"Street Legacy: SoCal Style Masters" Exhibition at California Center for the Arts, Escondido

Escondido, California, USA. 23rd June, 2022. Joey Zhou, the Founding Chairman of the Los Angeles Beverly Arts (LABA) and the LABA International Art Festival, and Art Consultant Professor Richard Wearn went to the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, California to do interviews and get a preview of the exhibition, "Street Legacy: SoCal Style Masters" that was opening on June 25th, and will run through the summer till August 28th, 2022.

The exhibition was curated by Bobby Ruiz and Dr. G. Jim Daichendt, and features artwork by artists from the diverse subcultures of Southern California, including lowrider, surf, skate, tattoo, and graffiti. The exhibition puts street art into galleries, and highlights some of the best-known street artists in Southern California. The exhibition includes new artwork and temporary mural installations created for the exhibition. The exhibition is generously sponsored by Carol and Lawrence Garner, ENA Art Group, and Theory R Properties. Bobby Ruiz and Dr. G. James Daichendt are both past winners of the LABA Icon Award.

Joey Zhou interviewed two participating artists, Chris Konecki and Carly Ealey about creating murals.

Artist Chris Konecki is interviewed by Joey Zhou

Artist Carly Ealey is interviewed by Joey Zhou

Mural being created for the exhibition

Because Kenny Scharf is creating a giant mural, and this is the last day of his creation, Joey Zhou planned to meet with him again soon.

As curators, Bobby Ruiz and Dr. G. Jim Daichendt stated that their hope as curators is "to elevate, educate, and inspire the community to be better viewers and interpreters of art. This requires deep looking, reflection, and asking good, but sometimes hard questions. We want to move the viewer beyond easy, emotional levels of looking and help them become mindful of their feelings — ask why they feel that way — guide our thoughts without quick reactions. There are hosts of images that could be seen as controversial but we want them to serve as a source for interpretation rather than quick reaction.

Graffiti artists, street artists, and the various sub-cultures represented in this show see their art as a creative expression of themselves (like specialized signatures), which they can write on as many surfaces as possible — especially as graffiti. The more they repeat what they write, the stronger the message becomes. Typically, it’s not done for us viewers, but rather for other writers and members of those sub-cultures. Such understanding helps onlookers avoid being deterred by an art form merely because it’s unfamiliar. Those in authority often (not always) view graffiti as something that need to be controlled because it represents lawlessness, chaos, and destruction of property. Whether it be police, politicians, teachers/administrators…. or anyone in an authoritative position often see controlling graffiti as the goal. This is true in scholarship regarding graffiti and it has not been until recently that we have started to look at it from different perspectives."

Professor Richard Wearn holds an iPad with LABA Blue-chip artist Jiannan Huang attending by video conference, and is with one of the curators, Dr. G. James Daichendt LABA Blue-chip artist Jiannan Huang also connected with Dr. G. James Daichendt, Professor Richard Wearn, and artists Chris Konecki and Carly Ealey by video conference from his own studio in Beijing, China. Mr. Huang congratulated them on the great success of their exhibition.

Carly Earley holds an iPad with LABA Blue-chip artist attending by video conference

Jiannan Huang is one of the world's finest artists, specializing in Chinese ink and oil painting. He is ranked third on the 2020 Hurun China Art List and 19th on the Hurun Global List with sales of $29 million. Jiannan holds several positions - Director of the Chinese Traditional Culture Promotion Association, member of the French National Artists Committee, art consultant for the World Low Carbon Cities Alliance, and France Jiny City Gold Medal Honorary Citizen. He was awarded the title of "Earl" by the Indonesian Royal Family. In 2021, he was given an honorary membership into the Royal Society of St. George (RSSG), California Branch, and received the RSSG "Master of Arts" Award in 2022.

Participating Artists:

The exhibition highlights the work of nearly 100 street artists including Albert De Alba, Alex Garcia, Ames, Anti, Antonio Mejia, Antonio Pelayo, Armando Flores, Big Checho, Big Sleeps, Big Tiny, Billie the Kid, Brgr Face, Brisk, Brown, Carlo Miranda, Carlos Torres, Carly Ealey, Channon Fulton, Chaz Bojorquez, Chikle, Chimu, Chris Konecki, Chuey Quintanar, Chuy Espinosa, Collette Miller, Cory SaintClair, Craig Stecyk, Cryptik, Dakota Gomez, Dane Souder, David Flores, David Porras, Dream On, Dyse One, Emily Klinger, Eno, Eric Gonzalez, Espana Garcia, Estevan Oriol, Flaks, Fonzy, Franco Vescovi, Gane, Germ, Gustavo Rimada, Hasler, Herman Plasencia, Honkey Kong, Horacio Martinez, Huit “8,” Isaac Pelayo, Isaac Quezada, Jack Rudy, Jason Brown, Jesse Hernandez, Johnny Quintana, Joker, Jorge Rosales, Justin Bua, Kenny Scharf, Latisha Wood, Left E, Lexy Vaatete, Louie Perez lll, Lyjah Vaatete, Mando Saldana, Manuel Cisneros, Marissa Quinn, Mear One, Mercado, Mike Giant, Mike Rios, Mister Cartoon, Mister Rhythm, Mister Troshin, Morgan Deeble, Mr B Baby, OG Abel, Opie Ortiz, Persue, Pres, Vaatete Ricardo Islas, Rascal, Risk, Robbie Conal, Rudy Ruiz, Sal Elias, Shepard Fairey, Slick, Steve Soto, Teen Angel, Tim Hendricks, Tone Chingon, Tristan Eaton, Vanessa Torres, Victor Cordero, Vyal, Yely, and Zane.

The Beverly Arts News is sponsored by JH International Art Institute