Call Him Ishmael - City Gallery

Ten years ago, the painter known as Ishmael was doing graffiti style art with his real name. He began to feel that this was egotistical and decided to switch things up.

He read the novel "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn and it changed his life. He began to use Ishmael as his tag and gradually took on the name as his identity as an artist. He wanted to promote the book that had changed his life while letting the book promote him at the same time.

The novel, which revolves around such themes as the human condition, man's treatment of man and of the earth, and sustainability, was a stepping stone for him and he believes that it opened his eyes to a new world. Likening this life changing experience to taking "the pill" in The Matrix, he didn't really get all the answers, but he was sent spiraling into a new mission, to open his eyes and the eyes of everyone around him to what was really happening in the world.

Over the past few years, Ishmael has changed his style with each show. Coming from a graffiti background, he started his artistic career tagging abandoned buildings and trains in Asheville, N.C. He then moved into the fine art arena with graphic paintings that he describes as "wormholes." The style was much more fluid and feminine than the hard-edged graffiti of his past.

With his upcoming show at City Gallery, he has transformed his style once again, combining the graffiti style with the wormholes in a way that he feels makes him whole as an artist. It is a combination of the two styles that really represent Ishmael as an artist. He is very conscious of the location of his shows and attempts to do something special for each locale.

"For the show at City Gallery, I am bringing more of the graffiti style, it is a little more street, because it's such an established gallery. If it were more of a street, or underground, gallery, it would be more fine art based. I try to do the unexpected for every particular place. Every location dictates what the art should look like so I try to do the unexpected," he said.

Ishmael's artistic drive is to change the status quo of the Charleston art scene. He believes that Charleston is different than Asheville because people are hungrier here. They are ready for a change in terms of artistic exploration. There is an extra energy to push out different work because he believes that the young artists of today are fighting against an oppressive regime. It is a movement that he believes is working.

Check out Ishmael's new work at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival exhibition, Contemporary Charleston 2009: Revelation of Process. The show features work by Ishmael, Jonathan Brilliant, Karin Olah, Dorothy Netherland and Benjamin Timpson. The show opens May 15 with an artist's reception 6-8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The City Gallery is at 34 Prioleau St. in downtown Charleston. Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call at 958-6484 or e-mail CityGallery@ci.charleston.sc.us.


'Remember when we battle without guns' by Ishmael.