The Sickness

2016

June 1, 2016

June 2016

August 1, 2016

August 2016

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Martinez Gallery is pleased to present The Sickness, an exhibition thati ntroduces the works and ideas of celebrated graffiti writer MKUE for the first time in a gallery, along with a group of collaborators and crews influenced by his style and ideas. The show does not attempt to adapt their work to the usual environment and guidelines of the gallery. On the contrary, it seeks to facilitate and recreate the ways, means, and conditions that graffiti writers encounter on the street, trans-forming the gallery space into an interior alternative that does not cater to the particular interests or demands of conventional galleries. Thus, the exhibition shouldbe understood as an extension of the works these graffiti writers have been creatingall along in the streets. It does not represent a change of direction or a departurefrom their practices, intentions, or manner of work.

The eight graffiti writers whom Martinez Gallery brings together in this new exhibition-project — MKUE, PEAR, SAKE, SNOEMAN, FONSE, MANR, FARIO,and CINIK — come from various places and backgrounds: Boston and New YorkCity, Los Angeles and Montreal, Detroit and Toronto. All of them, however, coalescearound the towering figure of MKUE, an elusive yet legendary and influentialcharacter, whose work has attracted the attention of graffiti writers and streetculture in pre-eminent graff scenes, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.
All of these graffiti writers have an obsessive approach towards their practice and
a shared conviction that graffiti is an essential part of their lives, that the city hasto be more than billboards and ads for corporations, and that graffiti is part of
the pulse of the city. Although the gallery has tenancy in common with a clinic foryouth that addresses issues related to wellness, drug addiction, obesity, domesticviolence and other health matters, The Sickness of the title does not relate or referto any of these troubles or obstacles. Rather, it expresses the creative, relentlessidea, thought, and occupation that obsession that defines and feeds graffitiwriters’ minds.

Text by Octavio Zaya

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