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'Remix' Refers to Artist's Works And to Detroit, Where He Made and Shows Them

November 21, 2014, 6:24 PM by  Alan Stamm


This is among the eye-grabbers that a street artist who calls himself "Above" created and displays near Eastern Market.
(Photos by Inner State Gallery)

A London-Detroit connection is visible in vivid colors at an art gallery near Eastern Market.

A five-week exhibition by a UK-based street artist who uses the name Above begins Friday evening at Inner State Gallery, 1410 Gratiot, with a 7-10 p.m. reception open to the public.


The identity-concealing artist holds one of his works at the Gratiot Avenue gallery.

The show of bold, stenciled graphics, titled "Remix," is on view until Dec. 26. It's the artist's first solo U.S. gallery show since 2009, with works created since September at the 10,000-square-foot Gratiot space's studio.

The 33-year-old visitor conceals his name and face (as in the video below) -- a carryover from graffiti roots in his native California, where he began tagging freight trains with "ABOVE" in 1995, a gallery bio says. The word remains his brand.

The spray-painter began studying traditional painting in Paris in 2001 at age 19, adds the posted background by Shepard Fairey of Los Angeles. 

Here's part of Inner State's show description:

The exhibition introduces a brand new body of work highlighting Above’s iconic arrow, which has appeared prominently in a massive public art campaign spanning 15+ years, 100+ cities and 60+ countries across the globe. . . .  Above has meticulously dissected and reassembled his latest collection of arrow and targets by creating multiple color palettes and weaving them together to create new seamless works.

“Similar to how a DJ takes a sample of a Motown song and remixes it with a hip-hop beat to create a new feeling and sound, my intention for Remix is to take the straight structure of the arrow and remix it with curvaceous wood cuts and contrasting color combinations, all while maintaining the uniformed integrity of the line,” Above said while working in at the Inner State gallery studio space in Detroit’s Eastern Market. “My process for these works puts an emphasis on interchanging methodically cut wood in an organized, curved composition while keeping the iconic arrow structure at the forefront.” 

The creator, who doesn't disclose his real name, says the collection is called "Remix" partly because he reworks arrow-target themes and partly because he sees "a large remix of the city, both positive and negative," since his first visit in 2004.

"Detroit, as well as this body of work, are both growing and expanding into new dynamic directions,” the gallery site quotes him as saying.


Read more:  Inner State Gallery


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