Scrape Artist Blake Neubert Gallery

Gallery and Interview of Scrape Reveal Artist Blake Neubert.

Great art can remind you that there’s more to its subject than what meets the eye at first glance. There are countless textures and layers and endless different shades of hidden color that combine to create the whole of the piece. It draws in the viewer and challenges common perceptions, illuminating perspectives previously unconsidered.

At its best and most subversive, though, great art can put something in front of you, lull you into a false sense of security at its normalcy, then pull the rug out from beneath you.

That’s exactly what Blake Neubert does with his art (the above video is a collaboration with tattooer Ishmael Johnson). Although he began his career painting relatively standard Western Americana, he has recently blazed a bold new trail into more strange and surreal work. On his Instagram page and YouTube channel, you’ll find multiple videos of what is quickly becoming a signature style: he paints a figure, typically something you’d expect to see in your great aunt’s collection of kitschy thrift store art, then to finish the piece, slides a razor blade across the top layer of paint to reveal a hidden perversity beneath. The finished work is a morbid curiosity—you just can’t help but stare and wonder why exactly Superman has terrifying bloodshot eyes or how the blonde beauty got a ball gag in her mouth. We caught up with Neubert to find out exactly what drives the madness behind his innovative new methods. Start the Slideshow to read our interview.