This past Saturday night Lapstone & Hammer hosted the opening of High Arts Productions' Wet Paint Philly art show, a very special exhibition of artist Dave "Persue" Ross' "Wet Paint" project, which brings together artists from Philadelphia and around the country to contribute their distinct styles to actual Wet Paint signs procured from various New York city subway stops.
The event featured pieces from over 25 artists, most of whom were in attendance, as well as a collaborative apparel capsule designed by Persue and including contributions from ENEM, WANE and Lapstone & Hammer. For this night, 1106 Chestnut St. was the epicenter of graffiti culture on the East Coast. Writers both young and old, established and unknown came from all over to represent for their art form and show respect to the legends who were in the show. The hypnotic aroma of fresh markers filled the air as groups of writers convened around open sketchbooks trading tags and war stories as other hit the white wrapped wall in the back room.
This amazing night would not have been possible without the artistic vision of Dave "Persue" Ross, ENEM and WANE, and the hard work of Terasina Bonanini and her High Art Productions team, we could not thank them enough for putting this night together. Finally, a huge thank you to the community of artists who came out in force to show to Philadelphia and the world that graffiti is not petty vandalism, it is a legitimate art form that is respected and admired and should be treated as such. We are thrilled that Wet Paint Philly got to shine a light on these incredible artists and their work.