SKI Curates Friends in “Won For All!” at Pop Gallery

0
SKI Curates Friends in “Won For All!” at Pop Gallery

This time of the year, many people become nostalgic, remembering earlier times that seemed simpler, bathed in sepia tones. Walking into the Pop International Gallery a couple of weekends ago – fresh from a Swoon talk with Jeffrey Deitch and on the way to the opening of Graffiti Kings at HOWL – it was a surprise trip to the mid-2000s of New York streets when the graffiti scene was adjusting to a fleet of new street art kids on the block.

Fernando “SKI” Romero. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Fernando “SKI” Romero was one half of a graphic team called UR New York at the time with co-writer 2Easae, and they were making their own transition from the street to the studio. In the new show at Pop called WON FOR ALL!, Mr. Romero takes us back to see a cluster of youth who were in his orbit, and if you were walking on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, probably yours.

Fernando “SKI” Romero. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“I’ve known these artists for years,” he says, “Many of us came up together in the art world. They are my friends and family.”

Born and raised in New York, Romero is very familiar with the graffiti scene that made the city famous, even recently curating a show of some graffiti-writers-turned-artists who originally inspired him, like CRASH, DAZE and Tats Cru. After attending Parsons School of Design and selling his own stuff on the street in SoHo for six years, he took a decade to dedicate himself to developing his own deconstructed letter style for the gallery.

Fernando “SKI” Romero. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Now SKI is reflecting on a golden age for his own development as an artist with WON FOR ALL and shows solidarity with a small cluster of talents who have pursued their professional careers that were supercharged by their experiences on the street and around the culture. Here’s Dark Clouds with his patterned and swooping pockets of rain, alongside the graphic output of Matt Siren that hints at superheroes and graphic novels.

Elsewhere the bright font-centric Queen Andrea evokes 1980s teen mag optimism, while Gigi Chen’s formal painting techniques venture into fantasy and photo-realism. In the main window on the Bowery is perhaps the most recognizable top-hatted character, Optimo, another true born and bred New Yorker whose love for the culture is evidenced by a prodigious mass of street stickers incorporated into one of his canvasses. Partnered perhaps in their historical reverence for graffiti writers are SKI, with his sideways blown layers of bright letterforms and gritty graphic cityscapes, and Cerns’ omnivorous forays across realities – anchored by colorful characters that may remind some of the train writers during the 1970s.

Matt Siren. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“I chose these people because of talent, skills, and dedication,” he says. “During the pandemic, these artists were the ones who kept me sane and motivated during a time when I felt alone. This show is a way to bring them all together to say ‘Thank You”. 

WON FOR ALLI
FEATURED ARTISTS include
Queen Andrea
Dark Cloud
Gigi Chen
Matt Siren
Optimo NYC
Victor Ving
Emilio Martinez
Cern
Chris Boss

Matt Siren. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Cern. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Dark Clouds. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Queen Andrea. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Gigi Chen. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Optimo NYC. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Optimo NYC. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Jeff and Lynell at “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Won For All! is currently on view at Pop International Galleries in Manhattan. Click HERE for further details, schedules, and location.

Other Articles You May Like from BSA:

Mr. Toll On The Streets
Williamsburg streetwalkers have recently discovered a new cluster of Mr. Toll’s hand-painted clay sculptures on the streets of Brooklyn after a prolonged absence. His style has evolved a little, addi…

Bishop203 and Laura Lee at HiChristina Gallery All Week: Get your Artfreak on!
Writers, Cartoonists, Nude Figure Drawing, Puppets, and Battlestar Galactica
– you wouldn’t think those things have much in common – although Puppetry of the Penis kind of ties many of them together,…

BSA en Barcelona: Miss Van, La Escocesa, and Reskate! Dispatch 1
This week BSA is in Barcelona to participate in the Contorno Urbano competition to select an artist for a new community mural and residency in the municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat – and of cour…

Faile Debuts “Endless” Solo Show & Artists Talk w/ BSA at GGA in Miami
The opportunity to be inspired by visual culture is indeed endless on the street, which explains the 22-year career of Brooklyn’s Faile, the street art duo who has parlayed their practice into prints…

“We are the people!”, Xenophobia, and Penises for Rallitox in Berlin (NSFW)
“Wir sind das Volk!” and Dildos from the “Confusionist”
Continuing his human sticker campaign, street artist Rallitox has gathered a nice crowd in front of this portion of the Berlin Wall, otherwise …

Leave a Reply