The Proposition
Richard Hambleton. Untitled. Image Courtesy of the Gallery
FIGURES IN THE DARK: REDUX
RICHARD HAMBLETON
MARK A. REIGELMAN II
DEC 10, 2010 – JAN 16, 2011
OPENING RECEPTION
FRI. DEC. 10 / 6-8 PM
2 Extra Place, New York, NY 10003 (E 1st Street, off Bowery)
http://www.theproposition.com/wp | 212.242.0035 | info@theproposition.com
Barbara Krakow Gallery
The Annual AIDS Benefit Exhibition 2010
December 11, 2010 – December 17, 2010
Anything But Paper Prayers
All works available for a $350 donation to the Boston Pediatric Aids Initiative or The African Aids Initiative
At BSA we always say that everyone drinks from the same river of ideas and creativity that passes by – it’s a river full of possibilities. What differentiates one artist’s work from the others is their personal imprint, and the level of their craftsmanship. Kid Zoom’s development of both qualities in a relatively short period is remarkable and we’re looking forward to seeing the currents of his own distinctive style fully merging into a body of work that is sure to come. We also encourage him to wear a mask when spraying!
John Lennon, a guy who lived in the eye of a hurricane of hype for a major portion of his adult life once screamed at the top of his lungs for something called truth. At a time when we are condescendingly shouted at to give up our previous conceptions of personal privacy for security and cookies, naked air travelers and torture victims and spillcams and spreadsheets and state secrets are now streaming live via the world wide buffet and everybody is seeing more truth than they were ready for.
Amidst the data storm, something about the simple, uncluttered straight-forward real deal is straight-up appealing. Maybe that is why the one layer stencil, however ornate it can be sometimes, is an enduring favorite of street art fans and artists. Effective visual communication doesn’t have to be fussy, filigreed, or high-falutin’, and some would argue that it takes real courage to let one stencil do the simple truth-telling.
Factory Fresh Gallery
ROMAN KLONEK & JIM AVIGNON
Opening Reception FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 7-10pm
Join Factory Fresh on December 10th as we welcome artists Roman Klonek and Jim Avignon and their unusual breed of pop art for their show Speedy Wonderland.
Roman Klonek is a Polish artist who creates figures from woodprints, composed of vibrant colors and seeming to be in constant motion. Influenced by old cartoons from Eastern Europe, Klonek’s figures have a vintage, wide-eyed feel to them, but his predilection for juxtaposing his happy characters against awkward situations (including but not limited to: injuries, arrests, infiltration by monsters) reminds you that his work lives far from the pages of the Sunday morning comics.
Jim Avignon, a German pop artist, designer and musician who creates similarly disarming work with a cartoon feel. Avignon currently calls both Williamsburg and Germany home, and began his career as an artist painting the walls of clubs in places like Munich and Berlin. As a result of this heritage, his work is inherently urban- his figures are crowded and sometimes exhausted, but always lively and surprising, lurking in and wandering around the canvas. If Avignon’s work were a show on the Cartoon Network, it wouldn’t be the one you wanted your children to see but the one you yourself were enthralled by, following the tired eyes and furrowed expressions of animations that stray far from realism yet furrow their brow in an uncannily familiar manner. His work is a garish caricature of the self that’s hard to keep your eyes off of- it’s no wonder his designs have appeared everywhere from Swatches and sweatshirts to the tails of airplanes.
Klonek and Avignon will be collaborating on some pieces but working mostly separately.
The show opens December 10th at 7 pm, and runs until January 16th. Don’t miss it.
Factory Fresh is located at 1053 Flushing Avenue between Morgan and Knickerbocker, off the L train Morgan Stop
Los Angeles based street artist David Choe recently had a show in Japan but unfortunately Japanese authorities banned him from attending it. Here he is in a beautiful video shot by Willie T where he presents himself as an artist in his own words along with his fellow artist James Jean.
Kid Zoom
“It is with my deepest regrets to inform you that this morning I received news of the passing of my close friend Sure. Last night he was killed in Afghanistan where he was stationed as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Sure was born and bred in Brooklyn and recognized for his exceptional handstyle which brought together elements of classic New York graffiti with ornamental calligraphy. His script signatures could be found throughout the city and were a major influence on myself and countless others.”
“Sure also received great recognition as one of the most prominent sticker bombers of all time. Of the thousands of stickers he put up, nearly every one of them was individually hand done in an incredible array of styles. This was recently exemplified in Stickers: From Punk Rock to Contemporary Art (Rizzoli) by DB Burkeman and in Martha Cooper’s latest book Name Tagging (Mark Batty Publishing) which features an interview with Sure”
“Sure was like a brother to me. He was my partner-in-crime and my best friend. I am grateful for the time we had and that everywhere I go in New York City I see his name and know that his presence will be felt by many long after his passing”.
-Faust
– It’s a paraphrase of the Christmas crabby New Yorker who relies on the tourists who pump money into Broadway and Times Square restaurants and FAO and who actually eat those hot dogs and pretzels on the street. In the case of Miami, Art Basel 2010 draws to a close now and one billion dollars are estimated to have been transacted. When you pair that figure with the estimated 2-3000 artists participating, it looks like the artists must have made out rather well, right?
Certainly there were more Street Artists than ever attending the events and transforming walls everywhere with their work and creativity – at least in the unofficially sanctioned areas. At the moment Miami is “The only city in the US where graffiti appreciates property value,” ironically says Mint and Serf, a Street Art collective visiting the tropical city from frigid New York. In an odd twist on the “broken window theory” and urban blight, artists who are normally looking over their shoulder can actually wave to and talk with police who are driving by in some run-down areas where they are given free reign over large swaths of walls. At this sunny moment in time various agendas are intertwined and one wonders how long this golden age lasts.
Street Art photographer and observer Geoff Hargadon took in the breadth of the week on the street and attended a number of the events over the past weeks’ art orgies. He captured many jewels and quick moments with his camera and his 6th sense, which are below. As various larger pieces are unfinished right now, we’ll be going back in a few weeks for a year-end overview.
In addition to an intuitive eye about the art trends happening that impact the scene, Geoff gives a commentary about what else he’s thinking about: “Here is the other thing that’s a trend: property owners have their hands over all these walls for artists to takeover, and then suddenly they are leased out to restaurants, coffee shops, and other businesses. It’s hard to know who’s playing whom here – maybe it’s a happy co-existence – but when does the property owner step up to support these guys in other ways? (Unless, of course, it’s already happening.) Either way, artists are playing a big role in the development of these neighborhoods, and whether they know it or not, as the area gets more developed and gentrified, they will eventually run themselves out of town. Whether they are getting paid or not, they are creating their own extinction in Miami.”
Aiko (photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Amaze (photo and clever Photoshop © Geoff Hargadon)
Coco (photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Gaia’s Hands (photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Burning Candy Crew Members Tek33 and Dscreet at work on Dawn Of The Demon.(photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Invader (photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Lister in progress (photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Alec, El Celso, Faile, Kenny Scharf, Kouk, Robots, and UFO
The finished Kenny Scharf Houston Street wall has brought a jolt of flamboyant color to New York just as all the leaves have finally been beaten off the trees and we transition to grays. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Alec stuffs this AK with peace and a flag (© Jaime Rojo)
El Celso’s own interpretation of those ubiquitous Peruvian posters (photo © Jaime Rojo)
El Celso (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Robots at night (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kouk’s paintings of American Indians have been appearing in New York City – maybe they are a reference to this land that once was theirs before all the European illegal immigrants swarmed in? (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kouk (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A dead mouse next to a UFO. New York, New York! (photo © Jaime Rojo)Over the past few days BSA has been bringing you the hot spots to experience the happenings in Miami 2010. Our focus has been to showcase the Street and Urban art satellite art fairs in the Wynwood and Design Districts in downtown Miami. Our friends over at The Huffington Post have their picks and we’d like to share them with you:
“As you read this, there is a giant pulsating orb known as Miami Basel alluring a defenseless international audience of art lovers, collectors and artists to encircle its captivating glow. Amazingly, the main fair called “Art Basel | Miami Beach” started only nine years ago as the sister fair to “Art Basel | Switzerland” and has since mushroomed into an extravaganza with over 20 satellite fairs and numerous parties to go along with it”
Click here to continue reading and to see the slide show at The Huffington Post
Edging closer to advertising slickness, this method of subtle perception jamming that certain street artists have been employing takes another step in this campaign by Amnesty International to draw attention to the American death row inmate Troy Davis. In this collaboration with the Berlin-based, three-person photographic street art collective Mentalgassi , the man’s visage is clear for just a half step as you pass. An apt description of this project, “Making the Invisible Visible”, the installation is an adaptation of Street Art that merits praise.
Troy Davis: Making the invisible visible from Amnesty International on Vimeo.
Yes, Gaia is in Miami (above) along with a buttload of other untanned northerners, and actually Brooklyn has announced that it has closed for the weekend. Just kidding but, if you are looking for walls, you won’t have much competition in the BK this weekend, now that you think about it. There is a lot happening in Miami this weekend and even if you don’t go to any receptions or openings or velvet rope parties you can still have a blast seeing lots of art on the street. Here are some things that might get you hot and sweaty if the temperature hasn’t done that for you yet:
GGG’s Fresh Produce will feature a rocking roster of international artists, including: The London Police, REVOK, Erik Otto, Skewville, Pepa Prieto, Augustine Kofie, Alëxone, Kenton Parker, Tes One, BASK, Dolla, Jim Darling, Dabs & Myla, Stormie Mills, Michael De Feo, Andrew Holder, Jack Hudson, Tristan Eaton, Tatiana Suarez, Surge, Jersey Joe, REMeD, Parskid, Logan Hicks, Escif, Depoe, Remi/Rough, Ryan Bubnis, Mike Perry, Reyes and from the Family Baglione: Flip, Sesper, Thais Beltrame and Herbert Baglione.
Artists’ Reception : 12 | 3 | 10 : 7 – 10pm
70 NW 25th Street, Miami, FL 33127
Between NW 2nd Ave. & N. Miami Ave
in the Wynwood Arts District
Tonight is the opening for this photography show accompanied by new works. Hotness prevails. As we said earlier in the week, just look at the names on this list and you know what you’re getting. Or, maybe you don’t.
297 NW 23rd ST
MIAMI, FL 33127
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2010
7 – 10PM
“Now I Remember” photo installation featuring:
NECK FACE / JERRY HSU / TODD JORDAN/ CURTIS BUCHANAN / JEN REYNOLDS/ TINO RAZO / KEVIN “SPANKY” LONG
and new works by:
OSGEMEOS / JUDITH SUPINE / CLEON PETERSON/ BAST / SKULLPHONE / ALBERT REYES
Hours: Weds. Dec.1 – Sat. Dec.4 : 11am – 8pm
Sun. Dec. 5: 12pm – 4pm
New Image Gallery
info@newimageartgallery.com
Book Signing: December 3rd, 6pm – 8pm
Free and Open to the Public with Free Shuttle Service
New York street artist Dan Witz at the MIA | MI CIELO 2010 Fine Art Exposition. Dan will feature a retrospective selection of street art works, sign copies of his limited edition book “In Plain View: 30 Years of Artworks Illegal and Otherwise”. Signed copies of Witz’s 2011 “Hummingbirds” accordion calendar will be given out to the first 100 guests at the book signing event.
MIA | MI CIELO and NADA Art Fair
Cielo on the Bay
7935 East Drive
Harbor Island
North Bay Village, FL 33141
Primary Flight Closing Party “PLEASE STAND BY” from their own words: “RSVP to guestlist@primaryflight.com or regret it for the rest of your stupid life” Saturday December 4th from 11:00 pm until really, really late – like 29 o’clock in the morning.
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
