Individual Sole

Doze Green merges influences from his East Coast graffiti and b-boy background with a painting style he refined on the West Coast. The resulting artwork is complex and intensely symbolic, serving as a means of both social commentary and self-awareness. His interest in the duality of the human condition is reflected throughout his pieces. Doze Green’s work has been displayed in cities across Europe, Japan, Australia, and the United States.

via UpperPlayground’s WalrusTV

San Francisco’s own Upper Playground celebrates their 10th year with an archive - a 612-page hardcover book by Gingko Press, highlighting nearly every single graphics and artist ever feature on Upper Playground’s t-shirt.  Over 2,000 designs from hundreds of artist from the last decade, including Munk One, David Choe, Estevan Oriol, Dalek, Sam Flores, Jeremy Fish, Ricky Powell, Phase 2, Marok, Revolt, David Ellis, and Mars-1, to name a few.  Upper Playground: Ten Years of T-Shirt Graphics will retail for $39.95 and releases on Thursday, November 5th, at fine art bookstores, online retailers, and Upper Playground locations.

via Freshness

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Upper Playground recently announced a collaborative project with Montana Colors to create artist series Hardcore cans by four artists.  The third MTN x UP Limited Edition artist can in the series features the collaborative work of El Mac and Retna.

Each of these artists has developed his own distinctive style and technique; Retna is renowned especially for his bold calligraphic brushwork, and Mac for his uniquely stylized painting of lifelike faces and figures; El Mac uses spraypaint and Retna uses spraypaint and acrylic for paintings; oil, acrylic, enamel, pencil, and other mediums on paper, canvas, and wood.

The MTN x UP El Mac/Retna Limited Edition artist can and Alianza are available now in limited quantities and will be sold at Upper Playground retail stores and online on the Upper Playground web store.

The September Upper Playground t-shirt release includes a capsule collection designed by Hera. Hera brings a combination of classical art techniques that can be found on the three new designs that feature her signature characters.  Typically illustrating in pencil and spray can, her art translates beautifully to t-shirt graphics.  Hera gives us her take on danger, the afterlife, and a glimpse into the skeletons and secrets hiding in closets. The new Herakut collection is available at all Upper Playground retail stores and online at the Upper Playground web store.

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Upper Playground is releasing two New Era caps designed by artists Herbert Baglione and Jeremy Fish. Baglione’s art has gained him respect and recognition from his native Brazil to the U.S. and abroad. He is known for his strong minimalist and simplistic approach to painting. Jeremy Fish’s artwork can be found throughout his own line, superFishal, through the multiple books he has been featured in, and in the various collaborations he has done with corporations like Nike and Adidas.

Cat Moonlight, the design by Baglione, gives us a wistful look at a full moon from a black cat’s perspective. Fish’s Bunny Skull design creates a clever wall paper-type pattern covering the entire fitted with bunny skulls. The new 59FIFTY caps are available at all Upper Playground retail stores and online at the Upper Playground web store.

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Veteran graffiti writer Quik’s work has been integral to New York graff culture. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, his vibrant, bubble letter pieces covered NYC trains and subways. As one of the era’s influential writers, his tags appeared alongside the work of artists such as Zephyr, Futura 2000, and Revolt. Quik’s paintings have since been displayed in galleries and museums in New York, Amsterdam, and throughout Europe. Watch Ricky Powell have a conversation with Quik and Seen from “Dithers,” available for the first time to the public for free, on Walrus TV.