Megumi Ogita Gallery is pleased to announce the new two-person exhibition "Rude Words" by Anthony Lister and Brian Leo.

Anthony Lister is a painter born in Brisbane, Australia, and is known for his style that mixes the images of high culture and local char. He is one of the most technically admired and admired contemporary writers today. In both stories and still lifes, his work has captured the hearts of many viewers of his generation, and the images in his work clearly show his abilities. His uncompromising work has long served as a bridge between the streets and the formal galleries usually reserved for top writers.
Lister is the first writer to be named as a student of New Zealand master Max Gimblet. After graduating from college in his early twenties, he studied with Gimblet in a studio in New York. His work and his uniqueness as a passionate writer have been featured in more than 100 publications around the world, and the Netflix award-winning documentary film Anthony Lister: The Light and Shadow of the Artist. Was also produced. As a teenager, he was part of the pioneering of local street art and is now recognized as one of Australia's premier street artists. Charcoal, acrylic paints, sprays and oil paints are used in his scribbled, figurative, and at first glance works. “The first rule of painting is to get rid of the role of everyone,” he says. "Because I am both a writer and a viewer, I do not downplay the viewers of my work. They know everything through the work, and I also have their perspective. We are making it. ”We will be able to experience that his work is rooted in real life through appreciation.

Brian Leo continues to work based in New York. He graduated from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1999 and has held a wide range of solo and group exhibitions overseas, including Senegal and throughout the United States, including Seattle and San Francisco, including past exhibitions at the Megumi Ogita Gallery. I did. Leo is known for installing small paintings on a large scale, sometimes extending from floor to ceiling. His work is based on a wide range of things such as his sense of belonging, current events, pop culture, and social issues, and he creates vivid works with cartoon-like forms and images.

Each writer uses his or her own method to express the connection or disconnection between our lives and the media, sense of belonging, culture and all things related to them. Both writers create new stories in their individual circumstances and social perspectives, using images that are familiar to us. The characters in the work may also be placed in a surreal and humorous situation (such as Leo's work “Amazon”, where Star Wars Chewbacca holds an Amazon tree in the rainforest and jumps out of the Amazon box on the online shopping site. ). Lister explores ancient myths and legends through the language of pop culture, which he has used for over a decade.

At this exhibition, Lister will showcase colorful superheroes drawn with quick brush strokes on a white background from the "Modern Myths" series, blurring the line between street art and fine art. Leo will exhibit about 100 small works on themes such as personal experience, consideration of globalization, and social criticism. Along with their unique and distinctive works, the voice performance by Lister at the opening reception on the first day of the session from 7:30 pm is also a must-see.

Please look forward to "Rude Words", a two-person exhibition by Anthony Lister and Brian Leo.