METAMORPHOSIS
CORTES' FIRST COLLECTION
Cortes had an ambitious start to his painting career. He already had experience rendering in blackbooks and recognition for his aerosol techniques, but had no formal training in canvas painting.
In 1992 he prepared a collection of pieces for an exhibit with an art collective called Sol Concepts. The exhibit was called Metamorphosis and was a collaboration with his fellow A3 crew members, Greed, Gacha and Egrol. The show was meant to display the evolution of their street art into fine art. Cortes drew inspiration from hip-hop, fine art and his urban surroundings to form the art style that would define his career. The canvasses produced during this time period were featured in Hip Hop and graffiti magazines. One of his first pieces, Train No.7, fell into controversy and landed him on the cover of New York Newsday. His paintings were hard to categorize. Graffiti outsiders felt the his work was too refined to be considered graffiti but too street to be fine art. Cortes continued to carve out his individual style and prove that his work was ahead of it's time.
BONEYARD SERIES
Cortes drew inspiration from Latin American culture to create the signature skull motifs in his boneyard collection. The human skull is a powerful symbol in both Spanish and indigenous cultures. To some ancient cultures, life was seen as an illusion. The after life was a positive step toward reality. Once you shed your physical form you reach a higher level of existence.
Cortes could identify with those ideas in his art. He felt modern life to be a superficial and illusive. The animated skulls, wisely judging from the beyond are symbols of the many Graffiti pioneers who have left their mark. Famous and anonymous artists alike, all share the same place in his boneyard. Cortes' theme is a celebration of life, rebirth and the permanence of the artist's legacy.
GRAFFITI COMPOSITIONS
When a graffiti artist truly identifies with his tag, his lettering style speaks for itself. The designs breathe life to his name. Graffiti letters become the main subject of his work. In this collection Cortes allows the lettering to become the center focus of his composition. Linear motion and the flow of shapes activate the two dimensional surface. Subtle Color shifts, patterns and textures create the tone. Somber reflection is the objective of this collection.
THE SOUL OF GRAFFITI
Painting has always been a personal process for Cortes. Applying paint to canvas and exploring deeper feelings has been a therapeutic routine throughout his career. The following pieces use poetic symbolism to deal with love, loss, sacrifice and faith
GRAFFITI & THE MUSE
Artists have always sought inspiration from muses in the form of music poetry and visual beauty. Graffiti Artists also find inspiration in their modern surroundings. In this collection Cortes explores his own muses.
SOCIAL COMMENTARY
Cortes always had a flair for political cartoons and editorial art. The pace of social media has forced artists to react much faster to a current events. So Cortes developed a watercolor technique to quickly express his views. The following is a collection of Cortes' latest works on paper.
FREESTYLE ABSTRACTION
Cortes dives into the essence of graffiti with what we describe as Freestyle Abstraction. Graffiti has always been a movement of expression, pride and strength. Freestyle was born on walls using the materials available to leave a mark. Cortes utilizes different abstract art movements to explore the elements of graffiti.
