Be.BIKE Presents: "The Shift Exhibition"
In association with Dream So Much
It is widely believed that a bike messenger, TAKI 183, was
the founder of the modern graffiti movement. To this day, bicycles and contemporary street art-encompassing everything from
graffiti tags and throws to vinyl stickers and wheatpaste posters-go hand-in-hand as two primary signifiers of the modern city.
One a mode of transportation, the other a trace of everyday urban existence. Both delineate mobility and the movement and
ephemeral energy of the urban environment. Just as bikes are all-terrain, so is graffiti art, finding its way into the highest
reaches and shadowed alleys of the city landscape.
Shift is an exhibition of eight custom-designed Be.BIKE bicycles by eight highly-acclaimed graffiti-influenced artists:
FUTURA, HAZE, KAWS, KENJI HIRATA, MATZU MTP, MISK, SKWERM, and STASH. Each bike has been altered completely to represent
the artist's vision. Shift brings together a representation of the historical expanse of street art, from the 1970s to the
present. It investigates the blurred boundaries of art and the quotidian sublime within design and urban life. Production
of each artist's edition is limited to 100 units. The exhibition will be accompanied by a video installation by REID VAN RENESSE.
The exhibition is located at the Supreme Trading NY Gallery
at 213 N. 8th St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Opening party is December 9, 2004, from 7 pm to 9 pm. All the artists
are expected to attend, as Haze and Misk are being flown from California just for the event. The Shift Exhibition
will run through December 23, 2004. It is being sponsored by Be.BIKE, Scion, Altoids, amNew York, and Freshnessmag.com.
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About the Artists
FUTURA can be considered nothing less than the godfather of the modern street art movement.
He began writing graffiti in the 1970s and quickly moved into the gallery with solo exhibitions at
Tony Shafrazi and Fun Gallery. In the '90s, his work as a designer for London's Mo'Wax record label
propelled him to a career in product and clothing design. In 2000, Futura joined forces with Stash (
see bio below) to open three Recon boutiques (New York, San Francisco, Tokyo) and startup the Project
Dragon clothing line. He is the single most influential street artist of his time. Urban-influenced art
and design begins and ends with Futura.
HAZE began writing graffiti in 1972, tagging subway trains at the dawn of New York Cityıs graffiti
movement. Since starting his own design studio in NYC in the 80s, he has devoted himself over the last
three decades to creative works ranging from graphic art, painting and product design. He has created
album covers for the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J., his own clothing line, and limited edition products
for clients including Honda Motorcycle, Nike, and Casio G-Shock. Even more amazing is the fact that
over 20 years after Haze became a graffiti legend in New York, he has now reached a worldwide audience,
and his fame and popularity continues to grow on an international level. For more info, see
www.interhaze.com.
KENJI HIRATA was one of only four artists recently selected by Absolut vodka to design its Raspberri
ad campaign. Kenji combines traditional Japanese and South East Asian iconography and Buddhist themes with
the color and energy of science fiction and graffiti. His message is one of optimism, and he believes that
creativity is especially important in times of overwhelming strife. In addition to his solo work, Kenji is
a member of the legendary Barnstormers collective.
KAWS Bio unavailable.
MATZUMTP has seen his career take off in 2004. Just three years removed from Japan, the young
artist has had solo exhibitions at The Reed Space and Levi's Gallery, both in New York City. He has
also participated in the dream so much 2 and Street Wise 3 group shows. MatzuMTP applies Japanese techniques
and sensibility to his paintings. This includes his use of Japanese calligraphy brush strokes and a traditional
Japanese color palette and application of negative space. Together, the three elements evoke a tension and sense
of melancholy, but one that is not entirely without hope.
MISK began experimenting with three-dimensional graffiti writing about five years ago. Already known for
his vibrant wildstyle works-revealing influences from Skrew, Crayone, and Neon-he added light drop shadows and
shading to the letters to create what he now calls Surreal Typography. MISK's incredible works flirt around the
logic of dimension. "The perspectives are so tweaked," he says about the style, "that creating them as sculptures
would be really tricky without jeopardizing the design." MISK has exhibited at the MoMA in San Francisco, and his
designs have appeared on products by Infinity Snowboards, Levi's Silvertab, Nike/Foot Locker, and Xbox.
DAVID ELLIS has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He works in Film/Video,
Public Work, Painting, Sculpture and Music. In addition to creating his own singular work, Ellis is founder
of the talented collaborative "Barnstormers". He is currently an artist in resident at Dumbo's Smack Mellon
in New York. Ellis's work has been reviewed in Art Asia Pacific, Art Forum, Flash Art, NY Times, The Fader,
Mass Appeal, Tokion Magazine, Creative Review, and Res magazine. In 2004 Ellis exhibited at Lump gallery
and SECCA in North Carolina, Urbis Museum, Manchester, and The Contemporary Museum, Hawaii. His "Paint on Trucks"
video projection ran for 6 months at the Museum of Modern Art. David Ellis currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
STASH first exhibited his works on canvas in 1982 at New York City's Fun Gallery-a mere three years
after he tagged his first wall. From 1980 to 1987, Stash established himself as one of the great graffiti
writers of the period and was featured in the classic graffiti book "Spray Can Art". In 1987, he quit subway
writing to focus on fine art and design. With Futura, Stash founded the Project Dragon label (1997),
opened Recon, and held solo and group shows all over the world, including Deitch Projects (NYC), Rocket
Gallery (Tokyo), and most recently at Elms Lester Gallery (London). His art is a collective homage to the
spray can movement, and his name is synonymous with the expansion of graffiti art into the modern urban
consciousness through fine art, clothing design, and entrepreneurship.
REID VAN RENESSE is the director of "Dithers", a documentary on contemporary artists and designers.
There are four themes that remain a constant throughout Reid's life: Music, Motion, Art, and Adventure.
The majority of his teen years were occupied with skateboarding, graffiti, NY hardcore and hip hop.
After graduating from SUNY Purchase with a BFA, Reid worked a number of different jobs in NYC, such
as bike messenger, screen printer, DJ, and later as a wilderness guide for troubled teens in the
high deserts of Southern Utah and northern New Hampshire. It was during these years that Reid concentrated
more on photography, eventually inspiring him to combine his visual captures with his love of music and
motion. Reid later worked as a videographer, and eventually a producer, for an outdoor adventure-sports
television channel in Lake Tahoe, CA. He lives in Brooklyn, working as a freelance producer, shooting and
editing various commercial and independent projects.
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About Dream So Much
"Dream so much is the pretty name of a New York-based artists' collective dedicated to helping emerging
urban talent gain exposure. Its founding members are Richard S. Chang and Alexandra Chang, a bright young
brother-and-sister team; he is a writer, she a filmmaker." - Holland Cotter, The New York Times, Dec. 26, 2003.
RICHARD CHANG has written both fiction and non-fiction piece for publications, including The New York Times,
Columbia: Journal of Literature and Art, The Tulane Review, and AutoWeek. He has previously written on
graffiti art and street culture.
ALEXANDRA CHANG is a filmmaker and the features editor at amNew York. She has written articles for Art Asia
Pacific and catalogue essays and will be curating the exhibition "Breaking the 4th Wall: Hors Cadrage"
at Ise Foundation in February 2005. Her documentary film, "The Indelible Line: Asian American Art" will be
finished in 2005.
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Be.BIKE Presents: "The Shift Exhibition"
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DREAM SO MUCH 2
A visual art exhibition featuring
Dalek, Misk, Kenji Hirata, and MatzuMTP. Dream So Much 2 Artist books still available.
For more information
Click Here.
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DREAM SO MUCH 2 ARTISTS BOOKS
NOW AVAILABLE
32 Pages; Full Color; Glossy;
Dimensions: 9 in. x 9 in.
Art by Dalek, Misk, MatzuMTP, and Kenji Hirata
Forward by Franklin Sirmans
Essays by Co-curators Richard S. Chang & Alexandra Chang.
Limited Edition of 1,000.
More Info.
$12 (Postage Paid)
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