Banks Violette is a crusty metal kid with a crystal meth problem who is quickly becoming an art-world darling due to his high minded obsession with metal culture. Many of his pieces revolve around the heavy metal scene and the violence that is birthed from it. His work runs high on symbolism and he definitely has a knack for execution making some of his installations spread out of kitsch territory into some weightier socio-political arenas.
For instance, the inspiration for his 2002 show at Arroyo Grande was the grisly murder of a woman by three teenage boys who wanted to publicize their metal band. This manifested itself as a sacrificial altar, a humongous painting of skulls and sculptures of drum stands w/ the actual drums taking the form of giant dripping fangs.
The show he did at the Whitney in 2005 focused on the dark themes associated with black metal specifically, by recreating a burnt church cast in salt while music from Snorre Ruch of Thorns (the man convicted of the infamous murder of Euronymous as well as for doing his part in a few grave desecrations and church burnings) provided the ambience.
Most recently he's showing at the Maureen Paley Gallery in London w/ a very large installation revolving around the usual themes. The opening celebration had Sunn0))) playing behind a curtain in black robes through salt encrusted amplifiers amidst huffs of dry ice while someone sealed in a coffin layed howling through a microphone. The audience was not allowed to witness the "ritual" but only allowed to peek behind the curtain. What is leftover after the performance is the actual installation. Coffin, wierd neon lights, amplifiers, etc.
Some photos of the Maureen Paley installation and other assorted works:
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