NYC mural video - "Chelsea Jewel"

Here's a video of a mural I painted in Manhattan recently when I was in town for my show at Joshua Liner Gallery. It was on the side of an auto garage in Chelsea. They guy complaining in the video was upset because he had painted something on the wall before and it wasn't there anymore.

This video was made by the lovely and enchanting Kim Hagey.

Thanks to Josh & Tim from the gallery for hooking up the wall, and thanks to David from the garage for the support. More on the way...

"Manuel Lee Chang" - Mural in Campeche

Here's another mural I just painted in Campeche, Mexico for the Seres Queridos project. It's right next to the main public market. This is a portrait of Manuel Lee Chang, known locally as "el Chino"(despite the fact that he's of Korean descent) with his Guacamaya (Macaw). He's been selling handmade wooden toys, knick-knacks and tropical birds for decades. I thought this would be an interesting and important image to paint because it shows a blending of cultures. Anybody familiar with me or my work may have realized that this is an important theme for me. The Asian community in Mexico is not really that visible, and I thought it would be interesting to show Manuel with his Guacamaya, as these birds are very representative of that region. The photo at the end is from when Manuel, his bird, and his family came to see me goodbye at the airport, which I really appreciated.

Gracias a Anna, Victor, Julio, Champi, Mena, y al resto del equipo SQ para hacerlo posible!

Seres Queridos - Campeche pt. II

So I already posted a few images from this wall, here are some more of the rest of the mural. These are some of the biggest figures I've painted so far. This was part of the Seres Queridos project. The lady represents el Dia de Muertos in Pomuch, and the man is a fisherman from Ciudad del Carmen. The other figures on the wall were painted by Akut (of Herakut), el Niño de las Pinturas, and Mr. Kern. All portraits were based on photos by Jorge Borroto. One more mural from Campeche on the way...

Steel & paper

Here's a photo of a train. The guy painted on the train looks just like my friend Jaba. Next are a couple recent sketches- one of the extremely talented Rene Almanza who I met when I was in Monterrey earlier this year, and one of some guy sleeping on the subway in NYC. I think drawing from life is very important, like exercising. Neither of which I do enough of these days. The last photo is of a really cute little girl I exchanged sketches with at a Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal.

two more pieces from NYC show

These are two new acrylic & brush on wood panel works that were in my NYC show at Joshua Liner Gallery. The one of the man is called "Cousin of Death" and is based on a photo I took in Singapore. The painting of the girl is titled the same as the show, "Humble and Sublime", and is based on a photo I took of a beautiful girl named Abby in Hawaii a few months earlier.

"Humble and Sublime" works

Here are full shots of the larger pieces from the show. These are all spraypaint on stretched burlap. The titles, in order, are:

Thien-Phuong, The Merchant, Anais, The Motorist, The Student

"Humble & Sublime" solo show recap

I'm a little late putting these up, but here are shots from my solo show at Joshua Liner Gallery in Chelsea, NYC. Most of the pieces from the show were inspired by photos I took earlier this year in Singapore and VietNam. This was an important show for me. Thanks go to Josh, Tim & Lynzy for helping make it happen, David & Ari for ground support, the good folks of NYC who showed up despite the rain, the collectors who came through, and Kim for putting up with me.

NYC mural - Chelsea Jewel

Here's a wall I painted in NYC when I was out there for my show in October. Thanks to Joshua Liner Gallery for hooking it up & Ashley Vera for modeling.

Checking in from Campeche..

So it's been a while since there have been any updates on here, and I have a lot to sort through so I wanted to put a little something up for now until I get time to add the rest. I've been working in Campeche, Mexico for the last couple weeks as part of the second installation of the Seres Queridos project. The first was in Monterrey earlier this year. This lady represents Pomuch, Campeche, and specifically their unique Dia de los Muertos tradition. I will try and post the rest soon. Also, sorry again for being bad with emails, I haven't been keeping up and hope I haven't offended anyone.
More updates on the way...

"The Humble and Sublime" - short video

Here's a little video my girl put together for my upcoming show in NYC... very cool!

NYC solo show - "The Humble and Sublime"

Here's a flyer for a solo show I will be having in New York City at the Joshua Liner Gallery from Oct.14th through Nov.6th. Opening reception is the evening of October 14th. This will be my first show in the Big Apple and I'm frantically still producing & preparing for it. Below are some process shots of one of my new pieces that will be in the show. It's based on a photo I took in Singapore this summer. I'll try and post some more new work soon when I get time...

Juxtapoz again

The latest issue of Juxtapoz (#117) has a nice big feature on Kofie, which includes an interview I did with him recently. The issue also has features on two other heavyweight talents, Craola and Rene Almanza. Good stuff..

Juxtapoz + "Of Our Youth" video

The fine folks from RVCA just put out this cool video documenting the "Of Our Youth" mural I did in Culver City recently with Retna. Also, check out his cover feature in the latest Juxtapoz:

VietNam

And finally the last leg of the trip: Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. I went there as part of Viet Nam the World Tour. Viet Nam is an amazing place, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to go there and meet so many great people. It was very inspiring. Also, I've never seen so many scooters in my life. I painted this mural by the front of Sán Art independent artist space and the offices of the Propeller Group in the Binh Thanh district. It's based on a photo I took of my girlfriend's grandmother, Kosoom. I think her expression here can convey both warmth and strength. I used colors that matched the surrounding environment, so she's a little bit camouflaged from far away. I took the extra time to try and get this piece to look just how I wanted, which was all the more difficult thanks to the heat, humidity, mosquitos, and constant rain. The light gray letters in the background say "KHCATBTONG" which is an abbreviation for something like "concrete cutting". These imitate stamps of similar appearance that can be seen all over the city. Everywhere. The amount of these stamps that are up is insane, so there must be a fairly high demand for that service.

I also painted at a hip hop event there, where I did a little something using local paint (quality European paint isn't really available there) called "Red Fox". This stuff is very difficult to use, so I have sympathy for the local writers. I had fun messing around with it though. The piece in the middle photo above is a painting of me by a Vietnamese writer named Hoang, who came down from Hanoi (Northern Viet Nam) to paint. I felt very honored! He did a great job, especially considering the rain, small size and use of local paint. I really look forward to going back to Viet Nam again someday. Many, many thanks to Matt, Tuan & Phunam of the Propeller Group for the good times and making everything possible, Sán Art, Kooz, Tofu, and the customs lady at the airport who decided to let me go.