From pop art to urban style: The evolving prints of Brad Novak

For so long pop art has been the genre that many contemporary artists felt comfortable being labelled with.  However with the pop art movement now nearly 50 years old there has recently been a shift toward a more urban feel in contemporary art, heavily influenced by the most exciting thing in modern art right now - street art.

Auckland printmaker Brad Novak's career has bridged this change of tone.  Novak's butterfly tiki prints were firmly in the NZ pop art tradition but he has recently taken on a harder, more urban edge whilst still retaining this strong sense of NZ identity.  

Brad Novak "Reservoir Birds"
Limited Edition Screenprint

His new Reservoir Birds print references both the cult movie "Reservoir Dogs" and the bird paintings of Christchurch painter Bill Hammond.  However he brings a grittier sensibility to this new print that is clearly post-Banksy - you could imagine this image stencilled onto the wall of an alleyway in downtown New Zealand.

Here is Brad Novak's video, "The making of Reservoir Birds" filmed at Artrite screenprinting studios in Auckland.  The print is available for sale here.  Please note the black paper version was not able to be released due to a fault with the batch of ink used, the white paper print is the only version that is for sale at New Zealand Fine Prints.