We caught up with artist Apexer at the Complex’s Worlds Collide event at Art Basel 2013 in Miami. Check out what he had to say about mixing music and art, his roots, and his upcoming capsule collection with Blackscale
Tell us about yourself.
I’m Apexer. I was born and raised San Francisco, CA. I’m a street artist with a background in graphic design and architecture. Mix that all together and you get my style.
What’s going on with the Worlds Collide event, and how did you get involved?
Complex Magazine and Boost Mobile partnered for the Worlds Collide to bring artists, painters like myself, and performing artists together. The idea of Worlds Collide is that different people from different groups who do different art forms come together for great entertainment.
Why is it important to have an event like Art Basel in the art world?
I think our festivals are really important to have because you get to bring together the galleries, the collectors, the fans, and the artists themselves, and everybody gets a chance to talk to one another and see one another. You might be a fan of somebody that’s from the other side of the world and could never meet them before, but you have a great chance of meeting them at Art Basel.
What inspires you? From where do you draw your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from everyday life. When I’m walking around in a rich neighborhood or in the hood, everything I hear, see, smell — that’s all inspiration to me. Laying on the beach or walking through the forest, all of it is soaked up. When I’m painting, music is definitely important to my flow. Somebody explained to me that watching me paint looks like I’m dancing. I’m not dancing, but the form of my energy and flow feels like I’m dancing with the canvas. Music is really important to my process of painting.
What music do you listen to when you paint?
I listen to everything. It depends on what kind of mood I’m in. It always has to be something that’s passionate or heavy. Right now, it’s all the old school hip-hop that I was born and raised on, and also, Waka Flocka, Danny Brown, the new Jay Z, Kanye, and Flying Lotus. I like all forms of music.
Besides this event with Danny Brown, what’s another dream collaboration for you in the music realm?
Flying Lotus would be amazing. It would be cool to vibe out in the studio and see his working process, let him see mine, and then create something out of that. It would be a perfect project.
How did you start in graffiti? How did you start making art?
I was in third grade living in San Francisco. I had two parents that were in the arts in engineering and in music, so it’s something that was inside of me as a kid. It’s one of the reasons why still love painting murals on the street because it’s a lot of people’s first exposure to art. It was the root of what inspired me to be an artist, so that’s what I want to do. I want to keep my art on the streets as much as possible to inspire the next generation of artists.
What’s next for you on the agenda? What’s new for you in 2014?
I have a lot of projects coming up. The main one I’m excited about is a capsule collection with my buddies from Blackscale, Mega and Alfred. I’ve worked with them over the years doing smaller projects, so this one should be cool as well. I also have a solo show coming up at Subliminal Gallery in Los Angeles.