LOS ANGELES, CA.- Fabien Castanier Gallery announces, Metallic Tissue, an exhibition featuring new work by Kelly “RISK” Graval, which opened on November 2 and runs through December 15. This exhibition has been curated by graffiti historian, Roger Gastman.

Metallic Tissue is the DNA of RISK, my thumbprint…” – RISK

Graffiti writers have always managed to leave their mark, literally on the urban landscape and perhaps more profoundly on the subsequent generation of artists that follow them. And in Los Angeles, no other artist has had such a major impact on the evolution of graffiti than RISK. This historic exhibition signifies RISK’s imprint on society – tracing his influence on Southern California as well as on the worldwide stage.

With a career spanning 30 years, RISK has solidified his place in the history books as a world renowned graffiti legend. He has come a long way since he pioneered the painting of freeway overpasses, signs and billboards, dubbed “heavens.” Although RISK loves aerosol art, he sees it as merely just one genre in his life’s work. He has transformed from a street artist to a rising star in the contemproary art world.

For “Metallic Tissue,” the artist explores his versatility with various mediums and styles. For the past few years he has been painting large outdoor murals in a series called “Beautifully Destroyed,” with pieces that present color fields rather than lettering or imagery. Working with these aesthetics, he pushes the boundaries of traditional graffiti, deconstructing letters into abstract forms. While the majority of his recent work graces the walls of cities around the world, RISK sees the gallery space as a venue with no limits.

He takes advantage of the gallery setting to create an environment unlike anything else. RISK melds elements from the natural habitat of his studio into the gallery and break the boundaries of the physical paintings themselves. He has constructed canvases from cans he has collected on his artistic journey. These cans represent his DNA as an artist – the development and functioning of RISK as an artist, his “Metallic Tissue.”

Roger Gastman began writing graffiti as a teenager in Bethesda, Maryland. Since then, he has founded and published the pop culture magazines While You Were Sleeping and Swindle, with Shepard Fairey, and authored a dozen graffiti art books including The History of American Graffiti (with Caleb Neelon; Harper Collins, 2011). In 2011, he curated, with Jeffrey Deitch and Aaron Rose, the exhibition Art in the Streets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Gastman’s film production credits include Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, and the graffiti documentary Wall Writers, and he is currently directing a documentary for Sanrio/Hello Kitty on the history of the brand and its fans.