If nostalgia is a drug, Arik Roper is your pusherman. The NYC-based artist’s portfolio is a throwback to the dark, fantastical imagery that was commonplace on album covers and concert posters in the heyday of psychedelic rock and early heavy metal. His work is all very brooding and surreal, yet there’s a certain romance to it, like if J.R.R. Tolkein was a Black Sabbath fan. Bearing that in mind, his art still evokes a certain design sensibility that recalls the poster-oriented approach of Shepard Fairey. Roper has designed album covers for bands like The Black Crowes and Earth, concert posters for heavy metal titans Sun O))) and Boris; he’s a regular contributor to both Revolver and Guitar World Magazine, and his piece ‘Invocation of the Living Shadow’ is on the cover of Vice Magazine’s November issue. He’s collaborated with the likes of Nike and Volcom; among our favourite pieces is the ‘Shark Print’ (pictured above) he designed as part of No Fin No Future for Japanese shark conservationists PangeaSeed. Abrams recently published Roper’s Mushroom Magick, a beautifully illustrated field guide to, er, magic mushrooms. His latest show, The Hidden Dimension, is on display at the Fuse Gallery in NYC until November 24th. More pictures after the jump.
