Past and Future Kolly Gallery

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

JONONE John Andrew Perello, AKA Jonone / Jonone156, Founded the 156 All Starz group in 1984 in New York. At the age of 17 he began working in the world of Graffiti with his childhood friend White Man. Jonone first began painting on the New York Subway trains. He soon made a name for his style and created abstract works influenced by movement color, and the energy of the city. His style set him apart from others, as at that time the majority of other graffiti writers were working in more figurative styles.

In 1990 Jonone made his first solo show entitled “Graffistism at the 45 Gleditsch Gallery” in Berlin Germany. Since then Jonone has exposed his works in a wide range of solo and group exhibitions around the world from Brussels, Monaco, Paris, Geneva to New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Moscow.

Warnings Acrylic on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Gwen Le Bras

Jonone’s work explodes with energy and color. He sees his works as ‘abstract expressionist graffiti’.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

TILT Tilt is an internationally recognised and traditional graffiti artist, originating from Toulouse in the South of France. As self declared “graffiti fetishist”, he learned his trade in the streets and on trains as a youngster. At the time he did his first tags on a skateboard ramp back in ’88, his ensuing career has been nourished and influenced by extensive travelling. Inspirational journeys have seen Tilt exhibit and leave his mark behind him in more than 25 countries.

Tilt loves demonstrating that basic and primitive graffiti, it can be as powerful and complicated as 3D lettering, wild styles or characters. His focus on letters, high impact shapes and bright colours is a reflection of his history as a true graffiti writer, trained on the streets and in the train fields. Similarly, his extensive use of bubbly, curvaceous forms relates to his obsession with beautiful females.

Rotten Apple Bronze, Edition of 8 | 82 x 64 x 64 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Kool T

Following classic hip-hop graffiti ideology, his individual styled name is the focal point in the majority of his paintings.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

ALËXONE Paris, early 90’s, the streets of the capital are adorned with strange and special motifs : the Oediperies. Their author, the young Alëxone spits color, writings and unique characters. He has developed his personal technique on other supports than the usual urban places. Always willing to experiment more, he maintains the street spirit.

He has an instantly recognisable style. Relationships of colors, materials, words, atypical characters... The young thirty year old artist oscillates between urban poetry and quiet majesty. His surrealist characters are portrayed in a crazy and colourful world where a sweet craziness exists.

Alëxone’s detailed universe needs to be closely observed and analysed. However, there isn’t one interpretation, as everything is possible. He does more than working with superposition, transparence and volumes; he plays with the different mediums. He creates equally well on high class textiles or on photos.

Cornelius Bronze, Edition of 8 | 45 x 30 x 20 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

LENZ Graffiti artist from Toulouse (France), Lenz founds in 2000 with two of his friends, the SDX Crew, with who he emptied his first bombs using urban furniture as initial canvas.

Thereafter he joined the TG Crew where he perfected his technique. Over the years meeting artists, he finally found his place within the collectives TER and VAO. This unendingly inspired artist experiments with different techniques and art media before turning back to his childhood and pursuing his first love, the LEGO . ®

In 2006, he launched a serie of the famous NIKE Dunk made only in LEGO . Since that day, his work is mainly sculptures and paintings in LEGO , though not totally abandoning his bombs. ®

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Graffiti Is Now Allowed On This Wall Lego Bricks | 120 x 120 cm | 2014 ®

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

GEN ATEM Gen Atem was born in Switzerland and has been working as an artist since 1982. He is a pioneer of the European Urban Art-Movement. In the early eighties he was active as a DJ and Break Dancer. In 1982 he begun spraying graffities on subway cars and walls in public spaces. In the mid-eighties he worked as an artist in New York and got acquainted with Old School Graffiti legends Phase Two, Futura, Noc167, Dondie, Seen and Rammellzee. Rammellzee became his mentor and they had an intense collaboration from 1986 till 1994.

Gen Atem designates his work today as «Meditated Vandalism». He has had numerous exhibitions and art-performances in New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich, Istanbul and Tokyo. Gen Atem founded and is heading the artist groups «Wild Writers» and «Attacking Vandalism Criminals». In 2014 his music solo album «Not Here» was released and a 25 minutes documentary about his work was broadcast on Swiss television. Gen Atem lives and works as an artist and Zen teacher in Zurich, Switzerland.

Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama Acrylic and Inkjet Print on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

MAD C Claudia Walde alias MadC Born 1980 in Bautzen GDR (East Germany).

MadC is an internationally renowned artist from Germany, who has worked in over 35 different countries across the globe.

As MadC she did her first graffiti piece already in 1996, and became known in the early 00’s for her burner walls, with dynamic wildstyle-pieces placed in detailed sceneries, often with themes and motifs taken from fantasy and sci-fi such as dragons and dinosaurs. Already these early works revealed a passion for meticulous accuracy.

19-50 Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Marco Prosch

Her major international break trough came however in 2010 with the production of the work that has become known as the “700-Wall” – a 700 square-meter work along the train line between Berlin and Halle. This painting is most likely the largest graffiti mural created by a single person, and it was finished in four months time.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

MIST It is at the end of the 80s when Mist discovers the graffiti along the railroads of the RER (regional express rail) by going to his school of graphic art in Paris. Captivated by what he saw, he makes his first one in 1988. His paintings in the slightly acid colors and wildstyle leave nobody indifferent. And very fast we recognize him as being a member of writers most talented and respected by the capital. It is also one of the rare to excel at the same time at character and letter drawing.

In 1998 he develops his work of sculpture and makes his first character in volume.

Free Will Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Nicolas Pinelli

In 2001 with his label ”Bonustoys” he edits his own toys. It becomes then one of the pioneers of what we call ”designer toys“, these small sculptures were sold in toy collection shops all over the world. Specialists place him in the world’s top five artists beside Kaws and Futura. Today, Mist dedicates himself completely to sculpture and to painting in his studio in Montpellier where he lives today. His work is inspired by graphic codes of the graffiti and is even well beyond.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

SUPAKITCH SupaKitch is a complete artist brimming with ideas; he has created a universe with Asian influences, pop-romantic and musical, where anthropomorphic creatures such as the Supanimal, who looks like a red panda, a fox and a bird are used as metaphors. SupaKitch composes graphic melodies and continues to explore the concept he’s named “Listen To My Picture”, by renewing the technique of circuit-board. Quite similar to etching, circuit-board symbolizes the beginning of progress in the field of electronics.

This contrast of age, nostalgia and advanced technology is omnipresent in his work. Thus vinyl disc confronts printed circuit, painting a scenery of the current music industry like a real “DJ of images”. Another technique has been added to his skills when in 2009 SupaKitch met Caro, a renown tattoo artist, who introduced him to this technique. In 2010, he has been invited by DCSHOES and the Parisian tattoo salon BleuNoir to participate to the exhibition “Burning Ink” and to tattoo his own drawings on people.

Fleurs Du Mal 2 Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

THIERRY FURGER Thierry Furger’s “Buffed Paintings” and “Schöns Züri” (Nice Zurich) series are shown for the first time in the exhibition “Cinq Salons” in the “Haus zum Garten” in Zurich.

Both series started in 2007 and are not yet accomplished. They are based on the long and intensive examination of the artist with graffiti and its caducity. Is graffiti only scribbling or masterpieces with their own stories, which were generated under adventurous circumstances? Most of the time graffitis disappear after a few hours.

They are removed by cleaning staff, covered by other writers or exposed to nature, wear and fade.

Nobody is responsible for their conservation.

In this way, the writer is forced to learn to live with the emphemerality of his creation. This is exactly what fascinates the artist; his love for typography and for the medium of the illegal art in the public area.

Still Not Serious Acrylic and Spray Paint on Aluminium | 137 x 137 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

SMASH 137 Basel, sometime in the summer of 2008. The trains pass by the sprayed treasures much too quickly that are strung together along the walls of the SBB railway station in Basel. Among them SMASH137 stands out with his variety of styles. Sometimes in a simple gray with black outlines, other times enriched with vibrant and bubbly colors, or creating a three dimensionality through skillful shading, SMASH137 demonstrates his ability to push the limits of his typographic brilliance.

Untitled (shell white) Spray Paint, Acrylic, Ink and Oil Crayon on Linen 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Rüdiger Platz

Who is SMASH137 and what makes his extraordinary style so powerful? Among the heroes of graffiti art, he is a pioneer of highest regard – a title he acquired after many battles. SMASH137 sees his writing as a virus and thanks to the many who are influenced and impressed by him, it developed into a form of viral Writing in the Graffiti Art community. But at some point in 2009 there was a change from the walls to canvases, from the streets into the studio and the White Cube of art galleries.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

FLYING FÖRTRESS Förtress flying between the grafic and the graffiti world, between the small and the big, between the silkscreen and the tag works, the german artist is most of all known for his troopers. His logo represents an amusing bear illustration on both his paws, torn between the cuddly toy and the agressive animal effigy. He always wears a military german helmet from the second world war.

The purpose is to preserve the beauty of the country‘s grafic art in the 39-45‘, putting the contents aside. Indeed Flying Förtress decides not to look at the messages but on the other hand refuses to erase everything. He gets inspired where one could think it‘s all negative. His humorous soldiers are joyful without being grotesque.

The artist amuses himself with variations of these latter, always re-using the basic elements but changing theme or figure. In that way a trooper will transform itself into a pink panther or a Homer Simpson, everything being perfectly adapted to the mix of both characters.

Ohne Titel Acrylic on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

STEPH COP French contemporar y artist, Steph.Cop is the creator of Aro. ARO meaning “Obsessive Reflex Analysis”.

For over 10 years he has used fallen trees as material. Trees over a 100 y/o picked in their natural elements, the Morvan Park.

The obsessions of the artist bring him to create monumental works. In 2012, the 600 y/o giant oak is made, the Aro 5.0, five meters and 7 tons. The piece is now in a private collection. The next two years are partly devoted to the Colossal 8.0 project.

Exhibited in galleries throughout the world and present in some of the most prestigious collections, Aro gives us symbolic allegories from the emotions of its creator.

Aro Racines, 04/05 de chêne, 2012/2014 (demi tête ouverte) Noir Brulé - Shou-Sugi-Ban ( japanese technique), Parc-du-Morvan, Creusevault (France) | 105 / 115 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Jérôme Kelagopian

In 2014, Aro 3.0 Collodi is exposed in the center of a forest in the Morvan in the “Saut de Gouloux”.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

NYCHOS

He is well known for his huge and technically outstanding art pieces in the urban environment as well as several gallery exhibitions. In 2013 he had solo shows in Detroit, New York and Turino, besides traveling the world, painting in over 15 different cities and participating in Art Basel Miami Beach, Pow Wow Hawaii and many other events. He’s currently seen as one of the most sought-after artists of the street art scene.

Chasing Anatomy Acrylic on Canvas | 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Hannes Friesenegger

The Austrian urban art and graffiti illustrator Nychos was born in 1982 in Styria, Austria where he grew up in a hunting family. Getting confronted by the anatomy of dead animals at an early age and being an 80’s kid with an interest for cartoons and heavy metal, it ended up being some of the ingredients which inspired him when he started graffiti and painting at the age of 18. Over the years he developed a distinctive style which stands out - his dissections and cross sections of human and animal bodies are easily recognized. The focus and reinterpretation of dissected motives in a combination of colorful outlines can be seen as his branding.

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

HENDRIK BEIKIRCH Beikirch belongs to a new generation of artists who have found unique approaches. A constant process of his artistic practice is how immediate and large-scale outdoor spaces can adequately be incorporated into interior works. And vice versa, composition and details of the work on canvas also carry over to the outdoors.

As Beikirch’s portraits in public space address intimacy directed outwards, in the interior, they radiate anonymity. These relationships make Beikirch’s work captivating and give it a unique position in the contemporary art world.

Mac Millan Pier Acrylic, India Ink and Spray Paint on Canvas 120 x 120 cm | 2014

Kolly Gallery | Seefeldstrasse 56 | 8008 Zurich | www.kollygallery.ch

© Nils Müller

Increasingly, his works take on a monumental scale turning the painting process into a bold venture. In august 2012, he created a 70 meter-tall portrait of a fishermen in Busan, South Korea, now being asia’s highest mural. Followed by India’s tallest mural in New Delhi as well as the tallest mural of the Benelux in 2014.