Trenton365: KAREY MAURICE COUNTS-NEO POP ARTIST

Trenton365

Karey Maurice Counts

Red Balloon Studios

Trenton, Ewing or NYC you choose either way KMC wants respect! Not in the arrogant way the text may suggest but to understand the current state of art in Trenton had several people who led, paved or blazed the way. KAMO as he is also known has various terms that describe his craft one of them is MDNP-Multi-dimensional Neo-Pop artist.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

We met several years ago in his

Trenton studio located in the

Conduit building on Broad Street.

At that time he was creating

mixed media pieces with a focus

on spray paint. Going back further

Karey shares about his exposure

to blueprints, maps and how he

navigated the streets of Trenton

as a courier.

L-R Vanity Sabelnik, TC Nelson, Karey Maurice Counts

During our conversation shortly after

his opening at Trenton Social he

shared about growing up in Ewing

and his early life in art. His experiences

traveling to the “village” in NY and

hanging in the art scene that gave him

exposure to other artists who are

now household names like Keith Haring.

As his talent grew and because of his relationship with the art scene in NY Karey no doubt recognized and adopted the belief in the following statements he shared with me.

“Art is a business and all artists should look at it this way, a lack of respect for this will devalue the artist and all of their work!”

“Artist should consider a contract including details on purchase, sale, rental and where it can be shown.”

“Keep a database of work created with complete documentation.

This will help to protect your legacy.”

KAMO wanted me to make it very clear that art is a market and people would be wise to look into owning original art. He gave an example of how it bothers him that parents will spend $100 for sneakers that are mass-produced and then thrown away. He suggested they consider spending $50 on the kicks and $50 on some art! I know if Karey had his way the term starving artist would be erased from our lips along with bullying and racism.

Karey also shared his interests in several genres of music especially house.

KMC with WTSR DJ Ms. Sue/Ms. Sue
So nice they named her twice!

A few of KAMO's friends

Other interests include traveling, European and Mediterranean countries, Miami, mountain biking and spending time with friends. He closed our time together with a “nugget” by sharing he has more photographic work then anything, of course it’s cataloged and in storage. Maybe he will let me see some of those items the next time.

Karey Maurice Counts is a conscientious man with a focus on sharing and acknowledging the past. His physical limitations have slowed his movements but not his craft! Take a look at his work and get in touch.