The Underground’s “Kinetic Nation” went up on display at Duckworth Studios at 169 Coffey St. starting in March and closed April 26. The work featured street and graffiti art and was curated by Sam Patrone.
There was a celebration of “Kinetic Nation” on April 20 at The House of Pizza & Calzone at 132 Union St., and Erudito Cannabis Dispensary, which is located down the block at 120 Union St.
There was pizza, cheeseballs, calzones, and cannabis products, which people were able to enjoy in the House of Pizza’s pleasant backyard. There were also local vendors who had tables set up along with a DJ, and live art was made by L’Amour Supreme, whose work was a part of “Kinetic Nation.”
Wanted to do art again
“I lived in the City in the late 80s and 90s and was involved in the music arts scene,” Supreme said. “I moved to Long Island, got married, had a kid, bought a house, and then after my daughter was born, I just wanted to do art again. I moved to Greenpoint, and that’s what I’ve done. I’m known as a muralist doing street art with a comic book style. Lately, I feel like life is art, and I’ve been creating moments and having different forms of art. I would get too bored if I did the same thing all the time.”
A lot of people from the neighborhood stopped by, enjoyed the event, and watched Supreme work while getting food or smoking in the backyard. Patrone also showed me the different pieces in “Kinetic Nation” at Duckworth Studios.
“I’m lucky to be able to work with a lot of the artists one-on-one,” said Patrone. “I’ve worked with a lot of them for a long time, and I’ve become friends with a lot of them. They trust me with their work, and I’m very honored in that sense. It means a lot that they’re letting me into their studios and seeing their process, including some who can typically be more elusive. I think there’s a lot of mutual respect.”
Many of the pieces made political statements. One was about a whale that had washed up on shore, and the piece showed how natural resources are being depleted.
“We’re showing all aspects with The Underground,” Patrone said. “We’re showing the pioneers who started and created street art, and then we have more modern ones, whether they’re being realists, or visual artists, or going outside of street art. We have graffiti, street artists, and visual artists all coming together.
“It’s about trying to cross generations and have the newer kids understand the legacy of the older generations who created the medium and then have the older ones see the newer ones who are pushing the medium.”
Patrone also said that there’s a focus on making sure that the artists are being supported and making sure they’re getting paid through brands and sponsorships. He has worked to make sure there is always a stream of revenue coming in for the artists, which means they can focus on continuing to be creative and work on new artwork.
There were multiple sponsors for The Underground’s “Kinetic Nation” exhibit, including Erudito, Fernway, Back Home Farm, and Dank By Definition.
“Erudito was looking to do a 4/20 event, and through them we got to talking with Paul, the owner of House of Pizza, who was great, and we came to an agreement on what we would do for the event,” Patrone said. “We want to have events like this where people from the community can come out and have a good time. We have a good working relationship with Erudito, and we plan to do more in Red Hook, too. We love having events for the community.”
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