art.wikisort.org - Artist

RETNA (born Marquis Lewis 1979) is a contemporary artist, primarily recognized for graffiti art. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and started his career in the early 1990s. He developed a distinctive constructed script which is derived from Blackletter, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Arabic, and Hebrew calligraphy, as well as more traditional types of street-based graffiti. In addition to exhibiting at institutions and galleries in Los Angeles, Miami, London, New York and Hong Kong, Retna has done advertising work for brands such as VistaJet, Louis Vuitton, and Nike. His artwork adorns the cover of Justin Bieber's Purpose album that debuted in 2015. Retna has many high profile patrons, including fast food magnate Sam Nazarian.

RETNA
Born	Marquis Lewis (1979-03-24) March 24, 1979 (age 43) Los Angeles, California, United States
Known for	calligraphy, graffiti art
Website	www.digitalretna.com

Career

His hieroglyphic style artwork has also been seen in the Lower East Side on the Rivington Street Wall near Bowery.[1]

Museum projects

• 2013: RETNA: Para mi gente. Artist was invited to create art installation inside Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA.[2]

Public projects

In 2016 he was commissioned to paint the side of the 24 story public housing building, Edificio Cuauhtémoc, in the Tlatelolco zone of Mexico City.[3]

Selected solo exhibitions

• 2017: MARGRAVES, Maddox Gallery, London, UK[4][5]
• 2017: MANO A MANO, New Image Gallery, Los Angeles, CA[6][7]

Art fairs

• 2017: LA Art Show[8]

Commercial work

• Nike (2011). Retna contributed to the overall graphic and visual arts elements for the re-opening of a Nike store in Las Vegas.[9]
• Louis Vuitton (2012). In October 2012, Retna was commissioned by the fashion design firm Louis Vuitton to create signage for their temporary Miami Design District boutique. The project was a collaboration with street artists Aiko and Os Gêmeos, and included the design of scarves and accessories.[10]
• VistaJet (2012). The airline company VistaJet commissioned Retna to decorate the tailfin of the VistaJet Global Express XRS with his signature script. Since its completion, the vessel's value is estimated at $60 million. The completed project was unveiled in 2012 in Geneva.[11]
• Justin Bieber's Purpose (2015). In 2015, Retna designed the artwork for Justin Bieber's new album "Purpose". The artwork had some Buddhist, Christian and Hindu influences and Bieber is there with his both hands joined vertically.
• Opera Aida (2016). In 2016, Retna was invited by Francesca Zambello to create the set design for Aida at the San Francisco Opera.[12][13]
• John F. Kennedy Center (2017). In 2017, Retna's work was used as inspiration to design the set and costumes for Washington National Opera’s Aida. A series of hand-painted murals were displayed for six-week exhibition at the Kennedy Center Grand Foyer and Hall of Nations at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The words of JFK can be found in these original murals.[14][15][16][17]
• Opera Aida (2018). In 2018, Retna collaborated with Seattle Opera to design the stage sets for Verdi's Aida.[18][19]

Controversy

Retna has also repeatedly been in the news for violent acts, which have included: destroying artworks, an accusation of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Brittny Gastineau, and vandalizing a Los Angeles gallery.[20][21][22][23][24]

References

External links

Official website

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