Greg Mike is a modern artist known for his distinctive characters, bold street art, mural paintings, and Loudmouf icon, which blends vibrant designs with pop culture. A number of murals have been painted by him in Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and the Swiss Alps. To talk about his work and his upcoming solo show at the new ABV Gallery, Greg Mike joined us for an interview.
Can you tell us what visitors can expect at the new ABV Gallery in East Atlanta this fall and how it will differ from your original gallery in the Old 4th Ward?
Over the past 4 years, I’ve been designing and developing the space to be like something never seen before. The possibilities are endless. From massive sculptures to murals to installations, anything is possible. Our old space was only 1500 square feet and the new space is 8500. With that being said, larger walls for bigger canvases, more space for multi-sensory exhibitions and events and more. We loved the last 15 years in our first location, but we’ve just unlocked a new level to fulfill and push our creative dreams. The space will feature a retail shop, a bar, a massive gallery room, annex galleries, my private painting studio, our design studio for ABV AGENCY, and exterior walls for murals. Learn more about it here.
Your upcoming solo show at the new ABV Gallery is a retrospective of 15 years of your work. How did you select the pieces to be featured, and what story do you aim to tell through this exhibition?
All the pieces for the show will be new unreleased work. In terms of a retrospective, it’s more from a stylistic standpoint, where I am inspired by different styles and moments from the last 15 years of my career. It will feature paintings, sculptures, limited edition prints, vinyl figures, merch, and more. I am utilizing a number of different mediums and styles to create this new body of work. The story is ongoing and I’m constantly building off the pieces I’ve created before it. My work is always pushing positivity and expressions of thoughts and emotions through colors and characters.
You’ve worked on some fantastic mural pieces. What has been your most challenging mural project to date, and how did you overcome its challenges?
I think one of the most challenging pieces was when I painted a 6 story building in Midtown Atlanta. The height of the building wasn’t the only challenge. The most difficult aspect of the building was that it was only accessible by a 60ft boom lift that needed to be threaded through an alleyway. One wrong move of the control switches and I would have smashed into the neighboring building. There was only about an 8ft gap between the buildings to thread lift between. I was terrified and shaking the whole time while painting and imaging a car slamming into the lift to send me flying in the air. I think due to being tense and stressed while painting I threw my back out while picking up a can off the basket floor. I had to take a few days off as I could hardly walk, let alone paint. I pushed through and got it done, but definitely one of the most challenging installations to date.
Regarding street art, what do you see as the role of street art and public art in today’s society, particularly in urban environments?
Street art has the most incredible way of positively transforming a city. Art makes people happy, it makes people think and can really beautify blank and boring concrete brick walls. I’ve often heard people tell me they look forward to hopping in their cars on the way home from work and passing a mural as it puts a smile on their face when seeing the bright colors and positive messages. I think there’s a lot of developments that all look the same and adding the element of public art really gives it character and adds a ton of value to the landscape of a community. It’s great seeing commercial developers incorporate murals into their projects. Over the past few years we’ve seen a shift with the architects designing spaces made for murals from the infancy stages of a project. This is truly special and something I’d love to see more of globally.
Your work often incorporates bold colours and energetic characters. What inspires the aesthetic choices in your art?
It’s all based on feelings, a lot of those that are in my mind and I can’t communicate just with words alone. They need to come out and the easiest way for me to convey them is through my colors and characters. I love adding a touch of nostalgic elements to my work that people can relate to, which brings them back to a place and time of happiness in their lives. At the end of the day I want to create positive art that inspires and makes people happy. If I can inspire just one person or change someone’s mood for a moment then it’s a win in my book.
Finally, if you could give some words of advice to aspiring artists, what would it be?
I think the biggest thing I can say is to keep going. There’s no secret formula and it’ll take a decade to become an overnight success. Create work daily, put it out there and be part of the art community. As long as you put in the hours to develop your style it will all work out. The timing right now couldn’t be better for artists and commissions with murals, collaboration projects, and the internet. You just need to start and be relentless and keep creating. Don’t worry about your style or what you’re known for as this will just come with time. You will keep things you like that work and stray away from things that don’t. I’ve had tons of hurtles or times when I could have thrown in the towel and thought I’d never make it, but I knew I was doing what I loved and kept pushing forward. Work hard, Stay Humble and most importantly, enjoy the ride.
