by Mike Hoban
Artist PunkMeTender, theParisian-turned-Angeleno whose graphic, raw form of art draws from street art, graffiti, photography, fashion and the female form, will be featured at Pellas Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston. The solo show, called Voyage d’Ulysse, will run from from April 29 – June 18, 2022, exhibiting a variety of pieces from the artist’s repertoire of work, including two of his NFT pieces from his collection of Punk Angels, which combines his signature Butterfly Wings with 480 different intricately hand-drawn traits. Voyage d’Ulysse will also include graphic acrylic pieces on wooden panels, a mixed media piece that uses stretched canvas, and other pieces by PunkMeTender that combine his roots in street art, graffiti, photography, fashion and the female form.
Theater Mirror caught up with PunkMeTender recently as he prepared to bring his show to Boston.
Theater Mirror: Let’s start with the obvious question, where does the name PunkMeTender come from?
PunkMeTender: It comes from my love of music. I’m a fan of Elvis Presley and the song “Love Me Tender” has always been very striking to me. It’s just a beautiful play on words. And “punk” (in the rock ‘n roll sense) is kind of my philosophy on life, but that attitude needs to come with balance.
Theater Mirror: I love your “About” page on your website, which reads, “Punk Me Tender is a Los Angeles artist. Blah, blah, blah…” Want to expand a little on that? I know you were born in Paris, France and came to the U.S. when you were fairly young.
PunkMeTender: Yeah. I was abandoned by my mother when I was 11 and went to live with my dad. As soon as I was able to get out, which is when I was 18 years old, I went to live on my own. When I was 22-23 years old, I moved to Los Angeles with no money. I started at the bottom.
Theater Mirror: How did you survive when you first came to L.A.?
PunkMeTender: I met this French guy, who became this very famous street artist. His name is Mr. Brainwash. He was an artist and an entrepreneur and he started showing me around. I began to work for him in exchange for free rent, then we started to do some street art together, and he became Mr. Brainwash.
Theater Mirror: Let’s back up for a moment. When you were a boy in France, did you receive any art training or schooling?
PunkMeTender: My mother is an artist, and my grandmother is an artist as well. And my stepdad is an interior designer, so at a young age, I was exposed to a lot of design and art. I didn’t start painting until I was around 18 years old, so I had a very small background, but I didn’t go to school or anything. I was just made for this.
Theater Mirror: I can relate, I’m a journalist in my day job but I didn’t go to school for journalism. I just read newspapers and books and started doing it.
PunkMeTender: That’s how you develop your own skills. I mean, when you go to school, it’s great. They teach you the basics, but they cannot format (train) you in the way of doing things. You’ve got to learn for yourself. You format yourself and that’s what sets you apart from others.
Theater Mirror: I got a kick out of your Instagram post, “How people think I paint when I tell them I’m an artist’ – which is hilariously self-deprecating. I love the bit about filling up women’s stilettos and wine glasses with Home Depot paint and flinging it onto a spinning canvas. How much of that is real?
PunkMeTender: It’s actually 100% the truth, but it’s just how you perceive it. Basically, what I try to show is the critical eye – that which you see – but then you try to think a little bit deeper, and you might see something else. It’s very easy to (judge) a work based on the first thing you see and say, ‘This is it’. It’s harder to try and understand it at a deeper level, to try and read between the lines and understand the (idea behind it). Sometimes I’d rather show people something – the ones who hate – and tell them exactly what they should think and say, ‘There you go! I don’t have a problem with your hate.’
Theater Mirror: Let’s talk a bit about some of your work. Some of the pieces I viewed online are especially striking, with these explosions of bright, vivid colors. Where is that coming from?
PunkMeTender: It comes from emotion. I’m not the kind of artist that organizes and plans everything. I go with the flow. It’s the punk kind of energy that I have. So whatever kind of energy I have, it translates into colors and shapes. The colors are bright because my life is bright. I choose to see the positive in life. I choose to see the good things in life, so it translates into my art, not the dark colors. For some artists, art is therapy – whether it’s music or painting – it doesn’t really matter what kind of art. You’re filling a gap, something you missed as a child, or a trauma, and the outlet is art. My outlet in art is a happy one.
Theater Mirror: I’ve noticed that the butterfly theme is dominant in your art. What is the significance?
PunkMeTender: It came naturally. Like I said, I don’t plan anything. (The idea) just came my way and I just went along with it. I think life is a ball of energy and things often happen by a kind of magic. And we create where we’re going by the moves that we make, by the way that we think, by the friends that we like, by where we live – kind of like the Matrix. I do believe that. I think as an artist, you carry out your (vision) naturally. Some artists make their art millimeter by millimeter, but I’m more about going with the flow. And at the end, it represents exactly how I feel about life. Butterflies are very gentle, they are beautiful creatures, they are not on the earth for a very long time, so they’re just being.
Theater Mirror: How long have you been using butterflies into your work?
PunkMeTender: When I began working more on my own, maybe 5 or 6 years ago, although I was still working with Mr. Brainwash until sometime last year.
Theater Mirror: Tell us about the upcoming show, Voyage d’Ulysse at Pellas Gallery on Newbury St. How did that come about?
PunkMeTender: I met the owner of the gallery (Alfredo Pellas) in Boston last year, and he was a fun, interesting and intelligent person, so we had a good conversation. Then we met again last year on a beach in Miami, kind of randomly, so we developed a friendship, and decided to do a show at his gallery. It’s always a compliment to be asked to do a showing, to have people showcase your work. I’m really excited about showcasing what I do, and having conversations with people.
