By Francesca Merwin, staff writer

From China to Uruguay, from the Onondaga Nation to Switzerland, the Warehouse Gallery brings an intriguing array of artists to Syracuse. This month’s show will be no different, as the gallery welcomes three Californian street artists to the east coast.

Artists Apex, Jet Martinez and Chor Boogie’s installment “Colorfornia: New Forms in West Coast Street Art” will be at the Warehouse Gallery from September 15 to November 5. Each artist will commandeer a wall in the gallery’s space to become their own and infuse it with color, pattern, form and natural elements using spray and traditional paint. The final result will be a vibrant collaboration of Californian construction and a unique piece of Syracuse public art.

“How they envision the project once they see each other’s work is so important,” says Anja Chávez, curator of contemporary art at the Warehouse Gallery and SUArt Galleries.

Chávez understands the importance of fulfilling the gallery’s mission to bring cutting-edge, international, contemporary art to Syracuse. The street art (art developed literally ‘in the streets’) of these artists fits well under this charge. They’re renowned in the San Francisco community, as they’ve been involved in missions to beautify the area through utilizing the unique dialect that street art offers.

The artists each carry their own style among this broad heading. Chor Boogie works with complex emotion to create soulful, intricate patterns which oftentimes feature hidden faces and geometrical elements. Jet Martinez draws on nature to illustrate social issues, and Apex focuses on the abstract, using extreme color and pattern-work to catch the eye and evoke feelings.

“These three artists have developed a language for what they do – and particularly for what Californian street art stands for. That’s what makes it so interesting,” Chávez notes.  This is a language, according to Chávez, that consists of colorful, abstract forms pertaining to optical illusions and movement that blurs the lines between urban and tropical settings.

“[The installation] gives people the opportunity to see what’s going on in street art,” she explains. “It creates a platform for discussion so people can juxtapose their art with current public art projects in Syracuse, or just to think about art in general. It’s another angle for public art.”

The Warehouse Gallery is an interesting spot for this coincidence, as it’s a melting pot for students, faculty and community members alike due to its university affiliation and downtown location. Chavez oftentimes works with other local galleries and university members to put ideas into motion and transform the gallery space into something different for each artist.

“We must engage our community and point out important themes and subjects in contemporary art, and street art is certainly one of them,” Chávez concludes.

An opening reception for Colorfornia will take place from 5-8pm on September 15, a date which honors Th3.  The artists will present a talk during the reception at 7pm to explain their individual installations and then speak together. This event is free and open to the public; more information may be found here.