Keep On Keepin’ On
August 15th, 2013 - October 15th, 2013
Renowned Los Angeles graffiti writer RISK came to Winnipeg in August 2013 to exhibit at Graffiti Gallery and to create two murals in Point Douglas as part of his Beautifully Destroyed series. RISK was one of a series of artists invited to exhibit at Graffiti Gallery as part of their 15th anniversary celebrations. RISK’s solo exhibition at Graffiti Gallery, Keep On Keepin’ On, opened August 15, 2013. The exhibition consisted of all new works, created in and inspired by Winnipeg. During his stay in Winnipeg, RISK sought to engage with the community and draw inspiration from it, and the exhibition, Keep On Keepin’ On, exemplified this dialogue. The exhibition drew influence from RISK’s pioneering graffiti career, his fine art influences and the local culture of Point Douglas.
RISK’s inspiration for the Beautifully Destroyed series
The idea of using only colour to evoke emotion in the viewer; came to him as he was driving along L.A.’s freeways. There’s much graffiti to see along the drive, but when moving at such high speeds, the individual letters become indistinguishable and the words illegible. However, the design and colours of the piece still stand out as they are passed by, these alone are often enough to evoke an emotional reaction in the viewer. RISK wanted to experiment with pure colour to see if the same emotional response to the colour and form of graffiti letters whizzing past, could be recreated without the confining shapes of the letters. This experiment morphed into his Beautifully Destroyed series, wherein he uses layers of colour to create uplifting fields of colour in the urban landscape.
In a career spanning 30 years, RISK has impacted the evolution of graffiti as an art form in Los Angeles and worldwide. RISK gained major notoriety for his unique style and pushed the limits of graffiti further than any writer in LA had before. At the peak of his career he took graffiti from the streets and into the gallery with the launch of the Third Rail series of art shows. RISK pushed the boundaries of graffiti as an art form, allowing it to become a universally recognized form of artistic expression around the globe.