#slvstrco

[curatedfortheartist]

Reginald Sylvester ii

Oil on Canvas

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[ordinarychin]

Slvstr + In Search of a Wonderful Place

I've been following Reggie Slvstr on Instagram for a little minute now. I can't remember how I stumbled on his page, but I'm just glad that I did. Saw that he was having a gallery showing at White Box for five days, and opening reception night was April 30th, so of course I had to go. Crazy, crazy turnout. Too many people. Which is a beautiful thing for him, but I wanted to take pictures of the art and with everyone there I wasn't able to. So, three days later I went on my lunch break. Since it was Sunday, I figured that the space would be completely empty and I could quickly take pictures and head right back to work. I was almost right. 

I walk into White Box and find it occupied by 5 or 6 other people. White Box is a pretty decent space, so 5 or 6 people is still basically empty. Of those 5 or 6 people Slvstr was among them. I wanted to talk to him, but in a more cozy setting, like a coffee shop or something. So, I minded my business and continued taking pictures. After I was done taking pictures, I had it in my mind to walk out, but before I did I said hi to Slvstr's friend and business partner Paulo Wallo, who then introduced me to Slvstr.

Now, Slvstr and I have started up conversation. I'm telling him about my family in Georgia (I do not remember why), he's telling me that's where his mom lives. We're talking about how horrible this past winter was in the city (but only the strong survive), then I got to asking him questions about his work. Here's the rest of our conversation:

I feel like your work is George Condo inspired, are you a fan?

I am, I met George Condo, I showed him my work. He fucks with it. 

I feel like I have a lot of influences, definitely of artists from the time period that we’re in. But I mean that’s why the show is called, “In Search of a Wonderful Place.” 

I really fuck with that name by the way.

Thank you.

That shit is hard.

Thank you.

Yea man, this is my first show. I’m a young artist. This is me in search of my true visual voice.

How old are you?

28

28? [Laughs] You look like a baby.

I know, I know, I know. 

You said that you were influenced by other artists in our generation?

I’m influenced by artists in our generation, I’m influenced by past artists. I mean, I’m influenced by life and experiences, and energy and being in the moment. 

I don’t know. When people tell me that the pieces remind them of George Condo, or Kaws, I mean if you were to put one of these pieces next to a Condo or a Kaws, you couldn’t relate. 

For me to get compared to those guys, it’s an honor, but their paintings for me are way more intense. There’s a lot more wisdom in their pieces, and they’ve been doing it for a lot longer.

You know what I think it is? When I say that I see Condo, and I can see why people say Kaws too because I wasn’t thinking of him until you said it, but when I say that I mean the styles are similar. Nobody knows where you are mentally or where any of these artists are mentally when they’re doing their thing.

Yea, yea it’s just tough. I’m going to always deal with comparisons, but I don’t know. To get compared is a gift and a curse. I mean, like I said, I have plenty of time to grow as an artist. The work’s going to change. The next body of work might be reminiscent of this, but it will probably be far removed. 

Right now in your life, how are you feeling? Are you happy? Are you going through shit? Is everything alright?

I’m happy. I’m very appreciative of the support I’ve gotten. A lot of collectors, big collectors have bought work. Not just one piece, but a few pieces. I mean these guys are buying Basquiat and Warhol and Kaws and Condo, all those guys. They have an eye for art, and for them to see something in my work that feels like it’s not just reminiscent of somebody else, but for them to see it for me and to back it, I feel like I’m making some type of strides.

Nah, your shit is lit.

For me, this is really just the beginning. This is who I am, this is my introduction. The work’s going to grow. It has so much room to grow. 

I feel like there are too many people in our generation that are looking at other people and are trying to be like them, instead of trying to be themselves. You just said that this is you making your mark. So, what would you say to those who don’t know who they are and are trying to find who they are?

Keep searching. Life’s a long, long journey. People may not find themselves, or feel like they found themselves until they’re elderly. You just gotta do you and not be afraid to do what you feel is right. 

For a long time the work that I was doing before this, people were stoked on that. If I were to do a show on that people would’ve compared me to this person or that person. And I’ve pushed harder and the work has definitely grown and evolved, and people are still saying that. The work is definitely significantly better than where I was. I feel like no matter how far you push yourself and try to take it or how long you take to feel like you found yourself, somebody is always going to find someone to compare you to.

I feel like that’s why I’m here, because look at these artists that people compare me to. They compare me to Kaws, they compare me to George Condo, they compare me to Murakami, but all of these artists are older and they’re far removed from the culture that we’re in. With me I’m 28, I’m approachable, I’m coming from this culture. I’m a person coming out of this, doing something and I just want to represent the times in the best way. Of course it’s going to come off like, “oh he’s doing this, and it looks like that” because I came up on Kaws. I came up on Murakami. I came up on Pharrell and NERD, to Kanye. I mean all these musicians that were involved with these contemporary artists. You know, it’s just the times. What somebody told me before is that what an artist is supposed to do is capture the times, and I feel like for me being who I am, and how old I am and where I’m coming from, I feel like I’m doing a perfect job at that. And I’m capturing the times, I’m capturing what we’re all into. 

I know the reason why so many people are following what the next man is doing is because they see that what the next man is doing is working. And they don’t believe enough in what they’re doing to do it their own way. So, what do you have to say for those who are feeling discouraged in their paths?

You gotta to do it for yourself. These pieces I really put together, and I painted for myself. I could’ve done a show a long time ago. You know, I would ask myself, “Why am I painting? What’s the purpose? What’s the reason?” at a point where I didn’t even know what to paint. So, you can’t do anything because you see somebody finessing in that certain area. I’m really passionate about art, I know where I want to go. I want to be apart of art history. I don’t want to be an artist that just is hot and sells work. When I die and leave off this world I want to be in the MoMA, I want to be in the Guggenheim, I want to be in the Whitney. You know like, I want to be amongst the greats. So, I don’t know. I feel like people just gotta ask themselves what they really want out of it, and ask themselves why they are doing what they’re doing, and just stay true to themselves.

Me, I’m going to stay true to me. I love cartoons, I’m always smiling, and you know, I’m not going to be painting flat because I see Kaws doing it, or Takashi doing it. Life’s not perfect. I’m not trying to paint perfect. I want people to go up to my paintings and see my frustrations, and see my mistakes. See my flaws, and through that there’s beauty. I would just tell people that yea, be them and don’t be afraid to be them and if anybody has anything to say, fuck ‘em. You know what I’m saying? Your biggest critic is you. The only person that’s judging you is you.

As you can see, this guy is a smooth one. I love being able to have conversations like these with all types of people. Gives me some hope that there are people who are talented, insightful, and out here making moves for themselves more than anything else in our generation. Make sure you follow Slvstr on Instagram, and check out his site blog.slvstr.com.

[bum-cake]

Thought he was taking pics, but he filmed us instead lol. Marge Simpson in the back... In slo-mo with @whateverfooms #nyc #slvstr #slvstrco #whitebox #lastnight #lol #art

[sippinsociety]