AMORE ISTEPAN OBSIDIAN
Swiss artist AMORE ISTEPAN OBSIDIAN's passion for art has led him to use figurative art as an expressive medium to tell his personal story through the depiction of subjects that were points of reference during his childhood. The creative process leads the artist to catalyze his feelings and emotions linked to childhood, thus perceiving a feeling of profound freedom. His works vary in color and painting technique according to the seasons: the artist seeks a chromatic and stylistic balance in order to tell a story. For the "Coming Out" exhibition hosted by M.A.D.S. art gallery, Istepan has decided to exhibit two artworks that are part of the all-male series "BOYZ N THE HOOD". The series draws inspiration from the rapper scene of the 1990s and has a strong symbolic value for the artist: on the one hand, it takes him back to his childhood days marked by the preponderant influence of old school hip hop in the late 1980s; on the other hand, the work has a cathartic value, fulfilling the function of bringing the artist back to the present by sublimating his childhood through the reproduction of iconic characters from the hip hop scene of the time.
“When I paint, I am water. Water is impatient.” (AMORE ISTEPAN OBSIDIAN)