1AM SF » EIGB

Vogue: From BMX to TDK

1:AM — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:11:00 +0000

With his current solo exhibition at 1AM running until May 1, Vogue’s history comes to life through his amazing spraycan art. To get a little more in depth on some of his amazing SPRAYCAN ONLY BMX pieces, we caught up with the man himself.

“I started riding bikes at an early age with my friends. At that time, BMX was completely new in all aspects since freestlye had just began. It took hold of us and had us going out to the streets to perfect the things we were absorbing through the magazines. As time went by, I went to Golden Gate Park every Sunday for years and immersed myself with other kids that wanted to master this freestyle craze as well. The freestyle scene had blown up and eventually I started traveling to and competing in freestyle competitions.”

“As the growing pains of life continued, I began looking towards my future and college and immersed myself into my art career. BMX riding exposed me to the urban culture surrounding the city and helped the artist inside me to pick up a can and immerse myself in the graffiti culture. Having the best of both worlds, I would ride the streets and stop to create street art. With the beginning of my art career, I didn’t stop riding. I kept riding with my friends to release the competitiveness inside of me. My life, at that time, was completely absorbed by riding and painting.”

“I can’t pinpoint when or what changed in my life to lead me to embrace graffiti and stop riding the streets. Most likely it was the deeper and growing connection I had with art which overcame my passion for BMX freestyle. At that moment in life, I made the commitment to take the competitiveness I had inside from riding and fully redirect it to the walls. I’ve never looked back since. I enjoyed a good decade of freestyle BMX riding which connected me to a lot of friends that I still have to this day. I love bikes and they are an important part of me and my art.”

Vogue

Street Dreams are made of this

1:AM — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:59:26 +0000

From the streets to 1AM gallery, Vogue has elevated the bar for spray can art. If you haven’t seen his street and gallery works, you need to come down to 1AM gallery and witness both. With Vogue’s solo exhibition at 1AM and two amazing streetside productions nearby, we still can’t get enough.

Vogue’s exhibition brings glimpses of his life to the viewer using only spray cans.

Nothing lasts forever, so make sure to get up close and personal before its gone. If you’d like to view the purchase the remaining artwork, please visit us at store1amsf.com.

THE WINNER CIRCLE

1:AM — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:20:02 +0000

As we have been pluggin’ all month, Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle finals were this past Saturday. Dan brought the new Graffiti New York and the collector book Graffiti LA to the event to sell at our booth. Jim Prigoff and Steve Grody were on hand signing the books and sharing their knowledge on the evolution of street art. We still got some copies at the gallery so come on by, pick up your copy today, and be knowledgeable on how street art started.

With approximately 2000+ people in attendance, Estria, Bam and the gang did a good job putting the event together. We were lucky enough to be placed right by where Vogue and Katch were painting. To have front row seats, watch these guys for 4 hours and see their vision unfold was awesome. Armed with the word “Grow” and their imagination, here are pictures of the winning pieces:

1ST PLACE WINNER – Vogue

He killed it during the battle and our “Ode to the Spray Can” exhibition (sold every one of his canvases and he has gained fans for life). He has become one of our favorite artists. His street style is dope, his canvases are sick, and he is one chill cat. OG representin’ all day. We can’t wait to see what he has in stored for us in our anniversary show “Eternal Sleep“.

2ND PLACE WINNER – Katch

Katch is nasty… in a good way. Heralding from Hawaii, he brought some of the natural island flava with him when he battled. We have one more of his pieces left (pictured below…he sold all of his other ones) from the “Ode to the Spray Can” show. If you or you know someone who is interested, hit us up at info@1AMSF.com.

For more pictures of the battle, visit our flickr.

Check out Vogue’s latest works this Friday, October 16th at our “Eternal Sleep” show!

BOMBIN’, TALKIN’, STYLIN’

1:AM — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:22:26 +0000

Last night, 1:AM gallery hosted Estria’s “Can Film Festival”, one of his events leading up to his Invitational Graffiti Battle tomorrow at deFremery Park, Oakland. We kicked off the night with “Bomb It!”, grabbed food from Adobo Hobo and Brazilian Bites, discussed intellectually about graffiti’s impact on society, talked about underground vs. mainstream, and then ended the night with “Style Wars”. Here are pictures from the event:

The audience

The panel (L-R) Erin Yoshi, Kev Epps, Dr. Susie Lundy, Estria, Jeff Chang

Dan, Josue, and Rios choppin it up

Q&A with Estria and Jeff Chang

Doves givin' love to the kids in SOMA

Many thanks to Jeff Chang, Dr. Susie Lundy, Kev Epps, Erin Yoshi, Estria, Doves, Adobo Hobo and Brazilian Bites!

MEET THE PANEL

1:AM — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:48:33 +0000

The Can Film Festival is tonight at 1:AM Gallery. In between the showing of “Style Wars” and “Bomb It!”, there will be an open discussion panel talking about keeping graffiti real and how graffiti influences social changes. The panel consists of the following five people who are experts in the urban arts:

1. Dr. Susie Lundy:

A graffiti historian, b-girl, deejay, educator, and muralist.

2. Erin Yoshi:

A painter, photographer, muralist and rider with the Trust Your Struggle Collective. Her artwork is a reflection of the struggle within our neighborhoods, communities, the paradigms of social justice and youth empowerment.

www.erinyoshi.com

3. Kevin Epps:

Creator of the documentary “Straight Outta Hunter’s Point”, which won local and national acclaim, and established him as a leader in digital, independent film and new media. A boardmember of San Francisco Black Film Festival, and have have partnered with governmental and corporate entities such as: Golden Gate National Parks, Yahoo, Google, Discovery Channel, Boys and Girls Club, City of Richmond, Current TV, and other well known organizations.

http://blackalcatraz.com/

4. Estria:

He has served the community through his non-profit cultural work for over 28 years. Estria’s life work has been to build and advance community through mural projects. He is the co-founder of Estria’s Invitational Graffiti Battle.

www.estria.com

MODERATOR: Jeff Chang

Author of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop. The book garnered many honors, including the American Book Award and the Asian American Literary Award. In 2007, he interviewed Barrack Obama for the cover of Vibe.

www.cantstopwontstop.com

STREET FOOD VENDORS: Adobo Hobo (serving chicken and vegetable adobo) and Brazilian Bites (specializing in moqueca)

The Can Film Festival starts at 5:30pm… If you can’t make it that early, make sure that you don’t miss the panel discussion at 7:30pm!

EIGB – RUBEN AGUIRRE

1:AM — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:56:00 +0000

Ruben Aguirre Jr. was visiting from Chicago this past week and he passed by 1:AM gallery yesterday. Since they were just visitors to the Bay, I asked him and his friend what they thought. They said that the weather here was crazy and that they loved Oakland because it was warm. That of course was their opinion before visiting the gallery (right, guys?). Last week to check out his work at the gallery or if you don’t have time to pass by, visit our flickr to see his art.

In the Bay but Ruben still reppin' Chi-town.

Ruben’s Bio:

Ruben Aquirre Jr. is a Chicago based multimedia artist who describes his work as being a “visual slap upside the head.” Often times, his work reminds us of the strength irony carries within, to offer change and/or contemplation regarding our perceptions of the universe. Visit his website.

“Don’t Sweat the Technique: Ode to the Spraycan” exhibit at 1:AM gallery through October 10th, 2009.

EIGB – MARCIAL CRUZ

1:AM — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:57:47 +0000

Marcial Cruz’s style has strong influences from chicano gangs, lowrider culture and tattoo art. He started developing his unique style 14 years ago when he started bombing in Phoenix, Arizona. Marcial currently works at a local San Francisco tattoo shop and you can find him in the recent published booksof Bay Area Graffiti and Mission Murals.

A couple of his pieces are still available. He priced them reasonably at $100 each. Come by the gallery or check it out on our flickr.

“Don’t Sweat the Technique: Ode to the Spraycan” exhibit at 1:AM gallery through October 10th, 2009.

MR. PRIGOFF

1:AM — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:52:54 +0000

Estria’s Invitational Graffiti Battle is next week on Saturday October 10th! And 1:AM gallery is going to be there. Our booth will be hosting the book signing of Graffiti New York and Graffiti LA with James Prigoff and Steve Grody.

James Prigoff started his quest of documenting aerosol art, aka graffiti, back in the ’70s. He witnessed the evolution of graffiti from its’ birth to where it is today. He has the largest graffiti photography collection known. Prigoff might not be an artist or a writer but he is a pinnacle in the street arts movement. With his words and photographs, he has let graffiti grow and keeps it moving forward. His latest book Graffiti New York tells the story of how the graffiti movement began. Here is a summary (from Amazon):

Decades after the movement globalized, New York is still the mecca of graffiti culture. Painting there is a badge of honor, with graffiti artists from around the globe making pilgrimages to New York for that purpose. This is the city where it all began, yet few know the back story.

Graffiti New York fills that gap, detailing the concepts, aesthetics, ideals, and social structures that have served as a cultural blueprint for graffiti movements across the world. The book features approximately 1,000 images, complemented by texts by the authors and relevant players in the movement, as well as descriptive graphics and sidebars. Ranging from the birth of simple signature tags to today’s vibrant murals, and covering the ups and dows of the movement, the culture’s value system, its social framework, the various forms of graffiti, and significant artists and crews, Graffiti New York is a major addition to Abrams’ superb books of graffiti art.

At 1:AM’s booth, this will be the first book signing for Graffiti New York (it just came out yesterday, Oct 1st!). So, make sure that you make your way to Estria’s Invitational Battle at deFremery Park (Little Bobby Hutton) in Oakland next Saturday (Oct. 10th), visit 1:AM’s booth, buy some books, and have the famous James Prigoff and Steve Grody (author of Graffiti LA) sign it!

THE CAN FILM FESTIVAL

1:AM — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:14:28 +0000

In addition to “Don’t Sweat the Technique: Ode to the Spraycan”, 1:AM gallery and Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle bring you a night of films, thoughtful discussions, and street food. On October 8th, from 5:30 – 9:30pm, we will be showing “Bomb It!” and “Style Wars”. In between the two films we will be conducting a panel discussion, but not limited to, about the evolution of graffiti, from the streets into galleries, street art’s place in our city and society, styles, and awesome murals around the city. The panel discussion topics are based on the participants and contributors, that means whatever YOU want to talk about! We are open and encourage anyone and everyone to bring up any topics that relate to graffiti. The forum will be moderated by Jeff Chang, the author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, a history of hip-hop generation, and he also writes for hip-hop publications like Vibe magazine where he has interviewed President Obama. (Check out Jeff’s website)

The night starts at 5:30pm. Adobo Hobo and Brazilian Bites will be there, perfect to satisfy your appetite while you watch the movies. If you cannot make it at 5:30, make sure you don’t miss the graffiti panel discussion at 7:30pm!!!

Don’t forget that Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle finals are on October 10th at deFremery Park in Oakland! For more information, visit www.estriabattle.com.

“THE CAN FILM FESTIVAL” on Thursday, October 8th from 5:30 – 9:30pm! See you there!

EIGB – CERN

1:AM — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Cern shows aerosol art at its finest. The pieces he entered into “Don’t Sweat the Technique: Ode to the Spraycan” are all done with spray paint which surprised some. I overheard a customer say his proportions were incredible especially since it was done with a spray can. Don’t take their word for it, come by and check it out yourself.

CERN’S BIO: Cern began writing graffiti in the early 90’s. Diverse in his scope, he has created numerous collaborative murals with the YMI crew and artists around the world; and he has also exhibited canvas and watercolor works in galleries in New York City and beyond. Cern has been included in books such as Burning New York and Graffiti World. His unique blend of fantasy and realism blurs the lines between graffiti and fine art, and exhibits a technical mastery of his medium.