AMERICAN ROOTS | CURATED SERIES WITH FRANCESCO BENA

10 December 2020 - 31 January 2021

The second exhibition in the CURATED series is led by an Italian art collector Francesco Bena. Bena is fascinated by the diversity of the American culture and the polar opposition coexisting within its emerging art scene. The exhibition 'American Roots' will explore the rich and complex tapestry of the country through the works of four artists Othelo Gervacio, KC Ortiz, Mark Posey and UFO907.

AT THE HEART OF CURATED IS A DEEP APPRECIATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARTISTS AND ART COLLECTORS. PAVE CONTEMPORARY RECOGNISES BOTH THE ARTIST AND ART COLLECTOR AS VISIONARIES WHO BY CREATING AND PROJECTING ART ENRICH SOCIETIES AND CULTURES, CATALYSING CHANGE AND AWARENESS.
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“I am really fascinated by the diversity of the American culture.

For this CURATED show, I wanted to unite American artists from really different backgrounds. Their styles and origins are at the opposites thus allowing a way for a great diversity of American culture to be represented.

We have Othelo Gervacio, who is influenced by Black Sabbath, biker, psychedelic and early tattoo cultures. UFO907 is a New York City graffiti legend, who brought the graffiti art inside galleries like Hidari Zingaro in Tokyo and Avenue des Arts in LA. Mark Posey is a painter based in LA, who use contemporary materials challenging people's familiarity with classical subject matters. KC Ortiz is a Chicago native, who reworks a great variety of common characters of the American culture in a street way.”

- Francesco Bena, CURATED Curator
Mark Posey

For Mark Posey's Window series, Posey examines painting as a portal, using the metaphor of the window as a bridge between interior and exterior worlds. In this series he showcases his mastery of multiple painting techniques by contrasting the illustrative, even cartoonish, drips of his interior world (the curtains, the window frame etc.) with the more technically complicated, vividly colorful world outdoors.

Rather than stop at a binary, he creates a third world — the window pane itself. Using an airbrushing technique which creates the illusion of condensation he uses the marks left behind the untreated areas to sketch doodles and text with his painterly “finger”, culling to mind images of a bored child doodling on a fogged up window, eager to communicate with the outside world while trapped indoors.
- Mark Posey, XXX, 2019
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OTHELO GERVACIO

Othelo Gervacio is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York whose work explores ideas within romance, tragedy and the blurred lines in between. His practice draws from the timeline of floral tradition and fascination in art history; from the theatrics of seventeenth-century Dutch Master paintings to Cy Twombly’s inscribed works on paper. Gervacio’s work seeks to strike a chord that evokes empathy, nostalgia, and a personal connection.
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'I have always been fascinated by dark, melancholic beauty; from the life-fleeting imagery of wilting flowers, to the origins of melodic, heavy metal music. The cross-section of romance and beauty has always been a place at which a large portion of my interests lie. Within those interests are 17th Century Dutch Master paintings. The sheer detail, skill and sentiment from such paintings have always left me in awe and admiration. This new body of work pays homage to that era and style of painting. Through a contemporary, deconstructive lens, I've isolated the fabric element as my subject of focus in a series of oil on linen compositions.'

- Othelo Gervacio
UF0907

UF0907 came to Earth in the mid 90’s, Walking out on Art School disillusioned by the standard path of the struggling artist he saw before him. Abandoning the art world, UFO found himself allured into the subcultures of graffiti and vandalism. The paint brush was traded for the spray can and the endless walls, forgotten back lots, rooftops, and delivery trucks of New York City become both his studio and his gallery. The unpredictability of material and painting surface, the risk of getting arrested or chased, the never ending adventure of paintings and in strange places under the cover of darkness all contributed to the style and development of UFO’s work.

As one of the pioneers of character based graffiti UFO907 has helped (for better or worse) push the subculture of graffiti into the mainstream, with his highly recognizable and playful imagery. As well helping to usher in the new art movement known as “Street Art” where young artists of today have caught onto the power and freedom of beginning an art career on the streets as a bridge and shortcut into the gallery world.

As of late, UFO907 has been turning out prolific bodies of work, both painting and sculpture, that exhibit a passion and deep understanding of materials and the boundless methods of application, while overflowing with an energy that can only be found on the streets.
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UFO907 and 'American Roots'

"Graffiti once again took over the streets as my city rose up in anger and police cars sat burning. I found myself reflecting on my early days, growing up in a more wild and grittier New York."

The three paintings here, are depictions of my experiences as an American finding my voice within the subversive cultures permeating the streets of New York City.

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"The three paintings I am presenting here for the “American Roots” exhibition, at Hofa London, are depictions of my experiences as an American finding my voice within the subversive cultures permeating the streets of New York City. Painted in my Brooklyn studio during the Covid-19 lockdown, as I watched America fall into a state of chaos. Politicians bumbling around, continually dropping the ball trying to deal with both the George Floyd protests and the Covid pandemic. Graffiti once again took over the streets as my city rose up in anger and police cars sat burning. I found myself reflecting on my early days, growing up in a more wild and grittier New York. Feeling a sense of pride about who I’ve become and where I'm from. New York city, such a wild and diverse place. An eclectic melting pot of cultures, bubbling over with unique identities standing together loud and proud. What a time to be alive. What a time to be an artist. "
KC Ortiz

KC Ortiz, born in Chicago, USA. Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ortiz began painting graffiti at the age of 12 on the rooftops and trains of his hometown Chicago and a winding road of graffiti, street life, prison and photojournalism led to his paintings and studio work

Ortiz’s work is an exploration of survival, preservation, and resistance in a world that is rapidly changing under political upheaval, economic inequality, misinformation, and technological advances.

Ortiz examines and questions both our individual and collective roles and responsibilities in these current times and to future generations and civilizations
- Artworks
  KC Ortiz
  Last Laugh, 2020
  Acrylic on canvas
  180 x 150 x 2 cm
  70 7/8 x 59 1/8 x 3/4 in
- Artworks
  KC Ortiz
  Savage Beast, 2020
  Acrylic on Canvas
  100 x 100 x 4 cm
  39 3/8 x 39 3/8 x 1 5/8 in
'For better or for worse, my own American roots influence and inform much of my work and identity. These days those roots are more complex and tangled than ever and the support of collectors such as Francesco, by highlighting emerging and modern voices, particularly those critical of or in opposition to the American modus operandi, is critical.

I’ve created new works for the exhibition that investigate who we are, where we are, and where we are going as a society while the American empire crumbles and the world is reordered in real time around us all.'

-KC Ortiz
Meeting the curator Francesco Bena

Francesco Bena is a young art enthusiast based in Milan. He became interested in the art world after seeing many references in the music scene, where artists like George Condo, KAWS and Takashi Murakami collaborated with Kanye West.

His passion for art motivated him to travel around the world to discover new artists, visiting studios, galleries and fairs. This allowed him to meet a lot of incredible people and learn from his connections. His aim as a collector is to find new talent who introduce unique styles and techniques enriching the art heritage.