For over a decade, Brooklyn artist RAE, (aka RAE BK) has been installing work in public spaces around the world. His sculptures, murals, stickers and various other markings can be seen in far ranging places such as Iceland, Venice and Ethiopia. Motivated by placement in the landscape, how it decays, and the chance interaction it has with passersby, RAE collects discarded metals, plastics and other materials from the streets then reincarnates them into captivating urban figures which he affixes to city structures for the public to consume.

When he works indoors, RAE thrives on using materials he’s given or finds to create his urban folk art, mixed-media paintings which combine a striking juxtaposition of primitiveness versus planning; materiality versus blank space. His themes often take their cues from his personal life, everyday social interactions, the economic divide and the perils of living in a big city.

RAE prefers to exhibit in raw spaces which he can mold into environments most conducive to his current body of work. Within that location you’ll often find a world he’s created full of installations, performance art and screens to showcase his films.