.

The work of Aaron Garber-Maikovska (b. 1978, Washington, D.C.) encompasses painting, drawing, performance, and video—interconnected modes of communicating a vernacular of somatic expression. Garber-Maikovska describes the site of the body and its role in making art not simply as a tool with which to navigate our world, but as “a centralized perceptive sphere of emotional, physical, conceptual, and spiritual inquiry.”

Garber-Maikovska’s performances are set in private and public spaces, oftentimes in chain restaurants and mall parking lots. The artist approaches these cultural backdrops of late-capitalism, post-democracy, and neo-liberalism with kinesthetic investigations—gesture, rhythmic motion, dance, and vocal utterances. These guerrilla appearances that are often documented as video works summon the vocabularies of ‘60s and ‘70s video art in their utilization of minimal editing techniques, repetition, and physical action.

Andy Warhol born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, producer, and leading figure in the pop art movement. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental films Empire (1964) and Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Warhol initially pursued a successful career as a commercial illustrator. After exhibiting his work in several galleries in the late 1950s, he began to receive recognition as an influential and controversial artist. His New York studio, The Factory, became a well-known gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. He promoted a collection of personalities known as Warhol superstars, and is credited with inspiring the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame".

In the late 1960s, he managed and produced the experimental rock band the Velvet Underground and founded Interview magazine. He authored numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. He lived openly as a gay man before the gay liberation movement. In June 1968, he was almost killed by radical feminist Valerie Solanas, who shot him inside his studio. After gallbladder surgery, Warhol died of cardiac arrhythmia in February 1987 at the age of 58 in New York.

Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city of Pittsburgh, which holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives, is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist. Warhol has been described as the "bellwether of the art market". Many of his creations are very collectible and highly valuable. His works include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold. In 2013, a 1963 serigraph titled Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) sold for $105 million. In 2022, Sh

ot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) sold for $195 million, which is the most expensive work of art sold at auction by an American artist.

Arguably the most controversial street artist in the world, Banksy’s works have become a subculture in their own right. Banksy’s political statements and disruptive vision have impacted cities across the globe at vital moments in modern history, provoking alternative viewpoints and encouraging revolution in the art world. His identity remains unknown, even after more than 30 years of involvement in the global graffiti scene. He has worked in many street art mediums and in many styles, breaking down the boundaries and expectations of street art critics. His work includes powerful, often controversial images, encouraging the rapid spread of his name and work across the internet. Today, his iconic works have been re-shared and repurposed beyond measure.

Banksy’s early days in graffiti art

Banksy began his graffiti career by admiring the works of Blek Le Rat. He often recycled the artist’s old ideas, moulding his own distinctive voice and style as he went. Initially, he was part of a graffiti crew in Bristol by the name of DryBreadZ Crew or DBZ. Soon after, he began to partner with Inkie, another notable graffiti street artist.

At the age of 18, Banksy was nearly caught vandalizing public spaces by police. As his crew fled from the scene, Banksy was stuck hiding beneath a dustbin van. Banksy noticed stencil letters sprayed onto the truck, and, as he had been looking for a faster way to paint at the time, he decided stenciling would be his new graffiti style.

Banksy’s works often take the form of multi-layered stencils combined with other media sources. He sometimes includes objects that already exist on his chosen ‘canvas,’ such as street signs and fire hydrants, to turn his work into striking street art installations. His artwork is often satirical, combining dark humor with messages about art, philosophy, and politics.

By the early 2000s, Banksy had relocated from Bristol to London, where he began to gain notoriety; but, at the same time, his international work was taking off. He soon decided to travel to Palestine and the West Bank, where he stenciled nine now-iconic images onto the newly-erected West Bank Wall, including ‘Love is in the Air.’ These images were an instant hit and exploded online.

At this time, Banksy’s silkscreen prints and stencil paintings were racking up record-breaking sales in storied art auctions such as Sotheby’s and Bonhams of London. These successful sales marked Banksy’s dramatic entry into the commercial art world. In 2010, Banksy assumed the role of author and filmmaker for his film ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop.’

Who is Banksy?

Very little is known about Banksy himself, as he refuses to be interviewed and carefully maintains his anonymity. A world-renowned mystery man, Banksy has risen through the ranks to become one of the world’s greatest street artists partly by cultivating in his collectors an urgency and desire to unveil his character. Street art fanatics are consistently impressed by the far-reaching scope, variety, and bravery of every artwork he delivers, but are always left wanting more. This tactic encourages viewers to explore a completely new perspective or idea, often inspiring both amateur and professional artists. This inspiration is also known as the “Banksy Effect.”

A number of claims have been made over Banksy’s identity, fueling media interest. Most recently, many sources, including an entire newspaper publication, suggested he was a Bristol native by the name of Robin Gunningham. Though the prospect of uncovering Banksy’s identity would allow for a greater understanding of his motives and mission, no claim had ever been confirmed. His identity has reputedly even been concealed from his family.

Banksy artwork

In October 2013, Banksy undertook a month-long residency in New York entitled ‘Better Out Than In.’ During this time, he unveiled a new piece of work every day. On Day 13, the artist disguised himself as a typical street vendor and set up a stand in Central Park, where he sold black-and-white original paintings for $60. Only eight pieces of art were sold. The following day, Banksy authenticated those eight canvases on his website, alongside the message: “Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each”. A year after, ‘Winnie the Pooh’, purchased during Banksy’s New York residency, sold for £56,250 on July 2nd 2014 at Bonhams in London.

In the summer of 2015, Banksy opened the dystopian theme park Dismaland in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. Prepared entirely in secret, the project unveiled 10 new works by Banksy as well as works from 58 other artists.

Banksy went on to participate in the designing of the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2017, opposite the Israeli West Bank Barrier. With nine rooms designed by Banksy himself, guests could literally sleep inside a work of art. Originally intended as a temporary and provocative piece of installation art, the Walled Off Hotel rapidly became a top tourist attraction. Alongside the spot on which Jesus was reputedly born, a traditional pilgrimage site, the controversial 700 km-long wall is now a surprising tourist site.

Banksy’s relationship with tourism is a complex one; while he often stimulates it, he also regularly denounces it because of its negative effects. To criticise the mass tourism that is endangering the Italian city of Venice at the Biennale in 2019, Banksy unveiled ‘Venice in Oil,’ a series of nine oil paintings which, when placed together, depict a large cruise ship.

In October 2018, a painting by the anonymous street artist sold at Sotheby’s auction house in London for £1.04 million. Shortly after the hammer came down, the print of Banksy’s 2006 ‘Girl with Balloon’ began to pass through a shredder installed in the frame, destroying half of it. “It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” reported Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s Senior Director and Head of Contemporary Art in Europe. The piece was a famous Banksy print known as ‘Girl with Balloon’ created back in 2006. Banksy’s balloon girl, which was voted UK’s best-loved work of art in 2017, became the first instance of a self-destructing painting. Banksy posted a video to his Instagram account to confirm the move was intentional and demonstrate how he built a shredding device into the large golden frame. The work was then given a new title: “Love is in the Bin“. One less than savvy Banksy owner actually shredded their own Banksy print in the hope the stunt would add value to their investment, but was very disappointed.

In October 2019, another Banksy artwork took the country by storm. Amidst the political controversy at the time, Banksy released ‘Devolved Parliament;’ a painting that depicts the House of Commons overtaken by apes. It sold at Sotheby’s for an astonishing £9.9 million, making it the most expensive Banksy painting sold up to this date. In typical Banksy fashion, he responded to the sale on Instagram with a line from Robert Hughes: “But the price of a work of art is now part of its function, its new job is to sit on the wall and get more expensive.”

In a move that was characteristically charitable, Banksy donated a series of three paintings to auction in 2020, entitled ‘Mediterranean Sea View’, to raise money for a hospital in Bethlehem. The oil paintings were in a detailed, traditional style that had grown more prominent in Banksy’s work around this time. Of course, the stunning landscapes came with a Banksy twist: life jackets washed up on the shore, intended to highlight the growing European migrant crisis.

Banksy’s ability to consistently break and challenge his own records continued to amaze the art market when, in October 2020, Banksy’s reinterpretation of Monet’s famous waterlilies, entitled ‘Show Me The Monet’ sold at auction for £7.5 million. This made it the second most expensive of his works to sell at auction. The piece was part of a series of remixed masterpieces and commented on the threat that society’s wasteful consumerism poses to the natural world.

In response to the global Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Banksy hung a brand-new black and white artwork, depicting a young boy playing with a ‘superhero’ NHS nurse doll, in the foyer of Southampton General Hospital. He released a statement thanking the NHS for their work and hoping that the painting brightened up the hospital. The piece was later titled ‘Game Changer.’ On the one-year anniversary of the UK entering into lockdown, ‘Game Changer’ sold at auction for £16.8 million, with all proceeds donated to the NHS. This price far exceeded all expectations and firmly secured this piece as the most expensive Banksy ever sold.

Banksy’s artistic endevours continue to take him around the world. Artworks have cropped up in Australia, France, Italy, the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and Israel, and are instantly protected and revered.

Currently based in Los Angeles, Peterson was born in Seattle, Washington. He dropped out of high school, became a skateboard artist and survived personal experience of drug addiction and incarceration before embarking definitively on a career in the arts. In 2004, Peterson graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena and went on to complete an MFA at The Cranbrook Academy.

Influenced by fauvist painting, Leon Golub, Paul McCarthy, and Philip Guston, Peterson recalls that his early paintings drew directly on his own background; he depicted psychiatric institutions, life on the street and violent scenes he had witnessed. Empathy for society’s marginalised “other” continues to underpin Peterson’s work: “I am an advocate for people being un-apathetic in the world today,” he says.

Since 2006, Peterson’s work has been shown in the USA, Europe and Asia, including at prestigious venues such as the Palais de Tokyo, Paris. He has hosted solo shows in London, New York, Los Angles and Hong Kong, among others. In 2016, Peterson created Endless Sleep, the first mural ever to be painted at the base of the Eiffel Tower, and was selected design the livery for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild craft (Gitana 17), launched in 2017.

Daryl McCray earned the nickname “CORNBREAD” in 1965 after he was sent to the Youth Development Center (at age 10) in Philadelphia. There, he repeatedly asked the cook to make cornbread like his grandmother’s instead of the standard white bread. Copying gang members, McCray embraced the moniker, writing CORNBREAD in large letters throughout the institution. When he returned home in 1967, he took the concept to the streets of Philadelphia. CORNBREAD’s ubiquitous signature captured the attention of the media and made him a local celebrity.

CRASH (born John Matos in 1961), was raised in the Bronx, New York. He made a name for himself in the 1970s by painting trains throughout New York City. By 1980, he gained critical attention for curating “Graffiti Art Success for America” at the Fashion Moda in 1980, now considered a historic exhibition. In 1984, CRASH collaborated with Keith Haring on a set of murals and his work has since been preserved in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, among others.

CRYPTIK begins Street Art in 2008. Based in Los Angeles, the Korean-born artist creates works of art that explore the realm of spirituality and consciousness. His iconic depictions of deities and spiritual leaders, as well as his distinctive calligraphy style, are visible in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as in Europe, adorning both the cityscape and the galleries.

Long famous for his fine-art work which has garnered the respect, admiration and adulation of institutions, museums, high-profile collections and fans around the world, David Choe is just as competent in front of a camera as he is on a canvas.

Working in multiple forms of media with a deeply engaged audience in the hundreds of thousands, Choe is one of the few fine artists to ever successfully make the jump from the museum world to the media world, with his only two network appearances being the extremely successful and high profile shows Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN) and VICE (HBO). On the former, Choe was a featured guest and on the latter Choe served as both host and interviewer for multiple episodes; both shows went on to win Emmys that year for Outstanding Informational Series, with each episode that featured Choe being the most watched and commented episodes of that program’s season

Previous to these two network appearances, Choe translated his visual prowess for multi-platinum album covers (Jay-Z & Linkin Park: Collision Course) into directing well-regarded music videos for Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, Deltron 3030) and other musical artists. In addition, Choe provided the voice for the lead character in the breakout Sundance Film Festival hit We Are The Strange (2007) and was an integral part in the beginning days of VICE Media Inc.’s transition from traditional print media into more engaging video work where he collaborated on and conceived of two of the company’s most popular Internet shows: The Vice Guide To Travel and Thumbs Up!, the latter of which he served as the writer, director and star. Additionally, Choe provided further essential involvement in the form of composing music and creating graphics, animations and art campaigns for all the shows he was involved with.

His popularity and personality are proven to draw audiences. In 2012, Choe was dubbed “the prince of all media” by Howard Stern after appearing on his show where he went on to become one of the year’s most popular new guests; while a documentary about his life (Dirty Hands) became the most attended film at the Los Angeles Film Festival the year it premiered and further garnered multiple sold-out showings at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

From comics and books, to apparel and music, to films and television- everything Choe has been a part of has proven its success many times over. And just as Choe proved his commercial viability with his fine-art contributions to a diverse list of clients such as Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Sony Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Warner Brothers, CBS, Converse, Levi’s and Vanity Fair, he is once again proving his commercial viability as an immeasurable asset in other forms of media in front of the camera.

David P. Flores is an American artist and product designer. He was born in Tulare, California and attended high school at Tulare Union High School in the same city. After graduating from high school, he attended college in Santa Barbara, California. There he received a degree in graphic design. Soon after, he jumped into a career with the skateboarding industry.

He was first published internationally at the age of 18, creating logos that are still heavily used in the skate industry today. He has worked with numerous companies like Disney, Oakley, The Olympic Games, Medicom, Stussy, Nike, The New York Racing Association, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, Equinox, The Mexican Consulate and The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) acquired the artwork of David Flores in 2006, where it resides in the museums permanent collection.

During his early years in the industry, David P. Flores worked for Shorty’s Skateboards as a freelance illustrator. His work was so great that he became internationally published in the famous Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. In fact, his work as an illustrator can still be found today in Shorty’s ads. In 1996 he moved to San Francisco and became art director for Deluxe Distribution. During his time as an illustrator, he had the opportunity to work with many other skateboarding companies such as Lucky Bearings, Spitfire Wheels, and BlackMagic.

In the early 2000s, David Flores painted a series of paintings known as “Giants” which depicted Giant Robots in the City of San Francisco. Soon after he had an opportunity to design and produce his own limited edition vinyl toys, clothing, and paintings with his unique art style known as “Stained Glass.” During this time he also created artwork from a variety of iconic figures such as Mother Teresa, Mos Def, and Sophia Loren. He also produced art by reworking with other familiar icons such as Disney characters. David Flores’s work became an instant hit in the global urban community, especially in Japan.

David Stoupakis was born in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1974. He currently lives and works in New York. His work, inspired by fables, fairy tales and nostalgic allusions to the places and situations of his childhood, has always been focused on the evocation of dreamlike landscapes and psychologically complex characters often caught in the gloomy atmosphere of dramatic, apocalyptic scenarios. From the first works of the series God is Dead, The Hours and Murder of us, characterized by a more essential compositional structure and imbued by manifold references to the religious symbolism of Medieval Art, to the exquisitely intricate narrative of his other works, David’s artistic production, broadly influenced by the Renaissance Art, has recently evolved towards a more sophisticated synthesis of both content and form. David’s characters and their interactions with their own microcosm can instrumental to understand his creative process and his ability to turn certain memories and anxieties into well-rendered depictions of his interpretation of reality, whereas his palette is and remains an extension of his emotional and intellectual response to the world. David’s work can be found in many private collections, and has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including: “Subterfuge”, Think Space Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2006; “Art From the New World”, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol, England, 2010; “Pop Surrealism, What a Wonderfool World”, Carandente Museum of Spoleto, Italy, 2010; “Walking with These Shadows”, Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, 2011; “The Kindly Ones”, Last Rites Gallery, New York, 2015. His work has also been featured on: “Rolling Stone Magazine”, “Juxtapoze Magazine”, “NY Arts Magazine”, LA Times Newspaper” and MTV.

El Mac is an artistic historian in his own right, capturing the influence of his culture within his works of art.

Miles MacGregor, also known as El Mac, was born in 1980 in Los Angeles. The influence of El Mac’s Mexican and Chicano culture is written all throughout his creations. The use of both bright and dark colors gives him the ability to capture the true essence of the individual he is portraying. By incorporating additional methods such as acrylics and brush on canvas, he masterfully delves into his preferred technique of black and white photorealism to convey the human subject he is studying.

Undeniably, the subjects of his everyday life is what El Mac turns to in his art, capturing the true essence of the individual through the candid moments he is successfully able to convey. The utilization of sepia hues along with a darker color palette gives his work a true human-like quality while also incorporating white hues to give light to certain aspects of the human face. Furthermore, precise shading by El Mac gives life to his subjects, ultimately transmitting a palpable energy through his work that is unlike no other.

What makes El Mac’s works so memorable is his ability to put a modern spin on the conventionality of the human portrait by incorporating his detailed line work. This brings an almost distorted, fragmented accompaniment to his creations, opening the doors for varying interpretation. The importance of street culture is evident as well, providing his audience with an open book as to what life must be like around El Mac. Nevertheless, whether it be through his magazine features, indoor works, illegal and legal works, or solo exhibitions, the translation of the life-like qualities of his human subjects on such a large-scale is remarkable. El Mac’s purpose is simply extraordinary: painting a picture of the simple, beautiful world that is El Mac’s life.

Even though the majority of El Mac’s impressive and hypnotic murals can be found in Mexico and North America, some can also be found in Europe. Some of them have become local landmarks, especially those made in collaboration with American street artist Retna, thus combining El Mac’s figures with Retna’s unique typography and letterforms. The majority of their collaborations have been painted in Los Angeles, though a few notable murals were painted in Miami’s Wynwood Arts district for Primary Flight and Art Basel from 2007, 2008 and 2009. Both artists had several exhibitions together including the latest ‘V​agos y Reinas’ at the Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica in 2009. A book entitled Alianza documenting their collaborative works was published the same year.

El Mac has had successful solo exhibitions in the last few years at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Phoenix, USA in 2016 and at Galerie Wolfsen in Aalborg, Denmark.

NYCB Art Series Presents “LES BALLETS DE FAILE” 2013

I was hearing about the quilts, and thinking about the quilts, and thinking about working on the street with layers of posters and grids, and thinking about collage, and just how these things kind of work together… and it just started. It started kind of a whole new process in the studio working on wood with these wood paintings. And this is a reference point in our history separating our style of work before and after. And that stuff started kind of with our works right around 2000, and later we began working with apple boxes in the same manor. And those were kind of inspired by Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box stacks.

We found an apple box on the street outside the studio and we treated it as a canvas. And that resulted in us talking about piling them up as boxes to create a similar patchwork effect, and what happened was that when we were making them, we’d make like 80 of them, and we’d stack them against the wall as we were finishing them, and as we stack them in these neat rows, it started to make this book casing effect. And we thought it would be really cool if we cut the faces off of these and started making these more modular pieces, and at the same time, we were also working on these puzzle block sets and they all worked on a ratio of like two inches. So when we put the block pieces together for the first time and there were gaps, we started filling them in with two inch cubes. And that kind of that snowballed into like a crazy process that is still going on today. We’ve been working on the woodblock paintings now for about 12 years or so.

In my opinion, they’re beautiful & brilliant. When I was at your studio years ago I was in love with this piece of a ballerina painted on all 2 inch wood blocks presented as a mosaic of sorts. But before all that you guys started out as a stencil artist, right? Or were you originally a graphic designer?

Yes, originally we were doing small stencils in the beginning. And that translated well, but we kind chilled on the stencils after a bit and focused primarily on posters just because you could get more up quickly with the posters than you could the stencils. So we started messing with that. But then when we would travel, we would run out of posters. And so we started making some of the posters into stencils so that while we were traveling we could continue to put up the poster images with stencils.

And then there was a weird thing at that time in New York with like this kind of paper versus paint rivalry thing going on. We would put up posters and be referred to as “paper people” or whatever, and you get dissed by graffiti writers because you were working with paper. So to release some of that tension I would start to stencil the images. I guess the criticism dictated this switch, and it just shows that you could do street art in multiple mediums, and it didn’t really matter which you chose, they could all be effective.

Fernando Leon is a New York born and raised artist. His father Fred 63 was a self taught artist and sign painter from Ecuador. His influence helped develop his understanding and passion for art. Growing up in New York gave him a style and flavor that is unique to his development as a creative. Hip Hop, sports, and fashion are the mecca of his inspiration.

Since 2015, he created Art is Epic as a platform to share his artowrk to the world. Since then, Art is Epic has developed into a brand that bridges the world of art and commercial services.

Gregory Siff was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977. Gregory lives and works in Los Angeles. His artworks are included in Swizz Beatz’s Dean Collection, Deitch Projects, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Soho House New York and the Google HQ, to name a few. Siff’s exhibitions include "When You Were Little You Used to Color," 287 Gallery (2018), “Happiness Dealer,” Samuel Owen Gallery Nantucket (2017), "Portrait of an American Ice Cream Man," 4AM Gallery (2016), Art Miami: Gallery Valentine (2016), “Walls,” Pacific Design Center (2015), Scope Miami and New York (2018-2019), “Matter of Time,” Gallery Brown (2012), “There & Back,” Siren Studios x The Art Reserve (2012). Siff has touched all areas of the art world with pieces on display in the Museum of Modern Art’s MoMA PS1 for Klaus Biesenbach’s group show “Rockaway!" as well as a mural in the ACE Museum for non-profit The Art of Elysium with Christie’s Auction House. He was selected by Vans Custom Culture to be one of their “Art Ambassadors” inspiring students across the United States to embrace their creativity. His hand-painted Vans were on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He has done commissions and installations for Mercedes-Benz, Helmut Lang, adidas, Marc Jacobs with Louisxxx, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, The Standard, Sotheby’s, Warner Bros. Records and Pyer Moss. Painting in a purposeful yet playful manner, his work exhibits meaning that is literal yet open for interpretation of nostalgia and childhood. Capturing happy moments while also tackling more serious topics, like the “Black Lives Matter” campaign, Gregory Siff does not shy away from using his art to initiate a conversation. He creates his iconic “storyboards” with each image representing an emotional or creative state of mind the artist considers to be a meaningful fragment of life. His work has been seen in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Hypebeast, Andy Warhol’s Interview, The Wall Street Journal and W Magazine. Gregory collaborated with luxury fashion house Saint Laurent, bringing his imagery to the 2018 Women’s and Men’s F/W Ready to Wear Line. During Frieze LA 2019, Chateau Marmont commissioned Gregory to paint portraits for their White Cube Gala.

New York City based artist HANKSY uses the streets as his canvas, employing clever puns and turns of phrases to delight

fans and observant passersby. Shortly after moving to New York in 2010, HANKSY began noticing the city’s vibrant street art scene, in which hand painted works of art, elaborate stencils, and detailed screen prints enrich blighted spots and capture the

attention of urban dwellers. Wanting to contribute to the ever

growing movement, but determined to maintain a light-hearted

approach, HANKSY began satirizing British street art legend Banksy

by mashing up his most famous works with references from Tom Hanksy films. His clever remixes delighted New Yorkers, turning HANKSY into a social media phenomenon and quickly earning him a place in the competitive New York street art world. HANKSY’s new work broadens his satirical scope, lampooning pop culture icons like Bruce Willis and Ryan Gosling, while staying true to his punny origins. With HANKSY on the streets, no celebrity is safe.

Herakut is a German artist duo comprised of Hera (Jasmin Siddiqui) and Akut (Falk Lehmann). In 2004 both artists combined their works and names to create Herakut. Their successful collaboration merged their individual approaches characterized by Hera’s classic art education and studies in Graphic Design and Akut’s experience as a graffiti artist – he was part of worldwide renowned the MA’CLAIM Crew along with CASE, TASSO, and RUSK. The result is a unique signature style characterized by imaginary worlds and characters, melancholy and storytelling.

One look and you’ll agree that there is much power and beauty to be found in Herakut’s works of art.

Albeit dark in nature, the imagery found in Herakut’s works is striking, conveying a myriad of emotions through the main focus of their works: the eyes. It is this emphasis on a darker color palette that serves as a background to their murals while adding a vibrant energy to these specific elements chosen to be emphasized in their creations. In contrast to their more recognizable works, Herakut has also delved into the more strict black and white color palette. Nevertheless, the combination of more modern elements with their customary conventional techniques allows the two-person German street artist team to bring to life every single character portrayed in their art at a more relatable level in today’s art scene.

Additionally, the incorporation of poignant messages in their works creates a sense of wonder when observing their art. Specifically, their words take you into what seems to be the childlike, pure essence behind Herakut while delivering a punch to the imagery they provide. What’s more, there is a repetitive theme of both animal imagery and human subjects found in each piece. These images transport us back to our adolescence, a time where innocent imaginary friends were an embraced accompaniment to our creative minds. Yet, one can’t help but notice the darker aspect of these childhood elements. Specifically, the animals are given somewhat distorted, exaggerated features when alongside their human counterparts. With additional repetitive themes such as children cloaking themselves in different animal skins, you get a sense that Herakut appreciates the beauty of being able to take yourself to another world as a child while believing in the power of imagination and the human spirit.

Herakut’s approach to art is also humanitarian, with more than half of their work is dedicated to charity causes. Their main focus is supporting children in need. They were invited in February 2015 by Samantha Robison, founder of the non-governmental organization AptART (“Awareness & Prevention Through Art”) to paint a series of murals in Jordan. These murals were dedicated to working with Syria youth inside the refugee camp Al-Zaatari.

Herakut specializes in street murals. Most of their works are commissioned, both in and outside of galleries. Their artwork can be found across the five continents of the world – from Montreal to Kathmandu, from San Francisco to Melbourne.

ugh Hefner was as important to U.S. culture as any artist, art critic or influencer of the 20th century. Books have (literally) been written about his role as a multidisciplinary cultural touchstone. The popularity of Playboy, which was truly his personal vision, in spreading a cultivated, elegant idea of what it was to be a guy (or, as he would have preferred, a “gentleman”), made what was featured in the magazine reverberate throughout American, and subsequently international, concepts of the cool. An entire book deals with his popularization of the mid-century modern aesthetic and modernist architecture, which became (and largely remains) synonymous with the high-end bachelor pad. He created an archetype, borrowed from 19th-century British men’s magazines and Playboy’s elder peers (especially the early years of Esquire) — pipe-smoking, velvet robe, fine single malt, art collection, jazz records — and adapted it to the mid-20th century, the sexual revolution, the liberation of women and their positive sexuality (which was launched thanks to the Pill), and allowed his vision to shift and evolve with the decades.

It was only the internet, and the universal, free access to naked ladies (most often in a crass, far less subtle format than his tasteful magazine endorsed) that made the bell toll for his au courant influence. While plenty of articles are flowing, since his death, about his role, what is less often noted is that he and his magazine were part of a rich art historical tradition of the elegant depiction of the female nude.

Among the most famous contemporary artists of all time, Jean-Michel Basquiat (who was so hot in the art world of the 1980s, that Warhol felt compelled to horn in on his act with a proposal for a collaborative project) actually started out in 1976 as a graffiti artist. Part of a duo operating under the tag SAMO, Basquiat stuck mainly to writing enigmatic, epigrammatic messages on walls in Lower Manhattan. In 1980 at age 20, he turned to studio painting, beginning a meteoric rise to art stardom. Born in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat died in 1988 of a heroin overdose, but his reputation lives on: In 2017, one of his canvases fetched $110,487,500—the most ever for a work by an American artist—surpassing the previous record-holder, Andy Warhol.

José Parlá is a critically acclaimed, multidisciplinary artist and painter with roots in the Miami and New York graffiti scenes. His large-scale murals, photography, video and sculpture employ a combination of paint, writing and found ephemera in a dance between textures and decay, evoking the collective unconscious of urban environments. Using the backdrop of world cities, he creates abstractions that can appear to be fragments of what he sees in the chaos and rush of the metropolis. His work reflects the ephemeral layers of walls that show a place that was, but no longer is — built over, renewed in some other configuration in the present, engaging memory and imagination with the contemporary.

Brian Donnelly is currently best known as the artist KAWS. KAWS is a New York-based artist who has made a name out of him designing limited edition toys and clothing. He is also a world-renowned artist who exhibits in museums and galleries internationally. His art stands somewhere between fine art and global commerce. KAWS moved beyond the sphere of the exclusive art market to occupy a more complex global market.

Brian Donnelly was born in 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration. After graduating from college in 1996, Brian Donnelly worked for Disney as a freelance animator. At Disney, Brian Donnelly had the opportunity to paint backgrounds and contributed in films such as 101 Dalmatians, Daria, and Doug.

Graffiti

While living in Jersey City, KAWS began his career as a graffiti artist. By the early 1990s he moved to New York City and began to work focus on subverting the images on bus shelters, phone booth advertisements, and billboards. Soon after his notoriety and popularity reached heights never before expected and these ads became increasingly sought after by the public.

Toys

In the late 1990s, KAWS had an opportunity to design and produce limited edition vinyl toys. These toys instantly became a hit with the global art toy-collecting community. In Japan, the toys were a major his since this genre of toys is well respected and widespread.

Most recently KAWS has designed toys and clothing for well-known companies such as Original Fake, A Bathing Ape, Undercover, Kung Faux, Nike, Vans, and Comme des Garcons. In the early 2000s he also reworked many familiar television and cartoon icons such as characters from The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, the Michelin Man, the Smurfs, and even SpongeBob SquarePants.

Famous paintings and sculptures

He has also been highly praised for his work on acrylic paintings and large sculptures. One of the more popular KAWS sculpture is that of a gray scale figure based on the Mickey Mouse whose face is obscured by his both hands. This image was even incorporated into a balloon for the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2013, KAWS’s company redesigned MTV’s moon man statue for their 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

KAWS museum exhibitions include solo shows at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, High Museum of Art, Modern Art Museum, and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. Other international galleries include Galerie rotin and Honor Fraser Gallery. His work has been seen in Paris, London, Berlin, and Tokyo.

KAWS currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Another art superstar who started in the streets, Keith Haring was born in Reading, PA, but grew up in nearby Kuntztown. His father was an engineer and an amateur cartoonist, which likely inspired Haring’s career. Unlike most graffiti artists, Haring went to art school, moving to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). Shortly thereafter, he started working in the subways. He began drawing in chalk inside the spaces reserved for ads in the stations; when empty, these areas were covered with sheets of black paper, which essentially became Haring’s canvases as he began to work out the pop iconography—radiant babies, dancing figures, flying saucers—that brought him fame. He died of AIDS in 1990 at 31.

After ten years making electronic music, followed by ten years as a full time visual artist, I landed a dream gig at Meow Wolf as an Experience Designer.

Being an Experience Designer at Meow Wolf means that my role varies depending on the project. Most of the time I work with the Artists, Creative Directors, Producers, and other stakeholders in a project to help bring our collective creative intentions to life. This means brainstorming, visual development, and design work. Sometimes I work with Creative Engineers to design interfaces and storyboard sequences to help dial in our interactive experiences. Sometimes I make physical objects or images that get installed directly into our exhibitions. Most of the time I'm hanging out in rooms with cool/smart/creative people having philosophical conversations and attempting to make sense of it all with some drawings.

“I’m not a musician that paints, but a painter that plays music.” - Mickey Avalon

While Avalon is most known for his skills as a rapper, his artistic inclination is not confined to the realm of music alone. His fascination with Expressionism, an artistic movement known for its emphasis on conveying emotions through bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors, gradually took hold. This movement resonated deeply with Avalon, mirroring his own approach to music—honest, raw, and unfiltered.

Miss Van, also known as Vanessa Alice Bensimon, was born in 1973 in Toulouse, France. She started wall-painting at the age of 20, in 1993, in the streets of her hometown. She is now considered one of the best known painters of the graffiti scene, initiating the feminine street art movement. She traveled the world to exhibit her artwork though she spent most of her artistic life in Barcelona. Her creations display highly recognizable sultry women that she calls ‘poupées’ (dolls).

These painted ladies are represented in a sensual and burlesque manner as they wear under-bust corsets, petticoats, tutus and sometimes disconcerting animal masks. Their kinky attitude also seems to be directly taken from a Moulin Rouge setting, exhibiting bare breasts, long lashes, red and fleshy lips. So these women are painted in a certain way which emphasizes their femininity and their sexual power. Miss Van uses the hair as a precious tool which sensually hides but also reveals femininity. It makes the woman body sublime as the curves of the hair and the body match in harmony. By picturing semi-nudity and curvy ladies with no top model proportions, Miss Van claims that all women are naturally desirable, strong and proud even in their birthday suit.

Miss Van clearly stands for women’s power and beauty. And although there are few female names in the graffiti scene, she also defends her own condition as a woman artist in a male-dominated area. Her collection of dolls is getting known throughout the world thanks to her street artworks present in South and North America as well as in Europe, but also exhibitions in the biggest cities of the world. We haven’t heard the last of her and her poupées!

MOC, Manning O'Connor, a street artist hailing from Beverly Hills, brings a unique blend of cultural influences to his vibrant creations. Born into a creative lineage, Manning's father, of Irish descent, captured timeless moments behind the lens, including iconic images for the Beatles, while his mother, of black heritage, enchanted audiences with her melodic voice as a singer.

Growing up amidst the vibrant street art scene of Los Angeles, Manning honed his skills alongside famous graffiti crews, soaking in the raw energy and urban aesthetic of the city. Drawing from this rich artistic heritage, MOC has evolved from his roots in rap to redefine urban expression through his street modern art. With a palette of spray paint and markers, he transforms mundane cityscapes into captivating canvases, infusing each stroke with his passion for self-expression and cultural fusion. MOC's work not only transcends boundaries but also serves as a powerful testament to the transformative power of art in shaping communities and sparking dialogue.

Artist Mr. Brainwash (French, born 1966)Born in 1966 in Garges-les-Gonesse, France, Thierry Guetta, professionally known as artist Mr. Brainwash, moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was 15 after his mother passed away. Guetta owned a vintage clothing store in Los Angeles and occupied himself as an amateur videographer. He was constantly filming his life and those around him, amassing hours of footage. While visiting Paris, he came upon the secret identity of his cousin – street artist Space Invader. During the remainder of the visit, Guetta followed Invader around and filmed him creating his street art. He quickly became fascinated with the clandestine art process and sought another subject when he returned to the states. This led him to Shepard Fairey, a famous street artist in the United States. Guetta followed Fairey around for 10 months, taping his clandestine creations. Around this time Guetta was also taking film of many other street artists. It was soon after that Guetta met Banksy, infamous across the world for his provocative street art. Banksy allowed him to film with the caveat that his identity would be shrouded from the public. After taking thousands of hours of video of these street artists, Guetta edited them into a film. After watching the film, Banksy coopted the footage, telling Guetta that maybe he should try his hand at street art instead. He never knew how literally Guetta would take him. Almost overnight, Guetta adopted the personality of Mr. Brainwash (MBW). Quickly, the new story became about Mr. Brainwash’s swift rise to notoriety as he attempted to pull off his debut exhibit Life in Beautiful in Los Angeles in 2008.This was the subject of the Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop. Though some were skeptical, the show came together and was enormously successful. The two week show was extended for three months, and Mr. Brainwash made a name for himself in the street art world. Soon, commissions were rolling in. in 2009, he designed the cover for Madonna’s Celebration album. Since, he has had many more successful shows, including pop ups at Art Basel Miami and in New York City. Mr. Brainwash’s art is a combination of pop imagery and contemporary cultural icons, leading to a pop graffiti street art aesthetic. Mr. Brainwash currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

RETNA (Marquis Duriel Lewis) was born in Los Angeles in 1979. The artist first began participating in the graffiti and mural art scene during high school, when he became the leader of one of the biggest graffiti collectives in Los Angeles. His first exhibition was a group exhibition at the Contemporary Corruption Show at 01 Gallery in LA. He is now a world renowned artist who participates in gallery shows everywhere, as well as ad campaigns for big name brands like Louis Vuitton and Nike.

RETNA is known for his text-based style. His uniquely developed script is derived from a number of traditions including Blackletter, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Arabic, Hebrew, and traditional graffiti. RETNA indicates that he strives for a universal visual language that would be resonate with many different people. In his work he uses a combination of spray cans and brushes (to achieve a more defined line) and explores the line between ‘fine art’ and ‘graffiti’ and all the ensuing power dynamics that come with those broad distinctions. RETNA is currently living and working in Los Angeles.

Kelly Graval (aka RISK) presents “This Little Piggy Should Have Stayed Home” as insinuated political commentary on law enforcement’s presence in certain neighborhoods. The segmented vehicle hovers in a predatory manner, begging the question: “Friend or Foe?” The second piece in the series takes the form of a shark shaped from repurposed license plates, slightly varied yet sharing the same metallic molecular bonds. Its hovering placement positions the viewer as prey. Both pieces, designed specifically for Beyond the Streets, are a nod to Damien Hirst’s Natural History collection. Before shifting to multimedia sculptures and large-scale, color-washed paintings, RISK launched a pioneering streetwear company, Third Rail, and solidified his place in graffiti lore by commandeering freeway overpasses, traffic signs, freight trains, and billboards with his aerosol art. Born in New Orleans and raised in California, RISK is a fine artist, illustrator, and graffiti artist whose name has been synonymous with the Los Angeles art community for over 35 years.

Roa street art

At a very young age Roa remembers wanting to be an archaeologist or something adventurous and collecting little skulls from birds and rodents to draw at home. He grew up in the eighties and naturally was inspired by the American life; music, skating and so forth. The love for music, more in particular hip-hop, quickly joined his curiosity in graffiti. Like most muralists, he began by spraying throw-ups under bridges and walls. During his early years, Roa expressed an active, eclectic mix of styles. At the time, there was not prevailing movement in Belgium. As time went on, the scene’s evolution further evolved as foreign visitors left behind an assorted collection of talents and skills. Slowly but sure Roa became addicted to the nature of urban art.

Roa is primarily known for his strong obsession for animals and rodents. He often combines life, death, and life after death in his murals, which quickly distinguishes him amongst traditional muralists. His animals are painted to include skeleton and internal organs, making the sight even more realistic. The graffiti artist states, “Organs are the vital substances of our body and they represent a lot of the symbolism which I like!” One’s love for animals could not be expressed nearly as much as our artist Roa. This mysterious Belgian muralist has created hundreds of murals through Europe. He has also traveled to other locations around the world.

The steet artist’s preferred forms of methods to paint are by using spray paint or acrylic paint. In fact, most of his work is created through a mixture of black, white, and gray scale colors. At times, the muralist prefers to sketch, especially those large murals. He first began his artistic career by paining buildings and warehouses in his hometown. Nowadays, his distinctive black and white style street artwork can found worldwide.

Global graffiti artist

Some major cities, where his work can be found include London, New York, Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid, Moscow, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Paris. Roa has visited London on numerous occasions and left a large number of street pieces there. His animals can be found on many walls across Shoreditch and more speciafically around Brick Lane.

Muralist Roa’s true obsession for animals is unparalleled and he uses this obsession to paint for inspiration. Roa uses native animals based on the location he is painting in. For example, if he goes to a specific location filled with roosters, like Mexico, then he will paint a rooster. Not only does this make him a standout artist, but his attention to detail is phenomenal. He truly has a pure passion for painting. Roa simply paints to paint- no other reason.

Roa’s work has been turning heads across the street art community by bringing birds, rodents, and other animals back into the consciousness in the areas they once inhabited. Although the street art is generally conveyed in a very natural matter, even his dead animal paintings seem at peace. Not only that, but his extra large scale black and while local rodents may be viewing the image at work from nearby.

Roa’s latest solo show

was held at Backwood Gallery in Melbourne, Australia, in the midst of the Coronavirus global crisis. Entitled ‘Annihilation‘, Roa’s show addresses conservation and the threat of environmental annihilation, and invites us to reconnect to Nature. On the occasion of his Melbourne exhibition, Lannoo Publishers edited the first overview of the work of ROA. CODEX is a 350-page book selecting the famous Belgian artist’s work and dividing them into 4 chapters, each focusing on the continents where his work can be seen: Eurasia, Africa, America and Oceania.

Roa’s anonymity has kept his work and his spirit free.

Born in Glendale, USA . And in 1997 completed on the concrete bank of the Los Angeles River what was at the time the largest graffiti work ever created. In 2002 Began exhibiting his fine art. In 2007 Release of his monograph, Saber: Mad Society Sab

er is an American graffiti artist, and painter working in Los Angeles. The Washington Post described him as one of "the best and most respected artists" in his field. Saber graduated from Thousand Oaks High School and attended the San Francisco Art Institute.

Who is Shepard Fairey?

Frank “Shepard Fairey” is a very famous graphic artist, muralist, and overall artist. He was born on February 15, 1970 in Charleston, South Carolina in the United States. In 1988, the artist graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in Palm Springs, California. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island in 1992.

As a young adult, Shepard Fairey became very interested in art. He soon began to use his drawings in T-shirts and skateboards. He was a skateboard-obsessed art student. While in school, Shepard Fairey held a part-time job in a skateboarding shop. Soon after, he hit the skateboard community hard by pasting homemade stickers all over the place. It was then that he realized his desire and interest in the street art culture and graffiti movement. Another strong influence was his love for punk music, which he demonstrated stencils.

One of the first images he ever used was that of Andre the Giant. Shepard Fairey found this image in a newspaper ad and he chose to introduce it to the streets.

Shepard Fairey is one of the most influential street artists of our time. Shepard Fairey’s work has been used in screen-prints, stencils, stickers, masking film illustrations, wheat paste, collages, sculptures, posters, paintings, and murals. Shepard Fairey enjoys working with the colors black, white, and red. Fairey has constantly shifted between the realms of fine art, commercial art, street art, and even political art.

Famous artwork

His most famous art includes images of Andre the Giant, the Obey trademark, as well as the propaganda poster of Barack Obama. In 2008 Shepard Fairey used the Obama image to design Time Magazine’s Person of the Year cover. In 2011 Time Magazine commissioned the artist for a second Person of the Year cover. His latest cover designing was in April 2020 for Rolling Stone with a portrait of Greta Thunberg.

Shepard Fairey is also famous for his activist and humanitarian concerns and often creates and donates artwork in order to promote awareness and show support. After the 2015 Paris attacks, the artist paid a tribute to the victims with the creation of a poster depicting Marianne, the French national icon, surrounded by the French motto Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. In June 2016, Shepard Fairey reproduced the image as a mural in Paris. Fairey then offered the poster to French President Emmanuel Macron who hung it in his office. The artist also founded in 2007 the Obey Awareness Program, operated by Obey Clothing, so as so increase his humanitarian efforts. This program allows Fairey to support handpicked causes he believes in by selling specially designed merchandise and donating 100% of the profits raised. In the early 2000s, Fairey began donating to organizations like Chiapas Relief Fund or Feeding America.

Shepard Fairey’s work combines elements of graffiti, pop art, business art, and Marxist theory. His work has been seen in galleries around the world and even museums. Not only that, but is often recognized in graphic designing and signature apparel. One of his most famous works includes his portrait of Barack Obama. In fact, this portrait drew national attention to Fairey and his work quickly exploded after that recognition. This poster also received the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Award in 2009.

Shepard Fairey has held numerous successful solo and group exhibitions across the world. The year 2019 was particularly marked by his solo show Facing the Giant : Three Decades of Dissent, a reflection on the last 30 years of the artist’s career, held in the cities of Grenoble, New York, Paris, Vancouver, London, Providence and Los Angeles. The selected works address recurring topics in the artist’s career such as self-empowerment, rebellion, abuse of power, environmental destruction, racism, gender inequality, xenophobia, campaign finance reform, the military-industrial complex, propaganda, war and peace, and economic imperialism.

Shepard Fairey currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California in the United States.

Born in 1961 in the Bronx New York, Richard "Richie" Mirando, known as Seen is often referred to as the Godfather of Graffiti. Seen began making graffiti art on New York's subway in 1973 as part of a crew called United Artists. During the early 1980s Seen began producing work on canvas featuring comical figures and superheroes, using spray paint and stencils. These works were exhibited in both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions alongside Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Seen's paintings talents translated into other arts resulting in the openeing of a tattoo studio called Tattoo Sean, which quickly became one of the most successful studios in New York. Seen's recent works includes three-dimensional sculpture, mixed-media work using reclaimed or discarded materials, and a series of hand-painted, limited edition New York subway maps.

Shag is a painter, designer and illustrator working in Southern California. His distinctive artistic style draws from commercial illustration from the past five decades, but the work is imbued with an attitude and sly sense of humor which is unmistakably of our time. Solo exhibitions of Shag's work have been held in the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and South America.

The paintings themselves celebrate consumerism and consumption on vividly colored sharply rendered panels; the characters drink, smoke and eat in lavish, stylish surroundings. But Shag sees the visuals of his work as window-dressing or stage scenery. He's more concerned with the themes and narratives in the paintings, and the meanings a viewer might find when he looks at a piece of Shag art.

Shag lives with his wife and children in a mid-century home overlooking a peaceful wooded valley, much like homes he paints in his art. He considers Palm Springs, California his second home and is an enthusiastic booster for the city. In 2009 The Shag Store opened in Palm Springs. It is the world's first retail boutique and gallery dedicated solely to his art, prints and merchandise, and has quickly become a must-see destination for people visiting the city.

Slick was born and raised in Hawaii, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to escape prosecution for vandalism and pursue a career in commercial art. It was while studying at Otis-Parsons when he joined the crew K2S (Kill 2 Succeed). His skills developed as an airbrush artist in the ’80s, lessons learned from his formal training at Art Center, and his intuitive sense for dynamic composition built him into a leader on the graffiti and bombyard battle scene.⁣

⁣

Slick’s creation of “LA Hands” has become synonymous with the urban identity of Los Angeles. He continues to subvert iconic imagery to create his own class of pop art through masterfully rendered paintings, commissioned murals and three-dimensional works.

Gagnon was born in Cap-Sainte-Anne (now Chicoutimi North). He was a self-taught artist, who first exhibited in Arvida. He then lived in New York City until he moved to Montreal in 1967 and founded the Galerie des peintres canadiens at the Place des Arts. In 1974, he exhibited at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in Paris thanks to music producer Gilles Talbot and journalist Jacques Ourévitch. He had two other solo exhibitions in Paris in 1977 and 1984.

In 1995, Gagnon had several shows in Asia, including Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur in particular. In 2004, he exhibited in Morocco. That same year, the Pulperie de Chicoutimi [fr] museum in Chicoutimi held a retrospective in his honor titled L’Art du paysage selon René Gagnon.

Rene Gagnon received the Medal of the Quebec National Assembly on June 21st, 2012

He returned to Montreal in 2014 and set up the Petit Musée René Gagnon He remained active and kept painting until the age of 88. One of his paintings is part of the White House art collection

Rene Gagnon's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 100 USD to 2,265 USD