Poem by Amelia Arce
Las estrellas bailan al paso de nuestra guitarra.
Tus caderas de huesos toca mi rumba.
Tienes una templadura que da locura.
Eres mi otra mita y la muerte no nos separa.
El aroma de rosas intoxica la noche,
Amantes, padres, acompañeros del alma vistan y celebrad.
Al bar de la muerte donde la tequila nunca cuesta y la alegría es infinita.
Es una día de celebración, es un día cumbia mortal.
Original painting is in private collection
Now a creative powerhouse, Vales has completed many successful projects ranging from large-scale murals, to art directing films and videos, fashion, photography to restaurant and nightclub interior design worldwide. His collaborations have placed him in the heart of Google’s NYC office and the surreal world of photographer David LaChapelle. He has also worked closely with video director Hype Williams, spanning his art across all mediums.
It was at the High School of Art and Design where Vales was introduced to graffiti and the emerging culture of Hip Hop. Painting at a feverish pace both on subway cars and on canvas the artist was soon to start showing at Graffiti Productions Inc., one of the first galleries to feature authentic graffiti works by the legends of the era. These shows, greatly received by press, fans and collectors became the solid foundation to a spellbinding career.
Vales would hone this talent through an array of many mediums: a foray in hand painted clothing led Vales to creating large murals in nightclubs of NYC. Having practiced large-scale pieces on the flanks of subway cars, he was well qualified to execute fantastic large-scale murals, quickly. Vales executed murals in Limelight, The Tunnel and Gil and Erni’s Rock and Roll Bar to name a short few out of more than 500 at least.
Someone recently told me I was old now, for the first time in my life I found that statement to be so funny. Yes I have been here now many years but old, I don’t think so. Its true I was painting subways cars in the 80s at a feverish pace which has brought me “legitimacy” in the graffiti art and commercial world, a world that I remember being a part of hundreds of people, today I guesstimate I am now a part of close to a million, worldwide.
Graffiti, the foundation of my career (who knew?) is a worldwide phenomenon and I am proud to be a part of its history. Its true, because of graffiti I have traveled the globe, painted for celebrities, been written about and have been able to challenge the artist in me for well into 30 years now.
I have become less “old” these days, reinvigorated by the new challenges in life and its true that I will be sharing more on this website than in my previous sites, this site I will try to share my thoughts, my ideas that drove my body to create and create I did, thousands on thousands of drawings, sketches, paintings weather with tools or lately digitally I create, I hope to color everyone’s world with at least one small splash of color, of life and share my times with anyone interested enough to take a look.
Its true I’m old, but I’m so much younger than I ever was.
It was at the High School of Art and Design where Vales was introduced to graffiti and the emerging culture of Hip Hop. Painting at a feverish pace both on subway cars and on canvas the artist was soon to start showing at Graffiti Productions Inc., one of the first galleries to feature authentic graffiti works by the legends of the era. These shows, greatly received by press, fans and collectors became the solid foundation to a spellbinding career.
Vales would hone this talent through an array of many mediums: a foray in hand painted clothing led Vales to creating large murals in nightclubs of NYC. Having practiced large-scale pieces on the flanks of subway cars, he was well qualified to execute fantastic large-scale murals, quickly. Vales executed murals in Limelight, The Tunnel and Gil and Erni’s Rock and Roll Bar to name a short few out of more than 500 at least.
EVL (Erni Vales Ltd) has little to do with evil, but much more to do with vices. Vice is often defined as an immoral habit or practice. I could not however find a clear or satisfying definition to what is immoral. Whose morality has the ability to judge another thus labeling them, “immoral?” We all live with our vices, I declare mine proudly through my art, if I didn’t have my art would I still proudly declare? Probably not as doing so is viewed on as, well, immoral! My EVL World is not founded in immorality but in creativity and my art always embraces the flaws in myself as well as the people around me, its the flaws and breaks in life that serve to color our futures, it makes us real. If I buried or re-pressed my vices I’m sure my art wouldn’t be as touching, humorous or as well received. I am a creative misfit and luckily I have found my home in the world of my paintings.