Ekundayo Returns With Rise

1xRUN Thru Interview
Rise by Ekundayo

1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this piece?
Ekundayo: This piece is part of a recent series of works first created on a trip last October 2013 in NYC. I spent a lot of time walking, observing and experiencing the vibrations of the people and the city as it felt alive. Nothing, not even the buildings felt stagnate. That energy was a big inspiration.

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1xRun: Was this piece part of a recent theme, series or show that you had? If so how did it fit into that given grouping?
Ekundayo: This series is about the raw explosive energy that color can have. I think of each piece as miniature big bangs of colors bouncing off each other through the darkness. In a kinetic way, each color and tone possesses its own speed and motion colliding into a final image of the human form.

I’ve always been drawn to color based work from the very start. It’s something that has resonated and flowed into my works throughout the years. The impressionist movement deeply struck a cord with me at an early age and my goal is to take those concepts and ideas further filtered through our times.

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1xRUN: What materials were used to create this piece with?
Ekundayo: Acrylic and spray paint.

1xRun: When was the piece created and how long did it take to complete?
Ekundayo: Rise was done in February of 2014. Because of the nature of the works they are done very quickly. I need to be in a high energy state because I want to transfer that into the work most. Usually taking under 24 hours to execute but a lifetime in the making.

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1xRun: What do you feel is unique about this piece?
Ekundayo: I believe that when a person is truly living their personal truth everything about them becomes unique. I paint my truth from the heart and there is no one who has done it like this before me and there will be none after. I’m the one and only.

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1xRun: Why should people buy this print?
Ekundayo: When it hits you, you just know.

1xRun: Describe the piece in one gut reaction word.
Ekundayo: Kinetic

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1xRun: It’s been a bit since we caught up and it seems like you’ve been keeping busy. Bring us up to speed on what you’ve been up to since our last release.
Ekundayo: Focused on painting and outdoor works as well as developing a completely new body of work for an upcoming solo show at ThinkSpace Gallery on January 31st, 2015.

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1xRun: Any shows or exhibitions you were a part of that you want to mention?
Ekundayo: Highlights from this year have been Pow Wow Hawaii, a project in mid city L.A with Branded Arts and the Richmond mural Project out in Richmond, VA.

Photo by Marc Schmidt

1xRun: You have an upcoming show in January, what can people expect this time around?
Ekundayo: Yeah, I’m really excited for this show! “Collective Reflections” unlike “Rise” deals with light, the subtlety of color, growth and transformation. A major inspiration for the show  comes from the concept of Mana which is a very sacred idea here in the islands of Hawaii where I was born as well as throughout Polynesia. It’s best described as a higher universal source that flows though all living things for man to harness for his own good.

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The work is full of seed pods, figures interacting and fusing with nature as well as the recurring imagery of past pieces like the stilt people houses in one harmonious palette. It’s all about our inner connectivity which is what I want people to take away from the show. The opening will be January 31st 2015 at Thinkspace gallery.


1xRun: Any recent strides you feel you have made in your work that you want to touch on?
Ekundayo: I’m always searching, never content with just one style or way of working. My biggest stride of late has been furthering my understating of color. I’m enjoying playing with the tones and  temperature control of my palette. 
I look at my work as an ever evolving process. The one consistent goal with each piece is to inspire people to search beyond the norm to see things in my work that creates a spark within.

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1xRun: Where else can people find you?
Ekundayo: WebsiteInstagram@sorrowbecomesjoy

-1xRUN