Local spotlight: Myra Wexler a.k.a. Yo Momma

Imagine getting dozens of artists to paint portraits or caricatures of you for free, and giving them a deadline to do so. Myra Wexler did just that — and the resulting group exhibition, titled "Yo Momma in the House," opens Wednesday at 12345 W. Dixie Studio and Gallery in North Miami.

When the 64-year-old Hollywood collage artist talks, people listen. Painters, photographers and street artists think she's the best thing since stickers and stencils.

Myra Wexler a.k.a. Yo Momma *photo by Jill Slaughter

Perhaps they're heeding the warning on the stickers Wexler and artist friends have slapped around South Florida. Each sticker depicts Wexler's face partially hidden by a bandanna with the words "Art Is My Weapon" and, below that, "Myra" in big, white letters. At the bottom, in red, is her simple command: "Obey Yo Momma."

Wexler is Yo Momma.

It's a persona she created, with the help of artist friends, after meeting TMNK (aka Nobody), a New York street artist known for his imagery of a dripping rifle below the phrase "Art Is My Weapon."

Wexler has earned the artist's respect. As TMNK noted on his blog in November, "There is no one up earlier and who has more visibility or notoriety in the Miami art scene than Myra Wexler. Myra is like a BNE sticker, she's everywhere, and she is a street artist, or what she calls a 'sticker artist.' ...
 Momma so gangsta museums and galleries often consult with her. Dammmmmmmmn, that's my Momma."

Continue reading Arterpillar's story on Wexler in the Sun-Sentinel.

Also, see the slide show above to preview a few of the images from the exhibition. To read the descriptions, click the lower right hand corner and then click on show info (at top) for titles  ... or just view the Flickr set.