This is "The Bay Area 5"

111 Minna Gallery is pleased to present their latest project, The Bay Area 5, featuring the works of five renowned and highly prolific Bay Area artists. Opening on April 20th 2023, the Bay Area 5 will feature the works of Max Ehrman (Eon 75), Seibot, Nicole Hayden, Josh Thurman and Messy Beck. All five of these artists have been active in the Bay Area throughout the last decade (and longer) creating murals throughout the streets of San Francisco, the greater Bay Area and abroad. Ranging from backgrounds starting in graffiti, street art, illustration, architecture and fine art; all of these artists have come to make a name for themselves in the Bay with full building size murals, expansive street art projects, dozens of community driven storefront murals during the pandemic and privately commissioned murals for clients ranging from small businesses in San Francisco to The Googleplex in Mountain View, Ca.

Max Ehrman goes under the moniker ‘Eon 75’ meaning Extermination.Of.Normality and 1975, his birth year. Gaining much of his inspiration from studying architecture in Florida and Germany, Max has painted murals and exhibited work in 10 countries and 3 continents. He has traveled with the ‘Meeting of Styles’ creating large scale works throughout Europe, Asia and South America.  Seibot (KT Seibert) is an extremely queer, trans non-binary visual artist and muralist based in San Francisco. KT works primarily in acrylic and latex paint, metal leaf, ink, glitter additives, and high gloss finishes. KT is the co-owner of Moth Belly Gallery, located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. 

Nicole Hayden’s work explores a juxtaposition between pattern and figurative realism. She uses imagery from photos and magazines from the 1950s-60s with a vintage color palette to ignite a feeling of nostalgia. She intuitively marries this imagery underneath a colorful patterned foreground with the intention of creating a new open ended story for the viewer to interpret. Josh Thurman’s new works explore the combination of making 2D pieces look 3D, and 3D pieces look 2D. His process of layering wood of different thicknesses provides a unique viewing experience from different angles making his oil paintings look 3D and lifelike. His work explores subjects ranging from cultural iconography to various pop culture based fan art all the way to original characters of his own creation. Messy Beck is a painter, illustrator and muralist. Her work showcases narratives that explore themes of identity, mental health and human connection. The contrast between her inviting color palettes and uniquely peculiar figures yield paintings that are constantly navigating a fine line between celebratory and disturbing.