Attention all pop culture art and toy enthusiasts! You won't want to miss this! BLAXK by ActionCity has once again transformed its façade, this time with the colourful cheeky monsters characters by Distort Monsters, renowned urban artist based in the Philippines. Heavily influenced by elements of skateboarding and punk rock, he is primarily known for his murals of colourful monster characters with bold outlines and multilinear textures. His works are often narrative and introspective in nature, with his monsters being a visual representation of his thoughts and emotions.
MONSTERS IN THE CITY Exhibition
Bringing these mischievous monsters to life through various mediums, the MONSTERS IN THE CITY exhibition puts together a fascinating collection of original paintings, collectible art prints, large-scale sculptures and exclusive art toys in both physical and digital formats – celebrating Distort Monsters’ captivating characters and psychedelic art which has created a strong following of collectors and fans worldwide.
Meet Distort Monsters - Visual artist extraordinaire!
Distort Monsters began his street art career in 2009. Using art as a means of coping with mental health issues, Distort Monsters liberated himself and expelled the monsters in his head by channeling them as inspiration for his artworks instead, thus transferring anxieties onto canvas and walls.
The artist finds solace in the act of painting these colourful, cartoonish troublemakers, calmed by the repetitive motion of painting detailed linework. It then dawned on him, that “…they’re not angry monsters anymore. Just mischievous, sneaky little b*stards.”
Since then, these impish muses are taking on more forms with brighter and powerful colour contrast, which creates a happy, lively and energetic ‘monster’ style that is now eponymous to the artist’s brand. Now a prolific mural artist, Distort Monsters has also exhibited in galleries in the Philippines and Hong Kong, as well as headlined creative projects for brands including Nike and Globe Platinum.
MONSTERS IN THE CITY - DISTORT MONSTERS’ INAUGURAL SOLO SHOW IN SINGAPORE!
The MONSTERS IN THE CITY exhibition comprises more than 40 artworks created by Distort Monsters specifically for this inaugural solo show in the city state. This includes the original hand-painted collages of his signature monsters, and the artist also debuts a new Monstermash art style which merges various monsters into a single unique entity. Every creation is unique with lively expressions and inimitable appearance, which engages the audience to ponder the true face of these bizarre yet oddly mesmerising features.
ORIGINAL DISTORT MONSTERS ARTWORKS IN SINGAPORE
To further extend the value of his unique artworks, as well as bridging street art into the digital space and back to the people, Distort Monsters pairs each physical piece from his Monster Head original paintings with the specific corresponding NFT – to be both a digital asset as well as a certificate of authenticity.
In his previous NFT projects, the monsters are divided into different traits, which are then individually drawn by Distort Monsters and assigned percentages to determine the rarity of each feature. These are then fed into the algorithm to generate completely unique monsters minted as NFTs, and turned into actual paintings by the artist.
As the NFTs for the Monster Head artworks in this exhibition are created by Distort Monsters specially for MONSTERS IN THE CITY, they are hand drawn rather than churned from the algorithm.
EXPERIENCE DIGITAL INTERACTIONS WITH THE GIANT MONSTER HEADS THROUGH IMMERSIVE AR
Visitors to the show can also experience digital interactions with the giant Monster Heads, which will exist in an immersive AR format for social media and photo opportunities!
EXCLUSIVE DISTORT MONSTERS ART COLLECTIBLES
Together with BLAXK, Distort Monsters produced a special series of art toys to mark this milestone exhibition in Singapore. Transforming his signature Monster Head artworks and NFTs into art toys, Distort Monsters is launching a series of 10 unique Monster Head art collectibles – each piece being a one-of-a-kind edition. There will also be a BLAXK-exclusive Monster Head, released in very limited quantity.
The artist will debut a new toy sculpt Hello Monster in this exhibition, highlighting cheeky welcoming mood in full body glory. A series of 3 Hello Monster art collectibles will be launched, with each piece being a one-of-a-kind edition as well.
DISTORT MONSTERS’ PASSION FOR SKATEBOARDING HAS SHAPED HIS ART CAREER
Distort Monsters’ passion for skateboarding has shaped his art career as well, as the artist is drawn to the rich images and street graffiti styles used in skateboard decks.
Paying tribute to this key influence in his life, the artist is prolific in creating artworks on skate decks, of which a series of five hand-embellished pieces will be showcased in the exhibition.
MONSTERS IN THE CITY - PLEASED TO MEET YOU!
With the message of ‘Pleased to meet you!’, jump into the playful urban art world of Distort Monsters in his inaugural MONSTERS IN THE CITY exhibition! Combining all formats of his artworks including 2D, 3D and digital, the show welcomes you to a mob of cheeky monsters bursting with vibrant energy – let it sweep you up with their powerful uplifting visual styles.
Come say hi to the monsters!
MONSTERS IN THE CITY
BLAXK x DISTORT MONSTERS
Exhibitions opens to public from 18 Feb
BLAXK by ActionCity Funan
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