Showing in June at Crewest Gallery in the Front Room is AXIS.
Here is a little background on the artist as well as a sneak peak image of artwork AXIS will be showing during his solo show "RECLUSE":
AXIS (born March 26, 1973 in London, England) is a
contemporary illustrator/working class fine artist who emerged from Los
Angeles’ seminal graffiti scene in the 1980s. He is most noted for his convoluted and hyper-stylized freehand characters.
As a child, Axis moved from London to Los Angeles with
his family and developed a number of musical and artistic influences including Mozart, Black Sabbath, Frank Frazetta, Rick Griffin, Black Flag, Norman
Rockwell, and even Monty Python’s Flying Circus. An early convert to
skateboarding and punk rock, Axis began experimenting with graffiti art in
1985, and joined L.A.’s legendary CBS Crew in 1988. By
the mid-90’s he had cemented his reputation as one of the most prolific street
artists working in Los Angeles. Though his career has largely unfolded outside
of the graffiti landscape, his skate-punk origins continue to shape his
engorged aesthetic and politicized black humor.
In addition to his artwork, Axis is also widely known
as a musician. Having received formal music training
(harpsichord, cello, piano) at a young age, Axis formed Los Angeles
hard-core/Metal band “The Pain” (lead guitarist, songwriter) in 2004. He has
recorded two full-length albums and has toured Europe and the United States.
Axis lives in Los Angeles, California where he continues to paint, and
play music everyday. And he skates when he can.
