This graffiti is coming to a gallery near you.
Bushwick artist Ad Deville, who formed street art outfit, Skewville, with his twin-brother 13 years ago, is taking over the Flushing Avenue gallery he has called home since 2008 for a new show, “Skewville Turns 80: A Retro Retrospective,” on Feb. 3.
The prolific printers will empty his vault and haul out three decades worth of screen printed wooden signs, plywood sneakers, and bold-type bric-a-brac for a stroll down a heavily tagged, paint-splashed memory lane.
“It’s our basic way to shamelessly promote our decades of deviance by showcasing our collection of unseen Skewville pieces, as well as artwork that people didn’t buy when it was cheap — plus a birthday cake,” said Deville.
Expect to see the full range of Skewville styles including spoofs of street signs and billboard marketing, figuration painting, several editions of the wooden converse shoes that Skewville hung on telephone wires, giant installations of playgrounds, and a wooden box with the word “Hype” printed on all six sides.
Deville is quick to credit his mom, an art teacher, with encouraging him to follow his path — which has led him to galleries and dark alleys all over the world.
“She probably didn’t like that we drew on the walls as kids, and she’s definitely not happy that we did it as adults, but she’s still supportive nonetheless.”
But this could be his last show in Brooklyn for a while — the globetrotting graffiti writer has plans in the works for exhibits in Lebanon, Istanbul, France and San Francisco, which could force a hiatus from the borough.
So head over to Factory Fresh before Deville goes back to the streets and paints the town red.
“Skewville Turns 80: A Retro Retrospective” at Factory Fresh, (1053 Flushing Ave. at Thames Street in Bushwick). Opens Feb. 3, 7 pm-10 pm. For info, visit www.factoryfresh.net.
