OPEN MIND: IKEY's Return to Canvas Marks a New Era of Urban Fine Art
There's a particular energy that fills the room when an artist rediscovers their voice. For IKEY, that moment materialized on a piece of construction plywood—a 40x40-inch canvas that bridges the gap between New York City's street art heritage and contemporary fine art evolution. His latest piece, "Open Mind," emerges not just as an artwork, but as a manifesto for 2025.
Following the whirlwind success of his Reebok collaboration, IKEY did what few artists dare to do at their commercial peak: he went quiet. Not in defeat, but in deliberate introspection. What emerged from this period of reflection is perhaps his most honest work to date—a piece that marries the raw energy of street art with the refinement of gallery aesthetics, all while challenging the very notions of what fine art can be.
In this extensive conversation, IKEY pulls back the curtain on his creative process, revealing how a childhood peace sign gesture became a symbol of artistic revolution, and how construction plywood transformed from a practical choice into a powerful statement about authenticity in fine art. From the depths of self-discovery to the heights of creative liberation, this interview captures an artist at the precise moment they've stopped trying and started doing.
As the cornerstone of his MASTERPEACE initiative and a bridge between his past and future work, "Open Mind" represents more than just a return to form—it's a declaration of artistic independence. In IKEY’s own words, we explore the journey that led to this pivotal moment, the symbolism that emerged organically from his subconscious, and the bold vision he has for the future of urban fine art.
What inspired the imagery in “Open Mind”? Specifically, how did the brain, peace sign, and globe imagery come together?
So I had this idea maybe a few months ago, definitely less than a year ago, of this figure with an open skull and flowers coming out of his head. I kind of wanted it to be the theme of "growth mindset".
It initially was going to be a sculpture installation, but I never took the idea further than just an idea. When it came time to do this new piece, I knew that I wanted to still keep the same theme of growth mindset and keeping an open mind, which is how the brain imagery kind of came about. The peace sign is something that I always do when I pose for pictures ever since I was a kid, but it also ties into what I'm working on with MASTERPEACE as well. And then the globe imagery really came about as an accident.
I initially painted the entire background that teal, blue, green, yellow abstract color, but I knew that I wanted a primarily white background, so I drew a circle and painted the outside of the circle all white and when it all came together, it kind of looked like a globe.
Why did you choose construction plywood as your canvas, and how does this material contribute to the meaning of the piece?
I really started using construction plywood as my canvas for my pieces about a year ago. I find it a lot more practical to use than just regular canvases.
Regular canvases can get pretty expensive, especially as you get bigger canvases as well.
I like the durability of the construction plywood and it also brings me back to my roots growing up in New York City. A lot of places where I saw graffiti or murals or even just large wheatpasted posters and advertisements would be on these large pieces of construction plywood painted green, like a forest green, and there would be these long stretches of this plywood encompassing a construction project -- whether it be a new building or a demolition -- whatever the case, and was usually under some sort of scaffolding.
So when it came time to start working on my fine art, I knew I wanted to use that material that was so familiar to me and could be so versatile and also help me stand out from my counterparts who were fine artists as well. As far as the material contributing to the meaning of this particular piece, I think it's just that having an open mind about what art is, what art can be on, what you can use as your canvas, is really important and when you start to answer those questions for yourself, that's when you start to stand out not only as an artist, but as a person.
The color palette is vibrant yet grounded. How did you select the colors, and what do they represent in this context?
I really chose the colors, particularly the combination of blue, green, teal and yellow for the background just because that's how I was feeling when I made the background for the piece.
I literally took those colors and covered the entire sheet of plywood and spread and distributed the colors in sort of an abstract way.
This was the first piece that I've done pretty much since the start of 2024.
I went most of 2024 without working on any new material and I was feeling a little sad and bittersweet to be honest, not really knowing where to start or begin and so I think that affected my color palette.
Also too, I believe those were some of the only colors that I was really limited to from the materials that I had available.
I wasn't able to find my full collection of paints and art supplies, so I had a very limited amount of paints that worked well together available at hand and so I think part of it has to do with just using what was available, which is what I'm used to and how I got started in art anyways.
So in a sense it’s me coming back to my roots.
What role does symbolism play in “Open Mind”? For instance, what does the peace sign or the pink brain symbolize in the context of this work?
It's very funny because I didn't really set out to have any sort of symbolism in the work when I was making it, but now that it's —complete and I can take a step back and look at it, I can see the symbolism plain as day.
My character is making a peace sign with one hand —- his left hand —- and has his right hand completely open showing the number five. While it may look like a pose, if you imitate his pose from your perspective, it makes the number “25” which is symbolic of this year and I think the changes and the new direction I am taking my art in 2025.
I think the globe imagery symbolizes MASTERPEACE.
The MASTERPEACE logo is actually a logo for the world with the peace sign going through it. A lot of people say it looks like a basketball, but it's meant to invoke the phrase, or rather symbolize the phrase “world peace”.
So I think my character holding up the peace sign in front of the world is also symbolic of MASTERPEACE and the world peace logo.
I think the pink exposed brain with the top of my character's head popping off the symbolic of all the ideas that are bouncing around my head and have been bouncing around my head, and finally this year they are bursting out and coming to fruition — coming to life essentially. They can no longer be contained in just my head anymore.
“Open Mind” feels deeply introspective. What personal experiences influenced this piece, and how does it connect to your journey as a multidisciplinary artist?
Nas has this song called The World is Yours.
It's actually my dad's favorite song if I'm not mistaken and I think that shows up in this piece and me understanding that the world is mine.
I spent a lot of time after coming out with my sneaker with Reebok trying to figure out my place in the world what next steps I'm supposed to take. Where do I go from releasing the limited shoe and selling out a limited sneaker with Reebok?
And I started beating myself up mentally because I went to a fairly normal lifestyle.
I didn't really do much of anything after the sneaker sold out. Over the last year, however I had opportunities to really remember who I am and what makes me special as an artist: that same fire that was burning in me when I was 18 years old in college having all these ideas and just experimenting and executing. That's the energy that I try to and worked very hard to bring back during 2024, and so I think this piece is a reflection of me.
My character is coming out from the globe imagery, but is also overlapping; his shadow can be seen in the white void that the earth imagery sits in and so I think it shows how I understand that the world is mine and I'm coming out into that truth and really taking it into my own hands, keeping an open mind, as the title suggests, to new ideas, new ways of working — whatever the case may be.