ACC Global Series - Smithe

All City Canvas brought its Global Series project to New York City from July 20 to August 3, 2013, organizing interventions in the urban art scene and using technology to connect audiences in collaboration with Mex and the City. Programing for ACCGS NYC included an on-site intervention and live streaming of a 200 feet mural by renowned Mexican urban artist SMITHE, sponsored by MTN Colors and presented by Factory Fresh. 

The Abrons Center for the Arts hosted a Speaker Series and film screenings co-hosted by Google+.The goal of All City Canvas Global Series (ACCGS) is to work with unique artists and help them reach global recognition to promote high impact collaborations through their works. A series of Google+ Hangouts hosted by various magazine editors from Mexico City and USA took place during the week of the event. Google+ technology played a big role during the event to link global urban art audiences via live streamed Hangouts.

The inspiration that led Smithe to the art world were the graffiti in his surroundings, it was through these that curiosity turned into satisfaction. For Smithe, Art is a form of communication, a way of abstracting feelings. His work varies from colorful and cheerful subjects to acid themes rendered through a rather gore tone. His self-taught training has led him to experiment with different techniques such as spray and acrylic paint, as well as digital media. Smithe considers streets the largest and most accessible gallery in the world. He is a Mexican street artist and illustrator who has spent over a decade working on perfecting his style and the narrative of his pictures. Influenced by Japanese anime,  1950’s graphic style and science fiction films; he began painting graffiti as a hobby when he was 13 years old. As a self-taught artist who is concerned with his own evolution and interested in fine arts; Smithe has constantly reinvented his style. In recent years he has dealt with many themes in his work, ranging from existentialism and the individuality of human beings, to the machine inside us. He is mostly though of within the urban art scene, but also works in other disciplines such as music, illustration and graphic design. The defragmentation, recurrent in his work, is a symbol used to show the elements within the power of his characters, who are shown as surreal machines.