The crossover from graffiti artist to fine artist is topic which divides quite a few members of the scene from the others... Some believe graffiti belongs solely in the streets, while others believe if the artist has put in considerable amounts of work in the streets, then the transition is a commendable one... Whichever side you fall on, if any, even the most naive of artistic eyes could tell you - this DOES guy, he can fuckin' paint!! And paint he does, astonishingly, in fact...
Having had the opportunity to play soccer for his national team, DOES afforded himself time to paint numerous places abroad and see numerous different styles, all while perfecting his own... In his late twenties he was forced to give into his injuries and hang up his elite cleats, to which he responded by devoting himself fully to his art... He founded the European based Love Letters crew, which allowed him commission walls and mural work, gaining more and more notoriety for himself and his razor sharp artwork... Australian based Ironlak even got him on their team, and gave the guy his own shade of orange titled "Dieci Does..." It reflected his soccer status as "dieci" translates in Italian to 10, a number typically worn by captains and highly skilled members of soccer teams... He has been producing extremely precise and methodical pieces for years, and now has his own solo exhibitions such as "TRANSITION" at Maxwell Colette... Also, for any Chicago dwellers in the know, he did an amazing mural on the outside of the James Beard recognized "Violet Hour..." So go see that before someone fucks it up... Oh, and if you do happen to make it to Violet Hour, sip on their "Crema de Mezcal" neat - it's entirely too fuckin' delicious!!
Months ago he released a video on YouTube titled "Teaser - 'Transition' Documentary," so I was somewhat aware he had an art show coming... I just didn't think I'd be given the opportunity to experience it firsthand!! Having missed both the opening night of his exhibit, as well as his blackbook signing at Monument Art Tech, I didn't get the opportunity to meet the artist, but my tardiness gained me the opportunity to study the exhibit's pieces in relative solitude...I was greeted by a gentleman by the name of Oliver as I walked into a wide open room with echoey wood floors... With so much ocular stimulation occurring all around me, I took in the simplest visuals available to me - which was the "TRANSITION" sign in the center of the room... But after taking that in, it was then on to the MASSIVE installation on the left wall of the main room... It was an amazing, giant, black and white piece which seemed to be on a canvas that seemed to resemble linoleum... I only say that because it looked as if he blotted something to the wet surface to remove some of the applications which revealed what looked like an orangish "granite-esque" flooring beneath his medium... Regardless what he created the artwork on, he made sure that every detail was immaculate... The only shitty thing about the piece being, whoever purchases it ($10,000) won't get some of the amazing elements that really made it such a standout work... Those elements being the painting he did outside the canvas border, the paint that dripped and pooled onto the floor, the pieces of sketches applied to the wall outside the canvas border, the pencil lines finishing the torn sketches outside the canvas... The list goes on and on and - well, you get the idea... Anyhow, it was an astonishing introduction to the exhibition!!
Opposite that wall began the pieces he produced on pre-strecthed canvases, where seemingly a majority of the work was produced by brushwork... Though all his works are visually breathtaking, knowing I got to witness this stage of his career firsthand truly instilled within me a sense of privilege and delight... The way he utilizes line-weight, color, dimensionality, texture and his use of space are all second to none... Beside those works was another installation constructed directly on the wall on unstretched canvas entitled "Chicago Nights..." Though the other piece extended beyond the canvas onto the wall and floor also, I feel whoever takes this one home will get an incomplete piece of work since they'll be missing a good portion of what was produced on the actual wall... Don't get me wrong though, it's still a staggering piece of art and any individual should consider themselves lucky to hang this beauty for their viewing pleasure... Alongside the corner piece was a hung canvas entitled "Flirt" and though it was one of the more subtle works, as far as detail, color and texture are concerned, I still found that piece to be amazing and was probably my second favorite piece in the gallery!!After I took that in I traveled upstairs, and in doing so, it was brought to my attention that THIS is where the magic is happening!! On the right wall were a trio of works entitled "Confused,"which were all composed in a very similar fashion in that there was an intricate array of letters in the center of either a bronze, silver or gold background... The gold version struck me as powerful with its solid, sturdy letterform and green hues amidst gold flaking, while the bronze piece invoked a sense of decay with it's wretched letterforms and wild colors... My favorite was the silver version though, as it had layers and layers of drips, giving it a significant amount of depth, and the funky letters were produced with a considerable amount of finesse, the way they flowed seamlessly amongst one another...
Those three productions all faced two larger productions on the opposing wall which were majestic displays of texture and space, where his usage of color accentuated each section of the paintings, all amounting to awe-inspiring works of art... At first I was drawn to his "Dieci" piece, a blend of orange hues and relatively neutral tones of tan, grey and black... But after transferring my attention to the "Simulation" piece to the right of it, every other work in the gallery fell by the wayside... It's use of space and textural aspects were similar to the Dieci piece I had previously viewed, but what really set this piece apart, in my opinion, were the colors!! It struck me as a very modern palette, with bright purples amongst neon greens, and bits of goldish yellow for highlights... It also utilized both gold and platinum flaking, which gave it amazing dimensionality which further accentuated his use of space... When it was all said and done, it was the final piece I took in, and it was easily my favorite one of the entire exhibition!!Once I had fully examined each installation in the gallery, I circled around a few more times as if I were a horse walking the fence of my corral, taking moments here and there to enjoy new details I'd found in each piece... Once I finally decided there were an infinite amount of details to take in and only a finite amount of time in a day, I made my way to the exit... Though I was empty handed, (as if I could currently afford any of those breathtaking pieces) I was elated life handed me the opportunity to view this exhibition in person!! Maybe prints will be made available to me soon and I'll be able to obtain a tangible memory from this experience, but until then I will hold every other artist to the high standard set by DOES... So please, if you're in the Chicagoland area before July ends, hop on the green line westbound and go north on Ashland to Maxwell Colette so you may take in this outstanding exhibition!!
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