On Friday, November 30th at 7:30 p.m, Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada will present his exhibition “Memoria Profunda” at the Fundación María Forcada in Tudela de Navarra, Spain. Rodríguez-Gerada gives importance to weathered and worn urban wall surfaces and rescued building material for the intangible memory that they possess and the passage of time that they portray. He will be exhibiting his most recent work from the Urban Analogy Series (charcoal drawings created on transfered wall surfaces that are over 250 years old) and his Memorylithic series (sculptures created using rescued architectural materials up to 500 years old). There will also be numerous Giclee prints of his Identity Series murals and his Terrestrial Series projects.
NUANCE…The Nu Hotel’s Launch of “The Couch Sessions Room”
Designed by Iranian Streetartists Icy & Sot
The Couch Sessions and the Nu Hotel present NUANCE, a creative series of ongoing hotel room installations highlighting the country’s most sought out artists and designers. NUANCE transforms four hotel room walls into blank canvases, allowing a hand selected series of artists the ability to create breathtaking mural designs. Each room project will also be matched with a custom music playlist curated by The Couch Sessions.
Iranian street-art brothers and stencil artists ICY AND SOT kick off the series with an exclusive event on December 7th, 2012 from 6 – 10PM. The event, sponsored by vodka brand Nuvo, will allow the media and the general public access to view the hotel room and meet with the artists.
Hailing from the city of Tabriz in North West Iran, brothers ICY AND SOT continue on their creative crusade to traverse pre-conceived perceptions of traditional Iranian art’s brevity through their highly intricate yet striking stencil artworks. Despite Iran’s cultural flourishing since the 2009 uprisings in Tehran, the challenges faced by creative free expression in the country are a constant struggle for its artists and society today. It is an oppressive force that provokes the Iranian art scene to fluctuate between an inhibited elegance and raw underground energy. This ambiguity is reflected in the vulnerable yet hopeful deep-set imagery of ICY AND SOT’s street art.
December 1—29, 2012 Book Release: Friday, November 30, 7—9pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 1, 7—9pm
Jonathan LeVine Gallery in association with Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective are pleased to present Batalla, a series of new works by Valencia-based artist Vinz, in what will be his debut solo exhibition in the United States. In conjunction with the exhibition, Vinz Feel Free, a new book published by Wooster Collectivewill be released at the gallery on Friday, November 30 from 7—9pm, followed by an opening reception on Saturday, December 1 from 7—9pm. Batalla features a series of mixed media collage works, paintings and sculptures. The central theme is a rebellion against governmental, corporate or religious impositions placed upon society to establish social order at the expense of personal freedom.
Vinz uses a multi-step process to create his unique imagery. He first photographs nude models, either isolated or orchestrated in small groups. He then paints animal heads onto large-scale prints of the human figures, creating hybrid subjects with a system of symbols attached to various species—birds signify freedom and fish represent consumerism while frogs and lizards convey authority.
In 2011, the artist began applying this series of work—the Feel Free project—to the walls of his native Valencia and other European cities using wheatpaste. Taking a more delicate approach to his studio work, Vinz collages paper ephemera into a background texture, as a base to print the figures onto, before painting details in enamel or gouache.
“Tapping into the question ‘What is Freedom?’ with arresting images in mixed media, Vinz is one of the most important emerging artists from Europe today.” — Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective
ABOUT THE ARTIST Vinz was born in 1979 in Valencia, Spain, where he is currently based. He received a BFA in 2003 from Universidad Politécnica in Valencia. In January of 2012, his work was included in Hybrid Thinking, a group exhibition curated by Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective at Jonathan LeVine Gallery. Vinz was recently invited by esteemed fashion photographer Mario Testino to collaborate on two images which were published as spreads in the December 2012 issue of VOGUE Spain, for which he was guest curator.
Jonathan LeVine Gallery is located at 529 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
December 1—29, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 1, 7—9pm
Jonathan LeVine Gallery in association with Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective are pleased to present Powder of Light, a series of new works on canvas by Chinese-born, South Africa-based artist DALeast, in what will be his first solo exhibition in the United States.
Works in Powder of Lightcombine acrylic, ink and spray paint on a background texture of tea-stained canvas. DALeast paints animal figures in his signature style using a swirling vortex of organic black lines with white highlights. He creates a ribbon-like effect to form sinuous creatures that vibrate with kinetic energy. Horses, eagles, camels and rams leap off the picture plane, their shadows trailing behind them. Some appear to unravel while others merge together or attack one other. The artist draws inspiration from dichotomies such as the material and spiritual world, human emotion and animal nature.The existential concept behind the show title Powder of Light relates to both science and spirituality. Powder refers to the way every particle of physical matter in the universe is connected and related on a sub-atomic, molecular level. Light refers to the energy from which everything is created and the life force of all living beings. The constant movement and development of matter into infinite forms of life ensures unique perception and identity as individuals within the greater shared collective experience.
“Combining the sensibilities of two diverse cultures, DALeast represents the future of contemporary art: a mixture of brutality and grace: harsh lines of spray paint creating beautiful beasts in motion.” — Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective
ABOUT THE ARTIST DALeast was born in 1984 in China and is currently based in Cape Town, South Africa. He studied sculpture at the Institute of Fine Arts and began making art in public spaces in 2004. His murals can be found in cities around the world. In January of 2012, DALeast’s work was included in Hybrid Thinking, a group exhibition curated by Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective at Jonathan LeVine Gallery.
For centuries, art has marched alongside history, and history alongside art. Each movement, from the painstakingly detailed oils of the Renaissance to the tongue-in-cheek boldness of 1960s Pop Art, has marked and been marked by the great heights and most regrettable lows of its cultural and temporal context.
Having bubbled below the surface, in tunnels, on train lines and under the ominous cloak of midnight hours, the persistent and controversial street art and graffiti subculture has burst into the foreground of popular attention and established itself, however unexpectedly, as the defining art movement of our time.
Characterised by conflict, enigma and the burgeoning curiosity of growing audiences, it is undeniable that this movement belongs in the same echelon as other controversial, yet ultimately significant and culturally reflective art movements of centuries past.
Rinse and Repeat seeks to articulate this sentiment by showcasing the work of twelve Australian established and emerging street and graffiti artists as they find inspiration in history’s master works and reinterpret them from the perspective of today’s most prevalent and exciting art form.
Comprising the work of Adnate (AWOL Crew),Bridge Stehli, Cam Wall, Carl Steffan, Deams (AWOL Crew), Fintan Magee, Guido van Helten, Phibs, Shannon Crees, Slicer (AWOL Crew) , Team and Teazer, Rinse and Repeat articulates the evolution of a movement that, in its irrepressibility, has rendered it the defining art form of contemporary culture.
Proudly supported by aMBUSH, ABSOLUT, The Apple Thief, Doss Blockos and premium paint brand Molotow, Rinse and Repeat launches at aMBUSH Gallery on Thursday 6 December from 6-10pm. The exhibition continues until Sunday 9 December 12-14pm.
What: Rinse & Repeat
Where: aMBUSH Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo (Sydney)
This Winter, StolenSpace presents ‘Deck The Walls’, a Christmas Group Show celebrating the art of the Greetings Card. The show will be unveiled for the first time on Thursday 6th December, and will open with an exclusive evening of festive folly. Featuring brand-new originals from the likes of D*Face, David Bray, Will Barras, Word to Mother, and many, many more, this is a must-see showcase from some of the most exciting artists on the scene.
‘Deck The Walls’ is a celebration of the Greetings Card in all its splendour. From the time they arrived in London in 1843, Greetings Cards have been an overlooked artform, and have changed drastically in nature. The early Egyptians used papyrus scrolls; we use Moonpig and horrific family photos.
The show’s original pieces will include reworked vintage designs, religious and holy depictions, and newly imagined traditional scenes. Using a range of different media, our artists share their unique Christmas vision with canvas, wood, paper, and collage.
StolenSpace Gallery invites you to join them in Greeting the Season with festive beverages and snacks provided by The Bread Street Kitchen. Warm your hands, sample some festive treats, and feast your eyes on a delicious collection of Christmas artworks.
The Old Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane London. E1 6QL
T:020 7247 2684 E:contact@stolenspace.com Open Tuesday to Sunday 11.00am – 7.00pm
Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul. – William Somerset Maugham.
Street Art collective CYRCLE couldn’t agree more, and they invite you to take chaos as a hands-on personal challenge.
Organizing multiple mediums to convey a sense of coherence is an additional talent for the creative and the porous among us in this time of social, political, science and information tidal waves. While largely conceptual in process, the physical manifestation of CYRCLE’s work in these last few years is evidence of how pulling techniques and mediums together can create a sense of order, while divining a greater message.
Even their own existence as a collective has been recently rocked – Following a handful of years as a three-member collective, CYRCLE is now a duo; Rabī and Davey. After their third member, Devin, departed a couple of months ago in what is described as an entirely amicable way, this internal earthquake may be the immediate one that the two remaining members are addressing at the moment. As they buzz around the studio in preparation for their new show, Rabī is reassuring, “Order and Chaos is a huge cornerstone concept we work with, and it’s one of our favorite examples of duality in life. It’s also a huge part of the way we work together.”
Emblematic of the omnivorian approach that many of today’s new crop of Street Artists are taking to mixed media in public spaces, CYRCLE isn’t being too precious, limiting the show to one medium or plane. Looking at the pieces and installation plans as they come together, one can see that the guys are creating interactive, participatory experiences for visitors. For those who routinely put work on the streets, the concept of an ongoing conversation between viewer and artwork is a given. Coupled with the discomfort of mounting your work inside a typical gallery show environment, CYRCLE wants to keep this conversation alive.
Rabī says that collaboration is one way he and other artists find clarity in the chaos that can arise during the creative process. Describing the process of coming up with new work with Davey, he says the end product is something larger than the sum of its participants, “We have different points of view on everything from design to relationships… to food. Once we reach a point where the aesthetic marries the concept, the execution reveals a work that neither of us would have been able to create without the other. We rejoice, then Davey tells me to grow up, and I tell him to grow down,” he laughs, “which is just one example of our differing approaches to life.”
Using the metaphor of the beehive and the flower and the resulting nectar for “Organized Chaos”, their Los Angeles show that opens this week, CYRCLE clearly relies on interconnectivity. Additionally, the image of a puzzle reappears in many of the works and we see that the implied solution to chaos may be more orderly than you originally imagined.
“Puzzles generally have one correct solution,” Rabī intones, “the CUBIX pieces in our show are both completed and unresolved all of the time depending on how the viewer feels. You can rearrange the pieces into millions of different solutions. There are images that come together as a whole, but the main idea is that the look of the piece is constantly changing, in the same way that life is constantly evolving. The mystery is in the process of putting it together.”
Ultimately for CYRCLE, the process may be paramount in the creative act and chaos is merely a challenge. “Once the puzzle is completed,” says Rabī, “all you want is another puzzle.”
Special thanks to photographer and BSA Collaborator Carlos Gonzalez for sharing these images in exclusive to BSA. To see more of Carlos’ work click on the link below:
Street Artist Specter stuffed himself with Turkey and hit up a wall under a bridge in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago last week to help Pawn Works with their ongoing project. You would think these guys would take a break for the holiday, but at least the weather was cold and bleak and depressing, so that was a plus. Truth is, Specter is an imaginative twister of perception; a thinking artist who likes to experiment with pre-definitions of art and messaging, so it can be rewarding to spend a day watching him work.
“The weather during a Chicago winter is not ideal outdoor working weather,” reports Seth, but says they were thrilled to work with Specter on the Thanksgiving Day holiday anyway. “Layered up, with gloves gripping brushes and scarf over his face Specter was hard at work this past weekend as people buzzed by and even a little snow began to come down lightly,” he says of the new piece done in conjunction with Art in Public Places.
And we send a shout out to Alderman Danny Solis, who is the main force behind the project, helping many of the artists procure space to create their work.
The City of Baltimore just got hit with its second large scale mural project in one calendar year as Articulate: Baltimore joined Open Walls Baltimore during a five week period this autumn.
A mixture of local artists and some Street Artists who are known internationally, the project is sponsored by a collection of public, private, and tourism development concerns as a way of activating a small selection of the city’s huge inventory of vacant spaces to “increase the visibility (of) the new westside district and encourage more visitors to frequent its venues”. With this sort of laser-sharp urban renewal employed in a very confined area, we may be witnessing the splintering of so-called Street Art festivals into more focused venues, employed in a more selective way to achieve specific ends.
The list of artists in Articulate: Baltimore includes artists Ways & J. Digital, Jessie Unterhalter & Katey Truhn, Indigo, HKS 181, Chris Stain & Billy Mode, Pixel Pancho, and 2501. Co-curated by Maryland-based artists Stefan Hauswald and Jesse James, the full collection covers roughly a two-block area that is very near the center of downtown. The whole initiative appears to be one conceived with rejuvenation in mind, as public art often does for previously moribund areas. According to the website for Articulate, all of the artists realize that their work isn’t meant as a permanent installation and may be replaced at any time. “The artists expect their impact to be powerful but limited in duration— they expect that their work will be replaced over time, perhaps a matter of months or years.”
Many thanks to photographer Martha Cooper, who was there to capture official images of the installations, and she shares them here, including some that are exclusive to BSA.
“Imagine floating, globally connected urban forests growing where billboards stand. Artist Stephen Glassman and his team are doing it.”
Here’s a unique breath of fresh air by artist Stephen Glassman, an LA based sculptor who has worked many times with bamboo for large projects in the public realm. Here he has an idea for designing and engineering a green project that reclaims one of the thousands of billboards in Los Angeles and turns it into an oasis of bamboo.
With an eye toward bamboo’s resiliency, Glassman creates here a welcome metaphor for the man-made environment and our ability to adapt it to our changing needs and evolving understanding of our internal and external environments.
“UrbanAir transforms existing urban billboards to living, suspended bamboo gardens. Embedded with intelligent technology, UrbanAir becomes a global node – an open space in the urban skyline… An artwork, symbol, and instrument for a green future.”
It’s the BSA Reader Video Request edition of Fun Friday for all us peeps who are not shopping today. We asked our Facebook friends and fans for their favorite street art related video flicks and give them to you here- in no particular order. Peace out and have a great Black Friday everybody.
1. Vhils in Germany
2. Wild Style Part 1
3. Open Air
4. In Bed with Invader
5. En Masse in Miami
6. Berlin Street Art as Lyrics (Emus Primus)
7. Shai Dahan new Ted Talk “Beyond Borders”
8. TEJN LOCK ON STREET ART – Street Art Sculpture by Tejn
9. Burn – Episode 3
10. Graffiti Verite Part 1
11. Japanese Stencil
12. BLU – BIG BANG BIG BOOM
14. Hanoi Lantern Bearers – Vietnam with The Yok
15. Bomb It
Vhils in Germany
The Portuguese Street Artist at work, produced by Euromaxx, recommended by Crist Graphicart (German language)
“In 2006, we created this short for the University of Southern California’s Public Arts Studies Program.
This documentary explored the studios and methods of six of the top street artists in America: Faile, Skewville, Mike De Feo, Dan Witz, Espo and Tiki Jay One.” Recommended by Lou J Auguste
“At the end of November (2011), the En Masse Art Initiative flew down to Miami to take part of the Miami Art Basel events. With the help of Sodec Quebec and Galerie Pangée, EM teamed up with Scope Art Fair, Fountain Art Fair, Safewalls, Primary Flight and the Found store to create multiple work of art. During 10 days, the team grew exponentially, adding members from all around the globe; Tel-Aviv, Montreal, Brooklyn, Woodstock, Staten Island, San Fransico, San Diego, Miami etc.” – recommended by Beth Tully
Berlin Street Art as Lyrics (Emus Primus)
Emus Primus and photography of Berlin Street art, set to music. As recommended by Da Andal
Shai Dahan new Ted Talk “Beyond Borders”
The keynote is about my travel into Palestine. Considering what is going on there – Being that everyone is talking about the violence, this video can reflect a bit of light on how there are some ways to find peace. It may not find the sort of wide peace we hope to all gain there, but through the message in the keynote, I hope people can see that Israel and Palestine can share a common beauty: Street-art.” Shai Dahan
TEJN LOCK ON STREET ART – Street Art Sculpture by Tejn
“The third episode of BURN graffiti video series. Best episode so far! Featuring rolling freight, live painting and more! As recommended by Beyond The Rail Photography
Graffiti Verite Part 1
“Part 1 of the 1995 Los Angeles graffiti documentary directed by Bob Bryan. Featured artists include Duke, Skept, Tempt, Prime, Mear, Relic, Cre8, and Design9.”
Japanese Stencil
A stencil artist creates a piece as a tribute to Japan in the wake of the destruction it suffered last year. – As recommended by Crist Graphicart
BLU – BIG BANG BIG BOOM
“an unscientific point of view on the beginning and evolution of life … and how it could probably end. direction and animation by BLU.” This one recommended by Martha Becker
The full documentary – “Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on 5 continents, BOMB IT tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70’s and 80’s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe.” Recommended by Orson Horchler
Street art welcomes all manner of materials and methods, typically deployed without permission and without apology. This hand-formed wire piece …Read More »
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
