Cedric Umoja
Born and partly raised in California but having spent most of his adult life in the South, Cedric Umoja when asked, will tell you that he’s from here but California has a special place in his heart. Artists that influence him include: Dondi White, Sam Kieth, Max Beckmann and Hans Hoffman. His work is influenced by graffiti, modern European and American art, comic books, and even R-rated movies and began to congeal when he studied under Tony Cacalano, a veteran fine artist whose own teachers included Jack Tworkov one of the founders of the New York School. Cedric Umoja creates visual dialogue with his audience, using various mediums, methods, and tools. His medium of choice is paint- house, water, acrylic, and aerosol- and his canvases range from recycled materials including cardboard, waste concrete backer board and the occasional door to traditional canvas and plywood. His artwork features brilliant colors, symbolism, ethnic expression, psychological and metaphysical references along with mysticism as his language. His goal is to bring together past, present, and future means of communicating in a holistic manner to create a familiar yet modern way of altering the thinking of the status quo!
http://conceptualbooking.com/
http://izmsofart.wordpress.com/cedric-umoja/