If you find yourself hanging out on West Broadway on a sunny weekend, make sure you stop by Corinne Innis’s street display. At first sight, her original and colorful style will catch your eyes, and then her messages will make you think, or maybe laugh. With an interesting and creative style and heavy use of text, Innis could be called an exotic, feminine and contemporary version of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“I have realized, after painting professionally since 1996, that words are very very powerful. When added to a painting, the paintings pop and everyone wants to lean in to read the words. I am focusing my content on sayings, advice and sometimes humorous opinions, and on a character of a mysterious wise guru-like cat named Twey2. In reality he is my sweet house cat named “2″. Who is nick named “Two-ey” which I affectionately started making “Twey2″.”
“I have many bodies of work,” Innis said of her inspiration. “My current series is an admiration of the communication fostered by the street art plastered on buildings around NYC. I am not an admirer of graffiti for the sake of defacing beautiful structures, [rather] I am very excited to see the murals that actual artist are creating. It makes such sense to me and is in line with this information age of Facebook and Twitter. This form of art has liberated me. I am not painting by numbers but placing ideas together much like the way street art comes together, a bit of this a bit of that.”
Her art is wild, innocent, pure and comes from her heart—a heart as big as her canvas paintings.
After exhibitions in New York, Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, San Francisco and Dallas, Innis doesn’t have any current exhibits, but if you want to see her work, you can find her throughout the year on West Broadway, take a trip to her home studio or check out Innis’s website.
—Annaël Benhamou
Corinne is an amazing artist. In 2000, Corinne created an altar for my one-woman show Confessions of a Thespian: When Spirit and Theatre Collide in Berkeley, CA. Her artwork was earthy, magical, and enchanting. Hats off to you, Corinne.
prolific and wonderful artist! corinne also has a body of work currently on view @ cafe’ one, near city college in harlem. i look forward to seeing more!