Homo Riot - Fist Pump

One of LA's top get up artists, Homo Riot will be opening a brash new art show entitled 'Fist Pump' at Hold Up Gallery this weekend.

It should be an amazing show, as Homo Riot has never backed away from a graphic image and has always excelled in both the gallery and the street. The show opens Saturday October 22nd at 7 pm.

More information can be found on the flyer and in the press release below.

Hold Up Art presents Fist Pump, a collection of new work from Los Angeles-based
activist and street artist Homo Riot, whose highly charged, and sometimes sexually
explicit imagery, became part of the city’s social landscape in response to the 2008
passing of Proposition 8 (a measure on the state ballot that overturned the California
Supreme Court's ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry).
Homo Riot's message started out as a “fuck you” to the supporters of Prop 8, but has
morphed into something larger and more profound. Seen now as an emblem of pride
and strength to the gay community, Homo Riot’s work has become a line of
communication to young gays who feel that they’ve been shunned by mainstream
society and a call to action for silenced and closeted gays.
“The work in this show explores the dichotomy between the often hidden and dark
realms of gay life and the simultaneous desire for visible exuberance,” says Homo Riot
of Fist Pump. “In these pieces, the fusion of these disparate concepts leads to awkward
explosions of ‘pride’ and naïve outbursts of youthful anger and rage.”
The exhibition at Hold Up Art follows the month-long Global Homo Riot, a subversive
campaign throughout September with the goal to increase visibility of homosexual
imagery, to spur conversation and awareness about issues facing homosexuals around
the world, and to engender pride and hope in young gays. Artists from around the world
have requested Global Homo Riot “kits,” which contain posters, stickers and stencils
with instructions on how and where to apply the artwork to make a statement in their
own communities.

Participants who registered for the Global Homo Riot campaign include artists from
major metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami, as well as from
smaller communities like New Haven, CT; Richmond, VA; Jacksonville, FL; San Jose,
CA; Carmel, IN; and Rossford, OH. International participants have registered from
Paris, London, Athens, Berlin, Sydney and Barcelona.

“Homo Riot elevates the street art game by combining his activism with his art,” says
Hold Up Art curator Brian Lee. “There are thousands of people in LA alone that are
pasting up posters, yet only a handful contain a message and meaning that is both self
promoting while at the same time being socially and politically aware and engaging.
Homo Riot’s work cannot be mistaken for another artist, and every one of his images
confronts the viewer in a modern day western stand-off; a direct social and aesthetic
conflict, and an open call to anyone who challenges."
Homo Riot’s bold imagery and social message have established him as one of the
most provocative and inspiring street artists in the United States.

Dig it. Stay up and keep pumpin!