Freshmen cousins make art debut with graffiti paintings

With graffiti-inspired paintings and a love of art, IU freshmen Rafael Cronin and Grant Myers arrived in Bloomington’s art scene with the opening of their first collaborative exhibit.

The show, titled “Urban Scrawls,” premiered at the Bellevue Gallery during the Gallery Walk on Feb. 6 and will remain on display until March 28.

“Bellevue is a great place for young and emerging artists,” Cronin said. “It’s a good place to get in the scene and get things going.”  

Cronin and Myer, cousins who grew up in the Blooomington area, have been interested in drawing and painting their whole lives, Cronin said.

“Right now I’m more into mixed media and fine arts,” Myer said.

Both artists said they are new to the graffiti style.

Myer first experimented in the form three years ago, while Cronin began toying with it eight months ago.

“We’re Renaissance men,” Cronin said. “We like to dip and dabble in everything. A lot of my art is original or remixed from other artists.”

The exhibited works consisted of paintings on canvas or music records. One of Cronin’s works, “A Pig’s Thoughts,” showed a pig’s head dreaming of bacon. A couple of Myer’s works featured R2-D2 from the Star Wars series.

The interest in Cronin and Myer’s work did not begin at the exhibit. While working on their artwork in Collins Living-Learning Center, students asked the artists to make special pieces for their homes and dorms, Cronin said.

Myer said the show seemed like a success. Many of the paintings had already sold halfway through the reception, including “A Pig’s Thoughts” and Myer’s R2-D2 painting.

“It’s fascinating to hear the audience’s response,” Myer said.

The Bellevue Gallery caters to the young, student part of the Bloomington community.

It has a fun, funky and fresh atmosphere, Cronin said. Joanne Shank, a member of the Bellevue Gallery co-op, said the gallery encourages up-and-coming artists.

“They need a venue of their own where they can be expressive,” she said. “That’s where creativity starts.”