MY ART HAS A SOUL
[mr. soapski a.k.a. urban artist soap]
SOUND INTO SHAPES - RETRO REVIVAL - RELENTLESS PURSUIT - DIVINE CONNECTION - VIRTUAL WORLDS
about.
I AM MR. SOAPSKI - ADAM KLODZINSKI - URBAN ARTIST SOAP
My Art Has a Soul
Music | Rebellion | Struggle | Psychedelics | Computer Games
I create from deep within. From my life's experiences. Music hitting my eardrums guides my mind, my eyes and my hands. It’s always on, the artists I follow are effectively co-creators of my art. My spirit is one of a rebel. I learned my craft on the streets, at nights, putting my finishing touches with a rising sun. I fight and I struggle. Against social norms and for a better life. Against myself and for the mastery of my skill. I am inspired and I seek to inspire. My experience with art, psychedelics and computer games open up the worlds beyond the “here and now”, the metaphysical. The abstract worlds are foundational in my creative process. Because of all of this, my art has a soul. The soul of my unique perspective is profoundly embedded in every piece of my art.
Mr. Soapski: 100% Human-made Art
The New Chapter | Human Art | Virtual Worlds | Sci-fi | Metaverse
It’s time to build on everything I have accomplished as Urban Artist Soap. As a mature artist, Mr. Soapski, I am compelled to solidify my legacy. While from 2023 we see an explosion of AI-generated art, in Mr. Soapski’s creative world there is no room for machines imagining. My art is and always will be human art. I am the one who imagines machines. My virtual worlds were street art, video games & psychedelics. My escape from the grim reality. Science fiction continued shaping my ideas about the future. The younger generation living in the world full of technology, need an escape in the other direction - to reality. My collections act as a bridge, a fabulous bi-drectional path between the virtual and the real, infused with my rich experiences, values and beliefs. 100% human-made art.
My Origins & International Recognition
Subcultures | Graffiti | Going Legal | Custom Vehicles | Art Galleries
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, influences from outside the Eastern Bloc started flooding into my native Poland. I saw New York street art for the first time in the magazine Graphotism. I was immersed in Hip-hop, breakdance, and I got really good at skating. In the mid-'90s, as a teenager, I joined the first graffiti crew, B2, in my home city of Bydgoszcz. These days people treated us like vandals, there was a lot of running, a lot of police situations. I wanted to do legal stuff so I could really show people what I could do. Aged 20 I decided to earn a living from my art, inspired by people like Daim, Cope2 and Cantwo, who have been painting big murals all over the world. I turned professional in 2002 as Urban Artist Soap and quickly started getting commissions in Poland, Germany, Italy and the UK. During this time I also worked in a garage where I custom-painted cars and motorcycles. That’s where I really mastered airbrush techniques, things that really helped my work pop. In 2006 I started feeling that my career needs another boost, so I moved to England. Seeing a lot of street art galleries over there inspired me to work on canvas. I focused on portraits because of the challenges they present. My big break came in 2008 with the first official collection titled ‘Jazz Band’, showcased in the London Westbank Gallery, including Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. All six portraits were bought immediately by a collector. My further portraits of pop culture icons such as Ed Sheeran, Naomi Campbell, Florence Welch, Rihanna, Marilyn Monroe, Dizzee Rascal and Goldie have all been seized by prominent collectors.
My Signature Style
Old Skool | Surrealism | Photorealism | Warped Perspective | Skin Art
My style combines influences from graffiti’s old skool NYC era and surrealist touches pulled straight out of Dalí paintings. I often use the zero-gravity effect because that’s how I feel when I start painting; everything just starts lifting and becomes weightless. My big focus is on portraits because they’re difficult and rare in graffiti. I love Dalí and he’s been a huge influence on the way I paint. In his paintings he blends photorealism with more surreal elements and plays with perspective. Working with 3D lettering forces you to play with perspective as well, so in a lot of my pieces I’ve combined all three: photorealism, surrealism and warped perspective. In the last few years I got fascinated with skin art (tattoos), adding another learning curve to my skills. Understanding how tattoos and the motion of the human body work together helps me capture body movement on a canvas like never before.
The “Little Adam”
The Self | Self Acceptance | Joy of Work | Meaning | Mystery
During over two decades of experimenting with various stylistic forms I have overwhelmingly felt the need to place myself in the context of my art. Initially it was through my tag SOAP, later I started placing a miniature avatar of me working as part of my paintings. Little Adam became my trademark, having appeared in many of my works. Little Adam not only makes my paintings look like a wall mural, he represents the importance of the self. I want to tell the world that a healthy relationship with self is important and Little Adam is the symbol of self acceptance, the symbol of full joy of being in the moment, doing what you love. Little Adam has another special meaning: I first painted him without really thinking about it in my first airbrush portrait, the one of Salvador Dalí. So for me Little Adam is very special indeed. I also see that his presence is intriguing as I am often being asked about his story and why I paint him, as such he is an element of mystery.
art & prints.
Own the genuine ART WITH A SOUL. Buy Mr. Soapski prints now!
street art.
Urban ART WITH A SOUL. Contact me for mural & commercial mural commisions.
press.
Mr. Soapski a.k.a. Urban Artist SOAP
Interview: VOGUE Italia
Published: 11th June 2014
Click here to read
"I come from a place where we had it tough and would struggle to eat some weeks and even when I first started painting I could not pay my rent some weeks or pay the bills, do people want me to live like that forever ? I express myself through my art and if I can earn a living through it too I don't think that is wrong in fact I hope it inspires other kids to see that if they pursue their dreams then they can make it too. So yes I feel very comfortable in the Galleries and I think most street artists feel the same."
Documentary: URBAN ARTIST SOAP
Published: 26th March 2012
Click here to watch
Short observational documentary following urban graffiti artist Soap. Started as part of a University Project brief of "another world"
DIRECTOR: Ann-Marie Dring
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Molly Van Der Borgh
CAMERA OPERATOR: Felix Bos
EDITORS: Ben Reygate and Martha Maynard
LOCATION SOUND: Callum Cooper
CABLE BASHER: Sukhi Kang
Profile: Courtenay's Fine Art
Click here to visit
"In 2006 Adam moved to the UK looking for new art opportunities until his break came in 2008 when he painted his first 'Jazzmen' collection. Consisting of six separate portraits of legendary musicians, including the great late Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie which were immediately sold to an avid art collector. Adam's commissions include portraits of people such as Plan B, Faith SFX, Mista Jam, Florence and the Machine, Ed Sheeran, Goldie, Dizzee Rascal, Rhianna, and the London Gangsters Freddie Foreman and Dave Courtney."
Interview: FAD Magazine
Published: 13th March 2014
Click here to read
"Polish-born, street artist Adam Klodzinski aka SOAP, whose first major London exhibition launches this Summer elaborates, “I think the biggest difference between graffiti culture in the UK and back home, particularly in my town Bydgoszcz, is we have we have lots of space and loads of tall buildings to do big murals, we’ve got eleven storey apartment blocks with murals covering an entire wall. I haven’t seen so much of that type of thing in London, I know you have the odd Banksy but in Poland wall art is far more common because since around 2008 we’ve been collaborating with the council who pay for everything."
Project highlight: WIDEWALLS
Published: 15th December 2014
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"The Protected art project series by SOAP has also been created on cardboard, partly as a reflection of his beginnings in the Polish street art scene and the idea that art can be created out of anything but also to engage the viewer in the use of recycling and to give them a sense of accountability for their own actions in daily life. The transient nature of creating the Protected series on cardboard that can degrade quickly reflects strongly the vulnerability of the endangered species SOAP has represented, in the wrong conditions these beautiful images could vanish in a flash just as the animals could vanish from the wild if we continue to destroy the environments they live in."
Fundraising: The South African
Published: 23rd April 2014
Click here to read
"This event will not only allow you to see the artist in action, but gives you a chance to take home his original Mandela portrait in a private auction of this one-off piece of work. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the late South African President’s charity. Urban Artist Soap (aka Adam Klodzinski) said; Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund is a fantastic charity that I am proud to support. Nelson Mandela was a hero of mine who believed in freedom, and caring for the most vulnerable in society. I hope to raise thousands of pounds for his charity to support children living in poverty in Southern Africa."
