RISK (graffiti artist)

American graffiti artist

RISK

Born|

Louisiana

Occupation(s)| Graffiti Artist, Contemporary artist
Website| https://www.riskrock.com/

RISK (born Kelly Graval), also known as RISKY, is a Los Angeles–based graffiti writer and contemporary artist often credited as a founder of the West Coast graffiti scene.[1][2] In the 1980s, he was one of the first graffiti writers in Southern California to paint freight trains, and he pioneered writing on "heavens", or freeway overpasses.[3][4] He took his graffiti into the gallery with the launch of the Third Rail series of art shows, and later created a line of graffiti-inspired clothing.[5] In 2017, RISK was knighted by the Medici Family.[6]

## Early history

[edit]

Born to a Jewish family and raised in Louisiana, Graval moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1983 where he enrolled at University High School.[7] During his time in High School, RISK began tagging his name throughout the school and started a graffiti crew, Prime Crime Artists, with a few of his friends.[8] The artist then attended the Pasadena Art Institute and the University of Southern California, School of Fine Arts, both on full scholarships.[9][10] Graval did commercial work as well, working for corporate clients including Budweiser and Playboy, and in 1987, he spray-painted the set for Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" music video.[11][12][13] In 1989, RISK painted a set for the movie, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and has painted sets for music videos of artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube and Bad Religion.[8]

## Graffiti

[edit]

RISK started spray painting train yards and freeway overpasses throughout Los Angeles in the early 1980s, when graffiti marking making on the West Coast was in its infancy.[9] His moniker, RISK, is both a reference to the rebellious energy of graffiti culture, but also to the board-game.[9] RISK's style of lettering incorporates the flow of Wild Style, but showcases the artist's interest in balance, color field theory and legibility.[11][14][15] RISK has worked with the West Coast Artists crew and, in 1986, the artist painted a graffiti mural that was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine.[16][8] In 1989, RISK and his friend and fellow graffiti writer Slick, were asked to represent the United States at the Bridlington International Street Art Competition in the U.K, which they took home the silver cup.[17][18]

## Murals

[edit]

RISK expanded his practice from graffiti writing to include painting murals that explore color theory rather than lettering. In 2012, he worked on a project connected to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at the London Pleasure Gardens.[19] To support a project called ART History, RISK, alongside other renowned graffiti artists, painted the abandoned Miami Marine Stadium to raise money for the stadium's restoration in 2014.[1] In 2019, Risk painted the largest public mural in Canada, at the disused St. Joseph's Health Centre site of Health Sciences North in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, as part of the city's Up Here Festival.[20] That same year, RISK collaborated with MEAR ONE to paint a mural inspired by Art Nouveau artist, Alphonse Mucha at the Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles.[21] In 2020, he painted a mural for the Super Bowl LIV hosted in Miami, and, in 2023, RISK painted murals on the exterior walls of the Museum of Graffiti in Austin, Texas.[22][23][13] RISK has collaborated with some of the most notable contemporary urban artists, including Futura, Ed Moses, Ron English, and Shepard Fairey.[24][25]

## Fine Art and Sculpture

[edit]

Starting in 2010, RISK began to utilize found objects in his work, including license plates, car hoods and scrap metal.[11] Influenced by the Los Angeles Ferus Gallery and its emphasis on assemblage, activism and sculpture, RISK's sculptures incorporate similar themes.[26]

### Metallic Tissue, 2014

[edit]

For this series, RISK collected thousands of empty aerosol cans that he had used over years of art-making and flattened them to create his own innovative canvases.[9]

### Face Your Fears, 2018

[edit]

As an homage to Damien Hirst's infamous sculpture of a dead Tiger shark encased in formaldehyde, RISK created a 300-pound metal shark fashioned from license plates from all 50 states in the United States.[27] A former surfer, RISK also intended the subject matter to reference his fear of encountering sharks in the ocean and the material choice of license plates to allude to the police as urban predators. Face Your Fears collides the artist's personal biography with a salient reference to one of the most controversial sculptures in art history.

## Exhibitions

[edit]

RISK's work on canvas was featured in the benchmark 2011 "Art in the Streets" street art exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, curated by Jeffrey Deitch.[28] RISK was one of five Los Angeles graffiti artists included.[29] In 2018, his sculptures and graffiti tags were featured in "Beyond the Streets," a traveling exhibition of urban art curated by Roger Gastman.[30][31] In 2019, several of his pieces were included in an exhibition at the California Museum of Art.[32] RISK's canvas work has been on-view at museums around the country, including: the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Graffiti Museum in Miami, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art.[33]

In July 2023, RISK participated as a special invited guest at the Los Angeles art and music collective Surf Skate Roots Rock, alongside of known skateboarder-artist pioneers such as Lance Mountain, Lonnie Toft, Marty Grimes Greyson Fletcher, and Steve Olson.[34]

## Clothing

[edit]

RISK founded Third Rail clothing line in 1992, one of the pioneering street wear lines.[35][36] He has collaborated with fashion brands, such as Citizens of Humanity, Nike and lululemon to create clothing with his signature graffiti aesthetic.[37][38] The artist has designed clothes for celebrities and musicians, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Halsey, Kid Rock, House of Pain and Limp Bizkit.[10]

## Publications

[edit]

* Gastman, Roger. "Freight Train Graffiti." New York: Abrams, 2006.
* Alva, Robert. "The History of Los Angeles Graffiti Art." Alva & Reiling Publications, 2005.
* Grody, Steve. "Graffiti L.A." New York: Abrams, 2006.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "From painting overpasses to stadiums, a graffiti artist on his evolving art form". PBS NewsHour. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
2. ^ Rosa, Amanda (February 15, 2023). "Art Wynwood returns for the first time since pandemic. Here's what you need to know". Miami Herald. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
3. ^ "New Shul to honor graffiti artist, Canyon club owner at event". Thousand Oaks Acorn -. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
4. ^ "Risk – Wide Open Walls". www.wideopenwalls.com. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
5. ^ Gural, Natasha. "Contemporary Art Mastery And Alt Rock Royalty Collide At RISK's Inimitable California Compound, A Singular Homage To Andy Warhol's Factory". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
6. ^ "HOME". Mysite. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
7. ^ "RISK, Legendary L.A. Street Artist, Laments What He Sees As L.A. City Crackdown in Shadow of MOCA's 'Art in the Streets' Show".
8. ^ a b c "Artist of the Month | March 2013 | RISK | Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles". www.themcla.org. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
9. ^ a b c d Chen, Min (2023-02-09). "'An Addiction I Could Never Shake': Street Art Pioneer Risk on How He Brought Graffiti From the Street to the Gallery". Artnet News. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
10. ^ a b "RISK | Widewalls". www.widewalls.ch. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
11. ^ a b c Finkel, Jori (2011-04-10). "Risk, more of L.A.'s street art pioneers paint a colorful history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
12. ^ "Risky Business: The Pioneering SoCal Art of RISK, TAZ, and Estevan Oriol". FLOOD. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
13. ^ a b Treaster, Joseph B. (2020-01-29). "The Super Bowl Is the Biggest Art Show in Miami Right Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
14. ^ "Graffiti Legend RISK To Release 350 Page Book with 1XRUN". www.widewalls.ch. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
15. ^ "ARTISTS". Art Beyond Survival. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
16. ^ "Artist - RISK". Regime Contemporary @ The Mayfair Hotel LA. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
17. ^ "Art in the Streets". artinthestreets.org. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
18. ^ "Risk". Jonathan Levine Projects. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
19. ^ "The Writing on the Wall". issuu. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
20. ^ Martha Dillman, "Muralist RISK transforms old Sudbury hospital into a work of art". CBC News Sudbury, August 31, 2019.
21. ^ Musbach, Julie. "Kelly 'Risk' Graval & Mear One Paint The Maiden Of The Mayfair Mural In Los Angeles". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
22. ^ "Museum Of Graffiti Announces Austin Pop-Up With New Exhibit". KXAN Austin. 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
23. ^ "Museum of Graffiti paints Austin for the 50th anniversary of hip hop - CultureMap Austin". austin.culturemap.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
24. ^ "RISK | Peace and Justice | RISK X Shepard Fairey (2013) | Artsy". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
25. ^ "Artist of the Week – RISK | Widewalls". www.widewalls.ch. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
26. ^ "Kelly "Risk" Graval Talks Sculpture, Sharks, and Curating the Mayfair Hotel". Cartwheel Art. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
27. ^ Gural, Natasha. "RISK's Colossal Shark Charges Auction World, Challenges Art History, With Stupendous Display At Phillips". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
28. ^ "MOCA's 'Art in the Streets' exhibition brings unwanted neighborhood effect: graffiti vandalism". Los Angeles Times. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
29. ^ "Downtown L.A.'s 'mural mayor' Daniel Lahoda draws praise, controversy". Los Angeles Times. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
30. ^ "'Beyond the Streets' art exhibition extends its L.A. run". Los Angeles Times. 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
31. ^ "RISK Recreates His Venice Pavilion Work for "Beyond The Streets"". COOL HUNTING®. 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
32. ^ "ON EXHIBIT | Influential graffiti artist Kelly "RISK" Graval at CMATO". VC Reporter | Times Media Group - News, Culture, Arts and Opinion. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
33. ^ "RISK". sugarpressart.com. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
34. ^ "juicemagazine.com". lamag.com. 2 July 2023.
35. ^ arts (2013-08-13). "Keep On Keepin' On". The Manitoban. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
36. ^ Mayhem, Music (2019-03-19). "Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival Announces Visual Art Lineup Featuring Famed Street Artist RISK". Music Mayhem Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
37. ^ Bokhowa, Nada (September 29, 2016). "Art Meets Fashion: Citizens of Humanity Collaborates with RISK". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
38. ^ Asch, Andrew (August 29, 2019). "Risk x Yoggx Clothing Collab Drops at In Heroes We Trust". www.apparelnews.net. Retrieved 2023-04-26.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States