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.
How did you initially connect with Gunna?
Man, the power of social media. His manager, Ebonie Ward, had reached out to me on social media. I had one or two things going viral at this time, so I was getting a lot of messages. It's kind of hard to discern what's real and what's not, but she reached out to me and let me know that she represents an artist, they really love my work, and they're thinking about collaborating with me on this cover. It ended up being Gunna. So it came about within, I want to say, less than a month. I didn't even know it was Gunna at that time. I Googled [her name] and was just like, "Oh shit. That's tight.”
So this all happened in 2024?
Yeah, all of this happened this year. It's so funny because in the artistic world you would think that you have all the time in the world to create and do what you want, but it's like deadline on deadline on deadline. When art meets business, you can't avoid the deadline. So, it was on a tight schedule. I didn't sleep. I had to make sure I took advantage of this opportunity and be present within it.
So this was much quicker than it takes to do most of your paintings?
Typically, because I do large-scale realism oil paintings on wood panels, it takes me three weeks to a month. I did [the Gunna cover] in four days. There's a lot of creatives that are very flow and go, but I'm like run and gun with my creations.
There is a large-scale version of this that was translated to the cover?
Yes, I am an oil painter, so this is a real painting, which is dope because a lot of the time it is usually digital art. I'm not a digital artist, so I was able to do what I do. That's why I appreciate [Gunna’s team] so much. They didn't just hire somebody else to recreate my style. They actually came to me and they wanted me to do what I do, which is really dope.
What was your first reaction to hearing from Gunna’s team and knowing that your work was going to be displayed as his album cover?
Man, I was very grateful. I have a spiritual background and I believe in manifestation. I believe in visualizing. One of the things I would always visualize is my energy expanding and touching the world, my art touching the world and connecting with the culture. You never know how it's going to happen or what's going to take place. There's nothing bigger than music.
Can you just talk about the significance of concealing his face and the certain elements that we see in the painting?
That series is inspired by an exhibition that I had in LA a couple of years ago titled Bloom. For me, nature is the highest frequency of love and we have the inability to see it at times. Even on your worst day when you're in your feelings, the sun is still shining. It was inspired by a trip that I took to Big Sur. My family's from Compton and South Central. We didn't grow up traveling. My dad would take me fishing every once in a while, but as far as getting to go to nature and explore, that never really happened. So, around the same time [we went to Big Sur] I started painting. I started reading and I started to travel. Big Sur completely changed my life. I got to really see and feel and experience what peace feels like. And in doing so, I wanted to create a series that was connected to my love of nature. Flowers have so much natural beauty. We bloom into different versions of ourselves every season. We die. We live. We grow. And so I think I just wanted to highlight that.
What was the process behind the Gunna cover? Was his team very specific? Did they let you sort of freestyle it?
It was kind of like a journey of discovery. They had an idea and they loved what I had done prior. His creative director, Spike Jordan, myself, and the art director Tal Midyan all connected. Everything I do stems from photography. I hired one of my closest friends, Patrick Charisula. He shot the photo [of Gunna]. My girlfriend, Genesis, was helping assist because she was the first one I ever did the face wrap with the flowers on. We've collaborated on these floral wraps my entire career of doing it. We were just kind of figuring it out along the way. We just tried different iterations until we landed on the one that you guys see.
Can you talk about that day of the photo shoot that you're referring to?
Man, it was dope. It was actually during Frieze weekend out here, so I opened up my studio. It was a crazy busy weekend, but after everyone left later that night, [Gunna and I] connected. He brought his team. We got to meet. Energy was hella cool. We just vibed. His team's appreciation of art and artists makes him a very special person because I think collecting fine art is now becoming more at the forefront in the culture. We got people like Swizz Beats and Alicia Keys who are going heavy into that. And so for the younger generation, because I'm 34 and I think Gunna is 30, it's just showing that we're doing it at a high level. I think that's really dope. So yeah, we just chopped it up. Everybody was really, really cool. We just flowed creatively. Painting itself is an isolating thing. I'm by myself spending 12 to 15 hours a day painting. So, the collaborative part within photography is always a special part for me.
Can you talk a bit more about Gunna’s involvement within that whole process?
Literally, he was in it. We're wrapping his face the entire time. He was just super chill in that regard. He trusted us. That was his energy. He trusted us to let us do our thing. After we completed it, we went and looked everything over. He knows what he likes. He knows what he wants. So, that is dope that he trusted us enough to allow us to figure it out creatively. It was very much a collaborative effort. He was very present and voiced his creative opinion.
Did he explain to you what this cover represented to him and this era of his career?
I'm excited for him to share that with you guys. I feel like it's going to have a greater impact coming from him.
Does the color blue used for the flowers represent anything specific?
I think it's going to make sense later. I don't even know how to put it, but I think that he's going to be able to showcase and share why he's doing what he's doing.
I'm honored to be a part of this project. I can tell how much care and passion is behind it. Everything is so thought out, even with the cover, and he's very intentional behind what he's doing. I fuck with that heavy.
Did Gunna buy any of your other pieces or have you had talks about creating more things together?
Yeah, that's another reason why I'm grateful. We're definitely going to continue to build and grow creatively. We got some dope shit coming.
What was that moment like for you when the cover got revealed, seeing the reactions to it and everything?
Man, that part was dope because I couldn't talk about it. I didn't tell anybody that I even did it. And then I got family and friends hitting me up like, ‘Yo, is that you?’ It was just such a dope moment. I try to be as grounded as possible in these moments. You can easily get caught in your phone and get caught in it. So, I actually disconnected. I left my phone in the car. I went on a hike with my girl, and her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend, and we just got in touch with nature again. It was a beautiful day.
I worked really hard for this moment and it took 10 years of grinding to get to this moment. A lot of people don't see that. They'll just see the art, but it's the journey of self-discovery along the way and just reflecting on that. My next show is titled Reflections. I've been reflecting a lot on this journey because I was a struggling artist for a long part of it. So, to be making the transition to the other side, it's like, ‘Wow.’ You really see that everything is aligned and that it was guiding you to this moment the entire time.
Would you want to do more album covers for artists in the future?
Yeah, I could definitely see myself doing that. I'm a big relationship person, first and foremost. So, if I connect with the person and if it feels right, I'm definitely open to working on something with someone else. I'm a fine artist though. First and foremost, I love traditional oil painting. My biggest goal is to be able to show and exhibit all over this world. That's something that I'm very adamant about doing. But other projects, I'm open to it. I wouldn't block myself from any type of opportunity or blessing.
Are there any names that you personally just think would be really cool to collaborate with?
Man, I'm thinking of Beyoncé off the top of my head. Let me paint your album cover B. [Laughs.] That would be fire. But honestly, I love music and it is how I get through 15 hours of painting. Anyone that I would just flow with, I'm open to it.
Any other upcoming projects or goals you’re excited about?
I act too. I'll be in season three of Bel-Air. I'm writing a short film that is about a struggling artist. I'll be playing myself and I'll be having my own paintings in it. I’ll get to blend the two worlds. From a painting standpoint, I have an upcoming exhibition in Milan with Plan X Gallery. I'm aiming for a show and exhibition in New York. And I'll be doing an exhibition in Paris in October.
