2018 MAR–APR
EGS
EGS, We Travel Together Foreverhand, 2018. Installation view from Kunsthalle Helsinki. Photo: Tero Jussila
EGS is FCINY’s artist-in-residence from March to April 2018
Visual artist EGS moves fluently from the use of spray paint, inkblot and serigraphs to glass, wooden sculptures and installations. Best known for graffitis – and signing his distinctive three initials on countless walls in over forty countries – EGS tells that the shift from graffiti to other visual art forms didn’t happen overnight. Rather, his interest towards other mediums developed naturally over time:
“My art is always site-specific, whether it’s on the street or in a museum. Graffiti was my initiation into art, but I see no difference between making glass sculptures and graffiti.”
EGS, Earth Getting Smaller series, 2017. Installation view from Kunsthalle Helsinki. Photo: Tero Jussila
During his two-month residency in New York, EGS will continue working on his long-term project Maps of Former Countries and States. “The lines drawn between countries are, in my opinion, the most powerful lines one can draw. In my mind, this connects to the world of graffiti: who has the right to make their mark, and where? New York as a multicultural city provides the perfect framework to deepen my project.”
Instead of remaining within a studio setting, EGS prefers to work together with other artists and artisans. “Graffiti is a social art form, and in the same manner I prefer to collaborate with artisans when making glass works and wooden sculptures. It is extremely important to preserve the slow and precise skills of glassblowing and carving in the fast-paced society we live in.”
Graffiti has given EGS the opportunity to travel and exhibit his works around the world. Upcoming exhibitions include the Atmosphere Street Art Biennale in Moscow, where unseen parts of the map series, created during the FCINY residency, will be displayed.
EGS, Black Atlas 1, 2012. Photo: Pekka Hannila