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:
A (Brief) Dispatch From Barcelona : Aryz, Sixe Paredes, Registered, and Friends
Post-Graffiti? Surreal-Primitive? Flat-Channel Brute? This stuff is hard to categorize sometimes as the roots are in graffiti and advertising and illustration and communications and all art history- ...
Post-Graffiti? Surreal-Primitive? Flat-Channel Brute? This stuff is hard to categorize sometimes as the roots are in graffiti and advertising and illustration and communications and all art history- ...
Toilet Seats and Mirrors : Gilf! and BAMN Create "TIXE" (VIDEO)
Urban exploring and sustainable art-making are not such strange relations in this new project by Gilf! and BAMN, two of the new socially conscious breed of Street Artists we continue to see. Known for...
Urban exploring and sustainable art-making are not such strange relations in this new project by Gilf! and BAMN, two of the new socially conscious breed of Street Artists we continue to see. Known for...
BSA Film Friday: 05.05.17
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. Stick to It, Episode 1 : Sticky Community 2. Ella & Pitr / Frappés Pinpins 3. Herakut. Nu...
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. Stick to It, Episode 1 : Sticky Community 2. Ella & Pitr / Frappés Pinpins 3. Herakut. Nu...
Horror, Humor and Tiny Interventions from Sara Lynne Leo
Alter egos of the common fiend. Many Street Artists and graffiti writers create a new character to inhabit – as actor or director. New on NYC streets, illustrator Sara Lynne Leo seeks to capture...
Alter egos of the common fiend. Many Street Artists and graffiti writers create a new character to inhabit – as actor or director. New on NYC streets, illustrator Sara Lynne Leo seeks to capture...
BSA Images Of The Week: 09.25.16
We spent one whole week in Detroit, Michigan as guests of the good people who present the Murals In The Market , 1xRUN and the Inner State Gallery. We scratched the surface. Our selections for th...
We spent one whole week in Detroit, Michigan as guests of the good people who present the Murals In The Market , 1xRUN and the Inner State Gallery. We scratched the surface. Our selections for th...