Gallery owner Bruce Lurie (left) stands with artist Michael Farhat at his exhibition.
The work of artist Michael Farhat aka ArtMobb is featured at the Bruce Lurie Gallery through March 18.
Farhat is a pioneer in hyper-realistic spray painting on plexiglass, which is achieved through an exacting reverse painting and stripping technique. “It’s stencil and hand-cut,” he said.
He is a beloved figure of sports players and celebrities and some of his art, that he’s done that is representative of icons, can be found on social media (artmobb.com).
Local artist Charlie Edmiston stopped at the exhibition to give support to Farhat and said that growing up, “we skateboarded together.”
Farhat, who attended Crossroads School, and then Otis College, spoke about the evolution of his art, “this method has evolved over 13 to 14 years.”
He was adopted when he was three. His mother had tried to adopt in China, but had been unsuccessful. She traveled to India and when she saw the three-year-old in an orphanage, “she said that she wouldn’t leave without me,” Farhat said.
When he came to the United States, he spoke Tamil, and then eventually learned English. Tamil is the official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
So far, “I haven’t had a desire to look for my biological parents,” because he feels his L.A. parents are his parents.
But now that he’s married and has three children, his wife is urging him to think about it. (Genetically, it can sometimes be helpful.)
He’s known Lurie for about 15 years, but this is the first time exhibiting in the gallery.
In his artist’s statement Farhat has said, more work is “dedicated to providing hope and opportunity to others. A percentage of the proceeds from the sales of Art Mobb’s work benefits the charities of its partners.”
His work is three-dimensional. In his work, “Mr. Misunderstood,” a skateboard pops out of a painting, as if its rider had just lost control.
In “Hip Hoop Dreams, a basketball hoop and bling on the surface of the work, pull the viewer into the painting.
There’s no question that Farhat is super talented and is art unique. It should be interesting to watch his creativity as his technique continues to evolve.
The gallery is located at 873 Via de la Paz, (424)-330-0122 https://www.luriegallery.com/
“Hip Hoop Dreams,” spray paint on hand-cut plexiglass, is one of the piece of art a the gallery.
This piece of art is called “Mr. Misunderstood” and shows the skateboard flying out of the painting.