Dril Trooper

DrilOne is a New Yorker at heart and a San Franciscan by location. On the East Coast, he painted only 2d work; on the west coast, toys and other 3D objects are his preferred canvas. He began working with vinyl in 2005, and soon after stumbled upon the formula that would serve as his signature style. By taking a playful object and distressing it to, quite literally, its breaking point, Dril comments on oblivion, transience, and re-birth. Dril says simply: “I love rust, decay, history, ruins, military, skulls, vintage, and all this makes me who I am.” Art is in Dril’s blood. The son of a painter, he cannot imagine or remember life without drawing. He is a veteran of the New York City public school system and spent most of his life amidst the city’s chaos and creativity. His upbringing and admiration for contemporary, pop and graffiti artists are reflected in his work. The many inspirations that inform his art include abandoned amusement parks, insane asylums and old military bunkers. Dril has made a name for himself with his instantly recognizable visual expression, and his sought-after figures can be seen in art galleries and collections around the world. Standouts among The Teddy Troops had been around in the streets for a while before they also turned into a 3D vinyl toy in 2004. First of all Flying Förtress started in 2002 to get up with his chrome Trooper icon. Trying to use an easier readable illustrative symbol instead of doing the classic coded graffiti letters and tags that he had been doing before since 1989. Together with the chrome pieces there have stickers also been seen around in the streets since 2002. Handpainted or silkscreend ones with a hand-drawn finish on "free" post stickers and series of offset printed stickers.