It is true that almost everything becomes a product of its environment at some point if it is left in its environment for long enough. In the case of London based artist PREF ID, the question rather could be if his environment has become a product of his Featured in the most recent Montana ACRYLIC Series film, we visited PREF in his London based studio to see his world for ourselves. It occurred to us that his space had been overcome by his own love of creative elements such as typography, fonts, letters of all varieties, clever quotes and of course the tools of the trade. Once we got past the Montana ACRYLIC refill paints, Montana ACRYLIC markers, BOLD markers, Montana BLACK and Montana GOLD cans, we found our selves enthralled in his attention to detail showing nothing less than precision and accuracy. Masked surfaces are intelligently layered leaving perfect lines in just the right places. A sense of depth that seems more real than the possibility of depth itself.

Visiting London based artist PREF ID

Famous for camouflaging clever phrases into what appears to be singular words, PREF doesn’t use a lot of tricks to hide his message. Instead, it is all incorporated into tonal variation and impressive placement of few, yet vibrant colors. Quirky and above all well thought out phrases are neatly packaged into a space that most graffiti writers need for one word. Anything is possible in the creation of PREF’s work. Brushes are loaded, caps are swapped, cans are shaken and surfaces confidently coated. PREF has a trained hand and knows which tools to use and when to get the stunning results he wants.

As we watch a canvas take shape in his studio and a mural come to life outside, it is not hard to realize that PREF has absorbed all the letters thrown at him visually as he grew up. The graffiti, the advertising, the fine art, books, illustration, comics, and all the graphic design on his hard drive have all fallen into place for him in his artwork like his own form of visual Tetris.

The group show “The Typographic Circle” at Stolen Space Gallery in London was another great opportunity for PREF to demonstrate his leadership with typography. Curating it with fellow artist Gary Stranger, the show pulled together an international array of artists all leading in their chosen field of Typography. To round the visit off, the icing on the cake was watching PREF create the hand styles on the Montana Hologram 3D Egg Shell stickers, reminding us of the strong graffiti writer within. Take a look here and discover the world of PREF ID.