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Evan Hecox American artist and designer born in Colorado 1970

Artist and Designer
Evan Hecox is a Colorado based artist and designer. As an artist, he is known for his paintings, drawings, prints and installations and his reductive aesthetic in graphic depictions of landscape imagery, particularly contemporary  urban environments. As a designer he is most widely known for his contributions to skateboarding culture, particularly his 100's of skateboard designs for the Chocolate Skateboards company, produced from 1997 to Present.

Fine Art
In his essay To Be Seen But Not Understood, Aspen Art Museum Assistant Curator Matthew Thompson, describes Hecox' work as 'Employing a reductive aesthetic firmly rooted in the history of design and illustration, Hecox amplifies color and line to focus attention on the people, cars, buildings and signage that create the visual fabric of our cities'

Hecox' process for creating fine art generally begins with observation and photography that will later become the starting visual material for his drawings, prints, and paintings. Hecox uses a range of materials for creating his paintings, most commonly ink and gouache are applied to paper, wood, or occasionally other natural objects like leaves. He creates large scale linoleum block prints on mulberry paper as well.

Imagery from many of Hecox' original paintings is released as smaller screen prints either by the artist himself or through various notable outlets like Arkitip Magazine.

As Thompson previously points out, the finished fine art works are often defined by a limited or reductive color pallet, which gives the work a graphic feel comparable to what art critics from the 1960's and 1970's referred to as flatness. Evan Hecox, along with artists Geoff McFetridge and Ryan McGinness, is a contributor to the popular revival of the use of flat graphic imagery that began in the mid to late 1990's in America, a trend that was paralleled in Japan by the superflat movement founded by artist Takashi Murakami. Further historical comparison with Hecox work could be made to the American art movement of precisionism, and with the tradition of Landscape painting in general.

The inclusion of text is also a common theme in Hecox' work, once again Thompson lends insight, 'The evocative power of words-either in or out of context-plays heavily in Hecox's pictures. Pieces of text, both from signs and advertisements through the cityscape but also in seemingly marginal notes on the smaller drawings, lend a peculiar mood to the spaces and objects Hecox renders.

Hecox is also recognized as someone who's signature style blurs the lines between the disciplines of art and design. However, he has been clear to make distinctions on the differences for him. In an interview with Ryan McGinness for his book Sponsorship: The Fine Art of Corporate Sponsorship The Corporate Sponsorship of Fine Art, McGinness asks of Hecox, 'How do you make a distinction between the commercial work you do and your personal work? To which Hecox responds, 'I try to make the two sides fit together as much as I can without being in conflict. The style of both my commercial and personal work is fairly similar, but sometimes the subject matter in the commercial projects is nothing like what I would choose for my own stuff.' Hecox further expands upon the conceptual difference in the same interview 'My own work has to do with my observations of the world and the way I feel about things. It has a lot to do with my way of seeing, and I focus on things that are some combination of ugly or beautiful or interesting to me. It has less to do with specific subject matter and more to do with my belief that all things in the world, even inanimate objects, are alive and connected to one another in some way and that all things that can be observed or felt deserve consideration. These types of ideas sometimes find their way into my commercial work, but more often I just adopt the stylistic traits of my personal work...'

Inclusion of Hecox works in the seminal traveling museum group show "Beautiful Losers, Contemporary Art and Street Culture" further aligns him with the recognizable contributions of skateboard culture to the contemporary fine art landscape. Additionally, because of his presence in the Mission district of San Francisco for 9 years beginning in the early mid 1990's and his ties with some artists of the Mission School through various shared exhibitions and friendships, Evan is sometimes considered a fringe contributor to the Mission School.

Design
Hecox is well known as the creator for most of the skateboard designs for Chocolate skateboards from 1997 to present. He has also done design projects for Nike, Carhartt, Burton and Volkswagon. He designed a line of home products released by Target in 2006. He has designed numerous books, magazines and album covers.

Hecox' design career predates his fine art career. With his first commercial jobs coming from the Twist snowboarding company in the early 1990's..

Hecox did a series of 3 television commercials  in partnership with New York based animation studio PSYOP for Volkswagon in 2002.

It was partly the appreciation of his commercial work that lead to significant gallery and museum opportunities for Hecox.

His professional design career continues now in parallel to his fine art career.

Urban Abstract
The first monogram archive of Evan Hecox fine art was published September 15, 2007, by Bee Lee Gee. ISBN-10: 0615158315, ISBN-13: 978-0615158310. Book dimensions 10.3 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches, 157 pages.

Description: An artist and graphic designer who has become known largely through the skateboarding subculture, Evan Hecox has produced hundreds of skateboard graphics since 1997. He has also emerged as a fine artist, with solo and group shows around the world. His works depict city scenes or isolated elements that are almost cinematic in their stark contrast and abstraction. Hecox is fascinated with the complexity of the urban landscape, and with people from mundane surroundings that one would normally overlook. His stylistic approach is based on the process of amplification as it affects form and color, breaking down the image, removing elements and emphasizing others. His first monograph is an extensive catalog of his paintings, drawings, and installation photographs, dating back as early as 1994. The handmade quality of Hecox's work resonates in the 32 pages dedicated to his linoleum block prints, which are reproduced as if they were painted by the artist himself. Hardcover, color.

Review: By I. Singh on September 5, 2009. Internationally acclaimed artist, Evan Hecox, releases his first monograph September 15, 2007. Urban Abstract: The Artwork of Evan Hecox, the inaugural publication by Bee Lee Gee Press, consists solely of the fine art of the Denver based artist. The work dates back as early as 1994 composing an extensive catalogue of his paintings, drawings and installation photographs. The handmade quality of Hecox's work resonates in the 32 pages dedicated to his linoleum block prints, which are reproduced as if they were printed by the artist himself. Matthew Thompson, Assistant Curator at the Aspen Art Museum, contextualizes the work in an essay while the viewer takes an in-depth look at the artist's studio through the photographs of Misty Keasler. The book was designed by Brian Gibb of Art Prostitute.

2013
Folklore at Joshua Liner Gallery NYC, USA - July - August 2013 (Group Exhibition curated by the artist)

2012
Dark Island at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (May) (Solo Exhibition)

2011
Borough and Lane at Stolen Space Gallery, London, England (Solo Exhibition)

Summer Group Show at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

Ohlio at Country Club, Cincinnati, OH (Feb. – Mar.) (Group Exhibition)

2010
Wreck the Walls at Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA (Dec. – Jan.) (Group Exhibition)

August Group Show at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

2009
The Last Thousand Years at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (Sept.) (Solo Exhibition)

Unnamed Places at Country Club Projects, Cincinnati, OH (June) (Solo Exhibition)

Evan Hecox : New Works at Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO (Feb.) (Solo Exhibition)

August Group Exhibition at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

2008
Urban Abstract at Museum SCHUNCK - Glaspalais, Heerlen, Netherlands (Nov.-Feb. 2009)

Urban Abstract at Chiellerie Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Oct.)

DF (Distrito Federal) at Kinsey/DesForges Gallery, Culver City, CA (Feb.-Mar.)

Dear & Yonder Art Show & Benefit at New Image Art Gallery, West Hollywood, CA (Oct. 25th) (Group Exhibition)

Transfer at Santander Cultural, Porto Alegre, Brazil (Sept.) (Group Exhibition)

Highmath at Pool Gallery, Berlin, Germany (Jan.– March) (Group Exhibition)

Manifest Hope Gallery at Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO (Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

2007
Title at 4 Walls Fine Arts, Austin, TX (Nov.-Jan. 2008) (Solo Exhibition)

Los Calles at 4 Walls Fine Art, Austin, TX (Oct.-Dec.) (Solo Exhibition)

Urban Abstract at The Public Trust, Dallas, TX (Sept.-Oct.) (Solo Exhibition)

Brodeo at New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA (June) (Group Exhibition)

2006
Evan Hecox at Monster Children Gallery, Sydney, Australia (March-April)

Colorado Biennial at the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO (Nov.) (Group Exhibition)

Sing Ding Aling-Thomas Campbell exhibition with guest artists Evan Hecox, Geoff Mcfetridge and Alex Kops at Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands (Sept.-Oct.) (Group Exhibition)

Serious Trip: Evan Hecox, Cody Hudson, John Stiles at Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO (April-June) (Group Exhibition)

Blackmarket Artist’s Annual at BlkMrkt Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Jan.-Feb.) (Group Exhibition)

2005
Urban Angst at DC Gallery, Denver, CO (Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

StraarWijs, the Art and Design of Evan Hecox and Andy Mueller at Vivid Gallery, Rotterdam, Netherlands (July-Aug.) (Two Person Exhibition)

Waiting Room: the Art and Design of Evan Hecox and Cody Hudson at Art Prostitute, Dallas, TX (May-July) (Two Person Exhibition)

2004
Colfax Avenue Project at Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO (Sept.) (Solo Exhibition)

Basefield Exhibition at Chapel off Chapel Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (July-Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

2003
The Art of Evan Hecox at Rocket Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (Sept.-Oct.) (Solo Exhibition)

Move 9: Lead Poisoning at New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA (June-Aug.) (Group Exhibition)

2002
Session the Bowl at Deitch Projects, New York, NY (Dec.-Feb.) (Group Exhibition)

Inaugural Exhibition at Kinsey/DesForges Gallery, Culver City, CA (Dec.-Feb. 2002) (Group Exhibition)

Beautiful Losers
Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture - Traveling Group Exhbition curated by Christian Strike and Aaron Rose 2004-2009

Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (March 13th - May 23rd, 2004)

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, USA (July 15th - October 10th, 2004)

Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA, USA (February 6 - May 15, 2005)

The Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA (June 25th - September 25th, 2005

The University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, Florida, USA (November 4th - December 17th, 2005)

Fondazione La Triennale, Milan, Italy (February 17th - March 19th, 2006

Le Tri Postal, Lille, France (April 13th - July 2nd, 2006)

Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland (June 1st - July 26th, .2007)

La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain (November 14 to December 26, 2008)

Selected Bibliography
Featured in August 2012 Issue (no 139) of Juxtapoz Magazine (Cover Artist)

Gastman, Roger. Juxtapoz Illustration Book. Berkely, California: Gingko Press, 2008 ISBN: 978-1584232896

Cover & Featured Article in Arkitip No. 0045 (2008)

Featured in December 2007 Issue (no.83) of Juxtapoz Magazine

Hecox, Evan and Misty Keasler. Urban Abstract. Dallas: Bee Lee Gee Press, 2007

Monster Children Issue #12. 2006

Cover & Featured Article in Arkitip No. 0026 Cover #139

Strike, Christian and Aaron Rose. Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture. Iconoclast/D.A.P 2004

Hecox, Evan and Price, Michael. Evan Hecox Drawings Paintings and Prints 2003

External sources

 * Evan Hecox website
 * Process Video La Casa
 * Process Video In Case
 * Hecox speaking on process
 * Volkswagon Ad Sheep
 * Volkswagon Ad DNA Engineers
 * Volkswagon Ad Cones

Category: American artists Category:Painters from Colorado

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category: