DUAL stands for the conflict between “street art” and “fine” art, between freeway burners and gallery exhibitions, between mass recognition and total anonymity. His bold lines and fresh colors are a break from the every day monotony of life in the city—a taste of urban subculture, whether you asked for it or not.
While one may not have a choice in where and when they encounter a DUAL piece, DUAL leaves it up to the observer to assign a meaning to his work. By operating under a pseudonym, he lets his audience write their own narrative for who he is and the message he is trying to get across.
Perhaps best known for his work with wheat paste, particularly since his feature in the 2011 wheat pasting documentary Stick ‘Em Up!, DUAL has never been one to confine himself to a particular medium, background, or context.
He has been recognized not only for his work with silkscreen and spray paint, but also for his work with lithography and acrylics. Though his obsession with “making marks” stems from his background in graffiti, he has translated that into a passion for creating art. His “art” includes everything from large-scale murals, to paintings on canvas, to meticulously made tape collages, to the forgotten art of sign painting. Dual’s work has evolved from gestural character studies, to more hard edge abstraction with an added exploration of color – creating quite the dichotomy between the “street” artist and the “fine” artist.
In addition to being a constant presence on the street and a fixture in the Houston art scene since 2005, DUAL has also pursued a formal arts education and his work has seen more than its fair share of gallery walls. DUAL has been featured in a number of exhibitions by some of the top names in the Houston art scene including M Squared Gallery, Pablo Cardoza Fine Art, Colton & Farb Gallery and Station Museum of Contemporary Art. He has had the opportunity to collaborate with a number of brands, labels and charities including the Lebron James Family Foundation, Pabst Brewing Company, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Houston Outlaws, Dickies Workwear, Schmutz Watches, Street Serpents Apparel, and even Sprite. He has also been featured in a number of periodicals including 002 Magazine, Papercity, Houston Modern Luxury, Houston Press, Free Press Houston, Houston Lifestyle & Homes, Houston Chronicle and Case Magazine and published in books such as Stay Up and Stuck-Up Piece of Crap: From Punk Rock to Contemporary Art.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
It’s Called Fishin’ Not Catchin’, Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX, USA
Botanical Plumage, All The Feels, Houston, TX, USA
2022
A Trip Thru the Jungle Reeves Art + Design, Houston, TX, USA
Flowers for Mom, City Centre IV, Houston, TX, USA
2019
Pipe Dreams, Fat Cap Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
HOOK, LINE & SINKER, Pizza Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2016
Waste Nothing, Wedge Space, Houston, TX, USA
2014
Daytripper, Cardoza Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
Psych-Out!, Emergency Room, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
2011
New Works and Then Some, Dionysus Salon, Houston, TX, USA
Self Titled, Houston Fixed Gear, Houston, TX, USA
2008
Iconoclastically Yours, Aerosol Warfare Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2023
Undulation Theory, Houston, TX, USA
Summer’s End, Houston, TX, USA
Pillars, Faded Decade, Houston, TX, USA
Crossroads, Big Medium, Austin, TX, USA
2022
Houston is a Scam Rap Tape, Cardoza Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
This is not Graffiti, Flatland Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
FOR ELLEN, Hardy and Nance Studios, Houston, TX, USA
ALEX, Cardoza Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
2021
Collect it for the Culture III, 1201 Main St. Houston, TX, USA
Sea of Green, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
2020
At the End of the Road is a 3 Pointed Star, Leona Gallery, Austin, TX, USA
Xanax Party: Time to Chill Out, Private Eye, Houston, TX, USA
Texas Emerging Vol. I Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
2018
ALL CAPS, LCD Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
2017
Record Props, Cactus Music, Houston, TX, USA
Donkeeboy & Friends, 8th Wonder Brewery, Houston, TX, USA
2016
Texas Contemporary Art Fair, GRB Convention Center, Houston, TX, USA
Brazen Women Pansexual Cowboys, the second bedroom, Houston, TX, USA
Payday Lenders, Cardoza Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
Where are we now?, the second bedroom, Houston, TX, USA
2015
Texas Contemporary Art Fair, GRB Convention Center, Houston, TX, USA
Side Effects That Nobody Wants, Cardoza Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
2014
Artopia, Winter Street Studios, Houston, TX, USA
2013
The Legends, Avis Frank Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
Still Up Yours On Main Street 2, UP Art Studio, Houston, TX, USA
Art Crawl, Cardoza Fine Art, Houston, TX, USA
Graffalot’s Summer Jam, Alvagraphics, Houston, TX, USA
NeoPopStreetFunk 5, Gallery M Squared, Houston, TX, USA
Call it Street Art, Call it Fine Art, Call it what you know, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, TX, USA
FunkMotor, Peveto Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
Art – A Spring Artist Exhibition, Spring Street Studios, Houston, TX, USA
Personal Freedoms and Liberties, UP Art Studio, Houston, TX, USA
2012
All Aboard, El Rincon Social, Houston, TX, USA
Monster Show 7, Domy Books, Houston, TX, USA
The Mural Project, Kingspoint Graffiti Mecca Art Space, Houston, TX, USA
Abrasive Beauty, Maison d’ Etoile, Austin, TX, USA
PBR Art, Boheme’s, Houston, TX, USA
Stuck Up, Domy Books, Houston, TX, USA
Printer’s Ball 2012, Spring Street Studios, Houston, TX, USA
Always On My Mind, Houston Fixed Gear, Houston, TX, USA
Artopia, Winter Street Studios, Houston, TX, USA
Photo-Graff, UP Art Studio, Houston, TX, USA
2011
Rock The Lot!, Aerosol Warfare Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
The Serie Project, MECA, Houston, TX, USA
Off The Wall II, Jenni’s Noodle House, Houston, TX, USA
Stick ‘Em Up! Poster Exhibit, Aerosol Warfare, Houston, TX, USA
Reds, Whites, and Boos!, Advantage BMW Midtown, Houston, TX, USA
Monster Show 6, Domy Books, Houston, TX, USA
NeoPopStreetFunk 3, Gallery M Squared, Houston, TX, USA
Use Your Illusion, Colton & Farb Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
FPSF Artist Series Poster Exhibit, Spacetaker ARC Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
Off The Wall, MegaHost Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
Plexi-glass Art Show, Black Swan Studio, Houston, TX, USA
New Works, One Allen Center, Houston, Texas, USA
Printer’s Ball 2011, Spring Street Studios, Houston, TX, USA
2010
Monster Show 5, Domy Books, Houston, TX, USA
Stay Up Book Release Art Show, War’hous Visual Studios, Houston, TX, USA
White Linen Nights, Blue Line Bike Lab, Houston, TX, USA
2009
Roadside Distractions, Gallery 619, Houston, TX, USA