May 2009

Eine “The A – Z of Change” at Carmichael (CA)

“The A – Z of Change”

A solo exhibition of new work by Eine

Opening Reception: Thursday July 9 2009 / 7.00pm – 10.00pm
Exhibition Dates: July 9 – July 30 2009

Please RSVP to rsvp@carmichaelgallery.com

Address: Carmichael Gallery / 1257 N. La Brea Ave / West Hollywood CA 90038

On Thursday, July 9 Carmichael Gallery will play host to The A – Z of Change, the debut LA solo exhibition of Eine. Internationally recognized for his super-sized lettering in urban areas, Eine will unveil a new body of works on canvas that combines his trademark typeface, a vivid color palette and provocative imagery to powerful effect.

Please contact art@carmichaelgallery.com to preview available work.

About Eine:

Vandal, graffiti writer, street artist, fine artist, Eine has over twenty years experience of drawing a crowd. The former master printer at UK publishing house Pictures On Walls takes deceptively simple typography to a new level with iconic lettering which graces storefront shutters and city walls throughout the world.

Eine has enjoyed successful group and solo shows at galleries throughout London, Scandinavia and the US and has participated in numerous art events and festivals, including Santa’s Ghetto (2004-2007) and Nuart (2007). His work has been featured in numerous books, magazines and other publications. Eine most recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records for hand-pulling the most colors (78) in a silk-screen print.

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Images of the Week 05.31.09

Images of the Week 05.31.09

(photo Jaime Rojo)
Die young, stay pretty. (Shin Shin, Billi Kid) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain (photo Jaime Rojo)
Yo, he barely cleared that post. That was close! (Chris Stain) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(photo Jaime Rojo) crosby street
Crosby Street (photo Jaime Rojo)

Dain! There's something in mah ahh!  (Dain) (photo Jaime Rojo)
Dain! There’s somethin’ in mah ahh!  (Dain) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Dan Witz) (photo Jaime Rojo)
Okay, I’m going to need to see some I.D. (Dan Witz) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Oh hi  (photo Jaime Rojo)
Oh hi, no I’m just looking for my contact.  I dropped it over here someplace. (photo Jaime Rojo)

Imminent Disaster (photo Jaime Rojo)
Help us out with this one if you know the name/s (Imminent Disaster) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Mussolini) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Mussolini. The original Che (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Nobody) (photo Jaime Rojo)
Incredible new colorful sculpture by Nobody. (photo Jaime Rojo)

NYDF (photo Jaime Rojo)
Another ingenious merging of the two cities. (NYDF) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(passenger pigeon) (photo Jaime Rojo)
(Passenger Pigeon) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Peru Ana  (photo Jaime Rojo)
Blowing bubbles or smoking a pipe? (Peru Ana Ana Peru) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Tazzmat) (photo Jaime Rojo)
(Red Nose Tazzmat) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Tian)  (photo Jaime Rojo)
You mention my multicolored bike and I’ll punch your lights out. (Tian) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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Chris Stain & Armsrock at Ad Hoc: “I KNOW THERE IS LOVE”

Chris Stain & Armsrock

August 7th – Sep 6th 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, August 7th, 7-10pm

Chris Stain first became infected by graffiti’s bold colors, striking form, and independent nature as a child in the summer of 1984. As time went by he investigated other avenues of art such as print making, graphic design, and screen printing. Stain’s work is a direct reflection of the people, neighborhoods, and struggles that are swept along with the every day lives of the common American. It is his hope that through the work he will be able to convey the importance of the role of the less recognized individual of society.

Outside Inside (11)
Creative Commons License photo credit: Lord Jim photo of Chris Stain

Armsrock is an artist and activist whose work focuses on the human condition in the urban environment. By creating hundreds of unique drawings of his fellow citizens, and placing these original pieces on the walls of the city, Armsrock makes an attempt to generate a critical understanding of the stories and fates that house us.

Old Stuff
Creative Commons License photo credit: unusualimage photo of Armsrock

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Elusive Dain grants interview

Big ups to Brooklynite Gallery for getting this exclusive interview with Brooklyn street artist Dain, who has been rockin’ the starlet/portrait pasteups since before Swoon and Supine were playing with those little rounded kiddie scissors and Elmer’s glue, ya’ll.

Dudes’ been mixing wheatpaste since street artists had to make it out of mashed potatoes. This inside look at his home and studio reveals the process, the plain-spoken perspective, and it puts the pox on all those poseurs who are puttin up putrid pink powder-puff pusilanimy today.  Period.


Master Dain does iconic Audry. (copyright ) Charlie Cravero

 

Dain on Mulberry St.

Dain frequently draws upon images from his childhood. (photo credit: Noah Sussman)

Noah Sussman

Dain

Old Skool Dain from back in the day. (photo credit: Petroleum Jelliffe)

Petroleum Jelliffe

On Driggs

Brooklyn Dain goes hard. (photo credit: Hrag Vartanian)

Hrag Vartanian



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“Cheap Shots” show by ELC at Kings County

The street art collective known as ELC (Endless Love Crew) and other
street art stars will be hitting Kings County Bar for an art show of
extreme proportions. This show will open in conjunction with the Arts
In Bushwick’s yearly “Bushwick Open Studios” event which is sure to
rock Brooklyn!

Participating artists include:
royce bannon
anera
infinity
celso
abe lincoln jr
ad deville
dark clouds

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“Whole in the Wall” Opens with Fanfare

NYC Graff as Historical Touchstone
International Street Art Stars
Train Writers turned Fine Artists
High Culture/Street Culture Mashups
Corporate Logos and Celebrity Collectors

If that is not enough variety for you, then you have just been spoiled by too many years living in the center of a cultural and media capital.

You’ll be glad the former photo studios, two blocks north of Manhattan’s West Side Rail Yards, are generously spacious because you’ll need headroom to contemplate the variety of messages that Chantal and Brigitte Helenbeck, Parisian gallerists, are bringing to Hell’s Kitchen for a month.

For Chantal, “The street art style and story is distinctly American. It became a global phenomenon”. Her sister Brigitte agrees and asks her to translate to the visitor, “Yes, it is about movement, and color, it is very free and for this we say it is very American.”

Trains, geometric shapes, and natural beauty on Coney Island (Daze) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Trains, geometric form, fills, and natural beauty on Coney Island (Daze) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Amidst the flurry of 11th hour installations all over this temporary gallery, the sisters say that they see graffiti and “street art” on a continuum with other schools in contemporary art and art history in general. Chantal observes as she looks around the cavernous 12,000sf upper floor at the “Whole in the Wall” exhibition that the kids that used to be “Bad Boys” (and girls) of graffiti back in the 70’s are now warm and friendly adults who are great to work with. Better yet, many continued to develop their skills and have truly become “great studio artists”. “It is important that their talent and recognition is seen and documented with the art world,” she says.

Lee Quiñones at work (photo Jaime Rojo)
Lee Quiñones at work (photo Jaime Rojo)

A prime example of that observation could be Lee Quiñones, who is busily running up and down an aluminum ladder preparing a 12′ x 14′ canvas that couldn’t be more of a departure from his style back in the days of Sly Stone and Richard Nixon. A subway train writer as a teen in the 1970’s, his later exhibitions and studio work placed him in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum. The piece he’s working on for this show speaks to a sinister, more complex time using animal symbolism so often seen in the 00’s.

Up close to this canvas, it is an imposing thick dark forest of trees where the sprouting leaves and fallen, swirling fragments are actual dollar bills. Popping forward at you from the center comes the menacing protagonist; a realistic wolf in businessman’s clothing lurking from behind a tree in horn-rimmed glasses, looking at you with a dead-eye stare.

Wolf detail of work by Lee Quiñones (photo Jaime Rojo)
Wolf detail of brand new work by Lee Quiñones (photo Jaime Rojo)

As you talk to Mr. Quiñones, it’s easy to see that he cares deeply about his work, and he spends a great deal of time thinking about it, re-working it in his mind, and relating with it on an emotional level. The metaphor Lee had in mind this time is the children’s story “Little Red Riding Hood” and, as he points to parts of the canvas, you can see the story as it applies to any number of scams and backroom deals that clutter the business pages and Senate hearings these days. You might think of the same connection between financial crisis and the meager options for a teen in New York’s 1970’s while he describes the power brokers that created the current environment. Conspiratorially, he reveals that when the lights are out, the wolf’s eyes actually glow in the dark. He also says this piece is not finished but he’ll know when it is.

“Art is tricky, you know, you gotta look at it a lot,” the Puerto Rico-born painter says, “Then it tells you ‘Stop! Leave me alone! I’m done.’… I talk to my art, I spend time with it.”

"I was thinking of putting Madoff over here" (photo Jaime Rojo)
“I was thinking of putting Madoff over here”

He contrasts the life and the approach to creative work back in the “wild style” days and now; “My studio is not this big but it’s pretty big so I can step back and take a look at it. When I was painting trains 35 years ago I only had like this much space (holding his hands a yard a part) and I had this big 40 foot (long) train in front of me. …. I had no luxury of looking at it from a distance, or time. But that’s also where I get my nocturnal practice. I can actually stay up four nights without sleep, no problem. And I’ve been up three days now.” A broad smile breaks across his face as he announces this feat of endurance and commitment.

Be careful handling the ivy (photo Steven P. Harrington)
It really DOES grow on trees. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

There is so much exuberance and so much to see at this show that A.D.D. seems like an excellent processing mechanism – Ramellzee’s sculpture on a highly ornate fifteenth century credenza, a French dude in a suit holding forth about the geneology of a chair, Plateus moving briskly across the floor gazing upward at the multiple canvasses and downward upon his high-gloss contorted letter sculptures, Henry Chalfants’ screen prints of miniature trains spread out on some bubble wrap, NYC’s Sharp amiably chatting with Brazillian Nunca (recently at the Tate), stencil godfather Blek le Rat sneaking outside for a cigarette where Blade is showing off the 1972 creme colored roadster he’s restoring, and, quietly, the Banksy rat glances over his shoulder.

The selections of artists for this show are not meant to be comprehensive, as is evidenced by the lack of any number of current European street artists, and almost complete lack of artists from today’s New York. What impact “Whole in the Wall” will have on current “street art” and graff movements is hard to say, but it is an often inventive way of drawing the connections and revealing the threads in a storyline that continues to be told.

Rammellzee and King Louis (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Meet you on the Kings Highway! Rammellzee and King Louis mashup (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Martha Cooper prints waiting to be hung (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Martha Cooper prints waiting to be hung (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Who let the dog in the mansion? (Blek le Rat) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Okay, who let Sir Duke in the mansion? Don’t let him lick the gold leaf again! (Blek le Rat) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Armed nationalism on Sesame Street (Icon) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Armed nationalism on Sesame Street (Ikon) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Chalfant
Henry Chalfant silkscreens Blade (in the show) and many others on these metallic plates that clearly evoke the subway trains of the 1970’s and 80’s. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Helenbeck Gallery

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Chris Stain and Billy Mode have “Esperanza” in BK

Chris Stain and Billy Mode have “Esperanza” in BK

Little bit of inspiration on a whole lotta wall;

This just In, a new giant piece by people’s champion Chris Stain and mild mannered Billy Mode on a sanctioned space in Bushwick called “Esperanza”, which means “I love mac-n-cheese” in Polish, I think. Longtime collaborators and buddies originally from back home in Baltimore, the two knocked out this mural over the Memorial Day weekend.

“Esperanza” by Chris and Billy (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

Brooklyn Street Art: What was the inspiration for the piece?

Chris Stain: My friend Kevin speaks Spanish and I asked him what’s the word for “hope” in Spanish and he said “esperanza”. Since the neighborhood is heavily Latino, Bill and I wanted to do something the people could relate to.

Detail of the mural featuring good homies (photo Jaime Rojo)

Detail of the mural featuring good homies (photo Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Are you seeing “hope” out on the streets these days?
Chris Stain: At times. The idea with this piece is to inspire hope. Just like Whitney Houston said, the children are the future.

Man in photo is actual size (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Man in photo is actual size (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Brooklyn Street Art: Those are some dope letters, like they were carved out of blocks….

Chris Stain: Bill is a pretty sharp cat. He devised a template that would help speed up productivity as well as accuracy. The wall is 52 feet wide by 10 feet high. The rectangular shape he drew up and cut out of cardboard was made the width of a single letter (about 5 feet), which made it easier for us to center the piece and for bill to sketch out each letter. Letters are made up of shapes like everything else so he broke this particular letter form down to its most basic shape and we worked from there.

Man + Memorial Day Weekend = Lawncare (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Human Male + Memorial Day Weekend = Lawncare (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Chris Stain Website

Billy Mode photostream

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Applying the final coat of paint at the “Whole in the Wall” Show

A delicious delectable from a couple of years ago, this Banksy will be on display at the “Whole in the Wall: 1970 – Now” show opening on Friday.

You can read our interview with the Co-Curators here.

Ratsy from Banksy (courtesy Helenbeck Gallery)

With thanks to Andrew Michael Ford.

Oh MY GOD stop taking everything so painfully seriously!

Here’s a wholey different Hole in the Wall courtesy of wacky Japanese game show;

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Whole in The Wall: 1970 – Now

May 29 to June 27, 2009:

“Whole In The Wall: 1970 – Now”

Blek Le Rat

_________________________________________

Masters from the 1970s NYC graf movement (Blade, Crash, Daze, Jonone, Quik, Lee Quinones, Rammellzee, Sharp) and European art stars (Victor Ash, Banksy, Blek le Rat, Ikon, Sozyone, Plateus) are among 19 painters, sculptors and photographers showing contemporary works in “Whole In The Wall: 1970 – Now”. It’s an unprecedented, museum-quality, 150-piece exploration of street art’s ongoing transition to, yes, fine art. The pieces are all original and rare; many are new.

piece by Sharp courtesy Helenbeck Gallery
The show is an ambitious, two-story, 25,000-sf installation on Manhattan’s industrial West Side, juxtaposing street artworks with authentic 17th Century antiques. It will be an unprecedented presentation.

The official website for “Whole In The Wall”: www.helenbeckgallery.com

Facebook group “Whole in the Wall” by Helenbeck Gallery – Paris

Brooklyn Street Art Interview with the Co-Curators of this show

==

Whole In The Wall: 1970 – Now”
Friday, May 29 through Saturday, June 27
11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesdays through Saturdays; or by appointment
529-535 W. 35th St. @ 11th Ave. (former Splashlight Studio)

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Week in Images 05.24.09

Just hanging out on this ledge. (Bishop203 and Specter) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Bishop 203 (photo Jaime Rojo)
(Rednose Tazzmat and Bishop 203) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Bishop 203 (photo Jaime Rojo)
Bishop 203 (photo Jaime Rojo)

What the duck are you lookin at? (photo Jaime Rojo)
Sit down here and I’ll tell you a secret. (C215) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Judith Supine (photo Jaime Rojo)
Collecting alms at the door. (Judith Supine) (photo Jaime Rojo)

misle (photo Jaime Rojo)
This way across the bridge! (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)
Such a friendly smile. (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)
Have you seen my moped? (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

QRST (photo Jaime Rojo)
Member of the SWAT team. (QRST) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(photo Jaime Rojo)
A veritable natural paradise teaming with bear, a canadian goose, long-billed stork, seagull, and some flying arrows (Chris and Veng of Robots Will Kill, Broken Crow, Over Under) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(photo Jaime Rojo)
A stroll in the middle of the grey. (Chris and Veng of Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Stikman (photo Jaime Rojo)
Things are looking up (Stikman) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Tian (photo Jaime Rojo)
How much is this beige one? (Tian) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Tian (photo Jaime Rojo)
Would love to help but a little tied up at the moment. (Tian) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Tian (photo Jaime Rojo)
A big round ample breath. (Tian) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Veng and Chris from Robots Will Kill (photo Jaime Rojo)
Angel and Devil robots whisper into Mochni’s ear, “Go ahead and have the tart!” “Leave that little trollop alone!”  (Veng and Chris from Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Veng from Robots Will Kill (photo Jaime Rojo)
Ready for the annual roller-bed race? (Veng from Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Veng from Robots Will Kill (photo Jaime Rojo)
“Not to get into the weeds about this, but” (Veng from Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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JOY RIDE Group Show at Anonymous Gallery

JOY RIDE

Opening Reception: June 18th – 6 – 10PM /
6PM PERFORMANCE BY HUNGRY MARCH BAND at CHRYSTIE ST. and BROOME ST.

Kenny Scharf, Jonas Mekas, Martha Cooper, Agathe Snow, Kelsey Brookes, Cheryl Dunn, Maya Hayuk, Ryan Humphrey, Kenzo Minami, James Jean, Graffiti Research Lab, Scott Campbell, Erik Foss, Peter Sutherland, Mike Giant, Leo Fitzpatrick, Chiara Clemente, Julia Chiang, Takuya Sakamoto, AIKO, Ellis Gallagher, Gaia, Ji Lee, Chris Stain, Chris Uphues, Falcon Duran, Aakash Nihalani, Paolo Bertocchi, Taliah Lempert, Alfredo Bovel and Shane Bovel, Nesta Mayo, Stewert Semple, Benedict Radcliffe, Ashira Siegel, Steve MacDonald, Brian Vernor, Artus De Lavilléon, James Newman, Kevin Foxworth, Joe Stakun, Andrew McClintock, Marco Mucig, Yatika Starr Fields, Daniele De Lonti, Lisa Romans, Amy Bolger, Wonka,Jacques Ferrand, Marc Sich, Herman Mao, David Komurek, Silver Warner, Patrick Trefz, Made in Queens, Greg Ugalde, Camilla Candida Donzella, Fast Eddie Williams, Tristan Eaton, Robert S.L. Waltzer and Gordon Stevenson, Jud Turner, Suzette Lee, Wiilliam Robbins and Jeffrey Robbins, I LOVE DUST,  Maripol and Lino, Dana Goldstein, Rajan Mehta, Nathaniel Freeman, Giftcycle, Amelia Shaw, Jessica Findley, Lauren Silberman, Alessandro Zuek Simonetti, Daniel Leeb, Matteo Di Nisio , Ed Glazar, Bradley Baker, Cecily Upton, Rich Jacobs, Chris Thormann, Massan Fluker

Hungry March Band kicks off opening night at 6 PM with a performance in “the pit” at Sara D. Roosevelt Park on Chrystie Street and Broome Street.  Joy Ride maps will be available at each location.

For available artwork and more information about Joy Ride in NYC please visit www.anonymousgallery.com

or contact info@anonymousgallery.com
For more information about the Bicycle Film Festival, please visit

www.bicyclefilmfestival.com or contact jill@bicyclefilmfestival.com

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