[This was emailed to me via Pixnit's email address, making me think that the "concept" of Pixnit is now dead. Hope it isn't the artist!]
PIXNIT, 35; Notorious Boston Artist
PIXNIT, the controversial Boston based artist as famous for her anonymity as for her street art, is missing and presumed dead. Her breakthrough came in 2007 when the Boston Globe ran a profile about her provocative artwork. Her painting style, combining graffiti with a distinctive stenciling technique, was guerilla art designed to simultaneously beautify and to critique the uses and misuses of the urban environment.
PIXNIT was last seen April 2nd when filmed by a CCTV camera near Pont Alexandre in Paris, France. It is believed that she was on her way to meet other Parkour enthusiasts for a practice session.
“Parkour is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the urban environment. Practitioners like PIXNIT run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles through jumping, climbing and gymnastics,” said Vanessa Platacis, Project Manager for PIXNIT Productions.
Police believe PIXNIT was engaged in such activity near the Seine River and maintain she is missing and “presumed dead by misadventure”. Although friends launched an extensive poster campaign and police searched with dogs, divers and from the air, her fate remains unknown.
Despite her prolific street art, PIXNIT was far from an art-world outsider. Her most notable work is currently on view at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA. The two room painting installation titled “Folie que la Nouveaute” addresses the perennial interweavings of fashion and politics, the contemporary and the historical, and the real and the faux. PIXNIT’s work has also been exhibited in venues such as the Judi Rotenberg Gallery in Boston, Gallery Revisited in Los Angeles, and the Scope Art Fair in Basel, Switzerland.
“For years we have followed her work on the street, and were lucky to work with her on an installation in our home in 2009. PIXNIT was a warm and positive person, a pleasure to work with and was very kind to our cat, Daisy, during the installation,” said art collectors, Geoff Hargadon and Patricia LaValley. “In our view, PIXNIT ranks high in our book among street artists of her generation.”
Although art critics championed PIXNIT’s work, it was also greatly admired by more wide-ranging viewers. In 2008 she was voted The Best of Boston Graffiti/Street/ Performance Artist. Her fans used the catch phrase “That’s so PIXNIT” in reference to a decorative element added to any surface, such as a cardigan sweater with a floral appliqué.
"As we get farther from her work, we're going to recognize that she’s a different voice in contemporary art," said Chris Constas, Fine Art Enterprises. "This quarreling over graffiti is going to fade, and she will be recognized as a great American artist."
Details of a memorial service will be announced once arrangements have been made.