Phetus

The artist known as “Phetus” has defined the intersection of art, culture, and clothing for more than a quarter of a century.  He is inspired by the early 1980’s rebellion of hip hop’s emerging subculture and the simply-styled illustrations of odd characters created by the likes of Dr. Seuss, Charles Schultz, and the art of Robert Crumb. Phetus’ work developed into an expression of dichotomy, counter culture, and irreverence. His creations are a visual articulation of the merging of cultural divides: street and fine art, hip-hop and rock, black and white.

Phetus’ iconic images have been infamously scrawled across the globe, having traveled extensively throughout various foreign lands. Phetus uses a logo as a tag, rather than painting a name in a stylized manner, therefore laying the natural foundation of branding the artist to the masses.

The style and manner is which Phetus paints his art in the streets has been self-termed “Monsterous Expressionism”. A wide range of characters and exaggerated facial features intertwined with vibrant colors and complex patterns adorn buildings in all of the 5 boroughs and beyond. This free-styled expression of painting has become a trademark and an identifiable style that Phetus has recently developed.