From the juxtaposition of athletes, street style and Afro Surrealism to the soulful iconography of the early 2000s hip-hop scene, Landon’s creations are a testament to the background influences on his journey. 

His work seamlessly blends elements from his upbringing, reflecting the authenticity of his experiences and the vibrant culture that surrounds him. Through his art, Landon not only showcases his personal evolution but also tries to elevate the essence of athletes and musicians who have inspired him, making them larger than life icons. 

We delved into the art world of Landon Khiry, exploring the inspirations and aspirations that fuel his creative spirit.

New York State of Mind 

Growing up in New York definitely influenced me and my art. The very close mix of high fashion and uptown lifestyle and the street style and roughness of working-class neighbourhoods is something unique to New York. Somehow I was already into art at a young age and my neighbourhood wasn’t pretty, surrounded by projects, everything was worn out, dirty…. I think that contributed to the art of that period being so raw, but authentic: that’s what I saw every time I walked out of my building.

I was probably 18/19 years old when art came into my life, kind of a rookie. At that time, a lot of people on Instagram were posting pictures and I had to find a way to change the playing field, to get some sort of edge over others and get noticed. I started editing my photos, doing weird and bizarre things to make them stand out so they couldn’t be like other people’s.

I began to love the process and what I was doing. One day I realised that making art gave me joy and meant something deeper to me. From that moment on, I focused on developing my skills and looked at art in a completely different way. That is how it started.

The Landon Khiry Style

The origin of the mixed media collage style probably comes from my parents, actually. 

Part of it comes from my mother. I remember that as a child at home I was surrounded by a lot of picture books where she used to make collages of different things. I didn’t realise it right away, but probably this style I developed has always been present in me and in my home. It’s just something I had to find.

The grills, the sports inspirations, the music and everything came from my dad. I grew up with him listening to a lot of southern music and early 2000s Atlanta artists. That vibe, those music videos, that style of rapping, it’s all part of me and my work.

Sport Icons

Baseball was my first love as a child, then basketball became my favourite sport growing up. I was a big fan of the New York teams, the Yankees and the Nets. At the time, both teams were broadcast on the same TV channel and once the Nets or Yankees had finished, one or the other would be broadcast later and I would watch the games back-to-back. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Jason Giambi, all these guys were icons to me and they became subjects of my work and inspired my art.

Basketball grew in me through video games, more than watching the game itself. For some reason I was a big Utah Jazz fan: Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer… I don’t know why my brother and I loved them. That’s where it all started in terms of basketball.

Steve Nash was my favourite point guard until Steph Curry came along. I found my Derrick Jeter in basketball when Steph Curry came along. I have played basketball all my life, and watching Steph play made me rediscover joy in watching the NBA. It reminded me of the beautiful side of the game.These are some of my sporting idols that I grew up with and will somehow remain in my works forever.

Art Inspirations

The first person whose collage painting I saw was an artist called Langston Amadi. My sister sent me some of his work in 2020. Later, I saw Ian Woods doing his photographic remixes with these shapes and outlines painted over photos. As I continued to explore and discover this style, one of my biggest inspirations was definitely George Condo’s art, so raw and authentic. This has always been my goal: to create something that is real and recognisable, something only Landon can do.

Personally, I find inspiration by being outdoors and enjoying nature. Letting the sun hit me and create that creative flow, without rushing. I think most of my ideas come from there: walking in nature, thinking and reflecting on life.

Starting from these inspirations I wanted to find a way to mix different elements from these artists and my own background: hip hop, basketball, jerseys, grids… and put them together. my style matured by experimenting and kept repeating it until I made it my own. There is a lot of work behind each piece of art. First I have to find a picture that really speaks to me, that’s where it all starts, then I have to find the elements that make it pop. Finally I print it and start ripping, pasting, moving elements and painting over it.

Art as a way to elevate athletes

Basketball and baseball have definitely always been a part of my artistic training, and sport thought of as art has become something bigger than sport itself. For me today, art is replacing advertising in making athletes look larger than life.

I feel like MLB and NBA marketing lately is not at the same crazy level as it was in the 2000s and 90s. In the 90s there were things like Charles Barkley vs Godzilla, Michael Jordan ads for Nike, Larry Bird vs Magic for McDonald’s. In the 2000s there were LeBron ads, Reebok with Jadakiss and Allen Iverson. Many of these things were not happening for the new athletes. People called the new guys a bad generation, but in reality they have the same talent as all the other generations before them. In my opinion they don’t have proper marketing behind them. 

For me, there would be no Michael Jordan as we know him today without the Nike ads from back then, and one of my biggest goals is to work with the NBA to promote these new athletes and show people that these guys are incredible through my artwork. That’s why I’m so inspired to continue working on the sports artwork’.

The Meaning of Art

Art for me was the basis for a change, a reflection, it helped me find myself. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do in life. I graduated from high school, but I didn’t go to university, I was probably too anxious at the time to really go. At that point I had to find something to do to occupy my days and graphic design and painting came into my life naturally. I started doing things that really spoke to myself and helped me understand what was going on in my head and in my life.

I think art in general is a reflection of the inner self and helps to speak to oneself and the people who can relate to it, because they can perceive it as unique and authentic. There is only one person who can be you and that is you, and the same goes for your art. This creates all the uniqueness in the world. For example when I do a rip-off of an NBA jersey in my artwork, I can never duplicate that exact rip-off in another artwork, it will always be different, unique. 

Make something that really connects with you, don’t try to make something that you feel like people may like, that’s my message, put your thoughts out in the world and not really care. Try to talk to yourself first and then you’re going to find people like you. There’s so many people in the world that probably have the same feelings but they never even got the chance to share it because they were probably scared to share it. You never know who you might inspire next.

Pivotal brushstrokes and future explorations

The real transition to art for me might have been during the pandemic, when everyone was at home. I think if you have the talent to do something at home, that was the perfect time to take it seriously.

Right after that, one of the crucial moments was when my art was included in the exhibition at the Black Justice Museum in Los Angeles. A friend of mine helped me to participate and get it exhibited. That immediately triggered something, like ‘I could potentially do this’. Within a short time I started to get some recognition. Many people contacted me to tell me they loved the art I was doing and that’s when I started taking art to a new level.

Over the years, my art has taken me to places I had never been before. To have Shaq autograph his themed artwork that I made was incredible. It was the first time an NBA player interacted with my art, and it was Shaquille O’Neil signing it. It’s definitely one of my favourite moments in terms of creating NBA-related artwork. It made me realise that’s where I belong. When I was young I played basketball and, like most boys, I wanted to make it to the NBA. Unfortunately I was only 5’8 feet tall, but it’s nice to see that basketball found me in a different way, in a different form. I’m proud and grateful for that.

Every time I approach new work, I try to elevate my style, experimenting more with futurism/surrealism afro. I am probably already in this lane, but I am just trying to dive deeper in it. I am always willing to collaborate and that’s the goal this year: to keep working and find things that challenge me. I will only improve through experiences and that is what I am trying to do, trying to get my name out there.