Ad Deville and Ali Ha, the co-owners of Factory Fresh Gallery, are considered venerable street artists operating as Skewville and Pufferella, respectively. Yet they didn’t quite realize how to define their work until attending a Wooster Collective art walk along New York’s Lower East Side in 2002. During the event, some attendees inquired whether they were street artists, to which Deville responded, “Well, I put sneakers on wires, and it’s in the street.”
As Skewville and Pufferella, Deville quietly strung sneaker-shaped wooden blocks along the telephone wires of New York and other international cities while Ha delved into her fascination of creating plush fabric images. But the cohesive street-art community that was quickly taking shape along the Lower East Side intrigued them. They introduced their new friends to Orchard Street Gallery, which the couple opened in late 2002. Deville and Ha began collaborating with other contemporary art galleries and featuring shows by Gore B, Meeka, and Jet + Rubble.
