Red Carpet: ESPO aka Steve Powers

After a long week of lifting, climbing, hauling, painting, and writing; ESPO aka Steve Powers presented his solo exhibition to San Francisco last Saturday. Here are a few flicks from the opening reception, which brought many shining new faces into the gallery. It was also good to see friends like Erik Otto, Akira, Mike Giant, C3, D Young V, Aaron Nagel, and Fanee here for support. Thanks to everyone who came out!

For those of you who missed it, come by before December 3rd to see new works by ESPO at White Walls.

Bigger, Brighter, Bolder by Kelsey Brookes

Kelsey Brookes’ studio is filled to the brim with new paintings for his solo show at Quint Gallery this month. This contemporary space is located in San Diego County’s beautiful city of La Jolla. The opening reception will include live music by The Dabbers and Lion Cut, so it should be a good time for all the lucky folks down south.

BIGGER, BRIGHTER, BOLDER

Opening Reception: November 20, 2009, 6-8pm

Runs through Saturday, December 19, 2009

Quint Gallery in La Jolla

In the words of Kelsey:

“Below are some studio shots. I love the feel of the studio right before a show. The space is cramped with paintings and half finished ideas…..good things happening everywhere. It definitely feels like things are starting to come together after 9 months of working. Its a good feeling.”

Check out more images at Kelsey’s blog.

New Work by Hugh Leeman

“I’m Not Sure What I Think, but I Know How I Feel”

by Hugh Leeman

“This is an evolution of my previous series Recognition from this past August. I’ve used alkyds with my paint and built up thin layers through numerous glazes. My upcoming work will continue to focus on portraiture, though my subjects will begin interacting with other people as well as their surroundings, much of the work will be inspired by old masters in technique as well as symbolism.” -Hugh Leeman

The Final Stretch with Steve Powers

Steve Powers

aka ESPO

Opening Saturday, November 14th 7-11pm at White Walls

See flickr for more images of his works in progress.

We, the reprobates and affiliates at Studio Gangster, specialize in a new artform we are calling post-felonial  art (some of us do prefer Ab-Ex-Recidivism). Some may scoff and say “You aint doing nothing but tagging up the walls” and you’d be right. But what your blinking dripping eye missed was the depth our doodles go to define our lives and how we live them. You aint seen graff this Tabasco since Lascaux,  nor graff so ICE-AY since Pompei. If you want to get down with the Newest School, heres what you do. Grab any writing implement, step up to a wall, tell the truth without hesitating. Step back and feel devastating. laugh at the guy with the bucket of glue, ask him why he’s so stuck up.

Now that we have formed this union of like-minded Post-Felonial Expressionists, we decide to build a pryamid, to point to the past we inherit from the Egyptians, and The Egyptian Lover, and to look toward the future we leave for The Creator, who will return to see how his experiment turned out. She will see the the story of  human achievement started  with a pryamid of stone in egypt and ended with a pyramid of tires in America. She’ll roll her all-seeing eye like she left the oven on too long.

Dinosaurs gave mankind two great gifts – petroleum and extinction

best regards

Your boy ESPO

ESPO in the House

ESPO has moved into White Walls to prepare work for his show opening this Saturday, November 14th 2009 from 7-11pm. Scope out his progress thus far and read below for a note from ESPO aka Steve Powers.

ESPO

First of all, regular viewers of the Steve Powers show know I havent really written graffiti in 10 years. Besides the occasional bathroom signature (a few in 10 years) or the even more occasional legal graffiti wall (1 in 10 years) I quit that writing shit.  I was tired of writing on people’s stuff, and I had done it every way I felt I could, including writing  a book on the topic, so  I grew up.

But ESPO has followed me everywhere from Street Market at Deitch to the present show here at White Walls. I remember that Jeffrey specifically said he wanted to present Barry, Todd, and myself by strictly our government names, but the graffiti back story was too good to ignore, so my name in press release went out as Steve ESPO Powers. Justin Giarla of White Walls recognized the same potential for a good conversation with collectors in the ESPO name, but went all out and dropped the government name completely, and unbeknownst to me, promoted this show as being by ESPO Exterior Surface Painting Outreach. When I see the ad finally, upon my arrival at the gallery, all I could do was make the sound of a tire going flat.

Justin says I’m more marketable as ESPO Exterior Surface Painting Outreach. Ok he sells a lot of work, I’ll let a man do his job. You sell the shit I’m cooking up, just stay out of my kitchen while I’m working. And since you blew up my spot, I’m going to grill the inside of this gallery with tags. if security catches kids going over me, they’re getting  sawzall haircuts.  And finally:

You cant make street if the street doesnt make you.