Chris Stain
Have Paint, Will Travel.
Possessed to Skate is from a photo taken of Billy Mode tearin’ it up somewhere on a mini half pipe. I always liked this photo and wanted to do somethin’ with it. Now that I’m working more exclusively with rubylithe it allows me to do things I wasn’t able to with the straight stencil technique.
Arrabers of Baltimore is a piece based on the vanishing breed of fruit and vegetable vendors who roam Baltimore streets selling their wears from the back of horse drawn carts. As a kid growing up in Highlandtown I remember hearing the Arrabers coming down the alleys and streets advertising their produce by singin out “WAATERRMELON! CAANTELOUPE!” My uncle once told me that we even had a tradition of Arrabin’ in our family as my Grandfathers brother-in-law had a cart and would traverse the streets and that my grandparents would sometimes invite the Arrabers into the house for a meal.
Damn Right I’m Somebody was inspired by the J.B.’s song of the same title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIcZc_g82VQ&feature=related. Many times growin up in inner city conditions children can get lost in the mix and their value of self worth has the potential to rapidly decline. What I wanted to show with this piece is that no matter where you are from you are important because you are alive.
These prints and more available at http://chrisstain.bigcartel.com/
Don’t Sleep…
Opening Friday, June 4th, 7 – 10pm
Space 1026
1026 Arch St. 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Check out this review of my show with Leon Reid IV, Ain’t Goin’ Home, in the Charm City Current.
John Henry by Leon Reid IV (Charm City Current)
Charm City Current: Ain’t Goin’ Home
“I love these sorts of installations—so ambitious in scale and in idea—but I always feel sorry to see them disappear, as this one will, with so little but our memories remaining at the end of the run. It may be that this is what makes them such great experiences: it’s not about making an object into a commodity or even preserving the work, it’s about the meaning a piece like this will hold for all those lucky enough to see it and retain the memory.”
Ain't Goin' Home - Chris Stain (Charm City Current)
Ain’t Goin’ Home: Chris Stain & Leon Reid IV
Creative Alliance at The Patterson
3134 Eastern Ave
Baltimore, MD 21224
On view May 8-29, 2010.
Move – Some People I Met Rolling Around On The Ground
Exhibition and/or group show with:
Eric White, Calef Brown, Jim Houser, Garry Davis, Karoline Collins, Tim Kerr, Chrissy Piper, Mofo, Jordan Isip, Rich Jacobs, Stephen Powers, Alberto Kroeger, James Gallagher, Jeff Canham, Louie Cordero, Bert Queiroz, Melinda Beck, Dan Murphy, Tod Swank, Rodger Bridges, Caroline Hwang, Jason Polan, Matt Leines, Jocko Weyland, Billy Sprague, Kate Hurowitz, Clint Woodside, Carl Dunn, Rob Ben, Martin Sorrondeguy, Jenna Robinson, Kelly Nicholson, Adam Wallacavage, Chris Duncan, Erika Borboa, Alex Lukas, Michael Bartalos, Ben Woodward, Isaac Lin, Max Lawrence, Chris Shary, Damian Abraham, Chris Stain, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Chris Kline, Derek Weisberg, John Freeborn, & more.
Special music guests: Zomes (asa from Lungfish), Koen Holtcamp (from Mountians), Tim Kerr (from Big Boys)
Opening Friday, June 4th, 7 – 10pm
Space 1026
1026 Arch St. 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Yesterday I was able to get out with some friends and put up a piece for the Welling Court mural project put together by Ad Hoc. There are many pieces worth seeing if you are in the area. This piece is based on a song of the same title by the J.B.’s. The image is re-worked from a photo of a kid from Baltimore.
Ain’t Goin’ Home: Chris Stain & Leon Reid IV
Creative Alliance at The Patterson
3134 Eastern Ave
Baltimore, MD 21224
Opens Sat May 8, 7-9pm, On view May 8-29
As every schoolchild knows, John Henry was a giant of a man, who wielded a 20 pound hammer as though it were nothing, and won an epic contest against a steam engine, only to die on the spot. Henry was a slave, or former slave, and the battle that cost him his life is said to have taken place in Talcott, West Virginia on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. Built from found materials by Leon Reid IV, a statue of John Henry towers over this Main Gallery installation, amidst Hoovertown shacks made of wooden pallets and railroad ties made of cardboard. Giant stenciled murals by Chris Stain form a backdrop melding WPA-era social realism and urban graffiti, expanding on the themes of John Henry’s story—struggle and pride, race and dislocation in the face of technological and economic change. In this way, their installation serves as an ideal introduction to Urban/Appalachia, Creative Alliance’s series examining the long and complicated relationship between Baltimore and Appalachia, from past generations seeking work in city steel mills, to a generation today shipped to prisons in the mountains.
http://www.creativealliance.org/events/eventItem2155.html
Scion Presents: ‘ROOMS’
An exhibition curated by Roger Gastman
April 24 – May 15, 2010
Built out and divided into eight separate spaces, ROOMS allows an unlikely group of artists to show together. The artists’ work will not only be hung on the walls, but each artist will design their own themed room, so that their work literally comes off the walls. The possibilities are endless, and sure to be inspiring.
Featuring “Rooms” by Adam Wallacavage, Bill Daniel, Chris Stain, Dan Monick & Caitlin Reilly, Dueling VHS, Justin Van Hoy, Kime Buzzelli, and Rocky Grimes
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 24, 2010 | 7-10pm
Complimentary Valet & Open Bar
Scion Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Ave (at National)
Culver City, CA. 90232
Gallery Phone: 310.815.8840
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM & by appointment
Today was the second in a series of screen printing classes I am teaching at the local public school. So far the 6th graders are diggin’ it. I am starting them out with rubylith the old school way. I will be printing the image below for the upcoming IZ THE WIZ benefit. http://www.izthewiz.com/
Drago Labs just posted an interview we did a while back. Check it out.
