StandardVision Partners with CIRCA Art to Present a New Site-Specific Artwork by Street Artist Slawn on the Courtyard Marriott LA Live
In collaboration with CIRCA Art, StandardVision is currently featuring a new site-specific artwork titled GONE? by street artist and cultural icon Slawn on the large-scale LED facade at the Courtyard Marriott LA Live in downtown LA through the end of October. A site-specific study on the theme of hope by the Nigerian-born, London-based artist, this feature is part of CIRCA Art’s larger public showcase called the CIRCA SCREEN-GRAB, on view across a global network of large-scale LED facades in cities such as London, Berlin, Milan, Seoul and Tokyo.
Transcending the realms of street art and abstract expressionism to explore questions of politics, race, and identity, the 23-year-old cult icon, street artist, and skateboarder—favored by Virgil Abloh and Skepta—has gained acclaim for playing with the concept of reality through his large-scale canvases, blending cartoonish-like pop figures and bold, colorful forms.
For this collaboration, Slawn was commissioned to create site-specific works inspired by each of the public, digital platforms involved in the showcase. During the month of November 2023, the artist was filmed face-on by CIRCA inside an empty shop in Picadilly Circus, London, spray-painting directly onto bespoke cut perspex sheets, scaled to fit eleven of these global screen locations. Referencing Picasso at his home in Vallauris, painting on glass with a camera rolling on the other side in 1950, or The Pharcyde in their Drop music video from 1995, an inward/outward illusion is achieved between the artist and viewer. Gradually removing himself from the picture, with a different painting created for each city, Slawn indirectly asks the world: “Has all hope GONE?”
The work of London-based Nigerian artist Slawn pendulates between street art and abstract expressionism while exploring pertinent issues of politics, race, and identity. At 23 years old, Slawn stands as a cult icon, celebrated not just for his art but also as a street artist and skateboarder, esteemed by figures like Virgil Abloh and Skepta. His acclaim arises from an artistic signature that manipulates reality on large-scale canvases, intertwining cartoonish-like pop figures, bold, colorful forms, and stylish shapes defined with vivid hues that beckon the viewer. At first, seemingly playful and a descendant of street art, it is upon closer inspection that we see the intense human element that Slawn endows to each work, where he explores human psychology and complex issues still challenging society.
Catch Slawn’s site-specific iteration of GONE? on view at the Courtyard Marriott LA Live through December 31st, and learn more about CIRCA Art, Slawn, and this global initiative by visiting CIRCA’s website.
