Many of us can remember growing up in the eighties and nineties, and the style of art that went along with that era - lots of it had the creepy cute style that artist works in, and it’s featured at Revelry’s newest show. Hailing from Nashville, TN Dirt works in a variety of mediums, all which give different and unique flavors to each piece he creates. From multi-layered acrylics to your basic canvas, Dirt’s colorful creations are sure to evoke a positive response from anyone who grew up with Rat Fink, Garbage Pail Kids or any of the other bizarre pop-art of the nineties.
Dirt’s amazing creations fall solidly inside of what’s known as the of art. All of the bright colors, the creepy-cute aesthetic and the cartoonish features of his work encompass the style, and do so masterfully. Lowbrow is all about evoking images of subcultures from throughout history, from surf culture to greasers and from Warhol to conventional prep, there’s something that sticks out in each of Dirt’s works that make it a standout in his field.
Dirt describes himself as an “inside kid” growing up. He “sketch(ed) hot rods, monsters, and cartoons” instead of kicking a ball around, and that led him into industrial design. He credits his professional background with giving him an appreciation for quality craftsmanship, which obviously comes through in his work - getting up close to his acrylic pieces makes it obvious that he values putting something solid and well-made together. Each pieces is huge, and despite its massiveness there isn’t a hint of flimsiness to it - it almost feels like you could toss it down a staircase and still stick it up on your wall afterwards.
If you’re into retro-inspired surrealist art, love the nineties and all of its subculture expression, or simply love creepy-cute creatures with intensely bright color pallets, you should probably go check out Dirt’s show at Revelry.
Pretty Ugly runs through November 13th at on Market Street. Get over there and find something awesome!
Photos courtesy of Revelry Boutique Gallery
