Felipe Pantone isn't afraid of change. His embrace of change is actually quite refreshing, not one to be hampered by technological evolution and figuring out ways to take a career started in graffiti to new possibilites and heights. What appeared to be moving in a direction of Op-Art or recreating our digital world in fine art painting has now blossomed into more interactive and kinetic art, creating visually stunning works with a penchant for mind-expanding optics.
His new solo show, Metallic Contact on view at albertz benda in NYC sees the Spanish painter blur the lines of Op-art and kinetic works, more abstract and architectural than in the past. The works can be pushed and pulled, but they can be static as well, creating a sense of movement and process that is evident in each work. As the gallery notes, "Pantone’s latest body of work evokes the gleaming, streamlined aesthetics of the tech hardware and avant-garde architecture that shape our daily lives, while maintaining an emphasis on color, patterning, and surface that transcends a particular time or place."
Where Pantone stands in the pantheon of graffiti and street art culture is singular; he is using technology as a story and inspiration rather than and endgame. The work remains exciting, and forthright, that maybe the future can be depicted in illuminating ways. —Evan Pricco
