Philosophy + Linguistics + Paint = Urban Contemporary Art?

Online, February 8, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Los Angeles, California - Hold UP Art Gallery in downtown Los Angeles presents "some of its parts", an exhibit of new work by internationally recognized artist THH70. The exhibit marks the artist's return to the L.A. gallery stage with his first full-blown Los Angeles show in 4 years. The exhibit opens on Saturday, March 5, 2011 from 7:00 - 10:00pm, with the artist in attendance. The art of THH70 will be accompanied by the work of 3 emerging artists -- SFaustina, Allison Torneros, and Jeru Gabriel. The exhibit continues thru March 31st.

An L.A. native, THH70 was born in 1970, but the persona of his nom de guerre was conceived in 1994 as a stage name for his other career as a recording artist. He is now an accomplished visual artist, with his works in private and corporate collections on every continent. Since 2000, THH70 has shown in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums across the United States, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. He has appeared in print and online publications worldwide, and has sold over 1300 original mixed media pieces.

THH70 is recognized for his unique artistic approach that he has branded "Lo-Fi Urban Contemporary," combining crude painterly techniques and utilizing materials and media (that include everything from acrylics and spray paint to household products like Windex, bleach and X-14 mildew remover) with his own style of raw, yet detailed illustration and stream-of-consciousness linguistics.

Brian Lee, co-owner and curator of Hold UP Art explains, "THH70's lack of conventional representation coupled with his witty tag lines are a breath of fresh air in the L.A. art scene, a field hell bent on icons and catchy characters. 'some of its parts' highlights a trend in Contemporary Art that is a reaction to the super flat and super clean matte aesthetic of superstars like Takashi Murakami and Shepard Fairey. THH70, Torneros, SFaustina and Gabriel question the tendencies of contemporary 'design', and say the dirty, messy, and organic can still further the notions of 2D design in fine art, and our visual culture."

In describing the upcoming exhibit, THH70 says, "After spending the last 4 years exhibiting outside of Los Angeles, I want the show to be a homecoming of sorts: to display the evolution of my work since I last presented it here, but to also do it in a way where I could include the work of several artists whose individual style has remnants of the overall feel of the paintings I create, in essence being 'parts' of my 'whole'. 'some of its parts' is that show, and I'm thrilled to be able to unleash it at Hold UP Art."

To commemorate the celebratory nature of the show, Hold UP Art and THH70 will be releasing an accompanying print in a very limited edition of 37. This will be the very first print that THH70 has released in his 11 year career.

Opened in February 2010 and located in the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles, Hold UP Art Gallery is an independent art space, curating exhibitions year-round of working Pop and Urban artists. Focused on participation and accessibility, Hold UP offers a revitalized environment for dialogue between artist and audience.

Hold UP Art is located at 358 E. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. For more information on Hold UP Art, please visit www.holdupart.com or contact Brian Lee at [email protected] or (213) 221-4585. For more information on THH70, please visit www.thh70online.com

###