Ghettogloss Presents: Broad Brush- New works by Van Arno

LOS ANGELES - Aug. 28, 2013 - PRLog -- "Van Arno is the exemplary side of creativity, both biomorphically and anthropomorphically inclined, and one of the rare talents that came out of graffiti." — Robert Williams, A.K.A. MR. BITCHIN. Juxtapoz Magazine Founder

After a 20 year career of pursuing technical precision, Van Arno has taken an experimental turn toward faster, more gestural work. While these new pieces remain figurative and colorful, much has been stripped away. Fussy rendering and detail have given way to a dire immediacy of brushwork. Van's famously overwrought narratives have become bursts of machine gun fire.

The human figure remains the central focus of this show, and Van's well known devotion to twisting and contorting it can be readily seen here. Also obvious is the artist's excitement about this truly new work.

"I found myself spending more and more time painting elements I really didn't care about. Why be an artist if so much of my labor is so...laborious? I could be a bricklayer. I wanted to be engaged and endangered. I wanted to take risks. I wanted to be scared." -Van Arno