Speedy Graphito’s creative practice is multi-layered and rich in content and visual elements. Starting with portraits of icons such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Speedy Graphito, Obey and Banksy, who certainly paved the way for the urban arts movement. The portraits serve not only as a homage but also as a connection to the consumer product “urban art”, which has established itself strongly in recent years but has also become extremely commercialized. Adapting the concept of Andy Warhol’s Cambell’s Soup series, the arrangement of Graphito’s canvases suggests the shelves filled with spray cans of an urban art shop. As ordinary soups are in Warhol’s eyes, so are spray cans for sprayers in Graphito’s artworks.
Speedy Graphito’s artistic and cultural references from the different artists underline the connection and concept of Graphito’s his artistic practice. The inspiration by these urban art icons is predominantly evident from the aesthetic implementation of the references.
The trinity of the artist, the art work and the tool are represented as unity on Speedy Graphito’s canvases.
Tania di Brita