Erni Vales
Artist
Contemporary urban artist, Erni Vales may be best known for his development of the 3D graffiti style that has influenced thousands worldwide, however, Vales, has a portfolio reaching far beyond what might be expected from a graffiti artist.
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 on both subway cars and canvas, the artist soon started showing at Graffiti Productions Inc., one of the first galleries to feature authentic graffiti works by the legends of the era, becoming the solid foundation to a spellbinding career.
Vales honed his talent through an array of mediums including a foray in hand painted clothing which led Vales to create large murals in nightclubs of NYC. Vales executed murals in Limelight, The Tunnel, and Gil and Erni's Rock and Roll Bar to name a few out of more than 500 spaces.
Vales was then called to Hollywood to produce the graffiti works done by the lead actor in a small pilot called "Livin Large". This led to working on large-scale murals featured in many shows on the world famous Warner Bros. back lot. Vales had the chance to diversify his skills, painting in a wide range of styles from Thomas Hart Benton's WPA murals to the nightmarish dreams of Francis Bacon to the Sexy Deco style of Tamara DeLempica. His work appeared in the CBS series "The Flash", NBC series "Viper" and movies, such as "Vampire in Brooklyn", "Seven", "Money Train" and "House Party 2".
In 1995, hungry for more, Vales returned to NYC and teamed up with the then emerging photographer, David LaChapelle to work on pieces including portraits for Madonna, Elton John, Mariah Carey, and L'il Kim. The portrait of L'il Kim (cover of Interview Magazine in 1998) was chosen as one of the 50 greatest portraits of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2004. Many of these works can be seen in the book Hotel LaChapelle.
Between gigs with LaChapelle, Vales was offered the opportunity to design his first of many restaurants, a small bistro in Connecticut, Grille 207. Later came Velvet, the first cutting edge alternative nightclub in Connecticut, and the then 3 star restaurant, The Union followed by Bliss. But once again, NYC beckoned and in 1999 Vales designed his first restaurant/nightclub in NYC turning the fading Tattoo into the wildly successful One 51. Vales, now an accomplished and self taught interior designer then became the creative force behind spaces like Freight in NYC and Atlas, marking his first interior design venture in Moscow, Russia. During this time Vales also worked to design and develop the now extremely popular NYC Chelsea Market. He also appeared on the NBC show The Apprentice as the featured artist for a large scale mural for Playstation 2.
During 2005, a Latin themed one man show at the Time Life building in NYC brought the attention of Helix cigars who added Vales to their artist spotlight series with a painting that was part of a nationwide magazine ad campaign. May 2006 brought the launch of the first ever custom designed, hand painted mini party buses (Vales has painted 8 in all) for the 2006 Dos Equis Cinco De Mayo promotional blitz. Vales ended 2006 with a live painting performance at the prestigious Chanel Soho NYC store teaming with New York Magazine and raising over $2500 for Working Playground charity which scheduled Vales to assist in a master class for artistic teens. The live painting performances continued as Vales painted in front of 3000 people at the Sound Factory 10 year reunion with legendary DJ Jonathan Peters at Pacha.
In 2008, Vales was commissioned by Google to design a 5-story mural in their NYC office, wrapping around their ever popular stairwell. Next, Vales introduced EVL Productions (Erni Vales, LTD.), a line of creative limited merchandise based on his artwork and career. He also re-teamed with David LaChapelle on another fantastic project creating sets for an Ed Hardy ad campaign and a Rolling Stone cover shoot with Lady Gaga.
Vales’ most recent collaboration has been with Mercadito Chicago, creating large scale murals covering the walls of the upscale Mexican lounge and restaurant. Vales says “My new relationship with Mercadito is a perfect thing at a perfect time, I see amazing potential in the growth of creativity beyond the food and the food experience and I can’t wait to begin building a new avenue for the restaurants and hopefully help solidify an already strong and great team.”
