Faile seems to have lived many lives throughout the past few decades, and those lives are parallel to the trajectory that street art has taken during that same time period. From subversive wheatpastes to grand murals and public art installations, to the immersive Deluxe Fluxx arcade with Bast and their own museum and fine art exhibitions, they occupy a recognized space in the art world, eminently present, but emblematic in their own universe. Both Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, the duo that make up Faile, share what is arguably their biggest strength: an insatiable, unrelenting love of the visual culture of their youth, a 1980s nostalgia that also addresses the complexities of past memory and how childhood and young adult experiences burrow into our psyche.
Off the walls is the newest exhibition by the Faile duo, on display from August 29—October 3 at Danysz Gallery in Paris. The City of Lights has been good for Faile, as their works capture a certain spirit of the city that is about a 1980s aesthetic when it comes to street culture. The collaged paintings in the exhibition hold the shared appeal of viewing a scrapbook or door outside a concert venue. Layers of memory are lovingly, but calculatedly applied to canvas, with bright colors and pop-culture references juxtaposed on each work.. Faile are the rare artists who can maintain an abiding inspiration and find new ways to express that vision, and accustomed as we are to seeing their works in such large format, what a treat to see them work on a gallery scale this season. —Evan Pricco
