Art Opening: "Crude Beautiful" Tha Black Krayon February 5, 2005

?Crude Beautiful?
Upendo, Tha Black Krayon

Creative Thriftshop is excited to present the second collection from LA artist Upendo, Tha Black Krayon entitled ?Crude Beautiful?. The artist in this series returns to the basics in his exploration of nonsensical language. This is a continuation on the series ?Graphic Poetry? (summer 2004). Delving deeper into his soul-searching journey of deconstruction, Upendo grapples with the concept of yin and yang, the good and the bad, and being born simply to die. ?Crude Beautiful? is derivative of this search, embodying the beautiful struggle.

The mediums and technique utilized by Upendo are themselves described as ?crude?. Unlike ?Graphic Poetry?, which generally had a clean, chic esthetic, this current body of work seems dirty and gritty and almost raw. However, within the context of yin and yang the canvas simultaneously feels fresh and natural. It is in this paradox that the concept ?beautiful? is able to function. The limited color scheme remaining solely black and white re-enforces the birthplace of text. It mimics newspapers, published books, pen and paper; it has a reassuring tangibility to its readers.

The artist?s interpretation of the series lends itself to book making. He sees ?Crude Beautiful? as a title to a chapter in the book ?Graphic Poetry?. The canvas, drawings, and collages are the individual pages in that visual book. The play on typography and color is the substance of its literature. The story continues...

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opening reception: February 5th 2005
dates: February 4th- February 25th
gallery hours: daily from 4pm
location : Triple Crown 108 Bedford Ave. Williamsburg
directions: L train to Bedford corner of N 11th St.
contact: www.creativethriftshop [email protected]