Kre8 is one of the fastest rising Latino artists in the country today. Kre8, born Kevin Vigil, has pieces of his works in galleries all over the world. As with most artists, you can see an evolution to his work, but what is truly unique is the path Kre8 took to achieve his present-day success.
Born in Germany, he was a military kid, and by his own admission he immersed himself in art. In his early teens, he was recruited by graffiti group “Kre8 and AFT” from back in the States. Vigil, who’s father is Mexican and mother is German, would draw on his Latino heritage and infuse it into his graffiti. It was during this time that he would adopt the pseudonym Kre8. The “KRE” is an acronym that means “Knowledge Reveals Evolution.” The “8” is the infinity symbol turned upright, not unlike his work.
Starting with graffiti on walls, Kre8 soon moved his art to the body and became a tattoo artist in Florida. It’s there he would discover one of his biggest influences in Salvador Dali. After a stint in Florida, he would relocate to New York and hone his tattoo skills there while beginning to evolve into art on canvas. But, the richness and vibrancy of Miami’s Wynwood Art District would call him back to Florida. Kre8 was an underdog (a common theme for Kre8) in the South Florida tattoo community, not having proven himself as a bonafide tattoo artist just yet. This is when he would use his down time to work on his canvas paintings.
Soon, Kre8 would once again evolve and leave tattoo artistry behind and move solely to fine art–and interweave his heritage throughout the evolution of his artistry. “My Latino background allows me to be myself and to always accept challenges because it seems Latinos are always the underdogs. I’ve been the underdog my whole life, so I’ve taken that, flipped it, and now I use it as inspiration. I use it to show people that it’s your actions, not your skin color, that matters,” Kre8 told Remezcla from the Park West Gallery in Las Vegas. “The world is hard on artists right now, particularly Latino artists. Most people look at me and think I’m a lowlife because of how I look. Yes, I am covered in tattoos and yes, my ears are stretched. It’s because I want to express myself like I do in my art. Just because I don’t fit into this little box as an artist, once again, I’m the underdog.”
Currently Kre8 is residing in Miami with his wife and three kids. His art can be seen at galleries in Wynwood Walls and Art District in Miami,at Park West Gallery in Las Vegas (inside the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace), and overseas in Germany at White Porch Gallery. His three major collections include the Faceless Collection, the Abstract Collection, and the Roses Collection.