Steve ESPO Powers is a wordsmith of fine art. He creates something universal while always being true to himself, an original with a knack of making all of us feel included. Even though his wit may appear to be made for the social media age, he is a graffiti artist at heart, and his use of text and language is succinct and cerebral, and that he takes this language and turns it into a combination of painting with a sign-painters aesthetic makes him one of the more unique painters we cover (and 3x on the Juxtapoz cover, mind you...).
His newest solo show at Galleria Patricia Armocida in Milan is perfectly titled: The Many Moods of Steve ESPO Powers. It feels authentic to the work and to the man who is ableto place himself in the work and yet still have a wide connection with an audience. The work is about him and about you. The large enamel on aluminum works, gouaches on paper, and two site-specific light installations are all full of sayings and his own truisms, some from his iconic catalog and other fresh perspectives from the NYC-based artist.
"Ask me to make paintings in these days of chaos and this is what you get; self-portraits because I am present, words because they are wanted, and love because it is needed," Powers said of the show. These may be his many moods, but they are always our collective moods, and it's why Powers is one of the most enduring artists to emerge from graffiti in the last three decades. —Evan Pricco
