SKET ONE
Sket One is an American artist. He was raised in New Haven, Connecticut. He started off his artistic career as an American graffiti artist in the 1990s he created and ran Unitee Clothing, a shirt design company, while looking for full-time work as a designer. He eventually landed a position as Creative Director for the Silverman Group.
Sket’s career moved forward with his inclusion in the first series of Dunny blind-boxed mini-figures in 2004, produced by at the time little known Kidrobot. Sket made and continues to make the most of the newfound exposure by designing figures for several designer vinyl companies including Kidrobot, Red Magic, Kaching Brands, Solid Industries, and 3D Retro. Collectors became familiar with Sket’s art through his toys.
Sket began to start experimenting in the growing popularity of the custom toy culture. Customs are one-off hand-painted versions of existing toys. One of Sket’s first customs, the "Cover My Soul Dunny" remixed paint company Sherwin-Williams’ paint can splash logo by turning the ‘ball’ into the Death Star, a symbol of the evil empire. Beyond the strong 3D imagery of paint pouring out of a can and onto the toy, the Star Wars reference invited viewers to discover meaning on their own terms.
His work, both custom toys and original 2D pieces, have been shown in numerous galleries across the country including his inclusion in the Beyond the Cel show (September, 2007) at the Mesa Arts Center in Arizona. This museum show featured the work of artists who have made a name for themselves incorporating cartoon imagery into their fine art. He was also showcased in the This is not a Toy exhibit at the Design Exchange Muesuem in Toronto, which was curated by Pharrell Williams.
Sket also designed skateboards for Zooyork and Stoked.org, skateboard trucks for Grind King Trucks, snowboards for Crispy Whips, and in 2013 worked with the Loyal Subjects and Hasbro on the Transformers Brand.
Notable art works include a live painting for Ford Flex Roofs at the NY Auto Show in 2008 and a live painting for Namco Galaga's 30th Anniversary in 2011 at E3 Los Angeles.
His work can also be seen in art books such as Dot Dot Dash, Full Vinyl, I Am Plastic 1 and 2, N+1 Dimension Illustration, and on packaging for the Heinz Ketchup Dunny bottle.