![]() ![]() Needing a breather from the sea of people, I escape to the Jones Snowboards shop in the back corner of the shop. When I started drawing all the graphics myself they were really stoked and inspired,’ Benchetler explains. “Usually when the Grateful Dead collaborates with people, brands take their existing logos and slap it on the product and sell it. When flipped over, the bases mirror the mural hung right beside it. Aside from the tactically placed pops of red, Benchetler kept the top sheet design simple with a laser engraved line art drawing. The wooden pair of Bent Chetlers starkly contrasts with the colorful artwork surrounding it. Moving from one elaborate mural to the next, my focus shifts to the show’s piece-de-resistance: the limited-edition Grateful Dead skis. Of course, it’s got the iconic Dead logo, but the artists made sure to incorporate their own unique touch.īut right now it’s almost impossible to see the artwork because the crowd is packed so tightly. Interwoven through all of this are, of course, a whole array of characters-some of which are subtle nods to the Dead. There are scenes of mountains, waves, and forests that feel like windows into an alternate reality. On the walls are a large collection of drawings and paintings that are whole spectra of color. The room is transformed for the grand reveal of Benchetler and Skye Walker’s Grateful Dead-inspired show. Except, tonight it’s not a store, but a full-fledged art gallery. Months prior to our chat, I’m standing in Teton Gravity Research’s downtown town store. On top of his trademark ski design, Benchetler released one of his biggest art projects yet:Ī Grateful Dead Ski Collaboration with Atomic and Teton Gravity Research.Ī few of the skis Benchetler has designed over the years. But this year he decided to do something a bit out of the norm. “I’ve done Old Man Winter a lot in mountains-so there’s still that element of character design but it’s just more inspired by nature,” he explains. Still, even with this evolution, Benchetler has never lost his roots. Now that the outdoors have become a staple of his life, his work is becoming much more nature-focused. Skiing opened many doors for him, and he celebrated those new experiences with art. It’s a byproduct of his childhood, in which he’d create characters inspired by his environment and travels. In the ten years since that first project, Benchetler has now designed enough skis for Atomic to fill a garage-with each pair being unique.Įarly on, his designs were much more animated. “I always looked at skiing as my canvas for creativity,” he explains, but now he’s drawing lines on more than just mountains. As a kid, he was always drawing but ultimately leaned into skiing as his main passion. Like any creative, he’s still growing and experimenting. “Even to this day, it’s still strange to call myself an artist,” Benchetler bluntly admits. Right: Elemental Dimensions is a piece Benchetler made in collaboration with Skye Walker.Īrtist, Benchetler is still in awe of how far he's come. Left: Chris Benchetler working on one of his paintings. “It can be a difficult canvas at times, especially having it split across two skis and accounting for bindings-but it’s a fun challenge,” he says. ![]() By using art as his bargaining chip, he not only secured a sponsorship with the brand but was given complete control over the aesthetic of his new pro-model ski. At the time, K2 was setting the standard for ski graphics with internal artist and designer Ryan Schmies, whose intricate and illustrative style elevated top-sheets into rideable works of art.Ītomic was still new to the freeskiing scene, and Benchetler saw this as an open door. RELATED: Watch 'Fire On the Mountain' - A film by the Grateful Dead and Chris Benchetlerīenchetler negotiated with art. Intent on getting him in their athlete lineup, they asked what it would take to convince him to jump ship from K2 to Atomic. In 2008 the brand approached him with a proposition. But this larger than life illustration was more than a doodle for Benchetler it served as the graphic for his first-ever ski design with Atomic. There’s even a wooly mammoth surfing on the bottom of the illustration-a subtle nod to his home ski hill Mammoth Mountain. The mayhem of Tokyo is translated into neon colors and characters full of emotion. A post shared by Chris Benchetler on at 7:16am PSTįresh off his very first trip to Japan, Chris Benchetler’s imagination went wild as he illustrated the things that caught his eye. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |