Retna paints the “Tribute Wall” on the Wynwood Lofts building in Wynwood, Miami during winter 2011.
Special thanks to Primary Flight for arranging and making this mural possible and Douglas “Hox” Hoekzema for all of his hard work and support too!

Cushy Productions

Filmed by Peter Vahan
with additional footage by Colin Day

Timelapses/Editing by Peter Vahan

Music : Alchemist – Mamma (Instrumental)
Bob Marley – War

New York, NY: March 8, 2012

Iron Eye Art Group and Tony Goldman present “A Conversation With A Great Friend“; a new mural at the Houston/Bowery Wall, New York

Goldman Properties is pleased to present “A Conversation With A Great Friend“, a new mural from internationally-recognized graffiti writer RETNA at the Houston/Bowery wall in New York. This is the seventh project at this iconic site, previously adorned with the paintings of Keith Haring and Os Gemeos, among others.

Known for his distinctive hieroglyphs melding ancient Incan, Egyptian, Arabic, Hebrew and Asian calligraphy wih graffiti, RETNA has created a written language unto himself. These symbols convey meaning with each character, drawn directly from an event or dialogue experienced by the artist. Developed from a conversation with curatorial advisor, Medvin Sobio (as the title suggests, RETNA’s own great friend), this mural exists as an audio visual performance; born from a conversation and transcribed onto a surface. The ideas exchanged between these two friends, and their analogies of existence, activate the visual component of the Houston/Bowery façade.

RETNA himself says, ‘No one likes to let someone use something only to have it come back broken. If we let you use it, utilize it to make it better, but don’t bring it back worse than when you got it. In life, we are all part of a cycle- we all have to be mindful of our responsibilities and take care of the gifts we are given. In the end, we are not the owners of the universe, but custodians doing the rounds…’

RETNA’s unique script reads the following phrases across the wall:

‘All the great ones are conscious of universal truths’
‘Watch the heartbeat in your wrist- a precise pulsing beat of life’s drum- with loss of timing you are ill’
‘The power of the world always works in circles’

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Listen to the conversation: http://soundcloud.com/digital-retna/a-conversation-with-a-great-friend

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RETNA was born in Los Angeles in 1979. Solo presentations of RETNA’s work have been presented in collaboration with New Image Art Gallery in Los Angeles, Primary Projects and The WAREhouse at the Margulies Collection in Miami, and the Hallelujah World Tour (presented by Andrew Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld) which traveled to exclusive locations in New York and London. RETNA was included in the 2011 blockbuster exhibition Art In the Streets, presented by director Jeffrey Deitch at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. In May 2011, he was commissioned by the Pasadena Museum of Art to paint its façade in its entirety. A month later, he was commissioned by private jet mogul Thomas Flohr to paint a Bombadier Global Express VistaJet, as part of his active fleet. RETNA lives and works in Los Angeles.

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goldmanproperties.com / digitalretna.com /  midcity-arts.com

Retna teams up with Primary Flight and paints Brimstone in Wynwood District of Miami during Art Basel.

el Mac & Retna – Thai Town mural (2010) from ELMAC on Vimeo.

Heres a Video that the Viejas Del Mercado put together, Im always fascinated with the quality of the work they put together.

PRIMARY FLIGHT 2009 from viejas del mercado on Vimeo.

Of Our Youth – RETNA • EL MAC from RVCA on Vimeo.

Heres A video that the Good Folks over at RVCA put together for me and the young comrade El MAC. This mural was made possible by RVCA, RIVERA & RIVERA, and Graphaids. Thank You all for your support in our pursuits. My man CUZBIRD helped me with this piece. Just recently he has been diagnosed with cancer, it was great seeing him in this video in better health, I hope for the best, your brother BlackBird.

RETNA and EL MAC have teamed up for another mural, this time in Culver City. Their newest mural, titled Of Our Youth,  can be seen on the side of Graphaids art supply store, on La Cienega between Jefferson and Washington.

The imagery and text used in this mural was inspired by their time spent at Skid Row, while painting their previous mural. The artists met a man by the name of Ralph Woodruff aka Chato and were inspired by this man’s past hardships, experiences and overall outlook on life. His ability to recognize his mistakes and atone for his sordid past was something that resonated with RETNA. The text which reads, “So today I’m trying to change a few things to rectify the situation of my past. So today I’m looking towards the future (of our youth highlighted)” is a quote taken from their conversation.

The mural was made possible by Graphaids , Rivera & Rivera Galley, and RVCA.

Photo Credit: Kohshin Finley

Here are some process photos of the mural RETNA recently worked on with REVOK, RIME, SABER, NORM, and OS GEMEOS. Photos by Kohshin Finley.