWR and MSK members. This doesn't mean we only work with crew members, it just means we know a lot of people through graffiti and our roots in street culture. We originally didn't want to display graffiti but only gallery works, but that didn't last very long.

The name KNOWN came from KNOWN SURVIVOR which came from this track I was listening to that reminded me of my father who fought in the Hungarian revolution in 1956 and lived to talk about it. I know that's kind of deep but that's where the name comes from to be honest. Almost everything I do starts with a crazy thought that is usually sparked by a music track or something. I've always liked the word KNOWN, like in: known affiliate, known graffiti writer, also known as, etc. so I had to do something with it. The name was also really appealing because I felt it was our way to be KNOWN NOW or NOW KNOWN.


Known Gallery has grown from a daily blog into a full-fledged website and movement. Describe Known Gallery's progression.

In the beginning we never planned to be a daily blog, but the site wasn't completely ready when we went on tour to Japan and Taiwan with the LETTERS FIRST art show. We wanted to share our experiences with our supporters so we launched the blog and people really liked it so we decided to continue.  When we got home we finished the site with the artist profiles and began to represent artists, curate more shows and with the success of Letters First and help from The Seventh Letter, it all fell into place.

To what do you contribute the success of Known Gallery?

All the amazing artists that are involved, all the great shows we've curated, The Seventh Letter crew, our street credit and our supporters. The list goes on..

What do you have planned for the future?

More art shows with more artists in more countries. Always continue to improve the site. We just added a forum so we can communicate closer with our supporters. We also launched our online store, so with that comes more prints, exclusives, etc. And we should have a new gallery in Los Angeles by the the beginning of 2010.

What artists are you excited about right now?

I'm really feeling all the new stuff coming out of James Jean, Sonny Gerasimowicz aka Coax AWR, Push, Revok, Mr. Cartoon, Keegan Gibbs, JR, BLU, Aaron Horkey, Roid, Pose is really on fire right now, Young Savannah of course, too many to list. It's a great time for art and the internet allows us to see so many amazing people from everywhere in the world.

Where do you see graffiti and street art heading?

I think very soon graffiti will be more accepted into the fine arts world and museums, much like the Olympics will accept skateboarding. And if not, we will make an alternative and be bigger like the X-games did for skating. Hopefully writers will be treated with more respect from the corporate world and paid accordingly. The whole "you do it free anyways" thing is really old.

One of my favorite ongoing series you guys run is The Seventh Day Project, where you film different Known Gallery artists completing a piece. They take various styles, but overall, the films are fast paced, time-lapse videos documenting an artist work on a graffiti piece from start to finish. Tell us a bit about the origins of this project and how it has evolved, and where it will go.

Another crazy idea. Basically we wanted to let the world see what we do from beginning to end. Releasing it monthly on the 7th just made it fun and exciting.  A lot of our supporters had never seen us paint before so it's always really cool to hear their feedback. It also allows our videographers, photographers, beat-makers and video editors to share their skills with our audience. We plan to release some DVDs, books and more products from the Seventh Day Project in the near future.

Any final parting words?

Thank you to all the people who check KnownGallery.com daily, Katie for this interview, all our supporters around the world, our crews, Ralph Guzman for building and maintaining our sites, The Seventh Letter crew and everybody involved in our lives. RIP Adam Goldstein, Forever PURE.

Join us at forum.knowngallery.com

Read interview at: www.juxtapoz.com

I have a set of three pieces up for the Juxtapoz Art Auction BID NOW! Support the Powerhouse Project of Detroit, definitely a great cause.

Find out more at: PatrickMartinez.com and KnownGallery.com/patrickmartinez

Find out more at:

www.myspace.com/alexile
www.myspace.com/djday

Find out more at: SaberOne.com

Patrick Martinez focuses on the phenomenology of his surroundings. He brings sublime beauty to things that aren't thought of as conventionally beautiful. He uses subject matter such as everyday people that aren't usually painted into the limelight and elements of the city that would be thought of as objects we take for granted. He uses these objects as communicative mediums. Patrick works with intellect and intuition in creating pieces of art that reflect and document situations that are ever present around him. Vitality and rhythm are the essence and energy in his artwork. His recent clients include adidas, frank 151, rime magazine, stussy, upper playground and nike.

Find out more at: knowngallery.com/patrickmartinez

Famed street artist Shepard Fairey has made his mark all over the world with his signature Obey logo, which has landed in places like Tokyo, New York, Mexico City, London, Madrid and practically every nook and cranny that you would least expect to see the artists mark. Levi’s invited Fairey to take part in the design process of a collection centered around the Obey trademark. To observe this special occasion Levis welcomed Shepard Fairey to their flagship store located in New York City’s Times Square district. Shepard was putting up wheatpastes in front of a very jovial crowed cramped in front of the Levis campus.

Source: GRADIENT MAGAZINE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sever of the World Famous Seventh Letter Crew worked long and hard to bring us amazing graphics for The Agenda Show. Keep an eye out in the various mags for ads featuring his work — as well as agendashow.com, where we'll display more of the graphics package as we get closer to the show.

Hi there, I was just sent my bid card for the Juxtapoz Art Auction which went live online today. I donated my brown tone hand painted giclee print of my 'Move A Head' image. There are alot of really talented artists and galleries who are donating to this event and it's all for a great cause, check it out....

***I plan on attending the show in LA in a couple of weeks, so if you
are around...come through!

- Amandalynn

JUXTAPOZ ART & CULTURE MAGAZINE TURNS 15 AND THROWS CHARITY ART AUCTION AND EVENT IN LOS ANGELES HOSTED BY UPPER PLAYGROUND

All Proceeds from the Event Support Power House Project of Detroit

WHO: Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine celebrates its 15th anniversary with “The Big Payback,” an online charity art auction and a special event in Los Angeles hosted by Upper Playground. The event benefits the non-profit Power House Project of Detroit.

WHAT: “The Big Payback” auction features original artwork from over 100 national and internationally renowned contemporary artists including: Swoon, CR Stecyk III, Robert Williams, Todd Schorr, Estevan Oriol, Mister Cartoon, Shepard Fairey, Doze Green, Todd “Reas” James, Thomas Campbell, Tim Biskup, KR, Big Daddy Roth, WK Interact, Clayton Brothers, Andrew Schoultz, James Jean, Ron English, Craola, David Choe, Mike Giant, Paul Insect, Jeremy Fish, Alex Pardee, Saber, David Ellis, Boogie, D*Face, Cody Hudson, Herbert Baglione, Amandalynn, and many more....

From October 28th – November 20th, 2009, the public can bid on artwork, which will be auctioned off solely at www.CharityBuzz.com

All proceeds from the auction to be donated to the Power House Project to help purchase and renovate foreclosed and abandoned homes in the Detroit area.

In celebration of the auction and Juxtapoz’s 15th anniversary, Upper Playground will host an exclusive event in Los Angeles on November 14, 2009 to view the featured artwork on display and meet with the contributing artists.

WHEN: Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 7-11 pm

WHERE: The Factory Place Arts Complex, 1308 Factory Place, Los Angeles, CA 90013

WHY: Proceeds from “The Big Payback” auction will support the goal of purchasing five homes and employing local Detroit contractors, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters to perform the renovations. Selected artists will also be invited to participate in the remodeling.

The event aims to raise the consciousness of both the problems of people disenfranchised by the nation’s economic crisis, as well as encourage a sense of community in the art world and inspire people to effect positive social change in their own communities.

Read the first part of the interview at: www.juxtapoz.com

Get yours at: DigitalGravel.com

Find out more at: DigitalRetna.com . ElMac.net . RobertBermanGallery.com

Find out more at: VOXfootwear.com and SURU-LA.com