James Shefik
“1st Strike Motel” was the initial scratch built faux vintage neon sign built in 2018, there are now eight in the series. I was to exhibit at a gallery in San Francisco whose aesthetic was that of using reclaimed and discarded materials in the artwork. I cheated a bit by building my pieces new (out of wood) designing and painting them to reflect years of time passing and the issues, old and new, plaguing us.
“1st Strike” 2018 46 x 49 x 5
Faux metal and peeling paint
Carved hand and shotgun detail
“Pride Cleaners” 2018 50 x 48 x 9
“Let’s Go!” 2018 49 x 49 x 7
Painted “Rust” detail
Spilling Paint detail
“Pollock’s Paint” 2018 38 x 48 x 5
“Desert View Motel” 2019 50 x 48 x 5
Graffiti Sea
Painted peeling paint
“Reappearing Wahoo” 2020 46 x 40
Last Goose Cafe 2021 38 x 46 x 5
Last Goose Cafe paint detail
CIA bEx 2026 38 x 53 x 7
The “CIA bEx” sign references an American Abstract Expressionist painting show, “The New American Painting”, that travelled Europe in 1958-59, during the height of the Cold War. It was meant to showcase the Cultural Superiority of the United States and freedom of thought allowed there as opposed to Communist Nations. It came to light years later that funding for the shows was secretly funneled through CIA shadow organizations.
©James Shefik 2026