Studio Visit & Interview with Piper Lewine
By John Vochatzer
Last summer I picked up a piece of Piper Lewine’s work from an art show curated by my friend Lily that took place at Mission Bar in their speakeasy-style backroom— a for-one-night-only exhibit appropriately titled “Secret Handshake”. The piece was a medium sized wood panel depicting a horned demon child and a horse, set in a darkly fantastical world reminiscent of children’s books and folk art.
Fast forward to this past winter— while in the process of moving into a new apartment on a rainy afternoon, the piece suffered some slight damage by a few stray raindrops reactivating the wax pastels which it was drawn with. Knowing right well that my OCD wouldn’t allow me to live with the new imperfections— and that if I were the artist I’d want to know and be given the opportunity to make the repair— I reached out to Piper to see what could be done…
A few weeks later, I made the trip over to her studio in Oakland, housed in a warehouse shared with several other well-known Bay Area artists, where she graciously worked her magic restoring the painting to its original grandeur. In the process, I had the pleasure of getting to know Piper a little bit— hearing a slew of wild stories ranging from hijinks of her nearly two-decade stint in the Bay Area graffiti scene, to her one-woman band Tropical City (where she sings through a microphone fashioned in the shape of a gun), to the grand theft of a Gucci purse and the resulting litigation.
Aside from being exactly the type of colorful creative entity that makes the Bay Area such an interesting place, one of my favorite things about Piper is the duality that defines her and her art practice. Her work, on the surface appears innocent and with an almost childlike naivety, yet beneath the surface lurk darker, more brooding themes— the kind of contrast I’ve always been drawn to in art. This, compounded with Piper’s renaissance-woman ambitions to work across as many mediums as possible (from stained glass, to stop motion animation, to the occasional tattoo) makes for one full-speed-ahead steam-train dynamo of an artist that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
Interview
Hey Piper! Great times getting to hang out in your studio and getting to see and hear about all the cool things you’re working on. Want to tell us a little bit about your studio and what the average day is like for you there?
Yo! I’m glad u had fun. I try to set up my studio to be a place that not only inspires me, but is inviting for any homies to come thru and work on some art. I have a sick collection of a lot of other artists work and then i have my “inspiration” wall, which consists of anything from kewl looking foreign candy packaging, religious pamphlets, tattoo flash and even an old pair of underwear that i poured resin all over.
Piper’s Inspiration Wall.
On my best days, it’s getting up early to go surf, then hit the studio around noon, chill for a bit, and grind on whatever i’m working on, painting, glass etc.. with homies stopping by here n there. lately, it’s been more like me getting there in the afternoon because i woke up late and leaving in the early hours of the morning.
Something you mentioned on a few occasions was wanting to try every medium as an artist. Where do you think this want stems from? And what are some mediums that you’re interested in trying that you haven’t yet?
yes. I don’t know really where it stems from really, there’s just this never ending curiosity inside me that wants to give it all a try.. cauz u never know what’s gunna resonate, until u do it. I’d like to work a bit more with wood and making things a bit more 3D by layering it all. I’d like to experiment more with resin and airbrushing and even mixing it all together.
“dopamine,” 31”x41” Mixed Media (Oil, Airbrush, Collage, Resin, and Vinyl).
Set for a stop motion animation that Piper has been working on.
You’ve been active in the Bay Area graffiti scene for nearly two decades, can you tell us a little bit about your history in graffiti and how does it intersect with your art practice?
oh man, i was waiting for the graffiti questions to come. To keep a REALLY long story short, i hit a point in my life where there became a huge separation between me and my “friends” at the time.. so, i just decided to just swipe them all and start writing my name on walls. I’ve always been into the “arts”, I was and still am a musician first and foremost.. but it was the discipline of practicing graffiti that gave my ADHD the ability to focus on drawing.. everything always comes full circle.
Amongst your many recent projects, some of the more notable ones were the stained-glass light boxes you do. Would you tell us about the stained glass and your process for that a little bit?
I wanted to create stained glass pieces that you wouldn’t need a window for and can hang on a wall like an art piece, so i learned from a carpenter how to make the light boxes. The more and more I did it, i refined the process and changed it to a more .. I guess u would call it a “mosaic” now? I didn’t like how much definition was lost with the soldering process and that’s all i’m gunna say about that.. haha u gotta hold some cards close to the chest.
“dark day,” 12”x16” Mixed Media (Pastel, Colored Pencil, and Vinyl).
Before becoming known as a visual artist, you had roots as a musician. This still manifests itself in your solo musical project “Tropical City.” What’s the story with Tropical City and how does music still function as a creative outlet for you?
Well.. like I said, I was always a musician. Since I was 14. I’ve been in a few bands. toured a lot.. I walked away from music for a few years when graffiti came in, but eventually I got the urge to make music again. This time I started to do it all digitally/electronically. I didn’t intend to do it on my own, but sometimes if u want shit to get done, u can’t rely on other people. When it comes to my art, I like to make shit that I like to look at and that makes me happy.. it’s really bright and colorful. on the other hand , my music is where i can get out all my frustration and distain for the world. I’ve currently put my music project on the back burner to focus more on my art, I can only have laser focus for one passion at the moment, but it’ll be back.
Something that appeals to me about your work is the dichotomy of whimsical, children’s book inspired imagery but coupled with often darker underlying themes and motifs. What is it about this dichotomy that resonates with you as a person and as an artist?
haha, i kinda answered half of that with the last question. I’ve heard from “some” people that after meeting me that they would expect my art to be “darker” or some shit.. but u nailed it more with your description, because you see it both. on the surface it’s happy and whimsical, but when you get to know me or really think about it.. you’re like “fuck that’s actually kinda creepy”.. there u go.
“addiction,” 15”x18” Glass Mosaic on Wood.
I also really enjoyed looking at your collage sketchbooks and learning about their history. Would you tell us a little bit about the sketchbooks?
yeah, just like a graffiti black book an artist has their version. I’m not one of those people that just came out the womb knowing how to draw, so at first I really liked working with mixed media.. so i started to make my sketch books look really fucking kewl. I think it’s funner to work in something that looks aesthetically pleasing. I’m actually making a series of blank notebooks that i designed that are one-of-a-kind, using printable shrinky dinks and stickers and resin that i’ve been selling. I got a collab with moleskin dropping soon, they just don’t know about it yet tho. haha i could be the next lisa frank. I’ll show u some pics.
A Page from one of Piper’s many collage sketchbooks.
Custom one-of-a-kind notebooks covered in resin.
On top of all the creative stuff, another pastime of yours is surfing. What is your relationship with surfing like? And are there any other pastimes of yours we didn’t touch on when I was at your studio?
i’ve only been surfing since 2018, but it’s been really great. it’s the only thing that gives me that certain feeling that i could only get from graffiti. it’s nice to have a hobby that won’t land me in jail. i’m a lil brain dead, but I think we covered them all?
It seems like you have no shortage of wild stories to tell. I had the pleasure of hearing a few already, but could you tell us another brief one here?
haha yeah I have no shortage of stories until I’m asked for one on the spot. ok ok. I got expelled from elementary school for pulling a kitchen knife i got from home on a boy because he wouldn’t stop calling me “Piper-Diaper”.. but it was around the same time the movie Child’s Play came out , so everybody just started calling me “Chucky” instead. What was I thinking. SMH
Lastly– any projects or shows coming up or anything else you’d like to talk about or let people know about?
Most of my time is going to be grinding in the studio preparing for my solo show at Good Mother Gallery in Los Angeles, opening on June 7th of this year. Tropical City will be performing 2!!! Super excited. I’m pulling out all the stops for this one.
