Blek le Rat, commonly known as the godfather of stencil art hails from Paris. It is no surprise that one of the most prolific stencil artists today is also from Paris. Younger than Blek, and fresher – C215 often sprays stencils of people from diverse cultures in streets around the world.

C215 is fairly young to the art. While he had been drawing and painting most of his life, he only started stenciling in 2005. His quick ascent into being an artist known around the world can be attributed to his amazing craft and intricate style.

To see more of C215’s work go to his myspace page here or visit his flickr page here.

I recently saw one of the most expressive set of sculptures that I have seen in years. The pieces, although only about 1ft tall on average do not only show details, they portray human feelings. These sculptures are the work of Oakland based artist, Derek Weisberg. Derek creates ceramic sculptures that are based on different points of his life. As such, they are deeply emotional.

“I want people to experience the sculptures and the environment and reflect on their own lives and situations.  To think about life and death,  to they themselves reflect on those that they have lost and those who are still living.  And for the viewer to actively take a part in the journey of any soul that they know which is not on this earthly plane.  All that spirituality and talk of afterlife and soul and such is really just a metaphor for memorializing the deceased and remembering the lives of those they have lost.”

This series of sculptures are even more emotional and expressive than prior ones. Recently afflicted by a life changing situation, his art also transformed. Derek shares his experience, “My mom past away just over 2 years ago and that has been a major event which I have reacted to and have made work about in attempts to reconcile with the loss, memorialize her, and journey into finding some kind of truth.” The works show exactly that. A spiritual journey of sorts.

To view these for yourself go to Dereks opening on February 21st at Rowan Morrison Gallery at 330 40th St. Oakland, CA. You can get more details on their website at www.rowanmorrison

I also encourage you to check out more of Derek’s work on his website at www.derekweisberg.com