Phetus

Phetus' Phat Phace logo

Phetus is a New York graffiti artist and designer based on Long Island, NY. He has been creating graffiti under his Phat Phace logo since 1988, opened the first graffiti boutique on Long Island, and is one of the founders of creative multimedia studio Elite Gudz.

History

Growing up on Long Island in the 80's, Phetus was around other writers and came up alongside trailblazers in the hip-hop scene. Acts like De La Sol and Ra Kim were recording on Long Island around the time Phetus emerged on the scene, painting and tagging blocks away from recording studios in Hempstead and Freeport. Through his painting, bombing, and meeting musicians, he gained the attention of artists like Public Enemy. When Flavor Flav opened a barber shop in Freeport, Long Island he recruited Phetus to do airbrushing on shirts, jackets and other apparel. Flavor Flav wore an airbrushed piece by Phetus on the Arsenio Hall show in an episode entirely dedicated to the controversy of Public Enemy. If the episode, Flavor Flav stands up from Arsenio's couch to show off the airbrushed outfit, saying "This guy in there his name is Victor he made the shirt here for me. We also do airbrushing inside the shop." Phetus would eventually go on to paint the backdrop for Public Enemy's performance with U2 at the "Stop Sellafield" concert. Phetus' work can also be seen in the official video for "Tap the Bottle (Twist the Cap)" by Young Black Teenagers. Phetus did all the graffiti on the set of the video; a large-scale phat phace can be seen behind the group. Throughout the 90's and early 2000's, Phetus continued to create custom clothing pieces for hip-hop artists and other clients.

In 2002 Phetus opened up Concrete Vibes in Mineola. Following the path of stores in New York like The Scrapyard, the store was the first on Long Island to sell graffiti supplies like aerosol paint and markers, independent designer clothing, designer toys and other lifestyle products. Monthly art shows were also held at the store, and the store held a book signing for Cope2. The store eventually relocated to Freeport, and expanded to include a recording studio. Artists such as Poe Rilla, Cuban Link, and other 3.2.6. Muzik and 3.2.6. Latino artists recorded there in the mid 2000's.

Between the operational years of Concrete Vibes Mineola and Concrete Vibes Freeport, Phetus worked with Seen and set up an office in the back of Tattoo Seen. From Seen's shop, and with Planet6, Phetus worked on the Phony Baloney designer toy line. He would also team up with Terminal Press to create the Phony-Baloney comic.

Phetus brought his artistic perspective to Elite Gudz in 2008. Since joining up with Elite Gudz, Phetus has exhibited in multiple shows and helped create the iOS app Graffiti Spray Can, which topped over 5 million downloads in early 2011. In the Graffiti Spray Can PRO & Graffiti Spray Can HD Applications, he has his very own artist pack. The artist pack included his graffiti centric hip-hop single, "We Bomb," featuring rapper Poe Rilla.

Graffiti

"We Bomb" EP

IOn May 24, 2011 Phetus released "We Bomb," a hip-hop single with a graffiti centric theme. The track featured Poe Rilla and was produced by Beat Butcha. The video for "We Bomb" was produced by Picture Perfect and features well known graffiti locations throughout New York City. The "We Bomb" EP also featured several remixes, including dubstep and djent versions.

Concrete Immortalz

Concrete Immortalz is a comic series by graffiti artist Phetus and the Elite Gudz team. The series is built on the idea that art progresses with and chronicles human history, and "the graffiti movement is the artistic embodiment of current times." The series' main protagonist is The Wall Lord, a graffiti artist who writes messages of hope and defiance against a repressive government. On January 7, 2010, Phetus and street artist Such painted a mural image of The Wall Lord on a subway car installation outside of Tuff City Tattoos in Bronx. NY Phetus was also joined by Cope2, T-Kid, Ban2, Indie and Cheez who came through to destroy the piece once it was completed as a tribute to the real life actions that go on within the graffiti subculture. A billboard-sized mural for Concrete Immortalz was created by Phetus and Such across a block-long industrial complex at 5 Pointz in Long Island City.

Phetus Exclusives

Phetus Exclusives began as high-end, one-off shirts for celebrities. Graffiti was once known as the visual component of hip-hop. Artists would often paint or exhibit work while DJ’s, MC’s and dancers performed. Continuing this long-standing relationship between graffiti and hip hop, Phetus moved his designs to clothing for musicians. Ludacris’ wardrobe from his Chicken and Beer album and tour, and a number of outfits from LL Cool J’s Exit 13 tour were made by Phetus.

In Fall 2010, Phetus presented Hank Steinbrenner with a Phetus Exclusive on the field of Yankee Stadium. The Hanks Yank’s jersey featured a Yankees logo, freshly spray-painted with stylized drip markings. In 2008, Phetus became the driving force behind Elite Gudz and now produces clothing on a larger scale. He currently has two clothing lines, monthly limited Phetus Exclusives packages and the Career Criminal line of apparel.

At Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, fashion magazine Vevant.com commissioned Phetus to transform their Fashion Week booth into an art gallery. Phetus created original art installations for each day of the 8 day event in themes relating to the world of fashion and current events.

In June 2010. Phetus painted a mural for KarmaLoop TV across three walls while simultaneously hand screening a run of T-shirts, both featuring his "Phat Phace" logo and "Phe-Gnome" character, plundering a village as it burns to the ground.

Exhibit History

Phetus was a part of the "Green Umbrellas for a Green Cause" campaign with Starbucks. The campaign included custom umbrellas designed by American artists and celebrities. The umbrellas were then auctioned off, with the proceeds donated to Global Green USA.

In December 2008, Phetus' Goons & Bots characters debuted at East West in Westbury, NY. The collection of characters from Goons & Bots can be found in some of Phetus' mural work. Some of the collection was also featured at Fangoria Presents: Night of the Living Decks in 2009. Two skate decks painted with goons and bots, respectively, were featured as part of a group art show of coffin-shaped skate boards. Goons & Bots were also featured on the first cube at Toy Qube’s “In Your Phace” show. Wooden and neon versions of Phetus' Phat Phaces were on display along with canvases, skate decks and a 7 foot tall rotating cube featuring the characters.They were also featured in the Cubez event at New York Comic Con 2010. Since then, Goons & Bots have been in their own iOS applications.

In 2009 Phetus & Elite Gudz artist Mr. Den contributed to the Topps Star Wars Galaxy 5 trading card set. The cards sold out. In 2010, original sketch cards from Elite Gudz artists were displayed and auctioned at the 1st Annual 2nd Ave. Trading Card Convention and Swap Meet.

In May 2010 Phetus, along with Elite Gudz artists Mr. Den and Narek Gevorgian, exhibited original artwork at “Power Arts for Power Ups - Mr.Power Custom Show” , featuring Mr. Den's "The Bull of Minos Devours Mr. Powers" custom sculpture. On the same day the artists also exhibited at “Thought Processor: The NYC Series.", featuring custom paper toys accompanied by paintings by all three Elite Gudz artists. The designs were also available online for download after the show so fans could make their own figures out of the same pieces featured in the gallery.

In Nov. 2010 it was announced that The Art Hustle will profile Phetus in its upcoming series. The Art Hustle series of trading cards profile artists with backgrounds in street art, illustration, aerosol art and more.

External links

• Phetus Exclusives
• Elite Gudz Official Site
• Concrete Immortalz Official Site
• Elite Movable Cubez