KEY POINTS:
Doze Green hates being labelled as a graffiti artist and wants the public to realise what he does. "People need to get it right. It's not urban art, street art or stencilling. I am just a painter. People categorise artists to understand them. I don't want to be understood."
The acclaimed artist is in Auckland to showcase his collection Left Hand Path at the Webb Gallery and to complete a piece of live art at The Turnaround tomorrow night.
"Fusion art" is a title Green has given his style, which is inspired by cubism, graffiti and impressionism.
Green is based in New York and originally started writing, or doing graffiti art, in the 1980s. He started out by writing on the trains of New York and believes it is one way communities communicate with one another.
"I saw kids doing it on rooftops, trains and buses. I thought that's cool - damn, I want to do that."
After attending an art and design high school he taught himself to paint.
"My art is constantly changing and developing ... I am not a graffiti artist any more, I have moved on. As an artist you can't afford to stagnate."
He may be labelled a graffiti artist but you would be hard-pressed to find a spray can in his hand. Green loves the texture of brushstrokes and using basic instruments like charcoal and pigments.
"I don't care how people label me; I left that stage of development years ago. You can't conform or worry about what people say."
New Zealand graffiti artists also recognise there is more to Green.
New Zealand graffiti artist Askew, aka Elliot O'Donnell, says Green "is one of the very few to make it into the modern art elite".
Green's recent work is strongly influenced by indigenous cultures.
"My newer works are very chaotic and more intuitive, dealing with spiritual mysticism, the occult and indigenous cultures."
Green is studying the Asian and Arabian cultures and says he is excited about coming to New Zealand to learn about Maori mythology and cultural heritage.
"I am studying the differences between cultures and looking for the similarities. I want to bridge the gap between cultures through my art."
Lowdown
Who: New York artist Doze Green
What: Green will complete a piece of live art at the Turnaround tomorrow night, Bacco Room, with Keb Darge and support from Cian, Submariner and Manuel Bundy. His exhibition Left Hand Path is at the Aotearoa Webb Gallery, 18 Manukau Rd, Epsom, from April 13 to 20.
