Participants include: Barry McGee, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda, Mark Dean Veca, Audrey Kawasaki, Stash, Futura, James Jean, Jim Lee, Alex Pardee, Jeff McMillan, Troy Lee, Jesse James, Usugrow, Nathan Cabrera, Dr. Romanelli and photographer Estevan Oriol.

SURU
7662 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Collectors Lunch Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Preview Reception Thursday, March 19, 2009
On View March 19 to June 17, 2009

KRUNK in collaboration with Cuadro Fine Art Gallery is proud to present a historic three-man exhibition in Dubai, featuring original works by urban art pioneers Futura, Stash and Phil Frost. On the pulse of the contemporary art world, KRUNK/Cuadro will provide foreign markets in the Middle East and beyond a rare opportunity to view and purchase extraordinary new collections by these world-renowned Contemporary Urban Artists. The show will launched by Cuadro during Art Dubai, the U.A.E’s contemporary art fair, which in only its third year has become a leader in the global art scene. A Collectors Lunch on Tuesday, March 17th and an evening Preview Reception on Thursday, March 19 will open the exhibition, and it will remain on view to the public until June 17, 2009.

The unprecedented exhibition represents the debut of KRUNK in Dubai, the cultural hotspot of the Middle East, and exposes never-before-seen works by Futura, Stash and Phil Frost to new audiences. Sharing a common interest in innovating unusual avenues in the contemporary art market, KRUNK partnered with Cuadro, one of the largest and the most prestigious galleries in the Middle East, to create a dynamic platform for representing artists in today’s global art community. The exhibition breaks the mold, reaching beyond cultural and national boundaries to present these notable Contemporary Urban Artists in an unparalleled forum and show their work alongside leading Middle Eastern and International artists. Utilizing Cuadro’s cutting-edge space and latest design concepts for displaying fine art, a site-specific installation will be rendered by Futura for this landmark event. Music and film backdrops will heighten the viewing experience and the exhibition will feature a soundtrack by acclaimed producer and electronic musician Damian Taylor using recorded samples of Futura at work. “KRUNK breaks with tradition, and this show is aimed at reaching new audiences. These legendary artists will have the opportunity to connect with an exciting emerging market as part of international art fair in Dubai. It is our pleasure to be presenting Futura, Stash and Phil Frost on this unique stage.”

Futura
Although he was only 15 years old, Futura was already obsessed with his visual identity. Spurred on by a dream of becoming famous on the streets, he created Futura 2000, a combined reference to a Kubrick film and a date so far ahead, he couldn’t comprehend still being alive. “The name was atmospheric and spacey”, he says “and that theme has continued to define my work. I was drawing from my identity - this fascination with the future and space that was such a strong part of my childhood.” A self-taught artist, Futura’s education began on the Broadway 1 train line, forging a place for himself as one of the city’s most forward thinking subway artists. His 1982 solo show at the Fun Gallery cemented his reputation as one of the most in-demand contemporary artists of the day, joining the likes of Jean-Michael Basquiat and Keith Haring as a pioneer of the early 1980s art movement, and he was hailed as the “Wateau of the Spraycan”, inviting comparisons to Kandinsky. The airy, abstract backgrounds of his very early works lent themselves perfectly to the cranes that he began to introduce, symbols of everything around him that was evolving - graffiti, the gallery scene and his own work. He showed extensively throughout the US and Europe for more than a decade, before turning to commercial partnerships in the 1990s that brought his graffiti to a mass audience and paved the way for a new generation of high-profile urban artists. Revered by modern artists from Swoon to Neate, Futura’s work is cited as a prime influence, bridging the gap between contemporary pop art and crude graffiti. Futura legitimized graffiti to a wider society as a form of art, paving the way for the urban art explosion that is now in full throttle.

Stash
One of New York’s graffiti legends, Stash played a role in the pivotal East Village Scene of the early 1980s, exhibiting his first canvases at the famous Fun Gallery alongside pop art pioneers Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat when he was only 17.  While his contemporaries turned to Pop Art, Stash stayed true to the subway, working on trains until 1987 when he created his last underground piece alongside Zephyr. His early works on canvas demonstrate a loyalty to his early career in the use of subway map-collages and signature bold outlines and clean shapes. By the late-1990s, Stash had pioneered the use of graphic elements of graffiti on streetwear through high-profile collaborations with companies such as Nike and Bathing Ape. The move ensured his work reached a much wider audience than the gallery crowd and played a key role in the widespread understanding of graffiti, which in turn led to its public acceptance and the shift in its perception from vandalism to art form. Stash is now firmly established as an innovator and influencer in the world of urban design, and his fascination with the urban environment is also evident in his perfectly-executed photographic work, which features a combination of city motifs alongside the latest lighting and printing techniques..
 
Phil Frost
Phil Frost’s magical worlds, populated by folkloric imagery, stylized caricatures and recurring patterns, have made him one of American contemporary urban art’s most respected protagonists. Working on canvas or found objects such as wooden doors and window panes, he builds intricate layers of letter-forms, patterns and figures to create intense, multi-tiered compositions that seem to buzz with life. Ritualism routinely reoccurs – both in tribal motifs such as totemic decoration and in the grouping of modern-day sacred objects, such as baseball bats and bottles. Repetition of pattern also suggests ceremony and custom.  Frost is a sophisticated self-taught artist who served his apprenticeship during the 90s creating elaborate installations on the streets of New York. His highly original approach and unique execution have propelled his work from the urban to fine art arena, and his notoriety led to a PBS documentary being made about is work in 1994 when he was only 21. Frost’s transition to the contemporary art world followed rapidly, exhibiting in commercial galleries and museum spaces worldwide alongside Picasso and Dali.

KRUNK
Founded in 2008, KRUNK is an international team dedicated to the concept of ‘pop-up’ art shows staged in unique settings, with specially-created multimedia backdrops that use music and film to heighten the viewing experience. Blending art and spectacle, KRUNK breaks with tradition, fusing excitement and the thrill of the moment with unique art collections and legendary artists. KRUNK’s Dubai presentation marks the curatorial follow-up to “Strategic Synchronicity”, Futura’s seminal Los Angeles solo show in September 2008. On the horizon for KRUNK is a feature length documentary on Futura, currently in production. For more information about KRUNK, please visit madkrunk.com.

Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Cuadro Fine Art Gallery opened its doors at the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) for the first time in November of 2008.  For this highly-anticipated event attended by over 700 collectors from around the world, H.H. Shaikh Majed bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority inaugurated seven of Cuadro’s galleries, measuring 1,300 square meters making it the largest contemporary art gallery in the region. For the March 2009 show, Cuadro will open an eighth gallery space to house the works of Futura 2000. 
 
Cuadro aims to facilitate an ongoing open dialogue on the multifaceted world of contemporary art: a true testament to Cuadro’s ambitious vision and its dedication to instigating discourse in global contemporary art. Cuadro has been granted the first Contemporary Art Museum License in Dubai.  Over the course of the upcoming year the gallery will migrate it’s space into a museum to house permanent and visiting collections.
 
The show titled, Hadiith contains work by a selection of International artists.
 
Gallery 1: Emerging Talent – Manal Al Dowayan, Chen Jiao, Kholoud Sharafi, Min Xiaofang, Mao Yanyang
Gallery 2: Site Specific Installations – Betsabee Romero
Gallery 3: Wood Collage – Diederick Kraaijeveld
Gallery 4: Handblown Glass and Paintings – Dale Chihuly
Gallery 5: Abstract Expressionism – Alex de Fluvia, Rostarr
Gallery 6: Urban Folk Art – Phil Frost
Gallery 7: Graffiti Art – Stash
Gallery 8-9: Urban art fine painting and installation - Futura

Cuadro Fine Art Gallery
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4250400
www.cuadroart.com
KRUNK
www.madkrunk.com

Thank you to: Angelique Groh | Charm School

Preview of Celeritas at SURU July 12st 2009

The show features a hand painted Barry Mcgee Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle, witch will be up for auction along with all the helmets.  All proceeds go to Riders for Health non-profit organization. www.riders.org

The show lineup of artists exhibiting works inspired by motorcycle racing culture. Participants include: Barry McGee, Joe Hahn, Mike Shinoda, Mark Dean Veca, Audrey Kawasaki, Stash, Futura, James Jean, Jim Lee, Alex Pardee, Jeff McMillan, Troy Lee, Jesse James, Usugrow, Nathan Cabrera, Dr. Romanelli and photographer Estevan Oriol.

For more info go to: SURU-LA.com