Chris Stain

In describing his work, Chris Stain says, "As an artist, my work falls into the genre of the American social-realist movement that was popularized in the 1930s and 40s by artists such as Ben Shahn and Jacob Lawrence. Although I come from a traditional graffiti background, stenciling and screen printing have been my media of choice for their graphic strengths and simplistic methods that allow me to convey exactly how I feel about particular issues. I am most inspired by the simple human need for survival with dignity. I find myself drawn to imagery that expresses that struggle. In the summer of 1984 the art of graffiti writing spread throughout my Baltimore neighborhood like an epidemic. It captured the imagination of many pre-adolescent youth looking for ways to express themselves outside the norms of school and mundane playground sports. I was one of those kids who became infected by graffiti’s bold color, striking form, and independent nature. As time went by I investigated other avenues of art such as printmaking and graphic design. In high school I learned screen-printing, a fundamental element of stencil print making. For the past eleven years my medium of choice has been aerosol paint, an X-Acto knife and Dura-Lar. My objective is to bring to light the stories of the often overlooked individuals of society."