Street Artist RETNA Gets Some Tail As He Hand Paints A $60 Million Vista Jet.

As part of a partnership with VistaJet & Bombardier Aerospace, 31 year old Los Angeles street artist RETNA has hand-painted a unique artwork on the tail of a VistaJet Global Express XRS as part of his Hallelujah World Tour.






Those familiar with RETNA's work will recognize the iconic styled heiroglyphics which he uses in much of his art, as shown in the multiple examples of his work below:








This $60,000,000 luxury aircraft will be the star of VistaJet’s fleet of 31 private jets. Drawing from a wide array of influences including the Old English style of gang graffiti writings, Asian calligraphy, Incan & Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew and Arabic, RETNA’s vision manifests as an international visual language all his own.




At EBACE 2011, the premier aviation show in Geneva, May 17 - 19, RETNA will officially launch his artistic vocabulary over 50,000 feet above ground.

VistaJet and RETNA is a new partnership that begun with VistaJet’s and Bombardier’s sponsorship of RETNA’s “Hallelujah World Tour,” presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, which launched in New York in February and will continue throughout the year in cities including London and Hong Kong.



Retna, whose real name is Marquis Lewis, comes from a graffiti background. The nom de plume – derived from a Raekwon song – was originally given to a friend. “I gave him a sketch, and he went and battled some dude and he lost,” Retna said previously in an interview with Upper Playground. “He wasn’t even supposed to battle anyone anyway with my sketch that I gave him. And on top of that he lost, so that really pissed me off, so I took the name back.”

Over the past few years, Retna has been known less for his graffiti pieces than a unique written language derived from various ancient scripts.



“It draws on Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Mayan glyphs, as well as Mexican and pre-Columbian heritage,” Jeffrey Deitch, director of MoCA in Los Angeles, said. “He filters those traditions through the tradition of tagging and graffiti that has been seen in Los Angeles since the 1970s. Within these traditions, he has come up with something entirely his own.”

The New York exhibition, The Hallelujah World Tour (Venice and London are the two other stops) is Retna’s biggest show to date.

Images courtesy of Bombardier and RETNA

Luggage "Tag" - Tumi Collaborates With Graffiti Artist Crash For Limited Edition.

above: 4 pieces of Tumi luggage and an iPhone case by John "Crash" Matos

Tumi Tag is a limited edition series created in collaboration with renowned New York graffiti artist John "Crash" Matos. Crash's work has been featured in museums and galleries around the world and includes custom-painted guitars for Eric Clapton and John Mayer.





The Tumi Tag collection features four hardside cases—wheeled carry-ons and packing cases--and an iPhone case. Each wheeled case will showcase a different section of one of Crash's dynamic works of art. The interior of each case features one of four working drawings created by the artist and includes a unique number that authenticates the case as a distinct piece in this exclusive collection.







Only 1,000 of each Tumi Tag luggage style have been produced for this limited edition series. Tumi Tag, the collection name, refers to a graffiti artist's signature or tag. Enjoy hardside protection in a surprisingly lightweight, easy-to-maneuver design. This extra-large, four-wheel packing case is constructed from a super-light, triple-layer, high-performance alloy of ABS and polycarbonate. It sets the standard for strength, durability, mobility and aesthetics, and is ideal for extended business and leisure trips, or for two traveling together.






See the specs, pricing, details and shop for them here.

Having A Ball With Design. Artist Series Basketballs For K1X.

4 ELEMENTS 4 ICONS 4 BASKETBALLS - LIMITED ARTIST SERIES


Just released are the limited edition artist designed basketballs, K1X‘s "4-E" collection. The especially designed basketballs are interpretations of the four elements by the following artists and graphic designers; Marok (Water), Bill Mc Mullen (Fire), Mode2 (Earth) and Frank 151 featuring Stay High 149 (Air).

They each brought their usual a-game and interpreted one force of nature each. All four balls are strictly limited to 444 units and available at selected retail locations only.

THE ELEMENT: WATER


Marok chose the element WATER / Inspiration: design is strongly inspired by the movie „TRON“ / Interpretation: blue panels with grey channels suggest a bathroom-look reflecting the element WATER / Underglass-technique: grafic is printed on TPU material and covered by see-through-layer with shiny look / Packaging: ball comes in high-end display box / Collecters item - ball is limited to 444 pieces world wide and has Marok‘s signature on it.





THE ELEMENT: EARTH


Mode2 chose the element EARTH / Inspiration: design is strongly inspired by his character drawings / Interpretation: Mode2‘s baller stands on the ground getting his power from the element EARTH / Mode2 drew the picture on cardboard by hand - the drawing was then scanned and printed / Packaging: ball comes in high-end display box / Collecters item - ball is limited to 444 pieces world wide and has Mode2‘s signature on it.





THE ELEMENT: AIR


Frank 151 is featuring Stay High 149 in colaboration for the element AIR / Inspiration: design is strongly inspired by his legendary "smoker“ tag / Interpretation: white pu-leather with black and silver printing give the ball a very light look / Logos and tags are stamped with black/silver outlines / Packaging: ball comes in high-end display box / Collecters item - ball is limited to 444 pieces world wide and has Stay High‘s s signature (wayne robertson) on it.




Frank 151 is a rapidly growing cultural icon based in NYC. Its Centerpiece is the Frank Book, a magazine which is capturing the essence of the global urban mindset and lifestyle. The New York-based global media platform is also known for Frank’s Chop Shop – a barber shop providing custom products including exlcusive New Era Caps. Frank151 is influencing, enhancing and changing generations and cultures worldwide.


Wayne Roberts aka "Stay High 149“ aka "Voice of the Ghetto“ was born and raised in the Bronx (NYC). He is Considered one of the founding fathers and living legend of graffiti writing. As a pioneer, innovator and influencer he has inspired generations of graffiti writers.


THE ELEMENT: FIRE


Bill McMullen chose the element FIRE / Inspiration: design is strongly inspired by McMullens favourite color orange and influenced by the 1984 usa olympic star / Interpretation: by using a fluoriscent orange on white and black with black channels the FIRE ball seems to go up in flames / Underglass-technique: grafic is printed on TPU material and covered by see-through-layer with shiny look / Packaging: ball comes in high-end display box / Collecters item - ball is limited to 444 pieces world wide and has Bill McMullen‘s signature on it.



McMullen is a graphic designer, illustrator and artist from San Diego, based in New York City since 1996. McMullen’s designs have found their way on to clothing, album covers and toys for various brands and clients. He has designed packaging, DVDs and promotional videos for many artists including the Beastie Boys, Method Man, DMX and N.E.R.D, just to name a few. Also focusing on his own artwork, McMullen creates limited-run editions, and has released several notable vinyl toys like the famous AD-AT or SHUTTLEMAX for Kidrobot.



For K1X’ limited artist series of basketballs, McMullen interpreted the element of fire. McMullen has created a flame-like sphere, allowing him to incorporate his favorite color, orange.



Each basketball sells for approximately $60.00 USD They are available for pre-order here.


k1x.com