Full Deck: A Short History of Skate Art via Sprayblog

Full Deck presents an anthology of skate-art from the 1960’s to the present. The skate artist’s aesthetic—raw, passionate and personal—is energized by a devotion to the act of skating and a DIY embrace of skate culture.

Since the first graphic was drawn onto a board, the culture of skateboarding has grown hand in hand with visual arts movements such as the Mission School (Barry McGee, Chris Johanson) and graffiti art. The skate culture’s embrace of individual style, approach and intention is, I think, what continues to draw new skaters to this renegade art practice—a hybrid in a realm of its own. And like the inclusive surf community, skaters and skate artists span several
generations.

The multi-media skate art community fosters the highly unique mix of painting, graphics, photography, filmmaking, music, stickers, magazines and clothing—the ever-growing creative by-products stemming from this alternative and popular mode of transportation. The colorful graphic paintings on the bottom of a skateboard are one of the purest forms of self-expression: highly personal and mostly created without artistic boundaries—just like skateboarding itself.

Carrie Lederer, Curator of Exhibitions & Programs

Featured Artists
James Barsness • Tiffany Bozic • Todd Bratrud • Steve Caballero • Sean Cliver • Lori Damiano • Corey Duffel • Phil Eggleston • Skip Engblom • Jeremy Fish • Todd Francis • Mike Giant • Mahtab Habibian • Damien Hirst • Faye Jaime • Ian Johnson • Bryce Kanights • Obi Kaufman • Mike Kershnar • Billy Kroft • Tom Ledin • Amanda Lynn • Holly Lyons • Chris Main • Gwen Manfrin • Marilyn Minter • Johnny Mojo • Takashi Murakami • Pushead • Matt Ritchie • Jenny Schmid • Kirk Shelton • Deth P Sun • Winston Tseng • Jake Watling • Derek Weisberg • Christopher Wool • Tobin Yelland

From the Collections of
Mark Aviles • Sam Cunningham • Marc D’Estout • Skip Engblom • Cari Herod • Myche Howe • Ian Johnson • Ryan Maddox • Chris Main • Steven Muegge • Eric Olsen • Jason Strubing • Ann Trinca • Gwynne Vitello • Tony Vitello • Mark Whiteley • Dan Worden • Catherine Clark Gallery • Consolidated • Element • Enjoi • Foundation • Playgrounded • Santa Cruz Skateboards • Santa Monica Airlines Skateboards • Skateworks • SLAP • Streetcorner • Thrasher • Toy Machine • Western Edition

Skateboards
July 5 - Septmeber 13, 2009
Opening reception, Thursday, July 9th, 2009, 6-8:00pm

Bedford Gallery
1601 Civic Dr.
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-295-1423