LOS ANGELES, CA.- Subliminal Projects will be opening The Versus Project IV, an international traveling group exhibition co-curated by the German artist duo Layer Cake, individually known as graffiti veterans Patrick Hartl and Christian Hundertmark (C100).
Challenging the well-known Graffiti rule: never paint over other writers, Layer Cake invites the broader graffiti and street art community to do just that. Starting with a canvas, the duo creates an unfinished base that is then sent to a guest artist, beginning a non-verbal collaborative process until the work is complete. The works result in layers of each artist’s contribution that both blend and highlight their personal styles.
After two well-received exhibitions at Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art (UN) in Berlin in 2019 and 2022, and at the Museum of Graffiti in Miami earlier this year, The Versus Project makes its fourth stop at Subliminal Projects, continuing this experiment with the addition of new artists to the exhibition including gallery owner, artist Shepard Fairey. In conjunction with the opening reception, the gallery will host an Artist Talk with Layer Cake, featuring contributing artists Shepard Fairey and Chaz Bojórquez, moderated by Steven P. Harrington co-founder of Brooklyn Street Art.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
AKTE ONE, Bond Truluv, Carolina Falkholt, Chaz Bojórquez, Cren (Michel Cren Pietsch), CRYPTIK, Dave the Chimp, Flying Förtress, Formula76, HERA, HNRX, Layer Cake (Patrick Hartl and Christian Hundertmark aka C100), MadC, MAMBO (Flavien Demarigny), Matthias Edlinger, Łukasz Habiera NAWER, Peter "Paid" Levine, Rocco & His Brothers, Shepard Fairey, Various and Gould, and Zepha (Vincent Abadie Hafez).
LAYER CAKE
Layer Cake represents the artistic union between graffiti veterans of the Munich street art scene, Patrick Hartl and Christian Hundertmark(C100). Their friendship goes back to the early 90s when they met painting trains. While going down different paths they reconnected in 2015 and decided to join forces. Combining Christian’s abstract graphic style with collage elements and Patrick’s urban calligraphy style with Graffiti tags, spawned an investigation into turning Graffiti’s most important rule of not going over or crossing someone’s work upside down. Working together brought both of them to a new level and brought back the fun they initially had back in their days as juvenile art vandals.
SUBLIMINAL PROJECTS
Subliminal Projects is a multi-functional project space and gallery established by Shepard Fairey and Blaize Blouin in 1995 as a way to introduce skateboard culture and design to the art world. The concept grew and found roots later in Los Angeles, at a time when many artists found themselves shut out by the “art scene.” Subliminal Projects emerged as a gallery that championed emerging and marginalized artists, built out of cultural importance to serve as a center for the community to openly express and spark dialogue about art, music, and activism. Now located in the historic neighborhood of Echo Park, Subliminal Projects continues to offer a platform for artistic exploration and innovation.
Subliminal Projects
The Versus Project IV
September 16th, 2023 - October 28th, 2023
Opening Reception and Atrtist Talk
September 16th, 2023 6:15-7PM
Artist Talk
September 16th, 2023 7-10PM
