New York street artist Quel Beast will have a reception this Friday the 27th from 7-10pm at Gallery Bar for his large, vibrantly colored portraits.
The influence of New York’s rich street art and graffiti legacy shows up in the bright colors and bold lines Quel Beast uses to bring his faces to life. A central theme of these portraits has been the emotional turmoil of struggling New Yorkers, but recently Quel Beast has been exploring ways to render the faces we wear when we’re struggling with more than the daily grind. Almost a year ago Quel Beast began confronting his internal demon of addiction. The insanity of self-deification and self-destruction, inherent in a life run by self-will, is most evident in his recent “Selfish Portraits”.
Quel Beast learned how to paint by pasting both his failures and successes in the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn. He often serves as his own subject, using twisted and wrinkled faces to render portraits that are shifting proportions of joy, frustration, self-obsession and demoralization. The feelings conveyed through Quel Beast’s vibrant colors and bold expressions would make Chuck Close blush. This isn’t your mother’s idea of portraiture.
No stranger to struggling in the city, Quel Beast has been sleeping on a friend’s couch while looking for a job. “I’d much rather make the work I want, than bow to what sells,” he said, “I have friends who show in Chelsea that are just as poor as me; money just isn’t a priority to real artists.” For these reasons, Quel Beast has priced all of his work in this exhibition well under $1,000. “Only collectors and gallerists worry about an artist’s monetary worth,” Quel Beast quipped, “I only worry about being able to afford my next round of supplies.”
The work will be on view this weekend and during the reception.
Gallery Bar is located at 120 Orchard St. on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Swoon - A Peak Inside "The Archivist's Circle"
Old, rare, nearly lost pieces of Swoon are rotating through her new The Archivist’s Circle online, along with small editions of recreated pieces like the first sticker designs, wallpapers, paper cuts,...
Old, rare, nearly lost pieces of Swoon are rotating through her new The Archivist’s Circle online, along with small editions of recreated pieces like the first sticker designs, wallpapers, paper cuts,...
Selected Scenes from the Colombia Diary. Day 3 - Moments
This week BSA is in an unusual location in Colombia by invitation to see a new initiative with Street Artists in an abandoned distillery now being brought back to life with their imaginations and pe...
This week BSA is in an unusual location in Colombia by invitation to see a new initiative with Street Artists in an abandoned distillery now being brought back to life with their imaginations and pe...
Faith XLVII x Swoon x BSA and Her New Print for Heliotrope
Here is the first public look at the new print by Faith XLVII which she made especially to aid the programs in Haiti and Braddock, Pennsylvania for Heliotrope Prints. The limited run print will be r...
Here is the first public look at the new print by Faith XLVII which she made especially to aid the programs in Haiti and Braddock, Pennsylvania for Heliotrope Prints. The limited run print will be r...
Photos of 2023 on BSA - #13: The Bowery/Houston Dialogue Continues
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family for your support in 2023. Picked by our followers, these photos are the heavily ci...
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family for your support in 2023. Picked by our followers, these photos are the heavily ci...
BSA Images Of The Week: 08.28.16
"Back in the USSR" comes to mind as we touched down in Moscow yesterday to see and speak with the 60+ Street Artists who are creating this impressive 2nd Street Art biennale "Artmossphere" just ...
"Back in the USSR" comes to mind as we touched down in Moscow yesterday to see and speak with the 60+ Street Artists who are creating this impressive 2nd Street Art biennale "Artmossphere" just ...