All posts tagged: ECB

AKUT: Insights Gained From the Faces of Street Artists on Display in Heidelberg

January 6, 2022 Artists

The culmination of a decade-long photography and painting project by artist AKUT (one half of Herakut) brings many of your street art heroes a new level of super-hero status in Heidelberg, Germany, right now until February 25th.

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. MadC (photo courtesy of AKUT)

Asking friends and colleagues to sit for a photograph, AKUT (Falk Lehman) projected images of their own artworks across their closed eyes, leaving them gleaming under the imprint of their own distinctive motifs, their skin soaking in the patterns, colors, wildstyles of their own works.

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. Obey. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

Now that the Insight project has gathered more than 70 photographs of his cherished circle, AKUT brings the unique program, curated by Metropolink, to the old commissary at Patrick-Henry-Village. Some faces you’ll recognize, others are rarely on public display. All of them keep their eyes closed and their secrets to themselves, preferring introspection to opening their windows to the soul.

“The projection of an artwork onto the face creates a mask-like, archaic expression,” he says, and one wonders if these masks are more obscuring or revealing.

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. Kryptik. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

In addition to the photography show, AKUT invited four artists to collaborate on canvasses with him, including KKADE, MADC, STOHEAD, and JULIA BENZ. Additionally he collaborated with the artist KKADE on “the street” for an inaugural mural to celebrate the project in the giant hall of the commissary. The images are stunning, even stirring, in their mystery.

Only AKUT’s uncontested mastery of the photorealist technique can enhance the poignancy of these photos; his hyper sensitive application of texture and volume enables another spirit to free itself from the handpainted works in a way that may supercede the original shot.

Considering the Insight theme, it is evident that on display here as well is the potential network of social and personal connections that one may accrue over time in this street art/contemporary art milieu. If you possess additional talent for listening to the stories of others, not to mention the art of documentation, there can be rich friendships forged too.

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. Fafi. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. ECB. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. WIP. Jonone. (photo © Alex Krziwanie)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series. Jonone. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Installation. (photo © Shreiber Poetter)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Photo series installation. (photo © DNA Creative Collective)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Canvas Collaboration. Kkade. (photo © Sandra Lehmann)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Canvas Collaboration. Kkade. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Canvas Collaboration. Julia Benz. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Canvas Collaboration. Stohead. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Canvas Collaboration. MadC. (photo © Sandra Lehmann)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Canvas Collaboration. MadC. (photo courtesy of AKUT)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Mural collaboration with Kkade. (photo © Shreiber Poetter)

AKUT. *“Insight”*. Mural collaboration with Kkade. (photo © DNA Creative Collective )

The “INSIGHT” exhibition will be on view until February 25th, 2022 at Metropolink’s Commissary in the Patrick-Henry-Village in Heidelberg. (in compliance with the current hygiene restrictions)

Hendrik Beikirch Traces Lives and Memories in “Siberia”

February 7, 2019 Artists, Street Art Book Review

A corollary to 2015’s “Tracing Morocco” by German street artist Hendrik Beirkirch (aka ECB), a new book travels to meet the rugged inhabitants of Siberia’s countryside in the Russian Federation. The results are starkly genuine, impressively authentic.

Hendrik Beikirch. *“SIBERIA”* Editons mare & martin. Paris. 2018

Again indulging us in the deep crevasses of many a weathered façade, Siberia invites you to meet the people whom he has met in his travel and presumably befriended, given their ease as subjects. A part of the Jardin Rouge stable over the past few years, Beirkirch has followed the lead of founder Jean Louis Haguenauer, the Frenchman who moved to Russia in the early 1980s and found his own odyssey outside the city to be formative to his character, leading him to write the introduction to the handsome tome.

“The work produced is a testimony, a memoir,” says Haguenauer, “These modern faces that hark back to the past, these women and men immortalized on canvas, ambassadors of their trades and their regions on walls around the world, convey another image of the largest region on the planet and of a sadly little-known country, of which we wish to provide a new vision. It is the everyday women and men, passionately living their trades, who are the heroes of this new project.”

Indeed there are few signs of artifice or romanticism in the sure-footed subjects here, and you are offered a glimpse of their context with some of these new portraits. Seeing them translated to grand scale as murals spanning towers is remarkable, and one can only imagine what impact they have on the people who live in or pass through these neighborhoods. Scattered through a number of cities, there is a familiar feeling in each of these strangers, perhaps feeling like family to some.

Hendrik Beikirch. “*SIBERIA”* Nina. Editons mare & martin. Paris. 2018

“Untainted by any attempt at idealization, the faces of those portrayed tell the story of real life,” says Arne Zyprian in an opening essay. “Paradoxically, these anonymous guises pictured on a vast scale on the sides of buildings offer a break from the overall anonymity of the cities and give them a face.”

Interspersed with canvasses and murals are observations that attempt to examine why we find the singular visages so compelling. There is a temptation to look at a new people in cultures different from our own as the exotic “other”, to simplify their existence by what we can observe on the outside, or to project our own inner dynamics on to the faces that we see.

One thing is for certain, Beirkirch has found through technique and experience a way for each of these people to become somehow relatable.

“Hendrik pours all of his love for humanity into his portraits,” says Jean Louis. “There is never any aggression or bitterness in these people.” Perhaps that is how most of us would like to be seen as well.

Hendrik Beikirch. “*SIBERIA”* Vlasov. Editons mare & martin. Paris. 2018

Hendrik Beikirch. “*SIBERIA”* Vera. Editons mare & martin. Paris. 2018

Hendrik Beikirch. “*SIBERIA”* Aleksandr Pavlovich. Editons mare & martin. Paris. 2018

Hendrik Beikirch. “*SIBERIA”* Tatyana. Editons mare & martin. Paris. 2018

ECB Brings “DARYA” to Evry, France for Wall Street Art Festival

June 19, 2017 Artists

German realist painter and Street Artist Hendrik Beikrich is moving his gaze from Morocco to Siberia.

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Known for his project “Tracing Morocco”, where he got to know local tradespeople and craft makers whose lives were changing due to modern methods and technologies, the artist otherwise known as ECB has favored presenting aged countenances as something to be revered.

This new pensive person on the side of a public housing complex called Residences Yvelines Essonne in Evry, France is named after the woman who inspired it, DARYA, an 83 years old woman who lives in a tiny five-house village in Siberia. ECB says he always meets and gets to know his subjects, and goes to live with the community whom he is painting .

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

This mural is the 2^nd for the new “Wall Street Art” mural project and is in the main commune of Grand Paris Sud in the Pyramids district. Over 25 meters high it took ECB 7 days to complete.

ECB says this piece in Evry is just the first of 11 frescoes he plans paint around the world, so look for more Siberians in Russia, Germany, the United States, Italy, Pakistan, Greece, Netherlands, and South Korea.

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Jardin Rouge: A Unique Garden for Street Artists to Grow In

August 17, 2016 Artists, Interview

The soil in this garden is a deep rich red hue, as is the lifeblood that pumps through this modern compound with echoes of Egyptian mastaba architecture. Jardin Rouge invites Street Artists, graffiti artists, and urban artists to step around the peacocks that strut around the grounds of this North African oasis and to come inside to paint.

Painting outside is encouraged as well.

Hendrik Berkeich AKA ECB. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

25 minutes outside of Marrakesh in the middle of a 32 acre olive grove, this is an artist’s residency unlike many, where vandals are invited. They also are encouraged to push themselves creatively and develop their skills, techniques and try new disciplines outside their comfort zones.

Created and funded largely by one visionary collector, a private French businessman of Russian heritage who says he discovered his own love of graffiti using china marker on city walls while he was a homeless teen in the 1960s, the residency stands apart from others in the full spectrum of support and direction it gives.

From French portrait stencilist C215 and German aerosol portraitist ECB to members of New York’s graffiti stars Tats Cru to the Franco-Congolese painter Kouka, the aerosol atmospherics of Benjamin Laading and abstractly juicy tag clouds of Sun7, the commonality of these street practitioners is their willingness to experiment, and their drive to produce quality work. Quietly building a reputation with this invitation-only residency, high quality shows marketed directly to collectors, and a new ambitious museum space with the Montresso Foundation, Jardin Rouge is setting its own standard.

C215. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“When artists come here we ask them to express themselves in their own style. The second thing we ask is to concentrate on the quality of their work and the craft. I don’t like artists who don’t take care of their quality, I don’t respect them,” says Jean-Louis, a white maned lion with firm opinions and an empathetic gaze.

“Also it is about presentation – a lot of artists have no idea how to present their work – but we always talk to the artist about how to make their final presentation, their final work.” When he describes this dynamic, you realize that as an artist, no matter what level of professionalism you enter Jardin Rouge with, it will raise a notch or two by the time you leave.

Kouka. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Speaking to current and former artists-in-residence, it’s clear that it is a tight ship with an expert crew. All materials, needs, and ideas can be discussed, and there is a focus on professionalism and readiness for development. Sun7 (or Sunset), a dynamic expressionist and graffiti writer who still runs a fatcap and a thick marker across city walls in Paris, London, New York as well as the occasional corporate brand gig, told us on a recent Saturday morning that he had gone into Marrakesh the night before to party with friends until sunrise, but he was determined to get into the studio by 10 am regardless. “These guys give us so much and I want to make sure I’m giving my best back too.”

Sun7. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jean-Louis purchased the area near the Ouidane village in 2003 and began coaching his first artist in 2007, not realizing that the guidance he was giving to one would grow into the double digits in terms of artists who he now works with. The Montresso foundation is essentially sponsored by its founder and by donations from different partners and art collectors.

“At the beginning of Jardin Rouge this was my hobby. Then artists began hearing about this little by little and asking if they could come for a residency. We began the project slowly and became perhaps more professional and expanded our team,” he says. Collectors were slow to come as well, but eventually that changed thanks to well-attended openings, studio visits, and a marketing push that produces print catalogues and video pieces about the artists.

The Montresso Foundation on the grounds of Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“We started to do something more attractive and more people began to hear about this, and also collectors began to hear about it. We have a lot of collectors and they are not necessarily so interested in street art per se but when they come to a place like this their perception of street art begins to change.”

BSA: We have noticed that it is very important here to encourage artists to test themselves in new mediums that maybe they are not comfortable with but it is perhaps your philosophy to encourage them to do something outside of their normal practice. Can you talk about that because it is not something that we normally see.
Jean-Louis: At the beginning the idea was to meet with some young artists, some street artists and to give them the possibility to make something. I never want to encroach on their technique. You have your talents you have your technique. But slowly I began asking artists to please try to do something that was not in the street, perhaps with canvas or for something else. This was the idea in the beginning – to help some artists to grow.

TILT. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“It is a place to do something different from what you are doing in your own studio,” says TILT, who has had two residencies here, and who is intensely working on two concurrent shows with Jardin Rouge this year. “I think the good thing is that you don’t have the environment, you don’t have the pressure that you have when you are in your own studio, in your own city and surrounded by people you know.”

During an interview we did with him there we found that a familiar story continued to emerge; a supportive environment can actually make artists dream bigger.

“So here you can try and you can fail,” TILT says. “And if you fail its okay – it’s part of the game. It’s a huge space and maybe you don’t have to think about all of the materials because it is also easy to get them here. The structure is so well managed that if you need something, something is going to come to you. So you think totally differently, it is like a “deluxe” studio. Your mind is not stopped because you thought ‘oh I wanted to do that but I can’t’ because the frame is going to cost too much… or I need 6 or 7 people to help me move this car from one room to another. So its like everything is possible and that can really open up your mind.”

Steven P. Harrington of BrooklynStreetArt.com interviews TILT. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Toulouse, France-born graffiti writer speaks from his own experience since the centerpieces of his new two-location show required cutting an entire car in half, reconstructing and stabilizing it, and mounting the half cars in two locations in two countries.

“When we decided to do the giant piece, the big car, I also wanted to experiment with something, to try to work with a different material, and since I think my work is kind of dirty – dirty graffiti, primitive graffiti – far from what Street Art can represent – I think that my work needs more knowledge about the history of graffiti, about the letters, about the texture, about accumulation. I had never worked with drywall and these other materials – it’s a super difficult medium to work with and so I thought that Jardin Rouge was probably the right place to try to make it work.”

TILT. Detail. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The “Voyage Aller Retour (Outbound and Return Trip)” show was constructed over many weeks and made at Jardin Rouge studios, with the “Outbound Trip” shown at the Marrakesh Biennale this spring and the “Return Trip” half shown for the Epoxy event at Musée Les Abbatoirs in Toulouse, France in June.

TILT. Detail. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Each half of the car is piled comically high with worldly goods that are tied to the roof, and the entire car with possessions is sprayed with aerosol graffiti tags, throw ups, bubble letters and drippy callouts to peers and their family members. Two directions of migration are represented, with one carrying home-made and natural goods and articles that a family in the country may bring to the city, and the other transporting the electronic entertainment and consumer goods that a metropolitan family car might bring to relatives in the country. It’s a metaphor in degrees that addresses first and third world migration as well and a graffiti-covered touchstone that indirectly speaks to the refugee crises affecting war-torn Syria and much of Europe

Writer and cultural critic Butterfly describes TILT’s “Voyage”; “He is fetishizing an object, the Peugeot 404 car, appreciating it for its properties regardless of its practical, social and cultural interests. Tilt sanctifies the object by vandalizing it; he breaks down the unstable and fluctuating barriers of the work of art.”

TILT. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We had the opportunity to see “Voyage Aller” mounted inside the new spacious and modern museum-quality Montresso Foundation building and TILT’s eye-popping explosion of color held its ground in the massive new modern space. For the team and the foundation partners, this inaugural show with an accompanying outdoor garden and terrace also showcases Jean-Louis’ unique and powerful vision as architect as well.

TILT. Detail. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alongside the reflecting pools and pens for horses, goats, cows, and other farm animals is a statue of a huge geometrically planed gorilla and painted facades with colorful character-based graffiti scattered across the property and popping in and out of view overhead. From atop one of these red roofs you can observe a wide hazy basin spreading for many kilometers south to the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains an hour and a half’s drive by car.

Manicured lawns, cacti, palm, and olive trees frame wending walkways that lead through the one or two story buildings and into the many indoor spaces and breezeways that connect artists studios, living quarters, guest accommodations, entertaining rooms, an ample dining area, production and professional offices. It all feels like a gallery and changing series of installations, indoors and out. As we walk with Elise Levine, the communications manager, throughout the buildings we see walls hung with canvasses of Jean-Louis’ collection and others of artists who have had residencies here.

TILT in the middle with Mr. Harrington on the right and a guest on the left standing in the lobby of the Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In these surroundings it is not difficult to imagine how artists can make the transition to contemporary art without losing their personal connection to the street. The sensual Fenx splashes pop beauties with thick tagging, Tarek Benaoum manifests calligraffiti as something ornamental and precise and Kashink’s comic characters make wisecracks in front of you, each with four eyes. With Elise’s personal warmth and knack for storytelling about artists and installations, the Moroccan wood cabinetry, mid century modern furniture, patterned textiles, and specially designed light fixtures all impart a non-restrictive peaceful environment.

Jo Ber. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We had the opportunity to see an eclectic handful of the artists studios, which all come equipped with materials and tools that enable the artists to do their work and not worry about the typical concerns of artists life.

Kashink. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Benjamin Laading leads us into his studio, about the sized of a family one-car garage, but with a full wall of window that allows the sun to flood the space with light. A Norwegian painter who says he still writes graffiti he is working here on capturing the impressive forms known to fat cap sprayers everywhere, the bending of light in waves of a tube-like pointillism. In fact, that’s what he is turning it into.

“I started to think about how I could look at and talk about the tag – the core of graffiti that is the first line, the expressive line on the canvas,” he says as he pulls out his newest studies of this momentary movement of a gestural spray technique.

Benjamin Laading. Detail. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Each canvas captures a momentary movement, but each is actually carefully hand-rendered with refined dabbing over a longer period of time to achieve the exact effect. It is a tribute to the untamed wildness of quick tagging by graffiti artists but he hopes to delivery a galaxy inside the spray.

“They are always pushing me to do experiments,” he says, “I tried to find natural movement that looks like it was drawn very quickly.” The twist is that he recreates them with a brush, painstakingly pointillizing the dust and the energy that swoops across the canvas as a painting. After all, he says, “The spray stroke is made out of an accumulation of dots.” The effect is stark and energetic, atmospheric, and structural.

Benjamin Laading. Detail. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“It’s really a laboratory for a lot of artists to try something new here,” says Estelle Guilié, the artistic director since joining in 2014 and producing the first Jardin Rouge exhibition entitled “Behind the Red Wall” featuring a graffiti-heavy roster including BIO, BG, CEEK, and SY along with stencil artist ECB and warrior painter Kouka.

“We have one artist here who uses canvases for example all the time and I said to him ‘hey man for 20 years you have worked on the same medium and you don’t have your own signature. Maybe if you reflect on your work you can choose another language to express your art. He tested something new here for the first time and he has had a lot of success,” she says with a smile, “and now he can continue with it.”

C215. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Finally, it strikes one that the entire complex is a diary, a philosophy of making work and the process of discovery. Sometime when Street Art / and Urban Art enters into a place, it dies. Here it feels alive, and many times just as consequential as it can be on the street.

The Gold Fish pool provides serenity and inspiration. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“It would be a great present to us if after 4 or 5 years someone sees one of these works by an artist and they say, ‘This artist was at Jardin Rouge, – or Montresso Foundation – and for this person it will stand for a label of quality,’” says Jean-Louis. With the establishment of the Montresso Foundation exhibition space, plans are afoot to develop larger exhibitions and the expansion of a permanent collection that reflects the movement of urban art into the contemporary art realm – obviously with an eye for what comes next.

TILT. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This article is a result of Brooklyn Street Art partnership with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art in Berlin and was originally published at Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art

A partial list of Jardin Rouge alumni:

310
Benjamin LAADING
Cédrix CRESPEL
CEET
Denis TEVEKOV
FENX
GODDOG
Hendrik BEIKIRCH
JACE
JO BER
KASHINK
KOUKA
MAD C
Neurone
POES
RESO I Cédric LASCOURS
Roxane Daumas
SY I Vitaly TSARENKOV
Sun7
Tarek BENAOUM
TATS CRU
TILT
Vitaly RUSAKOV

BSA Images Of The Week: 02.28.16

February 28, 2016 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

This simple lollipop paste-up reminds us this week that it may appear to be sweet, but sometimes it is poison. Guess that truism should be obvious to you kids, but it doesn’t hurt to remind each other.

Here’s our our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring ECB, Escif, JPS, Kai, London Kaye, Lunge Box, Mogul, Nick Walker, Omen, Tref.no, The J0n, and Shai Dahan.

Our top image: A questionable lollipop on the street. Lunge Box. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lunge Box. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TREF in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The J0n in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JPS in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The J0n in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ECB in Borås, Sweden for No Limit Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Omen in Rochester, NY for Wall Therapy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kai (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shai Dahan in Borås, Sweden for No Limit Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker in Stavanger, Norway for Nuart Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif in Stavanger, Norway for Nuart Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mogul in Borås, Sweden for No Limit Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A belatedly found piece by Londo Kaye. There’s is never too late for love though… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA “Images of the Year” for 2015 : New Video

December 16, 2015 Artists

Was 2015 the “Year of the Mural”?

A lot of people thought so, and the rise of commercial festivals and commissioned public/private mural programs probably brought more artists to more walls than in recent history. Judging from the In Box, 2016 is going to break more records. Enormous, polished, fully realized and presented, murals can hold a special role in a community and transform a neighborhood, even a city.

But they are not the “organic” Street Art that draws us into the dark in-between places in a city, or at its margins.

We keep our eyes open for the small, one-off, idiosyncratic, uncommissioned, weirdo work as well, as it can carry clues about the culture and reveal a sage or silly solo voice. It also just reinforces the feeling that the street is still home to an autonomous free-for-all of ideas and opinions and wandering passions. For us it is still fascinating to seek out and discover the one-of-a-kind small wheatpastes, stencils, sculptures, ad takeovers, collages, and aerosol sprayed pieces alongside the enormous and detailed paintings that take days to complete.

The main image above is from a vinyl subway advertisement that was high-jacked and we published it in February of this year on our Images of the Week posting. It’s small, personal, and very effective as you can see someone suspiciously similar to Batman is jumping out of the mouth of someone looking awfully similar to Hedwig of “Angry Inch” fame.

Of the 10,000 or so images photographer Jaime Rojo took in 2015, here are a selection 140+ of the best images from his travels through streets looking for unpermissioned and sanctioned art.

Brooklyn Street Art 2015 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo

Brooklyn Street Art 2015 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;

365xlos43, Amanda Marie, Andreas Englund, Augustine Kofie, Bisser, Boijeot, Renauld, Bordaloli, Brittany, BunnyM, Case Maclaim, Casg, Cash4, CDRE, Clet, Cost, Curve, Dain, Dal East, Dan Budnik, Dan Witz, David Walker, DeeDee, Dennis McNett, Don Rimx, Ricardo Cabret, LNY, Alex Seel, Mata Ruda, Don’t Fret, Dot Dot Dot, ECB, El Mac, El Sol25, Ella & Pitr, Eric Simmons, Enest Zacharevic, Martha Cooper, Martin Whatson, Ever, Faile, Faith47, Findac, Futura, Gaia, Gilf!, Hanksy, Hellbent, Hot Tea, How & Nosm, Icy and Sot, Inti, Invader, Isaac Cordal, James Bullough, Janet Dickson, Jef Aerosol, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, John Fekner, Le Diamantaire, Li Hill, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Low Brow, Marina Capdevilla, Miss Van, Mr. Prvrt, Mr. Toll, Myth, Nafir, Nemos, Never Crew, Nick Walker, Nina Pandolofo, Old Broads, Oldy, Ollio, Os Gemeos, Owen Dippie, Paper Skaters, Pet Bird, Kashink, Smells, Cash4, PichiAvo, Pixel Pancho, QRST, ROA, Ron English, Rubin415, Saner, Sean 9 Lugo, Shai Dahan, Shepard Fairey, Sheryo & The Yok, Sinned, Sipros, Skewville, Slikor, Smells, Sweet Toof, Snowden, Edward Snowden, Andrew Tider, Jeff Greenspan, Specter, Stray Ones, Sweet Toof, Swil, Willow, Swoon, The Outings Project, Toney De Pew, Tristan Eaton, Various & Gould, Vermibus, Wane, Wk Interact

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

BSA’s 15 Most Popular Murals Of 2015 – A “Social” Survey

December 9, 2015 Artists

People’s Street Art preferences can be very hard to predict. On social media we can reliably tell you that opinions are unreliable. Murals that we are sure you’ll love fall flatter than a one-sided pancake. Conversely, that piece we were tepid about? – Up the charts faster than a Kardashian in search of a camera.

With that in mind we thought you might like to see how the top social platforms sorted out the shots of 2015 by our Editor of Photography, Jaime Rojo.

We surveyed the number of “Likes” and shares his images received on Instagram, and Facebook in 2015 and based purely on the numbers, here are the Top 15.

No. 15 : Os Gemeos in Manhattan

Brazilian twin brothers Octavio and Gustavo are Os Gemeos and this year they began popping out of walls – and that’s not all! See the original posting here :

OS Gemeos Pop Through Walls Downtown NYC, Screens in Times Square

Os Gemeos in Manhattan. August 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 14 : Icy and Sot in Berlin

Looks like we picked a winner when BSA curated Iranian brothers ICY and SOT onto this Berlin facade of the Urban Nation. Following the theme of our “Persons of Interest” show there in March with some of Brooklyn’s finest Street Artists, the brothers reflected the fall of the Berlin Wall in the face of this Brooklyn-based woman. Look for a release of their book by Lebowski Publishers with an essay by BSA telling the story of the Tabriz-now-Brookyn-based ICY and SOT to be released in Spring 2016.

See more about our Persons of Interest show and ICY and SOT’s mural here : Complete “Persons of Interest”: Brooklyn in Berlin

Icy & Sot in Berlin for Urban Nation. March 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 13 : Alexis Diaz in NYC

Surreal illustrationist Alexis Diaz has been making brains stretch and stand up and clap with his murals from Miami to Hawaii to Lodz, Poland this year, continually impressing with his meticulous and tight cross-hatching skills, wildly wide imagination, and his uncanny ability to collaborate stylistically with other artists. This relatively small piece by him in Manhattan turned heads for months and earned this pic lots of attention via BSA.

Alexis Diaz in Manhattan. May 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 12 : Dian in Brooklyn

Essentially a live shot of the last frame for a stop -action mural video (featured on BSA Film Friday: 11.06.15) this image got a lot of traffic probably because of it’s perceived political critique of the Republican Party – but the artists say that they weren’t even familiar with US politics when they made it.

“Dian is a street artist from European art label Life is Porno. In 2015, he decided to do a series of stop-frame stop frame animations around Europe and the world. This time he turned a building in Brooklyn, NYC into his animated reality. And grew an elephant from his mushrooms…

(The) whole animation was spray-painted, without any computer animation. The Bullshit sign was installed by a legendary fusion artist Shalom Neuman.”

Dian in Brooklyn, NY. November, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 11 : Pichi & Avo in Sweden

“The Spanish Street Art duo Pichiavo brought the antiquities and modern day graffiti together last week on a soaring multi-story wall in Borås, Sweden,” we wrote of this multi-story mural that appealed to many readers this September. It’s the sort of formula that works again and again for these guys, most recently in Miami last week.

Pichi & Avo in Boras, Sweden for No Limits. September 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 10 : Dal East in Sweden

Participating in the same small festival (Borås “No Limit)” as PichiAvo above, the artist Dal East captured the imagination of BSA readers with this soaring wingspan painted high upon a five stepped modern facade building across from a textile university campus.

Dal East in Boras, Sweden for No Limits. September 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 9 : Owen Dippie “Radiant Madonna” in Brooklyn

The first of two entries by Kiwi Owen Dippie on our Top 15 list for 2015, this merging of Raphael’s Madonna with Haring’s radiant baby snapped people out of their stupor with the unconventional paring. A fan of both artists, Dippie’s mural reminded us of Haring’s flirtation with Christian “Born Again” fundamentalism before he decided to be an out gay man in the 1980s – at a time when the so-called Moral Majority was ready to send gays to be quarantined because of the AIDS crisis. This three story mural by Dippie is still vibrating with the tensions he encompassed in this one powerful composition.

Owen Dippie in Brooklyn. July 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 8 : Ernest Zacharevic in Brooklyn

Outside of this Lithuanian Street Artists’ typical wheelhouse, its the irony of this piece that contains his DNA. Capturing the same commercial advertising linguistic that Street Artists typically lampoon, the text based riff clearly draws the connection to the appreciation for hand-style that originally marked a “style” revolution in graffiti. Maybe it was this timeless “instant classic” quality that drew so many fans on Instagram and Facebook.

Ernest Zacharevic. Brooklyn, NY November 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 7 : Ella & Pitr in Norway

The French couple were in the town of Stavanger to create the World’s Largest Mural so comparatively this was just doodle on the back of an envelope for Ella & Pitr, but something about it struck a chord with you this September.

Ella & Pitr in Stavanger, Norway for NUART 2015. September, 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 6 : ECB in Brooklyn

His pensive and looming old men and women from Morroco have been made into a book recently, but ECB made this guy in dirty old Brooklyn this year and photographer Jaime Rojo caught it a day after heavy rains provide this reflective moment. Read more about ECB’s portraits of working folks in : The Trades: Street Artist ECB Traces Morocco’s Faces

ECB in Brooklyn. May 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 5 : Okuda in Manhattan

Nearing 20 years in the game, the Spanish Street Artist Okuda is always a pleaser with his rich-hued pop surrealism and geometrics that mimic the man-made urban environment. Here his organic forms in a New York doorway pop out from the dim grayness of the streetscape.

Okuda in Manhattan. June 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 4 : Case Ma’Claim in Berlin

One of the current crop of photo-realists that are drawing so much attention, Ma’Claims’ meditation is often on hands. This one may have had additional appeal on Social platforms because of it’s combination of skin colors and its appearance during the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” marches in cities across the US.

Case Ma’Claim in Berlin. March 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 3 : Nick Walker

The Bristol-born Mr. Walker has a soft spot for New York and this placement outside a pizza parlor of his iconic bowler-hatted avatar made a lot of connections for viewers on Facebook who shared this image like crazy last winter.

Nick Walker. Manhattan, NY. January 30 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 2 : JR in Manhattan

A commercial wheatpaste project with The New York City Ballet, their principal dancer the ballerina Lauren Lovette, a documentary called LES BOSQUETS, and a real estate developer, this image of a woman flying through the air to kiss Manhattan’s sky was so riveting that it continued to ricochet JR’s image across digital devices for months after we posted it.

JR in Manhattan. August 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 1 : Owen Dippie “Ninja Renaissance Masters” in Brooklyn

With 1.1 million shares across our Facebook page, this merging of four Renaissance master visages and the 1990s Ninja Turtles masks leap-frogged every other image we posted this year, and busted peoples’ brains open. The New Zealand based Dippie was killing it this summer in Brooklyn before heading out to the West Coast, but this trackside trick continued to draw visitors long after he headed back to his homeland, and his pic wins 2015 decisively. See the original posting here : Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello Spotted in BKLN : Owen Dippie Lies in Wait

Owen Dippie in Brooklyn. July 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.05.15

April 5, 2015 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

ECB was back on the streets in Bushwick this week doing his portrait of a Moroccan street barber from his series of portraits in Morocco of traders whose trade is in danger of extinction. That is what BSA Images of the Week starts off with.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Caroatoes, ECB, Hendrick Beikirch, Icy & Sot, Jaye Moon, London Kaye, ROA, Scott Lickstein, SOBR, Ten Hundred, Trice, Wing, and X-O.

Top Image >> Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Scott Lickstein (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon may have gone to see the On Kawarwa exhibition at the Guggenheim before hitting the street with this date. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sketches from ROA’s cabinet of curiosities as he prepared this week for his new show at Jonathan Levine Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Film Friday: 01.09.15

January 9, 2015 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. ROME in the Street and the Gallery by Dioniso Punk
2. Hendrik Beikirch (ECB): East Harbor in the Netherlands
3. Michael Beerens – “Master”
4. “Art As A Weapon” Trailer

BSA Special Feature: ROME in the Street and the Gallery by Dioniso Punk

The punk rock connection to graffiti is as strong as any subculture’s – or of any people who feel marginalized in effect or practice by the dominant culture preventing their voice. The narrative that graffiti belongs exclusively to Hip Hop has been posited and disproved over time; as Jesus said, “Graffitti belongs to everyone.” *

Modern French academics and intellectuals have celebrated graffiti and Street Art by way of political protest at least since the late 1960s and early 70s, first with the Situationists and later with the aesthetics and artistry of people like Ernest Pignon-Ernest and Gérard Zlotykamien.

In “Street & Gallery” we see that the need for expression, illegal and otherwise, is as urgent as ever in the Street Art scene in Rome today and for many it is a means to express opinions and philosophies that they hope will in turn push greater society forward in some way. For others it is simply to fight the stagnation.

Billed as an “unofficial video” by Dioniso Punk, the short documentary takes you into the kitchen and studio and gallery and street as a variety of artists, academics, vegetable vendors and philosophers narrate the pragmatic and the existential. Call it activism, call it a yearning for freedom, call it being generally pissed off at institutional inertia – the spirit of graffiti and it’s multiple urban art corollaries will not die. Either will arena rock and roll, despite early punk’s best wishes.

Interesting to note that the globalization of capital has not globalized all banks accounts and has thrust the xenophobia of the Italian middle class into a harsh light here, as it has elsewhere in so-called developed countries. Here we see a modern Italy struggling with ideological self-beliefs about justice and equality and wondering how they apply to a new immigrant class who has no interest in their cogitations. Moving from the educated class studio environment, the trained artist suddenly finds a social/political role, and for the first time perhaps contemplates it. Meanwhile, many in the street have never seen the inside of a studio and have a slightly different take on the state of things. Let the conversation continue.

Support was also provided by Maam – Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove di Metropoliz, Dorothy Circus Gallery, M.U.Ro. – Museo Urban di Roma, Sacripante Gallery, SMAC – Segni Mutanti.

A nod to the artists whose work is shown in the video, including Nicola “Nic” Alessandrini, Jim Avignon, Gary Baseman, Mister Thoms, Eduardo Kobra, David “Diavù” Vecchiato, Veronica Montanino, Stefania Fabrizi, Danilo Bucchi, Mauro Maugliani, Ron English, Beau Stanton, Mr. Klevra, Finbarr “Fin” DAC, Omino71, David Pompili, Ray Caesar, Afarin Sajedi, Kathie Olivas, Pablo Mesa Capella e Gonzalo Orquìn, Massimo Attardi, Gian Maria Tosatti, Malo Farfan, Franco Losvizzero, Davide Dormino, Alessandro Ferraro, Mauro Cuppone, Leonardo “Leo” Morichetti, Mauro Sgarbi, Gio Pistone, Zelda Bomba, Micaela Lattanzio, HOPNN, Massimo Iezzi, Sabrina Dan, Jago, Giovanna Ranaldi, Santino Drago, Alessandro Sardella, Fabio Mariani, Marco Casolino, Veks Van Hillik, Hogre, Dilkabear, Lucamaleonte, Diamond, Alice Pasquini, Paolo Petrangeli.

Hendrik Beikirch: East Harbor in the Netherlands

Hendrik Beikirch traveled to Heerlen in the Netherlands to paint a new mural over three and a half days. Organized by Heerlen Murals, the wizened, troubled subject adds to the series of images ECB has been creating across many walls in the last handful of years.

Michael Beerens – “Master”

Last summer the Frenchman Beerens took a trip out into the mountains and created a piece on a a small abandoned building. Ah, summer, come thou near…

“Art As A Weapon” Trailer

From Breadtruck Films, the new documentary focuses on a school in Myanmar (Burma) that teaches street art as a form of non-violent struggle. Street Artists Shepard Fairey and JR figure into the story, as does the military, art as a weapon, and art as a tool for revolution.

* Quote from Jesus Cordero, aerosol sales associate at Near Miss Hardware store in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

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ART – Das Kunstmagazin: Street Art New Special Issue

December 9, 2014 Artists

Gruner + Jahr, Europe’s largest publishing firm has just released a hot issue of their magazine ART that focuses exclusively on Street Art and we are pleased that they asked us to participate. You’ll see a number of names you recognize in this magazine that reads more like a book – although you’ll need to be familiar with German.

Of special note for us are the spreads that include many images by BSA editor of photography Jaime Rojo whose shots of work by Brooklyn’s Swoon make us happy just to see them here across the pages of this prestigious magazine.

We don’t usually mention print releases on the editorial part of the site but it just so happens that today a new screenprint edition of “Dawn and Gemma” by Swoon is being released at 12 noon New York time. We saw this image first this spring at the Brooklyn Museum exhibit “Submerged Motherlands” and spoke about it during our In Conversation show there with her in April. Currently she’s just done a version of this in Miami as well. Her print is being released alongside a new print by another Brooklyn Street Artist Elbow-Toe. Check out more news on Paper Monster’s site.

ART Magazine: Banksy- some of these same shots are in the new Banksy in New York book by Ray Mock that we wrote the introduction to. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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First Monograph by Germany’s ECB is “Blurring Boundaries”

September 23, 2014 Artists

Hendrik ECB Beikirch “Blurring Boundaries” (photo of book spread by Jaime Rojo)

A respectable and rich first monograph by German Street Artist Hendrik Beikirch, known on the street as ECB, Blurring Boundaries aptly explains the area between his graffiti roots and photo-realist portraiture that makes room for emotion. Discovering the hip-hop world in the late 1980s as so many metropolitan youth around the world did thanks to the cultural export of video, vinyl, books and cassette tapes, Beikirch first began his own exploration in graffiti that mimicked the influence of cities like New York interpreted through the local teen culture of Kassel where he was born.

Hendrik ECB Beikirch “Blurring Boundaries” (photo of book spread by Jaime Rojo)

The intervening twenty years put him on a singular route to develop his own style of using acrylic, emulsion paint, and aerosol in an integrated seamless monochromatic palette technique. His massive portraits of anonymous men (primarily) with creased faces and cryptic maxims have grown onto and into street scenes, evoking emotion in the viewer, and the rare of empathy from a stranger. Now installing his works around the world on ever larger facades in cities like Sao Paulo, Seoul, Delhi, Miami, Kazan, Brooklyn, and throughout Germany, ECB makes an additional looming space for the face of one more wanderer.

Rather than attaching a distinct storyline, ECB gives his sitters a narrative that stretches and ambulates beyond location, sometimes following the passerby to their next appointment. If your imagination was in slumber, an unexpected ECB portrait can awaken it and create the story. At the very least you are introduced to a stranger whom you hadn’t realized could become a confidant, a familiar face in the cacophony of the city.

Hendrik ECB Beikirch “Blurring Boundaries” (photo of book spread by Jaime Rojo)

Hendrick ECB Beikirch “Blurring Boundries” Publikat Publishing

Sweden Starts “No Limit” Mural Festival in Borås

September 17, 2014 Artists

It isn’t just Nuart any more.

Scandinavia is taking their mural festivals seriously thanks to buoyant economies, arts programming support, and a growing global appreciation for art in the streets in general. Included in the list of recent festivals are Denmark’s Galore (Copenhagen) and We Aart (Aalborg) and Sweden’s Artscape (Malmö) as well as the more graffiti-inflected Örebro, Helsinki’s Arabia and of course the one-kilometer long graffiti/Street Art slaughter that accompanies the mammoth music festival Roskilde.

brooklyn-street-art-ecb-Anders-Kihl-boras-sweden-09-14-web

This month humbly began No Limit in the small city of Borås, Sweden, and artist / curator Shai Dahan hopes to enliven the daily views for this population of 66,000 with his curated collection of international artists from street / graffiti / fine art backgrounds.

An artist and entrepreneur who moved here from New York three and a half years ago, Dahan has been rallying local building owners and government institutions to aid in his idea of mounting a show on walls in the city that emulates the success of such festivals elsewhere.

Isaac Cordal. The small scale installations by the Spanish artist provide a welcome answer to the ever more massive tendencies of wall installations in mural programs. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

“I’ve been on quite a journey and accomplishing this project has been something I have been working on personally for over a year,” he says. With participation and funding from the city of Borås, No Limit this month invited and hosted artists from countries such as The Netherlands, Brasil, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden and included artists like Natalia Rak, ETAM Cru, Peeta, ECB, The London Police, Kobra, Ollio, Ekta, Carolina Falkholt, Issac Cordal and one of the earliest Street Art stencilists, Blek le Rat.

“And best of all, we had no bad weather. The day Natalia landed (she was the first to arrive) the sun came out, and it stayed out until the very last day,” says Dahan of the festival that he deemed “phenomenal” and included guided tours for over 200 people at a time.

“After everyone left, it began raining, ” he smiles.

For countries that have a so-called “zero tolerance” for illegal art or any kind like Sweden, mural festivals like these effectively circumvent the rigid approval process that typically characterizes public art projects and many make inroads into engaging public space with art in a new way that is emblematic of a vibrant global movement. It may be a tenuous line to walk, but more cities seem willing to embrace this swing of the pendulum with art in the streets.

The Brazillian Street Artist named Kobra created a portrait of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist, and inventor of dynamite. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The London Police began stripping because of the hot sun and of course, Jane Fonda. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The graffiti writing artist from Venice named Peeta basically killed his wall with a signature three dimensional tag that floats off of the wall. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Click HERE to learn more about No Limit Borås.

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Elfo Declares “I’m a Figurative Painter”… and I’m the Queen of England!
April 16, 2024
Elfo, the ever-witty Italian street artist, strikes again with his latest work scrawled across an abandoned building in Italy. Known …Read More »
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Welcome to BSA’s Images of the Week. We decided to dedicate this weekly survey to the artists of “Return 2 …Read More »
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Nestled within the bustling city of Nairobi, Kenya, Kibera is a testament to its inhabitants’ challenges and its collective indomitable …Read More »
“Tiempos Muertos”. Idle Time With Isaac Cordal in Madrid
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“Idle Time has become that free moment we have between one task and another in the production process. Productive inertia …Read More »
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April 7, 2024
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! To BSA’s Muslim brothers and sisters, we hope your Ramadan has been fulfilling …Read More »
Murals, Art, Childhood, and Community in Lwala: Martha Cooper and Seth in Kenya: Part 1
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In the heart of Lwala, Kenya, a place where the warmth of the sun is matched only by the warmth …Read More »
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Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Beikrich AKA ECB for Wall Street Art in Evry. Grand Paris Sud, France. June 2017. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery – Paris)

Hendrik Berkeich AKA ECB. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

C215. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kouka. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sun7. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Montresso Foundation on the grounds of Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steven P. Harrington of BrooklynStreetArt.com interviews TILT. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT. Detail. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT. Detail. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT. Detail. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT in the middle with Mr. Harrington on the right and a guest on the left standing in the lobby of the Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jo Ber. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kashink. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Benjamin Laading. Detail. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Benjamin Laading. Detail. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

C215. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Gold Fish pool provides serenity and inspiration. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TILT. Montresso Foundation. Jardin Rouge, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Our top image: A questionable lollipop on the street. Lunge Box. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lunge Box. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TREF in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The J0n in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JPS in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The J0n in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ECB in Borås, Sweden for No Limit Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Omen in Rochester, NY for Wall Therapy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kai (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shai Dahan in Borås, Sweden for No Limit Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker in Stavanger, Norway for Nuart Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif in Stavanger, Norway for Nuart Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mogul in Borås, Sweden for No Limit Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A belatedly found piece by Londo Kaye. There’s is never too late for love though… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 15 : Os Gemeos in Manhattan Brazilian twin brothers Octavio and Gustavo are Os Gemeos and this year they began popping out of walls – and that’s not all! See the original posting here : OS Gemeos Pop Through Walls Downtown NYC, Screens in Times Square

Os Gemeos in Manhattan. August 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot in Berlin for Urban Nation. March 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alexis Diaz in Manhattan. May 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dian in Brooklyn, NY. November, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pichi & Avo in Boras, Sweden for No Limits. September 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 10 : Dal East in Sweden Participating in the same small festival (Borås “No Limit)” as PichiAvo above, the artist Dal East captured the imagination of BSA readers with this soaring wingspan painted high upon a five stepped modern facade building across from a textile university campus.

Dal East in Boras, Sweden for No Limits. September 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Owen Dippie in Brooklyn. July 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ernest Zacharevic. Brooklyn, NY November 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 7 : Ella & Pitr in Norway The French couple were in the town of Stavanger to create the World’s Largest Mural so comparatively this was just doodle on the back of an envelope for Ella & Pitr, but something about it struck a chord with you this September.

Ella & Pitr in Stavanger, Norway for NUART 2015. September, 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 6 : ECB in Brooklyn

ECB in Brooklyn. May 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 5 : Okuda in Manhattan Nearing 20 years in the game, the Spanish Street Artist Okuda is always a pleaser with his rich-hued pop surrealism and geometrics that mimic the man-made urban environment. Here his organic forms in a New York doorway pop out from the dim grayness of the streetscape.

Okuda in Manhattan. June 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Case Ma’Claim in Berlin. March 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 3 : Nick Walker The Bristol-born Mr. Walker has a soft spot for New York and this placement outside a pizza parlor of his iconic bowler-hatted avatar made a lot of connections for viewers on Facebook who shared this image like crazy last winter.

Nick Walker. Manhattan, NY. January 30 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JR in Manhattan. August 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Owen Dippie in Brooklyn. July 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Top Image >> Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Scott Lickstein (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SOBR in Berlin. It’s Time To Dance! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon may have gone to see the On Kawarwa exhibition at the Guggenheim before hitting the street with this date. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

If I’ve asked you once I’ve asked you Trice. Quit clowning around. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ten Hundred (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sketches from ROA’s cabinet of curiosities as he prepared this week for his new show at Jonathan Levine Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Caratoes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Watcha looking at? Apple Store. SOHO, NYC. March 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No. 15 : Os Gemeos in Manhattan

Brazilian twin brothers Octavio and Gustavo are Os Gemeos and this year they began popping out of walls – and that’s not all! See the original posting here :

OS Gemeos Pop Through Walls Downtown NYC, Screens in Times Square

No. 10 : Dal East in Sweden

Participating in the same small festival (Borås “No Limit)” as PichiAvo above, the artist Dal East captured the imagination of BSA readers with this soaring wingspan painted high upon a five stepped modern facade building across from a textile university campus.

No. 7 : Ella & Pitr in Norway

The French couple were in the town of Stavanger to create the World’s Largest Mural so comparatively this was just doodle on the back of an envelope for Ella & Pitr, but something about it struck a chord with you this September.

No. 5 : Okuda in Manhattan

Nearing 20 years in the game, the Spanish Street Artist Okuda is always a pleaser with his rich-hued pop surrealism and geometrics that mimic the man-made urban environment. Here his organic forms in a New York doorway pop out from the dim grayness of the streetscape.

No. 3 : Nick Walker

The Bristol-born Mr. Walker has a soft spot for New York and this placement outside a pizza parlor of his iconic bowler-hatted avatar made a lot of connections for viewers on Facebook who shared this image like crazy last winter.