SWEET TOOF
United Kingdom / Sweden
Our August 2019 exhibit features Sweet Toof an infamous graffiti vandal and fine artist from the United Kingdom who relocated to a rural village in Sweden several years ago. After a lifetime spent fighting the city life he escaped to a serene existence surrounded by nature and a “slower” lifestyle. This exhibit is titled “Gone Fishing” – A phrase with a multitude of interpretations that can be represented literally or figuratively – A great concept to explore visually.
The skull headed and gummy grinned characters throughout the paintings represent Sweet Toof’s fascination with the cultural and historical symbolism of skulls and death – With an emphasis on teeth, the only visible portion of our skeletal system. At first glance the fishermen appear to be sinister but once you examine their body language they reflect a comical and earnest essence in their moments of glory and defeat.
The paintings feature common fishing parlance titles to convey a bit of cheeky humor in the imagery – “She’s A Keeper” shows us a lovely couple in a boat having the time of their lives. “One Too Many” reminds us of that one boat on the lake with so many guys huddled in it, nobody can actually fish. “Fish Friday” captures a loving husband bringing back his lucky wife a fish to prepare for him and his buddy. “Snapshot” features a very happy fellow showing off his monster catch to potential love interests via his Tinder profile.
Included in this exhibit we have a selection of the highly sought after “Jawbreakers” – Hand painted vintage baseball bats – The ultimate functional sculpture home defense weapon!
We sourced vintage baseball bats in varying ages and sizes making each entirely unique. After multiple layers of paint each is topped off with glow in the dark teef and a single gold glitter toof. Not to be outdone we also sourced a handful of wooden “Fish Bonkers” for all your fish “calming” needs!
Sweet Toof’s work starts with and evolves out of his street art, whether as a solo graffiti artist or in collaboration with others. Like the streets of 1980s New York, Britain’s streets today are being reclaimed by an ever-increasing army of street artists of which Sweet Toof is one of the most prolific and artful. Typical tags, throw-ups, and more elaborate street pieces become a whole language that informs his studio works.
Equally disciplined in traditional painting and printmaking techniques, Sweet Toof masterfully blends urban detritus with bygone decadence. Fusing ancient methods with modern materials, Sweet Toof’s imagery combines layers of historical and current cultural references to create unconventional, iconoclastic art that is at once both traditional and contemporary.