Frontline

Since 2002, Ali Ha and Ad Deville former owners of Orchard Street Art Gallery in Manhattan's Lower East Side have shown the art of themselves and the art of fellow artist they meet in the global street art scene and in the NYC community. Many people consider their gallery to be the first and only street art gallery during their time on Orchard Street. Ali & Ad opened Factory Fresh their current East Williamsburg/Bushwick location in June 2008, aiming to push their art boundaries further bringing the latest art works from the freshest artists around the globe while always staying ahead of the trends. With a focus on our current culture and the urban art we see in our cities Factory Fresh continues to grow with the evolving art world. In 2012, Ali Ha continue's the project on a non continual ever evolving schedule as Ad Deville focuses on his growing art career with Skewville, while remaining a Factory Fresh consultant and creative ambassador. Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the dried film. Oil paints have been used in Europe since the 12th century for simple decoration, but were not widely adopted as an artistic medium until the early 15th century. Common modern applications of oil paint are in finishing and protection of wood in buildings and exposed metal structures such as ships and bridges. Its hard-wearing properties and luminous colors make it desirable for both interior and exterior use on wood and metal. Due to its slow-drying properties, it has recently been used in paint-on-glass animation. Thickness of coat has considerable bearing on time required for drying: thin coats of oil paint dry relatively quickly. Of all the parts of our body, teeth, crammed into the mouth cave, are a constant reminder that we are merely flesh hanging out to dry on an elaborate chain of bone linkages. The pulpy ripped swollen scarlet and pink flesh that we call the gums, barely tolerate their border-line function as a visual testament to life and death. The mouth itself is in constant crisis. It is the place where stuttering words come forth, where words are taken back, where ‘sweet’ foods begin their rot. Francis Bacon understood that the mouth is at once entrance and exodus. When we scream we also breathe. In order to exhale we must inhale. For Sweet Toof this sway between horror and acceptance is an important part of his work. Sweet Toof’s painting starts with and evolves out of his street art; whether as a solo graffiti artist or in collaboration with others. Typical tags, throw- ups, and more elaborate pieces become a whole language which informs his studio works. Like the streets of 1980’s New York, London’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. Out there, under the swirl of lamplights, billboards and urban detritus, ‘bubble-Gums’