American artist Ken Flewellyn works at the intersection of cultures, of past and contemporary subcultures, fuelled by his love for hip-hop and Japanese art. His realist paintings borrow motifs from Japanese culture, creating anonymous portraits of women that challenge our assumptions about identity and cultural homogeneity. His work is featured as a part of the opening of URBAN NATION Museum in 2017. […]
American artist Ken Flewellyn works at the intersection of cultures, of past and contemporary subcultures, fuelled by his love for hip-hop and Japanese art. His realist paintings borrow motifs from Japanese culture, creating anonymous portraits of women that challenge our assumptions about identity and cultural homogeneity. His work is featured as a part of the opening of URBAN NATION Museum in 2017.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ken Flewellyn graduated in illustration from Cal State University at Northridge and worked in the design industry before he turned his focus to gallery work. Flewellyn’s art works through the power of cultural mash-up. With his idea of cultural heterogeneity he was socialized with since the early 1980s, as he grew up with hip hop that evolved from a localized cultural moment to an international form embracing the complexity of multiple voices. Cultural heterogeneity that he depicts by combining boom boxes and kimonos, gold chains and silk and many more objects from different worlds.
