Retna Opening

RVCA captured the opening please click on the link above to view also check out their Blog!

Jeffery Deitch and Retna are Da Bomb!

Amber & Retna

Burning the Midnight Oil

2 prints

GOT PAINT

RETNA

Desaturated

"DESATURATED"

new works by
RETNA
presented by New Image Art

OPENING RECEPTION
SATURDAY MARCH 20
7 TO 10PM

Retna was born in Los Angeles, California in 1979. Since first creating a name for himself in the early 1990s, Retna has become an "eternal broadcaster" of sorts, shining a light to the kinetic urban soul of Los Angeles. The name RETNA itself evokes the timeless power, movement and visual vibrancy behind the artist's acclaimed work. His work merges photography with graffiti style and paint, time with color, couture with street culture, the spiritual with the sensual, and fluidity with grit. Whether his paintings hang in a gallery or wall on the streets of Los Angeles, they serve as a retina through which we view the urban journal of contemporary art.

At an early age, Retna was introduced to L.A.'s mural culture. While still in high school, he led one of the largest and most innovative graffiti art collectives the city has witnessed. He is perhaps best known for appropriating fashion advertisements and amplifying them with his unique layering, intricate line work, text-based style and incandescent color palette reflecting an eclectic artistic tradition. RETNA became just as notorious for his ornate painting technique as his timeless style: he used paintbrushes mixed with the traditional spray can. Many of his pieces synthesize the line between fine art and graffiti, between power and opposition, between tradition and advancement.

Today, Retna traverses between the galleries and streets with ease. Retna is a member of the Art Work Rebels and Mad Society Kings Art Groups. In December 2007, he contributed to a large-scale mural project with El Mac and Reyes called "La Reina del Sur" at Miami's Primary Flight during Art Basel. His most recent projects include an exhibition titled "Vagos Y Reinas" at Robert Berman Gallery and a mural called "Seeing Signs" at the Margulies Warehouse for Primary Flight.

Special thanks to RVCA // ANP

The Retna

Here are some pics of Retna's downtown studio.

The studio is beautiful and inspiring and obviously a great space to create huge paintings.

Above is a collaborative works he did with El Mac a while ago.

I went to take a look at his work in progress for the show here next weekend-

March 2oth. The work looked amazing and the images below are works in progress.

Retna still has to go over the silk screens with oil paint.

There are many processes to create a finished piece.

Retna photographs the models,blows up the photos, silk screens the photos onto wood he has painted and then lightens the base painting with a wash, and then paints on top of everything with oils.

Retna will be painting the entire gallery much in the style of the late Keith Herrings Pop Shop in NYC.

Try to make the opening because the show is only running 3 weeks and guaranteed a stunner.

Afterwards we are having a Pisces Dance Party for Amber and Marcella's Birthdays sponsored by none other than Cult 45.

I haven't drank Cult 45 since high school. And I am going to keep it that way!

Ohhh -- I almost forgot -- Due to popular demand--we are having 50 Retna silkscreens available printed by Richard Duardo for the show.