Opening night at Crewest Gallery (2011)
My sneakers are a reflection of my art, whether they are paint-spattered, burned or caked in dirt and mud. I have saved nearly all my used sneakers over the years, and recently, I started purposely painting on my shoes with the stencils and spray paints I use to make my L.A. Blue Bum paintings. Then I took it a step further and began creating brightly colored whimsical paintings on my old pairs of sneakers, incorporating their age and relative state of disrepair. I call them my Tricked Out Kicks. I wear them to openings and art events, and for the Art of Transportation exhibition at Crewest Gallery in downtown L.A., I was asked to exhibit some of them. Instead of a traditional display, I decided to show them in a way that fit the theme of the graffiti-inspired show and reflected the personality of my Echo Park neighborhood: I hung them from electrical cables strung across the gallery 14 feet off the ground.
The 'Tricked Out Kicks' installation at Crewest Gallery.
The 'Tricked Out Kicks' installation at Crewest Gallery. (2011)
Assembled shoes in the 'Tricked Out Kicks' installation.
STEPHEN SEEMAYER 