Breaking News: Houston Artist 2:12 Will Be Featured in Street Art Show in New York

Houston artist 2:12 has been chosen as one of twenty-five artists in a prestigious exhibit showcasing the best street art painters in America. The show is curated by Damien A. Roman, Tim Conlon and Alex Emmart and will be displayed at One Art Space from September 18- October 10, 2015.

(photo by: Alex Barber)

2:12’s work will be hung with pieces by some of the best known street artists in the world: Shepard Fairey (also known as Obey), Swoon, Elle and Ron English. So how did a Houston artist get included in this impressive group?

“They contacted me a month or two back. I didn’t take it too seriously. When he dropped names like Ron English and Swoon I thought he was joking. Those are big names! The guy was here at the fine art fair and someone mentioned my name and he looked me up.” -2:12

(Photo by: David Elizondo)

Houston has been a great city for 2:12 to hone his art skills, to exhibit in galleries and to place work on the street. In 2011 he was featured in the film Stick ‘Em Up, about street art in Houston. 2:12’s art features beautiful women from all races and eras. The backgrounds of his paintings are hand designed,  cut stencils created with intent to aid in telling the story of the women. This one minute time-lapse video gives a behind the scenes glimpse of 2:12’s painting process. This time he is painting on multiple layers of glass. 

Lupe timelapse from two twelve on Vimeo.

“I fell in love with street art on a trip to Spain. Leaving museums I was just as impressed with the art on the streets. While Houston had “street art” it wasn’t the same. I wanted to bring some of the beauty I saw in Europe to Houston.” -2:12

With painstaking attention to detail he uses multi-layered stencils, sensuous designs, and lush colors to project the figures into the world. Although he is always trying new things, he is known for capturing the beauty, sexuality, and human-ness in his female paintings. His work was chosen to represent the 2013 film, Girl Rising. 2:12 has work in Portugal, Lisbon, and the Azores Islands.

(Long running street piece by 2:12. Photo by: Alex Barber)

September will be a huge month for 2:12. Besides the New York show, he has two shows in Houston. He will have work in the Mini Murals show and the Strictly Stencils show.