15 years after their first cult collaboration, London artist Dean Stockton, aka D*Face, makes a long-awaited return to the iconic Real Skateboards brand. This new series, conceived in the form of a triptych, continues the horizontal stripe composition that made such an impact in the first edition. But this time, DFace takes its approach a step further, fusing styles, motifs and universes in an explosive way. The artist’s gritty pop aesthetic is fully expressed in these detail-saturated works, where nostalgic winks and sharp commentaries on contemporary visual culture intersect.
True to his roots, the artist incorporates cult animation characters such as Taz (the Tasmanian Devil) and Marvin the Martian, emblematic figures from his childhood, reinterpreted through his urban, offbeat prism. Each board is conceived as a “psychedelic portrait” of pro riders Ishod Wair, Zion Wright and Nicole Hause. D*Face explains that each artwork represents their worlds, mixing them up, spitting them out and hammering them together in an Exquisite Corpse-style collage of feverish delirium.
What’s also striking about this DFace x Real Skateboards series is its particularly bold color palette. DFace plays on a visual tension between soft pastel colors – faded pinks, pale yellows, sky blues – and darker, more saturated hues, such as deep blacks, violent reds and toxic greens. This contrast accentuates the chaotic energy of the whole and creates a strong visual collision effect, just like the urban world he depicts. The skateboards thus become veritable graphic works of art, intended as much for riding as for hanging on the wall.
Unsurprisingly, the D*Face x Real Skateboards series was a victim of its own success, but check out your local skateshop to see if you can still find these nuggets!
