“There’s no school for graffiti. You learn by doing it on the streets. Usually illegally at first, like me.”

Graffiti artist, gallery owner, father, husband and entrepreneur Man One arrives at Seaside’s Alternative Cafe for the first time this weekend in an art show called Coin Operated. His colorful, controlled “burners” (elaborate graffiti paintings) have moved from society scourge to the toast of the art scene to corporate commodity – and live comfortably in all those worlds.

The Gallery at The Alternative Café is proud to present its first solo exhibition “coin Operated” featuring the work of urban muralist and graffiti artist Man One.  Man One’s artwork has been showcased in over 40 group exhibitions domestically and internationally, eight one-person shows, and displayed at several museums and high profile galleries, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Getty, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana, and Parco Museum in Tokyo. Man One has successfully raised the artistic bar on graffiti art, witnessed by his wide range of work, which speaks for itself.

Additionally, Crewest officially opens a new “Featured Artist Room” on February 6th, 2010.  This new Featured Artist Room will feature monthly installations by featured artists selected by Crewest.  Kicking off inside this new room, Crewest presents “Life Inside” a collaborative installation, directed under Edgar "OSOK" Hoill, featuring the creative works of  Adrian Nieto, John Jarasa, Gregg Stone, Juan Sanchez Jr., Salim Assid Jr., Elena Dominguez, David Montes and Rafael Vasquez. Dedicated and inspired by the trying times of prison, this moving installation brings patrons into the underground world of the prison system as well as the lifestyle which landed them there. Its central focus is to bring the best out of a world gone wrong and it's an artistic portrayal of the beauty found and created in a world most often times associated with negative stereotypes and grim outlooks.