Fabien Castanier Gallery is very excited to present Popadelic, group exhibition featuring new work from artists Speedy Graphito, Ron English, and Fidia Falaschetti.
Speedy Graphito’s artistic universe has always been built on an honest dialogue concerning the role of the image within modern society. Since the inception of his career in the 1980s, his work has dealt with concepts of commercialism, iconography, and pop culture. A student of the renowned School of Art Estienne, he has since cemented his place as one of the most influential figures who emerged from the Parisian art scene almost four decades ago. His reputation has steadily grown during his 40 year career, affecting a myriad of artists by laying the foundation of his genre, urban and pop art through the lens of contemporary media culture. The constant evolution of his work is a testament to the versatility that he brings through his medium. Speedy Graphito juggles between painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and performance. And for the past 6 years in the United States, the artist has invigorated the cultural landscape with his tireless commitment to the visual discourse of our generation.
Ron English is one of the most prolific and recognizable artists alive today. He has bombed the global landscape with unforgettable images, on the street, in museums, in movies, books and television. English coined the term “POPaganda” to describe his signature mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones, from superhero mythology to totems of art history, populated with his vast and constantly growing arsenal of original characters, including MC Supersized, the obese fast-food mascot featured in the hit movie “Supersize Me,” and Abraham Obama, the fusion of America’s 16th and 44th Presidents, an image widely discussed in the media as directly impacting the 2008 election. Other characters carousing through English’s art, in paintings, billboards, and sculpture include three-eyed rabbits, “udderly” delicious cowgirls and grinning skulls, blending stunning visuals with the bitingly humorous undertones of America’s Premier Pop Iconoclast.
Fidia Falaschetti presents a wide range of multi-media pieces that delve into the concepts of commercialism, consumerism, social media, pop culture and the globalization of the mainstream. As an artist with a commercial and design background, Falaschetti creates pieces that are satirical and playful. He combines recognizable icons and characters, reforming them into thought-provoking art objects. His most notable work, the “Freaky Mouse”, is a deconstruction of one of the most recognizable pop cultural characters, Mickey Mouse. He uses this and other globally understood motifs in his most recent work, the “1492: The Totem” pieces, monolithic representations of contemporary cultural obsession. Falaschetti explores a variety of topics, utilizing the manipulation of pop culture images and play-on-words to create his provocative and iconic sculptures.