SHOE - LETTERLIK
Niels Shoe Meulman (born 1967) is a visual artist, known for his gestural paintings which reveal vivid traces of graffiti and calligraphy. He revolutionized the art of writing when he initiated the Calligraffiti movement, claiming “a word is an image and writing is painting”.
Being a graffiti pioneer from Amsterdam, Shoe tagged along with New York counterparts such as Dondi White, Rammellzee and Keith Haring in the 1980s. Equally influenced by the great painters of Abstract Expressionism, he gradually found his own way to translate street attitude to gallery walls.
Experimenting within the traditional medium of paint-on-canvas, but also unafraid to venture into new realms like conceptual installations and poetry, Niels Shoe Meulman keeps pushing the limits of Urban Contemporary.
LETTERLIK
LETTERLIK – a word which translates to literally in both Dutch and Afrikaans serves as the title for this cultural exchange with Amsterdam graffiti pioneer Niels Shoe Meulman. Also taken literally as ‘Letters so good you want to Lick them’
Shoe has been involved in graffiti since the late 70’s and his constant drive to pursue the art form of lettering has made him a legend around the world. Coining the term ‘Calligraffiti’ and pushing the idea that ‘ A word is an image and writing is painting’
Shoe’s process is as much a part of his work as the finished paintings are, we wanted to capture this energy and use of space in a way that allows the viewer to go inside the mind of the artist. This installation is the remains of shoes workings while prepping for a group show at Kalashnikovv Gallery as part of his trip to Johannesburg.