Is Gunna one of hip-hop’s biggest art connoisseurs? His album covers certainly make it seem like he’s tapped in.
Each of Gunna’s past three album covers have reinterpreted his face in different art styles. For 2022’s DS4ever, he tapped Daniel Arsham to create a cast resin bust of his head. The following year, A Gift & a Curse featured original artwork by Frank Dunson. For his latest album, One of Wun, Gunna connected with yet another artist. The image of Gunna’s face wrapped in blue and white flowers is by Los Angeles-based painter Calvin Clausell Jr.
“[Gunna’s team] didn’t just hire somebody else to recreate my style,” Clausell Jr. tells Complex. The connection was initially made by Gunna’s manager Ebonie Ward via Instagram. “They actually came to me and they wanted me to do what I do, which is really dope.”
The One of Wun cover is inspired by Clausell Jr.’s Bloom series, which examines the connection between humans and nature by hiding human faces behind colorful flowers. Other recent works by Clausell Jr., large-scale oil paintings done on wood panels that can reach up to 60 inches long and 48 inches wide, obscure the subject’s face with materials like metallic coverings.
Clausell Jr. says that these giant oil pantings usually take Clausell Jr. between three to four weeks to complete. Due to the tight deadlines involved with a big album rollout for a major artist like Gunna, he completed the painting used for One of Wun in just four days. He would paint for 12 to 15 hours daily.
“When art meets business, you can’t avoid the deadline,” says Clausell Jr. “I didn’t sleep. I had to make sure I took advantage of this opportunity and be present within it.”
What may surprise you, the painting was actually a reinterpretation of a real photo of Gunna. The rapper came to Clausell Jr.’s studio in Los Angeles and had his face wrapped in sheer fabric and flowers. “He trusted us,” says Clausell Jr. “That was his energy. He trusted us to let us do our thing.”
Clausell Jr. is a self-taught artist. He grew up loving art as a kid and would sketch the mascots on cereal boxes or recreate some of his favorite anime characters from shows like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon. Through exploring museums and galleries, he fell in love with fine art. Now 34 years old, Clausell Jr. has spent the past decade mastering oil paintings, which have become his forte. When he isn’t in his Los Angeles studio painting, he’s acting in shows like Snowfall and Bel-Air. Those gigs have also helped him grow his reputation as an artist with A-list clientele. He’s had the chance to paint one-of-ones for Damson Idris, Will Smith, and more.
Clausell Jr. discusses collaborating with Gunna on the One of Wun cover, other A-list clients that he’s created for, and more, below.
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