“Street Legal” brings you five artists from all around the globe stylistically located somewhere in between pop and street art.
Elmo Hood - A pure street artist, Elmo recently took the art scene by surprise painting a Winston Churchill street art portrait on the most unconventional support one might think of: a rare WW2 Union Jack flag! A risky choice but it paid off in full as the piece not only came out wonderfully, but also sold for an incredible £5400 at the Smile Britannia charity auction held in London at the House of Common last December. Elmo generously contributed a few paintings on the wall of the Duchess of York’s new cancer unit in Southampton. A regular feature on the Walton Fine Arts gallery walls, Elmo Hood is a rising star and a great artist to look out for.
Richard Zarzi - An artist from continental Europe, Richard originates from Cannes, home of the worldwide famous film festival. A glamorous artist in the choice of his subjects (all coated with sparkly glossy media), and having had private shows in London Mayfair’s best nightclubs or at private parties at the Cannes Film Festival, Richard is just too posh to paint on the street, but his artworks at times feel a lot like the forbidden graffiti dreams of the high bourgeoisie!
Dan Monteavaro – This L.A. based artist makes us think: what if Roy Lichtenstein had discovered graffiti? Incorporating mixed techniques such as the Pop Art silkscreen, classic drawing and Graffiti-like elements, his pieces are as classy as you can get and come with a wonderful glossy finishing on top, making them not only paintings but true objects of desire. Not happy with just his regular production he took the streets painting graffiti as Moncho1929, spraying the classic stencilled black silhouette on a unique background reminiscent of action painting.
Robert Hilmersson - “A colourful, symbolic artist with humorous elements” as defined by the Swedish national press, Robert Hilmersson has exhibited his artworks in London, New York, Las Vegas, Stockholm, Budapest, Seattle and Gothenburg. His works were sold to celebrity collectors such as legendary 80’s pop singer Adam Ant of ‘Adam & the Ants’ fame, Swedish business magnate Hans Wallenstam, Ericsson’s CEO Hans Vestberg, members of the Sainsbury family and at world famous auction house Sotheby’s. His work is a juxtaposition of different elements and subjects: colours, cityscapes, graphic design, typography, trash and texture all have important roles in his pieces. Robert often refers to Pop Art (specifically Andy Warhol) but also to Banksy and the Street Art Culture as a source of inspiration. His technical proficiency is absolutely stunning and his works are perfectly balanced between Pop and Street Art, fully employing the strengths of both techniques.
Kaleo - L.A. based Kaleo is an artist and couture clothing designer. His paintings are politically and socially themed multi-media art pieces. His artist statement reads: “I’ve cultivated a style of Underground Art, which profoundly challenges society’s overindulgent obsession with celebrity and its perverse compulsion for consumerism. The creations are about compelling juxtapositions of ironic images. The controversial images of irony clearly and purposefully push the envelope of acceptance creating a provocative artistic statement. However, the intention of my work is not to highlight the twisted collective that we’ve become, but rather to aggressively awaken the senses in order to stimulate human consciousness, respectfully converse opinions, and to bring light to the miraculous beings we truly are”.