FLY O’ER
BRKLYN, Art Culture King , Screwed Arts Collective, Bryan Walsh, 18 and Counting, Kiki Salem, Killer Napkins, Jessie Donovan, Cbabi Bayoc, Damon Davis, William Burton Jr., Dormir Da Sleepin Giant, Katherine Bernhardt, Deshion McKinley, Vaughn Davis, Painted Black STL
OCTOBER 1, 2021 — FEBRUARY 28, 2022
Sophie’s Artist Lounge
Amplifying regional STL artists who continue to lift and redefine visual art in expansive ways. FLY O’ER is a group exhibition of individuals and collectives ultimately shifting and challenging the thought that STL is just another “fly over ‘’ city. This place is home to some of the most pivotal contemporary artists in the world.
Stan Chisholm @18andcounting
South St. Louis native Stan Chisholm works under the alias 18andCounting, building himself as an experimental hip hop lyricist, producer, DJ, sculptor, multidisciplinary artist, curator, educator, designer and illustrator. He served as the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis’ first ever DJ-in-residence. Chisholm was the first Regional Arts Commission: Artists Count Fellow, and he has painted two murals at City Museum. He was a founding member of Blank Space and has served as an arts educator for children through Art Scope and is currently an Art Teacher and department Chair at Kairos Academies for middle school students. Chisholm has exhibited at Laumeier Sculpture Park, The Hyde Park Art Center, 1st Amendment Gallery and Hoffman- LaChance Contemporary, among other venues.
Art Culture King @artcultureking
BRKLYN @brklynstl
BRKLYN has been a resident of STL since 2001 by way of NYC. BRKLYN has been doing art since he was 5 years old, starting with a crayon under his mother’s kitchen table. On her walls, his start in graffiti began.BRKLYN describes his style as “fill ins and background” like the words of FUTURA “its graffiti with the letter shapes removed” that makes it ABSTREET.
You may have seen his work in business interiors and various collaborative projects around the city like “FRESH PAINT” and being a Guest artist in several “ART, BEATS & LYRICS.” He assembled with Artist Right To Create and began “FIRST FRIDAY ARTWALK in OLD NORTH STL.” BRKLYN’s solo art show in 2017 sold numerous art pieces with about 200 in attendance. He has gone on to develop ABSTREET DESIGN LLC. where he offers logo development, creative/branding design and mural solutions services.
Bryan Walsh @bryanwalshart
Bryan Walsh is a St. Louis- based abstract painter and a founding member of the Screwed Arts Collective.
Cbabi @cbabi
Cbabi (pronounced Kuh-bob-bi) Bayoc is an internationally-known visual artist and illustrator residing in St. Louis, Missouri. Bayoc, whose birth name is Clifford Miskell, Jr., adopted his name Cbabi (Creative-Black-Artist-Battling- Ignorance) during his time at Grambling State University and later legally changed his last name to Bayoc (Blessed-African-Youth-Of-Creativity) as a way of setting the stage of always reminding his future children of their value and worth.
His job as a caricature artist at Six Flags over St. Louis became the catalyst to Cbabi’s commitment to evolve his art. Perhaps most synonymous with Cbabi’s name is his 365 Days with Dad series which began as a New Year’s resolution to paint a positive image of black fatherhood each day. Other fruits of this evolution include mural commissions for local and national schools, businesses, non-profits and hospitals. In addition, he has been sought after by actors, athletes and musicians to provide portraits and album covers such as Violator Compilation Vol 1 as well as artwork featured on Prince’s Rainbow Children album. Most recently, his practice has evolved to include illustrating children’s books. Cbabi’s goal is to paint the world he wants to see his and your children thrive in. As such, he will always be committed to evolving his art.
Damon Davis @damondavis
Damon Davis is a post-disciplinary artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. His work spans across a spectrum of creative mediums to tell stories exploring how identity is informed by power and mythology. He is well known for his body of work, Darker Gods, which explores Afro-surrealist manifestations of Black culture. Davis is a Firelight Media, Sundance Labs, TED, and Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. He is represented by Ummah Chroma Creative Partner for commercials and music videos, and his work is featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Deshion Mckinley @wtfiswrongwithdaworld
The things that motivate me is daily life, the wanting of change. Future, past, and present are the key things that I think on during the process. Usually create whenever I want
to depending on how I feel. “Trusting the process” as they say. I add… Take away and then add again possibly scratch out a whole painting then add again. What makes me a unique mural artist? I really could not answer that question; I will leave that for the people to examine. I don’t like to subscribe to anything, I just happen to make things on a large scale. I have never been in an event before besides the event that I hosted for my clothing brand, which was a fashion show, titled Kinder chaotic fashion, with the help of 13 beautiful models and great friends.
Dormir Da Sleepin Giant @rimroddy30
Dormir, a St. Louis city native, has been creating art since he was able to hold a pencil. With his father being a notable & successful black visual artist, in his own right, he has been of major inspiration to Dormir’s artistry.
Beginning his journey into the graffiti scene in his mid-teen years, learning & networking with other experienced artists. In return, he has made major waves in the St. Louis art scene, being a part of a plethora of art shows & exhibitions — SlumFest, Paint Louis, FRESH, Fair St. Louis, etc. His dream is to buy properties to create safe spaces for at-risk youth, for creative enrichment and continue to create vibrant art that conveys a sense of positivity within impoverished neighborhoods in the North city area & West side of St. Louis, where he grew up.
Jessie Donovan @jessie.dnvn
Katherine Bernhardt @kbbernhardt2014
Kiki Salem @low_key_ki
Kiki Salem (b. 1995, Al-Bireh, Palestine) is a St. Louis-based multidisciplinary Artist, Designer, Writer, Educator, Entrepreneur, and TrailBlazer. Her practice covers topics
of occidental assimilation, orientalism, experimental visual pattern development, linguistic hybridation and the Palestinian question. Kiki is a member of the Screwed Arts Collective in St. Louis. Her wearable collection, Punk Ass Arab (@punk_ass_arab) can be found on Instagram.
@killernapkins
Vaughn Davis, Jr. @vaughndavis__
William Burton, Jr. @williamburtonjrofficial
William Burton, Jr. is one of the most versatile visual artists from St. Louis. Working in a variety of mediums, he specializes in murals, canvas paintings, pyrography, illustrations, and airbrushing.A 1985 graduate of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, Burton received scholarships from Columbus College of Art and Design, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rhode Island School of Design and the Kansas City Art Institute. After attending the Kansas City Art Institute, Burton returned to St. Louis and began airbrushing at a local clothing store before opening his own art studio.
Burton has instructed youth art programs as well as collaborated with various art/cultural organizations such as St. Louis Art Museum, North St. Louis Art Council, St. Louis Art Works, Juvenile Detention Center, Craft Alliance, and Portfolio Arts and Education Center. He is a 2008 graduate of the Community Arts Training Institute, a recipient of the 2016 Actors Associates Merit Award from the Actors Theatre in Kentucky, and is the current scenic charge for The Black Rep of St. Louis.
Painted Black STL @paintedblackstl
Screwed Arts Collective @screwedarts
The Screwed Arts Collective, established in 2010, is a group of thinkers, visual artists, musicians, and storytellers who are committed to the evolution of participatory culture through various collaborative projects spanning a variety of traditional and non-traditional mediums including drawing, painting, music, video, print and installation.
