Last night was the opening of RETNA‘s The Hallelujah World Tour, his first NY solo presentation, the first of three global exhibitions sponsored by Bombardier Business Aircraft and VistaJet. For someone that has been following RETNA’s art for a long time, seeing him start in graffiti, being a part of the 7th Letter Crew/AWR/MSK and to see him at a posh NY gallery opening with paparazzi and celebrities in attendance, I felt really happy for him to see how far he had come.
As I was leaving the show RETNA was coming in and he was directed to stand in front of the paparazzi wall. He smiled for the cameras and the flashes went off and then one photographer shouted: “What’s your name?” RETNA coyly smiled turned and pointed to the wall behind him and said: “RETNA”. Classic moment. I wish I had caught it on film. I did however, get snaps of his amazing pieces…
The exhibit was powerful on its own, but entering through a long dark, barely lit hallway into the open gallery space filled with RETNA’s oversize pieces was breathtaking. All of the walls had paintings of various media hanging with backlighting that created a halo around them. All the paintings featured his signature hand influenced by a mix of Old English gang graffiti, Asian calligraphy, Incan & Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew and Arabic. The most impressive of the pieces (or my favorite) were the sculptures in the center of the gallery that spelled out RETNA in his style. I loved these because they showed his roots and had a work in progress quality with buckets of paint, brushes and bottles strewn about and with thick ropes hanging along side each one.
As part of this 3-exhibition project, RETNA will bring his work 50,000 feet above ground by creating a unique work on the tail of one of VistJet’s Global Express XRS aircraft - talk about a sweet ride! The project is set for completion by April 2011. The NY leg of The Hallelujah World Tour is open until February 21, 2011. If you are in the area you must see this show. I wish I could see the next 2 parts but something tells me they will be in far off locales.
RIVERA & RIVERA presents RETNA, Estevan Oriol, Eriberto Oriol, KC Ortiz, Greg Bojorquez, Ruediger Glatz, Keegan Gibbs, Nick Ferrell and William Toledo.
As a multi-generational study of Los Angeles street art,Street Lifeis a comprehensive documentary of the culture and influences of Los Angeles street art. From images of youth tattoo by Estevan Oriol to images of low-rider cruising by William Toledo, the exhibit powerfully narrates the trajectory of street culture as it enters the mainstream.
The exhibit runs from today until Monday from 11AM to 6PM daily.
In addition, please join us on Sunday, January 16th for a panel discussion with Estevan Oriol, Eriberto Oriol and RETNA.
The Jarritos Flavor City Art Contest: “Drink Out Loud” is looking for innovative Angelenos to describe what Jarritos means to you. We are looking for artists of all ages to develop eye-catching works of art in any medium to express the flavor and experience of Jarritos. Each art submission must incorporate the “Drink out Loud” slogan logo and at least one of the eleven Jarritos flavors. (fruit punch, grapefruit, guava, hibiscus, lime, mandarin, pineapple, strawberry, tamarind, mango, lemon-lime).
The judge panel is assembled by Los Angeles residents prominent within the art community: Estevan Oriol of SA Studios, Raymond Roker of URB Magazine, Roger Gastman of R. Rock Enterprises, Stephan Malbon of Frank 151, Amir Fallah of Beautiful Decay, Casey Zoltan of The Seventh Letter and Known Gallery, Mark The Cobra Snake, Retna, Brandy Flower of Hit and Run, Chris Grosso of GuerillaOne.com.
The winner of the Jarritos Flavor City Art Contest: “Drink Out Loud” will have their work published amongst our partner media outlets and formally displayed at the LA Downtown art walk on July 8, 2010. The recognition of your talents amongst the robust Angeleno art community will allow you to maximize your network and artistic exposure to thousands of people. http://www.JarritosFlavorCity.com
