Gajin Fujita at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada
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The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century is the first exhibition of its kind. It highlights hip hop’s ongoing influence on the modern zeitgeist by placing fashion, consumer marketing, music and objects in dialogue with paintings, sculpture, photography and installation. In short, the exhibition illustrates how hip hop culture permeates pop culture at large and shapes the work of many contemporary artists.
A central artwork in The Culture’s Language section, Ride of Die (2005) is a large mixed media work that utilizes spray paint, paint stick and gold leaf on wood panels. Los Angeles-based artist Gajin Fujita often combines historic Japanese art with the visual language of LA street culture. In works like Ride or Die, the result serves as a unique mode of activism and free-form creative expression.
The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century
Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada