Refa One"Style Writing and mural painting are expressions of my soul. I create from a place of unconditional love for African people. My goal is to transform the visual landscape of struggling African communities into spaces of beauty, power and platforms for African self determination”
-Refa One For well over three decades, Oakland California native Refa One has been instrumental in the development of the innovative genre known as “Aerosol Art” (Spray Can/Style Writing). Immersed in HipHop culture as a youth, the walls of urban structures became his canvas. Refa's refined HipHop calligraphy is inspired by a cultural tradition originating from the New York City subway art movement. A lifetime of involvement in HipHop culture and political organizing, has afforded Refa a successful career as a professional muralist, illustrator, activist, and arts educator. His pieces are maps of vision and reflection that capture the intellectual value and heritage of the HipHop vernacular. His themes materialize in the fusion of radically charged messaging, stylized letters, Afrofuturism, sacred geometry and eclectic cultural iconography. Refa's powerful artwork engages the spirit, intellect, and the imagination. His work has been featured internationally, throughout the U.S., various countries in Europe and the African continent. Refa One is currently the director of AeroSoul, an international organization of spray can artists from the African Diaspora, transforming the visual landscape of the African world. |