Gaia gets around.  For an artist who isn’t old enough to drink, his work is already prolific both locally and globally.  If you wander through his Flickr stream long enough, you’ll take turns in Mexico City, Baltimore, South Korea, New York City, San Francisco, Washington, DC and numerous other cities. Through July 24th you can catch Gaia’s show at Irvine Contemporary but also make sure to stop behind the Whole Foods on P Street or stroll down 14th past Café Saint-Ex for more “Cease” images.  The message of his enormous black-and-white hands reminds me of Shepard Fairey’s “OBEY” posters but they’re big enough to go without saying.

I met Gaia last year and his afro is unmistakable (he appeared to chop it down for the Irvine show), but I continue to respect his preference for Internet anonymity.  Quite simply, I don’t know any artist that creates work like this.  His fantastic giant scribbles rise from the sidewalk to form indelible images that can be scraped off a wall but not out of your head.  They’re a paradox of mutant purity, in the case of Korea, he combined rabbits and tigers, but he also crosses humans and animals.  Each piece is playful, whimsical but not without meaning, as Irvine says he reflects “on the ancient themes of animal and human sympathies.”

There’s more Gaia out there than you can keep track of.  So pay attention.

Photo Credits: Joshua Yospyn/Worn Magazine (please ask permission to use our images)

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