![]() ![]() The physical architecture of the city was a constant inspiration, the elaboration and destruction of each generation contributing to the urban infrastructure. Growing up in Oslo Norway, Martin was an active part of the emerging graffiti scene of the early 90’s. His works can be seen to mirror the rise and fall of the streets, as he symbolically recreates the urban environment, then vandalises it to reveal his vibrant transformations. Over the past decade, Martin has developed an unmistakable aesthetic combining abstract movement with figurative stencilled compositions. Martin Whatson (b.1984) is a Norwegian street artist best known for his calligraphic scribbles in grayscale voids. Martin Whatson calls this piece ’Passé’ as one of the main positions of ballet depicting a beautiful ballerina on a delicate grey background. Welcoming the artist with lots and joy and anticipation the residents of the house invited him for dinner and within 24 hours the mural was finished. Here the artist decided to underline the simplicity and beautiful stringency in color and shape of the multicolored houses creating a delicate ballerina in a multicolored skirt matching perfectly with the red roofs and colored facades. Working on another mural down the road, the big lift had to go for a ride to reach a little green house from the thirties placed in a street with houses in all kinds of colors and red roofs. Martin Whatson | ’Passé’ | Langesgade 9 | Aalborg | Denmark | Photo: Martin Whatson Mixing the two techniques in many layers a very powerful piece has come to life in the streets of Aalborg. The smile on his face tells about the joy of being back on the lift after Covid19 forcing him to take a long break.ĭuring the last few days there has been many trips up and down the 18 meters high wall downtown Aalborg where the artist has just finished his second mural as part of the sixth edition of the mural project ‘Out in the Open’ of the gallery.īridging the gap between spontaneous graffiti and sharply cut stencils Martin Whatson has created two of his first murals this year due to the severe travel restrictions around the world. ![]() Martin Whatson dries his forehead while, once again, going down with the lift to talk to people passing by his mural and fill up his basket with more cans. Today, Whatson’s work can be seen in murals across the globe, from Stavanger and Oslo, to Paris and Tokyo, as well as in galleries and private exhibitions, in the form of originals and hand finished limited editions on aluminium, wood, and paper.Martin Whatson | ’Rock Climber’ | Søndergade 60C | Aalborg | Denmark | Photo: Michael Kærgaard ![]() An aesthetics of beauty and colour is key. Apolitical, his works are instead concerned with a subtle messages and transmissions of feeling: each, ambiguous piece is designed to evoke emotion in its viewer, and each viewer takes their own journey and makes their own conclusions. Taking inspiration from the people and places around him, Whatson is drawn to metropolitan spaces, fuelled by decaying architectural sites, peeling posters, and crumbling graffiti walls, signed by anonymous figures. Inspired by the work of Banksy, Whatson took up his stencils and spray paints and began to develop his own, urban aesthetic: creating monochromatic images from simple stencils, Whatson then fills his works with bright lashings of colourful spray paint. Whatson studied Art and Graphic Design at the Westerdals School of Communication in Oslo, where, alongside learning the tricks and techniques of art practice, he fostered a keen interest in the emergent graffiti art movement of the 1990s. Martin Watson is a Norwegian-born artist, whose graphic, street style has been evolving on the walls and shutters of cities around the world over nearly two decades. ![]()
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