The artist known as Don't Fret describes himself as a "vaguely anonymous human from Chicago". While his new works pop up constantly in his hometown (as well as New York) he's also gotten up in Miami, San Francisco, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Prague, and Munich. Don't Fret's paintings and paste ups show off his distinct characters as well as the artist's biting sense of humor. The viewer passing by a Don't Fret street piece usually walks on after having a laugh, a smile, or a slight reconsideration of their gluten intake. We got a chance to ask Don't Fret some questions days before his "Signs of The Times" show opens at Johalla Projects on June 26th.
@jreich: Let’s start with an intro. When did you start painting and how did you become “Don’t Fret”?
DF: I first learned about graffiti late in elementary school/early in high school through friends, but I quickly realized I was terrible at it. I didn't have the skill set in terms of traditional graffiti. There were a few guys that were writing in Wicker Park in Chicago during that time (circa 2005) that were doing graffiti, but it was different than the traditional wild-style or NYC graffiti. Guys like Sonny, Nite Moves, Preston, Jimmy Carter, they were just writing their name. No style to it other than their personal handwriting, I was really into that. Sonny drew these really simple rain clouds with marker or oil-stick. That was probably the first time I realized an image could be a force on the street the way a name could be.
I was probably 14-15 and I was broke, and spray paint was banned in the city. So I would go to Walgreens and buy Magnum Sharpies and catch tags up and down Division St. That was the very beginning. Then in college I learned about wheat paste and started pasting a bit, and then after living in Brasil for a bit I came back to Chicago and started really pasting and working a lot, which led to bigger and more elaborate characters and situations for the characters to be in.
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