April 2010

Video: SF Street Art Fans Talk about Their TWO New Banksy Pieces

April 23, 2010

Can you imagine that sometimes street art is actually cause for celebration? Yeah, me too. Since the two new pieces by street artist Banksy showed up in San Francisco yesterday, people are flocking to the neighborhoods they appeared in – snapping pictures, posing with them, licking them. The resulting observations are very entertaining in themselves, and even people vaguely aware of the artist’s work weigh in with authority.

The video blogger, artist, and street art fan Michael Cuffe, (founder of Warholian.com) jumped out of his sneakers when his sister Kat called him to say that she thought she just saw a Banksy in her neighborhood of Chinatown and she snapped a picture.

Kat Cuffe poses with Banksy
Kat Cuffe poses with Banksy (photo © Mike Cuffe)

Says Cuffe, “My sister would only be calling in case of an emergency, but I was tired and was going to let it go to voicemail. She didn’t leave me one. Suddenly a text appears that says…’You’re not going to believe this, but I think I just found a Banksy.’ Not to critique my sister too much, but I figured she wouldn’t know a Banksy from a Shepard Fairey so I asked her to take a photo. She did, sent it to me, and I literally jumped out of bed throwing on whatever clothes I could find. I called her back, got the location, and said ‘HOLY SH*T, you found a F***ing Banksy!’ “

That picture was the first posted on the web, as far as we can tell, so Kat gets a prize of some sort.  Since then Michael and his team have been “burning the midnight oil” to get up a small video documentary of the new Banksy pieces that appeared in their beloved San Francisco yesterday.

Sleep deprived Cuffe, who spent 24 hours awake to capture this event and make the video, rhapsodizes about that moment he arrived to the site, “As I walked up to it in the late morning light of San Francisco’s Chinatown, it stood there alone… and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

See more pictures on his FLICKR page:

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NohJColey New Piece Ponders Career Choices

April 23, 2010 ,

Street artist NohJColey took the mission of the programs at Free Arts NYC to heart and head when creating his piece for the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit.

This mixed-media piece focuses on a youth contemplating what path he will take in more grown-up pursuits. With typical NohJColey erudition, this portrait is revealing of an inner dialogue.

NJC’s attention to detail and his uncommon handling of technique and medium truly makes his statement purely his.  You don’t need us to tell you that this talent is one to watch. But what’s up with that eyeball? Jus’ kidding.

Directory-Street-Art-New-York-Silent-Auction55

See more of NOHJ’s work HERE

See more pieces from the auction at http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetartnewyork/.

Learn more about the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit

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Dan Witz Donates “Dark Doings” to Do Just the Opposite

April 22, 2010

Dan Witz has been painting for just over 3 decades since moving from Chicago to New York to study, and he has both a healthy fine art career and has garnered a wide swath of respect for his work on the street. In the piece Dan donated to the auction, it is evident why.

A realist, Dan seeks ways to master space and light with his work – as a street artist over many years, Dan has toyed with the obvious parts of the urban environment that you normally stroll by unthinkingly, subverting normal expectation.  Part of the “Dark Doings” series he began on the street last year, this piece snaps you out of your daily doze as you walk by it affixed to a steel door.

“Did I just see that?”

What lurks there on just the other side of the window is disturbing, and you may need to become involved.

Brooklyn-Street Art-DAN_WITZ_NEW-Directory-Street-Art-New-York-Silent-Auction_

Learn more about “Dark Doings” from his show in November at Carmichael Gallery HERE

See more of Dan Witz’s work HERE

See more pieces from the auction at http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetartnewyork/.

Learn more about the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit

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Shepard Speaks to you on the Street, On Video, On Radio

April 22, 2010 , ,

As President Obama comes to New York this morning, some people are suggesting that he is actually coming to see the new Shepard Fairey wall on Houston Street, rather than a 3 blocks north at Cooper Union to speak about Financial Reform on Wall Street.

You can catch some more cool “on the scene” pics from Becki Fuller on The Street Spot HERE.

And listen to Shepard Fairy’s interview on WNYC with Brian Lehrer yesterday.  And a furtherance of the interview on video here:



And Big Ups to Animal New York for this funny interview with Shepard Fairy on Houston Street a couple nights ago, where he addresses Guantanamo, Obama, campaign finance reform, and how the Banksy movie was marketed and is received.

Read more interesting Shepard Fairey news at Animal New York

Watch out kids – Shepard uses swear words in some of these answers.

from ANIMALnewyork.com

Additional on the street interview:

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NYC Subway Etiquette? – Unheard Of!

April 22, 2010 , , , ,

Thanks to a recently begun campaign, you may not have your fanny fondled by a creep on the L Train. And you may not have to listen to “All My Single Ladies” ever again through somebody’s CHEAP-O earbuds.

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Well, maybe that’s wishful thinking.

Hundreds of MTA-impersonating posted flyers are appearing in the subway advocating basic etiquette that doesn’t seem to occur to everyone on the New York City subways.  According to the creator: “I surveyed 100 people on their top pet-peeves (not service related) while riding the Subway. I narrowed the results down to the top ten most occurring issues and rewrote them as a sort of list of rules. I designed posters in the style of the Service Changes posters we see everyday and silkscreened about 40 of each (400 total)…“

Read more at our source for good etiquette, ANIMAL NEW YORK (and thank them for it)

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Broken Crow’s Self Portrait for the Auction

April 21, 2010

These fellas have a good grasp on stencils, if not fashion. The natural world frequently is at odds with the man-made, and the topic is always munching and crunching around the pieces that Minneapolis duo Broken Crow do.

This piece is obviously a farce – John would never wear blue headphones – but otherwise the likenesses are uncanny.  The second self portrait is even more entertaining, if you can imagine.  We are so pleased that these talented muralists were willing to participate in the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit and to give their work so generously.

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See more pieces from the auction at http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetartnewyork/.

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General Howe: Historically Speaking Street Art

April 21, 2010

It wasn’t so long ago that these Brooklyn streets were at war, in a real army v. army battling sort of way, not just rappers out-rhyming each other at a block party.

Street artist General Howe researches significant sites in Brooklyn that relate to the Revolutionary War aka Battle of Brooklyn.  It’s probably an extension of his childhood, where the General waged war regularly with these same toy soldiers.

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Now the tiny plastic men are historically placed in exact locations around the city where battles actually took place. If you don’t notice the small cluster, you might smush an entire brigade with your foot – which is usually what happens.  In the loud grit of the street, the bright little dudes, detritus and Duco cement mix with history, movies, and the nostalgia for childhood.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-General Howe FAITH2010

For the Street Art New York Silent Auction, the General has contributed this piece that ties in all his favorite themes and labeled it “Faith”.  He says it’s “an icon to reflect on the experience of creating these battles in the streets of Brooklyn.” The scene is actually part of the Domino Sugar Factory on Kent Avenue, and the style is part of a new series he is doing to evoke the aesthetic of coloring books that children use.

See more pieces from the auction at http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetartnewyork/. We also uploaded Veng, UR New York (2easae & Ski), Tristan Eaton, Bishop 203, Royce Bannon, and Skewville today.  More to come

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THINKSPACE GALLERY PRESENTS: ALLISON SOMMERS “SCHLARAFFENLAND” AND JOAO RUAS “III” (Culver City CA)

April 20, 2010

Thinkspace Presents:

(April 15th, 2010 – Los Angeles) Thinkspace is honored to welcome back New York based artist Allison Sommers for her second solo show with our gallery, following a smaller exhibition in our project room last spring.

In this new series Sommers aims to engage with the metaphor of Schlaraffenland, the world of plenty, to explore the facets of gross abundance and to complicate what it means to take pleasure in the flesh.  In Schlaraffenland, everything and everyone is part of a grotesque banquet of plenty, and consumption of others is not a transgressive act, but rather a necessary engagement of the world around them.

There is an eroticism that charges Schlaraffenland with excitement and danger; while some creatures give themselves freely for consumption, others are trapped, tricked, or cajoled into giving bits of themselves up to the feast.  The uncertainty this creates in the relationships between her creatures, who are at once both so cheerful and dangerous, is fascinating.  It’s the tension created by this ambiguity that invigorates the world of these creatures: seductive, dangerous, peculiar Schlaraffenland.

We are also excited to welcome back João Ruas for his second solo show in our project room this May. ‘III’ asks the question – what divides the sacred from the mundane? Is that a universal or a personal matter?  Can a moment, a place, or a person in your life ever be sacred? These questions were the starting point of obsessive and transforming thoughts and drawings which resulted in this series of works. Iconography obviously plays a big part in the aesthetic being explored by Ruas in ‘III’, but so do everyday life, everyday dreams and everyday fears. Sacred can give you hope and happiness. Sacred can bring you disillusionment and tears.

Allison Sommers "Coconut Woman"

Allison Sommers "Coconut Woman"

In our main gallery space::

Allison Sommers

‘Schlaraffenland’

Abandoning deference for playful irreverence, Allison Sommers draws on her interests in renaissance and baroque art, toying with staid motifs and trading solemnity for nose-thumbing whimsy. She delights in deconstructing the seriousness of historical tropes of art, and tempers sweetness with subtle touches of dark foreboding and sexual deviance.

Allison Sommers studied early modern history at the University of Virginia, where she was able to legitimize a lifelong love of the historical narratives and themes of the Old World, much of which continue to inform her work. She currently lives and works in New York City, where she lives with her husband, Gerrit, and their hedgehog, Ludwig. She has previously exhibited work at Ad Hoc (NYC), Gallery1988 (Los Angeles and San Francisco), Distinction Gallery (Escondido), DvA Gallery (Chicago), and at the Gen Art Vanguard New Contemporary Art Fair during Art Basel Miami in 2008 and the Aqua Art Fair during Art Basel Miami 2009.

Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ‘Sclaraffenland’ coming together:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157623393138819/

Artist website: www.allisonsommers.com

Joao Ruas Untilted

Joao Ruas Untilted

In our project room:

João Ruas

‘III’

Born in Brazil, 28-year old artist João Paulo Alvares Ruas was still a young child when his interest for visual art started to grow. Comic books were his first bridge to lines and colors, during high school much of his time was devoted to creative thinking due to the almost alternative education institution he studied under. Later, he took Design as his choice in University.

After a three year stint in London, Ruas went back to his home town, São Paulo, where he works and lives.

Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ‘III’ coming together:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157623517671516/

Artist website: http://feral-kid.com/

About Thinkspace Gallery:

Established in November of 2005, Thinkspace exists as a catalyst for the ever expanding new contemporary art movement that is exploding forth from the streets and art schools the world over. We are here to help represent this new generation of artists, to provide them that home base and to aid them in building the right awareness and collector base necessary for long-term growth.

Our aim is to help these new talents shine and to provide them a gallery setting in which to prove themselves. It is our hope and dream that through these opportunities these individuals will prosper and continue to grow to amaze us all for years to come. With the love of and for our community, and with the talents of so many incredible artists involved, we believe that this movement will provide the necessary proving ground for the ideas and dreams of today to become the foundations of a new tomorrow.

Thinkspace Gallery is located at 6009 Washington Blvd, in the heart of the Culver City Arts District, Culver City, CA 90232. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, please call 310.558.3375, visit www.thinkspacegallery.com, or email contact@thinkspacegallery.com.

For Press and Publicity Inquiries Please Contact:

Andrew Hosner

M: 310.403.8549

contact@thinkspacegallery.com

Opening Reception:

Fri, May 7th 7-10PM with both artists in attendance

The Mandoline Grill Food Truck will be out during the opening reception – come hungry!

Both exhibitions on view: May 7th – June 4th

thinkspace

6009 Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90232

#310.558.3375

www.thinkspacegallery.com

www.sourharvest.com

Hours:

Wednesday thru Saturday

1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (or by appointment)

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DAIN’s ERA-Mashing Piece Donated for the Auction

April 20, 2010

Hollywood starlets and sweethearts from your grandma’s 1943 high school yearbook have been peering at passersby from doorways in Brooklyn and Manhattan for a couple of years now. These black and white portraits, posed formally yet calmly reassuring in their steady gaze, are festooned with flourescent splashes, symbols, overlays, and hand sprayed plumes.

Brooklyn-born DAIN has been updating a bygone period when the “greatest generation” flourished, the modern war machine was birthed, and “middle class” almost became a birthright.  His rowdy re-working of those symbols from a genteel age into a modern street context stays just this side of sentimentality or cute – rather DAIN’s balance keeps off just enough for you to know what a badass he really is.  Here is DAIN’s generous contribution to the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit.

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We’d recognize those eyes anywhere…

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Stencil Top Five 04.19.10 from BSA

April 19, 2010

Stencil-Top-5The Stencil Top 5 as picked by Samantha Longhi of StencilHistoryX this week featuring Andrea Michaelsson of the collective BTOY, Stencil History X, BTOY, Orticanoodles, C215, Fark-fk, Stéphane Moscato

BTOY

Andrea Michaelsson of the collective BTOY in Barcelona just did this layered piece using stencil, screenprint, and acrylic on canvas.

Orticanoodles
Italy’s Orticanoodles did this multi-layered stencil for the door at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris.

"In the Mood for Love" by C215
“In the Mood for Love” by C215

Stencil artist Fark-fk from the UK custom stencilled this bus for the Fat Face store in Brighton
Stencil artist Fark-fk from the UK custom stencilled this bus for the Fat Face store in Brighton.

Stéphane Moscato

From the series "Passengers of the Night" by Stéphane Moscato

(all images courtesy Stencil History X)

See more at StencilHistoryX.com

See more BTOY images here

See more Orticanoodles images here

See more C215 images here

See more Fark-fk here

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