Featuring Anthony Garcia Sr., Juan Fuentes, Markham Maes, Anthony Maes, Diego Flores Arroyo, Victor Escobedo, UC Sepia, and Karma Leigh
Opening Reception: September 10th from 5:30-7:30 pm
Exhibition runs from September 10 through October 31, 2021
¡Oye! More Than Street Art: De La Gente brings together a diverse group of Colorado-based street artists reflecting inspiration, influence, life, and expression through personal culture. Street art has long been associated with free expression in public spaces with the use of graffiti, murals, and art installations. This exhibit gives artists the opportunity to use the diverse expression, and sometimes intimate insight into their personal culture. The timing of this exhibition was inspired by Streetwise Boulder’s annual “ARTivism” mural festival, September 5-12, 2021.
The eight featured artists bring their own personal journey to represent a different viewpoint of Colorado. Using methods outside of traditional street art, the gallery brings forward glimpses of life, feminism, mysticism, activism, beauty, collaboration, and struggle from the streets to the Dairy.
About the Artists
ANTHONY GARCIA, SR.
Anthony Garcia Sr. was born and raised in Denver in the Globeville community. Starting out as a graffiti writer, his knowledge of the Denver art scene and his go-getter attitude molded him into a force to be reckoned with early on. He is currently programming with at-risk youth and trying to bring more new art to the streets of Denver. He is also the co-founder of Birdseed Collective (a DIY group of artists working together to create a more accessible platform for up-and-coming talents to express themselves).
Website : www.birdseedcollective.org
Facebook : /anthony.garcia.7503314
Instagram : @birdseedanthony
JUAN FUENTES
Juan Fuentes is a documentary photographer born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and based in Denver. His work captures everyday life from a lower class point of view and tells stories of contemporary America, highlighting the Chicano and immigrant experience.
Facebook : /juanfuentes90
Instagram: @thewritejuan
MARKHAM MAES
Markham Maes aka “Shitty Kitten” has been an integral member of Denver’s contemporary art scene for over 20 years. His style is a mashup of figurative character illustration and Latinx-driven subject matter that can be seen as street murals and on fine art gallery walls throughout Colorado and the world!
Website: shittykitten.blogspot.com
Facebook : /markham.maes
Instagram : @shittykitten1
ANTHONY MAES
Born and raised in Denver, Anthony Maes is a Photojournalist, Street Photographer & Cultural curator. Additionally, his work specializes in Concert, Event & Portrait Photography. Anthony aims for his work to be a moment captured in time that is representative of the people and their environment. Anthony can only hope for his Art to ignite a spark in the mind of viewers to create or dissolve the story behind each piece.
Website: loskillsyous.com
Facebook : /anthonymvze
Instagram : @anthonymvze
DIEGO FLOREZ ARROYO
Diego Florez Arroyo was born and raised on the Northside of Denver, Colorado, enriched in ties to the Crusade For Justice and Civil Rights activism. From a young age, he has been involved in the Movement. His work reflects the spectrum of what it means to be Chicanx.
Facebook : /leondelas orez
Instagram : @leondelas orez
VICTOR ESCOBEDO
Victor Escobedo’s body of work pays tribute to his experience being born in America to Mexican parents, time spent in the Yucatan jungle listening to his grandmother speak Maya, seeing ancient ruins, exploring Maya sites before tourism, and growing up in Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s. Victor is a fine artist and muralist whose pieces are timeless, connecting to the ancient through innovative approaches. Through a unique style of characters, reimagined ancient iconography, dynamic, textured backgrounds, and striking color palettes, Victor explores mysticism, intuition, and Shamanistic practices as inspiration for contemporary transformation. Victor held a residency at the Children’s Museum of Denver in 2020 and is currently a resident at Redline Denver.
Website : www.artofvictore.com
Instagram : @victor_j_escobedo
UC SEPIA
Female artist UC Sepia is best known for her graffiti-style depicting fun, free-spirited and seductive girl characters called Ozjuahzians that live in a made-up fantasy world. UC Sepia creates characters that are unique and represent the many different personalities in society while possessing human/animalistic qualities. The characters draw energy from bizarre power animals such as okras, phisazians, and widaudi’s. The world in which they all live in is called Capsule Ozj. UC Sepia loves storytelling through her Art and is inspired by her personal struggles and achievements to create her work. Sepia started with playful sketches but has since adorned walls throughout the Denver Metro area with her creations in spray paint. Her achievements as a female Graffiti Artist means so much to her because the graffiti/street art scene is predominantly male.
Facebook: /ozjuah.upperclass
Instagram: @ozjuahsepia
KARMA LEIGH
Karma Leigh is a Chicana from Colorado who was blessed to grow up between two worlds, the urban life of the city and the natural wonders of the Rockies. Both have inspired her work as an artist and educator. Karma has always had an innate desire for exploration and traveled to many cities in the US landing her in Phoenix for three years. It was there her passion to create, and hone her skills as an artist, were fueled by the many prolific artists she was surrounded by.
Karma is a self-taught painter, muralist, curator, and creator of jewelry and tangible goods. Her talents are not limited to the paint and palette; she has helped organize successful vendor markets for FemFest, taught for the EPIC Arts program out of Redline Gallery, and was the former Education Coordinator for Museo de las Americas and has been a teacher there for seven years. Karma is also an art teacher with Voz y Corazon, a suicide prevention program in Denver, for five years and will be teaching her own art programs in 2021.
Website: www.karmaleighta.com
Facebook: /karmaleighta