PHOTO BY ZACK WITTMAN
On Thursday, February 19, visual artist Halsi will open a new solo show titled The Last American Scheme at Eola View (Website), where it will remain on display for a month. The exhibit will mark a new creative era for the mononymous artist.
Though currently residing in Miami, Halsi has been a staple of the Orlando art scene for more than a decade, with his work appearing at the Orlando Museum of Art and regularly at CityArts. He has also been the instigator of multimedia art events; most recently, using that expertise to attract art lovers to the Robert H. Thompson Gallery at Santiago Bodega’s Altamonte location.
Halsi’s work is characterized by clean lines and iconography that comments on themes such as social engineering and stereotypes. A recurring symbol that he calls the “Everybody” icon has been with the artist since his teens. Ubiquitous in his paintings, the bulbous, featureless character has also appeared in his street art, wheatpasted in often unlikely places.
In 2022, Halsi’s street art got the attention of the New York Times when he installed a mural on Princeton Street, which was a scathing reaction to the Orlando Museum of Art’s Basquiat scandal. The Everybody figure took centerstage in the mural – this time sporting a Basquiatesque crown.
While the paintings featured in The Last American Scheme will be compositions of color, the artist has announced that it will be the final time he exhibits pieces with color. He will be “entering into a new visual direction.”
“The American Scheme” will open Thursday, February 19, with a reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Eola View is located on the corner of Central and Rosalind in downtown Orlando at 150 E. Central Boulevard [GMap] in the former home of The University Club. On the same evening, CityArts around the corner will open The Mystery of Abstract Minds as part of its monthly 3rd Thursday art opening series.
