Beneath a thin crust of conformity lies a bubbling cauldron of weirdness. Stace The Ace’s diet of vintage monster movies, comic books and with the whiff of an oily rag, will take you on a white knuckle ride deep into the Low Brow Art World of Kustom Kulture.
Stace The Ace is a well known NZ Kustom Kulture Artist and illustrator from Te Atiawa/Taranaki, now based in Auckland. Stace is most known for her Beach Hop Tiki Bar (made with her good friend Melissa Hannan), colourful monster art and realistic hot rod paintings along with the steady hand art of pinstriping on cars.
Stace The Ace grew up in New Plymouth and Studied Applied Art & Design before moving into a career in advertising for more than 25 years. Often freelancing but always painting or drawing in her spare time, Stace is happy to focus on her art full time and has since been featured in Rolling Stone Australia and also rewarded with an induction into the Rat Fink Hall of Fame (USA), by the Roth Family.
Having been a regular visitor to Puke Ariki museum and drawing pictures of the carvings found buried in swamps around Taranaki. Stace’s inspiration for the design is purely based on all the things she loves about her home and her culture. “If I’m using tiki reference in my art, I usually paint it darker, like old carvings. I also wanted something fresh and fun feeling too, it should be something that proudly shows our unique roots”, says Stace.
Stace continues to paint and draw and will always have a soft spot for vintage New Zealand Kitsch.
instagram: www.instagram.com/stacethefuckenace/
facebook; www.facebook.com/FckenAce