Rishi Patel and Wilson Kwok, both rising juniors at High School North, present an art exhibition and sale to benefit Homefront. All of the original paintings were created with spray paints. Once dismissed as graffiti, this work is now an accepted form of street art. Their art gallery will be held at That Pottery Place on Sunday, August 16, from 1 to 6 p.m.##M:[more]##
“The street style art began on the streets of New York City and is already in major cities throughout the country,” says Patel. The paintings are created using aerosol paints and a layering technique using magazines and newspapers. “We only use spray paint in our work and were inspired by the men and women who spray paint in New York,” he says.
“I have only been spray painting for a short time but I picked it up right away,” says Patel. “Wilson taught me the basics and welcomed me to the wonderful art. There aren’t really any instructors to learn from. This is a street art and is still young in history.”
“When I was younger I always loved arts and crafts,” says Patel, who was born in Edison and moved to West Windsor 11 years ago. “I used to love to draw when I was in elementary school, and completed a couple of summer classes.” Although he’s only been spray painting for a few months he has been teaching at That Pottery Place’s summer camp. The co-owner, Kamla Acharya, who is a neighbor of his, was also the one who introduced Patel to HomeFront, where she volunteers, several years ago. She brought Patel to meet the kids, play with them, and help them do some things.
Patel, who has always been musical, has played the drums for several years and studies percussion with Marc Bencivengo, the band teacher at North. Patel is an active member of the school’s band, marching band, jazz band, steel band, and percussion ensemble. He was also in the orchestra pit for “Camelot” in the spring. He is a member of the Princeton Junior Squash team and plans on volunteering at the Princeton Junction fire station in September.
“After seeing the children at HomeFront we immediately fell in love with the charity,” he says. “We love the art that we do and felt that we needed to give back to the community.”
Art Show and Sale, That Pottery Place, 217 Clarksville Road, West Windsor. Sunday, August 16, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. 609-785-1441.
