Mark Drew 'PTP' (LL Cool J) Print Application Open

Artist: Mark Drew
Title: PTP (Competition's Paying The Price)
Medium: 3 Color Screen Print
Size: 60 x 60 cm
Edition: 200
Price: ¥50,000

*application open until 10am EST on Sunday November 30th, 2025

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Mark Drew, an Australian graphic artist born in 1978, has carved a unique niche in the contemporary art world with his clever and nostalgic cultural mashups. Best known by the moniker "Chronic," Drew is celebrated for works that fuse the innocent aesthetic of Charles M. Schulz's classic Peanuts comic strip with the raw, often mature, lyrics of 1990s hip hop music. His signature style involves unaltered comic frames where the original dialogue is replaced by quotes from legendary rap artists like the Wu Tang Clan, Nas, Jay Z, and the Notorious B.I.G., creating a layered interplay of unexpected meaning and a sense of shared nostalgia for pop culture of that era.

Drew's artistic approach is deeply personal, mirroring the hip hop practice of musical sampling by visually "sampling" beloved cartoon characters and "mixing" them with lyrical snippets that resonate with his own youth. This technique allows his pieces to function as a visual mixtape, inviting viewers to both read and "listen" with their eyes as each lyric lands like a line of dialogue. His compositions are clean and deliberate, often using a stripped down, bold color palette that references the original comic while lending a graphic, contemporary feel.

Relocating from Sydney to Tokyo in 2009, Drew also co founded the China Heights Gallery, which began as a studio space and evolved into a prominent Sydney gallery. His work, which primarily includes paintings and screen prints, can be found in private collections worldwide, including that of the artist Drake. Drew's international presence is substantial, with exhibitions in major art hubs such as London, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, cementing his status as a pivotal figure in the intersection of street art, hip hop culture, and contemporary fine art.