Second Saturday | Steve Lurkel Preview & Interview “Oh! You Pretty Things” Opening Feb 13, 6-9p
Forage Space: Describe your work to viewers that might not be familiar with it.
Steve Lurkel: My work stems mostly from a graffiti background. I started playing around with different imaginative characters some years ago and I decided to make stickers out of them. I grew from there. Learned to paint very non-traditionally; without an initial idea to build off so you can always find my stuff pretty random, mostly on found objects, like old windows, palettes, or doors. Bold bright colors and several different mediums make up the majority of my pieces usually accompanied by thick black opaque lines. I aim to provide a cutesy feeling mixed with a little harsh reality. Be it the little guy who always has a hand over his mouth, a baby narwhal, or an overweight bird it’s never too hard to decipher.
FS: Do you name your characters?
Lurkel: Funny y’all ask. My main guy didn’t have a name until about 3 years ago. Which is CRAZY because I’d already been drawing, cutting, and placing them in the streets of Boston and New London by the hundre
ds for years. Never once did I have a name or think of one. As for the rest of them, no I don’t have names for those dudes. I like to consider them all family though. Like, immediate family, not no step-kids.
FS: Favorite Mid-Winter Meal
Lurkel: Toss up between Dumplings and Turkey meatloaf.
FS: What should we expect for your opening on Feb 13th?
Lurkel: People should expect a very chill dude from South Eastern Connecticut trying to spread love with some cat-dog-mice and lots of vibrant colors. And lots of high 5’s and hugs! Or handshakes, whatever y’all prefer. People are so weird when it comes to hugs and that’s crazy to me.
FS: Do you think living on the East Coast influenced your work?
Lurkel: Absolutely. Especially, early on; over the years though I’ve gained influence from so many things and so many places from old pysch rock album covers to infamous European graffiti artists like “Horfe” and plenty of my close friends.
FS: What are you listening to while you’re creating this show?
Lurkel: Oooo. That’s a tuffy. My tables and record collection are always set up at the studio taunting me so I’m usually all over the place. Heavy rotation off the tops has definitely been a lot of Madlib, Electric Wizard, Howling Wolf, and of course, Bowie.
The Pine Cone Gentleman 