Phil Frost is a contemporary American artist. The artist works with subjects and designs representing the urban culture of America. The artist enjoys working with the face and paints it in a way that incorporates tribalism and masks.
Frost is a self taught artist who began writing on walls and making graffiti.
In many works Frost includes a totem pole.
Below we visit a show that features Barry McGee, already covered on my other website, and Phil Frost. Frost’s work is shown at the 1:10 part of the clip:
His creative process includes beginning with a black and white image, and then layering colorful found images on top.
Price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $125,000. Frost works in oils, acrylics, collage, pen and ink, and enamel with many works containing a mixture of these mediums.
We close by visiting another show featuring the work of Phil Frost:
James Reka is a contemporary Australian illustrator and painter. The artist was inspired by the graffiti and street art he saw growing up in Melbourne, Australia. Reka is a self-taught artist.
In this clip we view another interview with the artist discussing a large mural he painted in San Francisco. This clip is from 2013:
Of the many artists profiled here Reka reminds me of Barry McGee. Both artists create characters which are very animated and full of life. Its also great to see the face and figure with such abstract shapes.
Damon Ginandes is a remarkable mixed media artist renown for his work with the face and figure. In his mixed media works he often uses a wide ranging mix of materials including acrylics, wood, plastic, wire, and concrete.
Ginandes works as a painter, sculptor, and draftsman. He has done several installations in and around New York City featuring his ageless and anonymous faces.
Below a great feature on the work of Damon Ginandes:
Price range information: Sorry none available.
The artist is based out of New York City.
The artist reminds me a great deal of American artist Barry McGee. McGee also enjoys working with caricatures of very emotional and expressive human faces.
Jason Jagel is a wonderful artist who works with very animated characters and is a highly successful commercial artist.
Jason Jagel was born in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1971. For his artistic education Jagel attended the California College of Arts and Crafts located in Oakland, California where he earned a bachelors of fine arts degree. Jagel went on to earn a masters degree from Stanford University.
In this clip a few works of Jagel are shown, but we also hear from the artists himself about his thoughts on drawing and creating:
Jagel is part of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is also based out of San Francisco.
Jagel has worked with hip hop artist Madlib on an album cover. Jagel has also been featured in many national magazines including Juxtapose.
If you enjoy the work of Jason Jagel be sure and check out my post on Barry McGee, also known as the street artist Twist, who also works with similar highly animated characters.
Barry McGee is a wonderful street painter who uses the tag “Twist” was born in 1968 in the city of San Francisco, California. For his collegiate studies McGee earned a bachelors of fine arts in painting and printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute.
This clip is from a show given for a mid career retrospective featuring Barry McGee.
Our friends from the public broadcasting system and their wonderful program Art21 made this clip in which “Twist” talks about tagging, its history in general and also with the artist. A great feature in this clip is around 3 minutes in where Twist recreates the street/ graffiti artists as they make their “crime.” I hadn’t given it enough thought, but just the positions these artists get in to make their pictures is amazing!
In this last clip we view a great montage of works by the artist. We get a chance to see how great McGee is at portraying emotions.
Has worked with his cartoon characters on items such as skateboards.
Price range information: McGee works in a variety of mediums including acrylics which range $4,000 to $65,000. The artist has also worked in oils which range $10,000 to $60,000. Mixed media works range $5,000 to $60,000. This would be his art done on liquor bottles and other found materials. Many times instead of painting with acrylics Twist will use enamel paints.
Has completed several murals and other large sized public commissions.
A main theme for McGee is a pessimistic view of the world that doesn’t really care about the individual, but rather just looks to exploit their addictions view a mass corporate advertising campaign.
Was included in the Venice Biennale in 2001. This brought the artist much fame and media attention. As a result many of his public works found on the streets of the Bay area have been stolen or scavenged! Even when not in galleries your art can be stolen!
Sadly the artist has lived through a traumatic event. He was married to an artist named Margaret Kilgallen. She was pregnant and was found to have breast cancer. She kept the baby and didn’t undergo chemotherapy during the pregnancy. Just 3 weeks after having the baby named Asha, Kilgallen and the wife of the artist passed away in 2001. The couple did some collaborations and both artists were vital parts of the San Francisco Street art movement.
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