Steve Javiel

"My work is focused around experimenting with recreating the aged, decayed, layered surfaces around me. I believe that these aged surfaces tell a story and that they are a raw reflection of their environment—the aging is not premeditated.

To someone a wall or a train means nothing, but to me it represents an untold, and unappreciated story. The layers of textures, typography, colors, graffiti, and decay, have all been applied and manipulated in some form by humans, nature, time, and the environment. This random orchestration fascinates me.

By painting my own representations of these surfaces, I form a connection to it and I am paying homage to it as if it is a wise elder. These surfaces have emotions and stories to tell and I feel they are revealed if you are willing to look past the “ugliness" of them.

I also see myself as an aging wall and I take the techniques I have learned from reinterpreting the look of decayed surfaces and create my own walls that represent my own experiences. This duel approach to creating my artwork continuously evolves over time as I grow and change and as my environment changes and ages around me.

The mediums I use to create my paintings are acrylic, oils, pumice, joint compound, paper, posters, spray paint, stencils and whatever else I can get my hands on. The process is layers on top of layers until the suyrfaces take on a life of their own." - Steve