January 2012

Skewville’s “Playground” At White Walls in San Francisco

“An idle mind is the Devils’ playground”

Why does that well-worn proverb remind us of Skewville? Check out the “Playground Tactics” on display at their new show in San Francisco’s White Walls Gallery and you’ll get a sense of these stickball kids and what it is like to grow up playing on the street. There aren’t any rubber mats to catch you before the pavement, the ball may smash the corner deli window and you may dent the hood of that car you’re standing on. But kids will be kids.

Mr. Deville shows BSA readers these cool pics of the opening of “Playground Tactics”, and you can see that play is an integral part of the Skewville process, where taking stuff too seriously is not advised, unless somebody sticks their bubble gum in your hair. Then you should chase them down and give them a beating.

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

Skewville “Playground Tactics” (Photo © Adam DeVille)

The Skewvilles are reaching a milestone in their twin lives: They are turning 80. They grow up so fast! It seems like just yesterday they were 76. Join the Celebrations at Factory Fresh with a party and a retrospective of their work next week. For more information click here

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Skewville Turns 80. A Bday Bash-Retrospective At Factory Fresh (Brooklyn, NY)

Skewville
The boisterous Skewville Twins turn 80 years old combined and they are inviting you to come and celebrate with them at Factory Fresh in Bushwick for an evening of art, fun and mischief.

With great pleasure Factory Fresh presents Skewville’s 80th Birthday: A Retro Retrospective to celebrate the art and life of this duo. The  Skewville twins has been making  things since  birth,  from building club houses in  the 70’s,  graffiti in the 80’s, then on to commercial ventures in the 90’s. In  the  past 13 years,  they have been making innovations on the street and in the art galleries with their stylized work and installations. Best known for their wooden sneaker mission ” When Dogs Fly”  which continues to evolve and has grown to many new cities and editions.
This past year they returned from there final european show in the UK at High Roller Society and did a coast to coast tour showing at Pawn Works in Chicago, Black Book in Colorado & White Walls in San Francisco. They have also done a large scale murals for Brooklyn’s North Side Festival As well as Creating The Bushwick Art Park and making an outdoor Prototype at the New Museum. The Bushwick neighborhood summer favorite for 2011 was when  Skewville  painted  an entire building to look like boombox.

As the largest collectors of their own work.  Skewville will showcase past favorites such as the original giant “Hype” signs from Wooster Collective’s 11 Spring Street show in 2006. as well as the Skewville “Lawnmower Stamper” that prints out ” Keep on Grass” and The Secret Laboratory Book Shelf Door from Basement AIr Show in 2005. Also featuring their wooden sneaker archives from 1999 to present as well as  recent artworks from the past few years will also be available and on display.
Skewville’s 80th Birthday

A Retro Retrospective
Opening reception Friday February 3rd from 7-10pm

Show ends Sunday, March 11 at 7pm

Anxieteam play at the twins birthday party and unveil their one off

special Hasidic Street-Art Duo – Jewville

Factory Fresh is located at 1053 Flushing Avenue between Morgan and Knickerbocker, off the L train Morgan Stop

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Evol and his Miniature Housing Project in London

Berlin based artist Evol took a trip outside his home town across the English Channel to London to create his most recent installation. Known for his ingenious and humorous re-imagining of existing street structures as architecture – sometimes with “giant” tags across them, Evols’ painstaking attention to detail puts you inside his miniature world instantly.
 
We’re very pleased that writer Garry Hunter joins us today to give BSA readers a better understanding of the work of Evol;

Evol has a fascination for sites that focus on meat production, having previously chosen a former Dresden slaughterhouse for his installation Caspar-David-Friedrich-Stadt. Perhaps influenced by Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse 5, a fantasy novel set during the firebombing of the city in World War Two, the title references the most important German artist of the early 19th Century. While Freidrich is best known for his allegorical landscape paintings, Evol creates pieces that comment on the very opposite of the Romantic school – urban decay.

Evol (photo © Garry Hunter)

A housing block with a graffiti tag is nothing new, but upon closer inspection these images reveal how cleverly Berlin based Evol plays with scale and social comment. Taking stencilling to new levels of detail, including St. Georges Cross English flags beloved by soccer fans and the satellite dishes, he recently completed this major piece in London’s Smithfield meat market.

Evol (photo © Garry Hunter)

By transforming a dozen concrete blocks into miniature apartment blocks Evol reproduces the monstrosity of the estate that included his former Berlin home into a miniature modernist housing estate. The installation has become a tea break destination for contractors working on the nearby Cross-rail high speed transport link.

~ Garry Hunter

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Images of the Week 01.22.12

Welcome to our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Destroy All Design, En Masse, False, Goel, Lisa Enxing, Logan Hicks, NTAS 1979, Pez, Pink Clouds, Ron English, and this snappy new one from VINZ that was set free in Williamsburg last week.

You can tell she’s cold. Know how? Vinz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A camoflauged buck from Ron English grazes before a streetscape by Logan Hicks for Wynwood Walls. Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“He is SUCH a party animal” Lisa Enxing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pink Clouds Yellow Bunny. Red heart bunny by unknown artist.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A collective mass of illustrations by En Masse in Miami for Art Basel 2011 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NTAS 1979 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pez in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

False (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Goel in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Destroy all Design new wall in Los Angeles  (photo © JB Jones)

Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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CYRCLE in LA ; A Winter Interlude

This section of Los Angeles is like so many – teaming anonymous streams of cars and trucks rumbling by, oblivious, almost menacing to you on the sidewalk with their rapacious roar as you ascend the ladder, can in hand, a glint of mischief in your eye. Headphones buffer the cacophony, the conversations with mates giving warmth in this garish flashing peopled no-mans’ land.

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

With a sense of satisfaction the Street Artist collaborative Cyrcle complete their first installment of a year-long series for  the LA Freewalls project on Mateo Street next to Aiko, Saber, and Kofie. Exclusively for you, photographer Carlos Gonzalez captures these artists in the Spring of life as they create in the bluish hues of Winter.

 

Cyrcle by Carlos Gonzalez (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Aiko next to Cyrcle’s new piece “Winter” (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

Cyrcle  (© Carlos Gonzalez)

 

 

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Fun Friday 01.20.12

Fun Friday 01.20.12

Our top Stories for you on this Fun Friday:

  1. “These Boots Are Made for Walking” Nancy Sinatra (VIDEO)
  2. Pure Evil Goes Pop! Saturday at Corey Helford (LA)
  3. Ludo in Rome Saturday
  4. Ryan Seslow and Borbay
  5. Cheap Art at the Affordable Art Fair This Weekend in LA
  6. FAILE ON FILM: From Ride5 Films (VIDEO)
  7. RETNA with Primary Flight in Miami (VIDEO)
  8. Herakut for NUART 2011 (VIDEO)
  9. En Masse at “Art San Diego” 2011 by Fred Caron (VIDEO)

<<<<<>>>>><<<<>><><><><><>>><<

First we’d like to ask that all the Ladies get up from the desk and do some strutting around the office in high heel boots. That should liven up an otherwise grey winter day right? Come on boots, start walkin’ !

 

Pure Evil Goes Pop! Saturday at Corey Helford (LA)

Inspired by the relative ease of reproducing masterworks by so-called “copy villages” in China, as well as the reductivist assessment the market does to an artist’s body of work, Street Artist Pure Evil is knocking out versions of Jackie and Liz with black eyes dripping to the floor, just for fun.

Says the artist, “Edward Albee’s film ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ starring Taylor and Burton brilliantly illustrates a nightmare couple who use alcohol to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other. I was amazed at the film and so I did a painting of ‘Richard Burtons Nightmare’ / Liz Taylor’ and a print in 2 POP colourways and 2 months later, Liz died…”

Pure Evil Goes Pop! Opening on Saturday at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, Los Angeles.

http://www.coreyhelfordgallery.com
8522 Washington Boulevard Culver City, CA 90232

For further information regarding this show click here

Ludo in Rome Saturday

Parisian Street Artist LUDO travels to Rome for his solo show “Natures Revenge” opening on Saturday at the Wunderkammern Gallery.

The local paper tells about Ludo’s impending opening (© the artist)

Ludo in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here

Ryan Seslow and Borbay

Local Brooklyn artist and Street Art enthusiast Ryan Seslow is having a show “Street Legal – Gratiffyti: Seslow & Borbay on Canvas” opening this Sunday at Iona College Arts Center in New Rochelle, NY.

For further information regarding this show click here

Cheap Art at the Affordable Art Fair This Weekend in LA

 

 

Almost 300 emerging and established artist show work this weekend in LA at the Affordable Art Fair. With prices from $100 to up to $10K. Be on the look out for C.A.V.E. Gallery at booth C-8 and for Thinkspace Gallery on booth B-9.

For further information, complete list of exhibitors, schedules and directions go to the Affordable Art Fair site here

FAILE ON FILM: From Ride5 Films (VIDEO)

Dang!  Did you see this video interview with the Faile twins yesterday on BSA? Brand New Faile Video – The 1986 Challenger Crash and It’s Impact

RETNA with Primary Flight in Miami (VIDEO)

Primary Flight teams up with RETNA in Miami to paint on Brimstone by Colin M Day.

Herakut for NUART 2011 (VIDEO)

A fine film of the adorable duo in action at Nuart this year as they stretch their imaginations for an installation that is nothing short of, and more than, set design.

En Masse at “Art San Diego” 2011 by Fred Caron (VIDEO)

 

 

 

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Iona College Arts Center Presents: “Street Legal-Gratiffyti: Seslow & Borbay on Canvas” (New Rochelle, NY)

Seslow-Borbay

 

GALLERY EXHIBITION “Street Legal – Gratiffyti: Seslow & Borbay on Canvas”
A notion verses the actuality of street art – two varying concepts, yet one in the same. By way of color, collage, composition and explosive impressionism; artists Borbay and Ryan Seslow delve into the pulse of “Gotham”, on canvas, on board, off the tax payers ledger. This exhibition biopsies the street art experience, with no mention of the inside, or outside, of a box.

When: January 22 – February 23

Where: The Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery Iona College Arts Center

Admission:free admission

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 22, 1:00- 3:00 pm Meet the artist Gallery Tour: Thursday, February 16, 6:30 pm

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Brand New Faile Video – The 1986 Challenger Crash and It’s Impact

“Street Art: It’s a Living Breathing Thing on the Street,” says Patrick Miller

A few months ago, the independent doc filmmakers from Ride5 Films interviewed FAILE and did a beautiful, striking job of it.

The five-minute short film explores the motivation and the message behind their art – why they make it, how they make it and how they hope people will interact with it.

Of particular interest is the ruminating that both Patricks did about an historic event that affected them strongly as kids, and they explain in some detail the relevance of at least one of the recurring images in the Faile library – as well as the date 1986 (or number 86) that is often spotted in their work.

“…that night we were talking about the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster and we had very specific memories about where we were and what was going on that that time,” explains Patrick O’Neil.

With Special thanks to Ryan, Chris and Liz from Ride5 FIlms for sharing this with Brooklyn Street Art.

 


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Corey Helford Gallery Presents: Pure Evil. Pure Evil Goes Pop! (Culver City, CA)

Pure Evil

Corey Helford Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
presents new works by
PURE EVIL – Pure Evil Goes Pop!

Opening Reception Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 7-10pm On View January 21 – February 8, 2012

On Saturday, January 21, 2012, Corey Helford Gallery will present PURE EVIL GOES POP! PURE EVIL’s first solo exhibition at the gallery.

“The show is inspired by Warhol and Rosenquist and by the 60’s and is a departure from a lot of the street art based work I have been doing.. I was inspired by Warhol’s diaries and his manic obsession to paint beautiful famous people. At a certain point he realised that he had kind of lost the plot, and he was kind of losing ground to new school graffiti artists like Basquiat and Haring and they gave him the boot up the arse he needed.

I was inspired by an email I got from a copy village in China, they sent me a list of all the paintings from the world of art that they could reproduce for me and I was struck by the fact that they had distilled Warhol’s entire career down to 3 works, an electric chair, a Jackie Kennedy and a Liz Taylor.. All available for cheap ! A whole life that had been turned into 3 tiny thumbnails available to buy NOW. Warhol would have loved the joke. I decided to run with the idea and turn myself into a copy village .

Edward Albee’s film ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ starring Taylor and Burton brilliantly illustrates a nightmare couple who use alcohol to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other. I was amazed at the film and so I did a painting of ‘Richard Burton’s Nightmare’ / Liz Taylor’ and a print in 2 POP colourways and 2 months later, Liz died… Sales started to grow as the obituaries and TV specials morbidly repeated the same details of her life and her loves over and over again. “

The upstairs gallery will feature new works by UK artist Pure Evil. Inspired by Warhol, Rosenquist and the 60s, the collection entitled -Pure Evil Goes Pop!- is a departure from the artist$)A&Ps street art work and cel- ebrates Warhol&Ps obsession with capturing beautiful, famous people. Icon Elizabeth Taylor is immortalized in the painting -Richard Burton&Ps Nightmare,- created from a palette of strange hues with subliminal meanings.

-I have kept this whole collection of paintings very simple,- Pure Evil explains. $)A!]The features of the women are simplified down to the most basic lines possible, cut into three stencil layers with a sharp blade, and labori- ously sprayed to build up the faces. The eyes drip painted tears, the product of broken dreams of love.!\
The opening reception for -Pure Evil Goes Pop!- and -It$)A&Ps a Jungle Out There- by Eric Joyner is on Saturday January 21 at Corey Helford Gallery. The reception is open to the public, and the exhibition will be on view through February 8, 2012.

8522 Washington Boulevard Culver City, CA 90232 T: 310-287-2340

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JMR Stars Again This Week In Dallas (not JR, he got shot, remember?)

YEEE HAAAAWWWW!  Brooklyn Street Artist JMR has been exploring the dusty detritus of Dallas for a spell and has found that some of the BIG D’s outlying areas remind him of the wildness of abandoned spots in Brooklyn that provided succor and inspiration to artists and performers and poets and wise guys at the turn of the century. But he has no illusions about the future for a lively hipster art scene here. For one thing, there are no redheads from Portland with 36 stringed home-made musical instruments connected to a projector here yet. Naturally while exploring, JMR brought some paint with him. Here’s what he’s been seeing…

JMR (photo © Jim Rizzi)

“The wall was offered to me in collaboration with a Dallas graff legend named Ozone. The building is a live-work space for two local guys starting a longboard company/music studio. They also repair motorcycles while watching documentaries in their make-shift living room; it’s a very early 90s Williamsburg ‘Frontier Land’ vibe, sans the imminent real estate surge. That’s never coming here and it’s refreshing. In the midst of this industrial lower class neighborhood at night you can light a fire and sit around it and talk about politics or whatever, while drinking beer and smoking.

There’s a bunch of hardcore graff writers out here as well, who I met through this painting.  Although the city is oddly devoid of any tags, throw-ups, or fill-ins, there is a major freight yard where trains lay up for days and people are getting busy. The trains are bombed well and it’s inspiring to watch them pass, and frustrating to try and snag flix with my iPhone, fumbling to keep up with the motion.”

JMR (photo © Jim Rizzi)

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Opera Gallery Presents: “Making Faces” A Group Show (Manhattan, NY)

MPaking Faces

Paul Insect (image © courtesy of the gallery)

Eric Allouche and the Opera Gallery team are pleased to present Making Faces, a group survey show bringing together a global collection of artists from a variety of time periods and styles to interpret the theme of portraiture. A once and still great exploratory genre, portraiture is the tool in which the artist can tell a thousand stories about their subject, whether real or imaginary, with one brushstroke or one drop of ink. Through these artists, Making Faces demonstrates how the aesthetics of portraiture is one of the best vehicles for artistic creativity and expression, technical mastery and the evocation of emotional strength.

Each artist participating in Making Faces has the ability to widely manipulate and interpret their portrait through their own specific and unique artistic abilities encompassing a wide variety of mediums including oil on canvas, matchsticks and photography. Artists such as Yasmina Alaoui and Marco Guerra have the ability to evoke serene emotions through their photographs while contemporary Chinese artist Yan Pei Ming invites the viewer into his dark portrait through his use of rough charcoal strokes. Realistic master portraitists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Bernard Buffet share wall space with abstract and fantastical contemporary artists such as BÄST and B.

Additional Making Faces artists include Gerard Rancinan, Karel Appel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Bengt Lindstrom, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Simon Birch, Lita Cabellut, Sas Christian, Paul Insect, Dinorah Delfin, Lori Earley, John John Jesse, Kid Zoom, Ron English, Philippe Pasqua, Rostarr, Judith Supine, Xiao Gang Zhang, Tianbing Li, Alexandros Vasmoulakis, Maura Corda and David Mach.

Making Faces
January 27- February 19
Free admission: 11:00 – 7:00 daily
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