“My car got impounded again. I am so sorry I’m late,” said Isaac Psalm Escoto, practically running into Jeffrey Deitch , a contemporary art gallery on Santa Monica Boulevard, energy drink in hand. It was the second night in a row that his 2006 Scion xA got towed.
Escoto, also known by the graffiti alias Sickid , is on a tight deadline to finish the final installment in his first solo exhibition, “ Gas Station Dinner. ” From the crevice of his ear to the shoelaces on his Converse sneakers, he’s covered entirely in unintentional paint splatters. The unfinished piece is a 20- by 60-foot canvas wall that mimics a billboard — a size the graffiti artist is well acquainted with.
The painting depicts a cityscape that brings together imagery from Escoto’s artistic world of dysfunction. A massive woman is sprawled across the horizon. Her body is framed by warped skyscrapers branded with Cup Noodles, the Playboy Bunny, Western Exterminators’ mascot, Mr.
Little, and a blimp reading, “Ice Cube’s a Pimp.” Below the woman, the chaos of the city ensues, including depictions of a car accident, a police chase, a wounded skater, a strip of discount stores and a piano-playing duo. The spray-painted mural is complete with the religious imagery of a crucifix and several battling angels and devils wreaking havoc.
All of Escoto’s work is set in this florescent realm of mischief and humor. Inspired by his diet of 7-Eleven hot dogs and taquitos, the 25-year-old painter came u.