Chicago

Reyes 78 in Chicago

August 9, 2012 , ,

San Francisco painter Reyes 78 must have been exceedingly happy to be in Chicago with many of his fellow Mexican ex-pats and to bring his abstract graffiti-influenced new work to this city to display on a huge wall.  The folks at Pawn Works Gallery invited Reyes 78 to participate on their ongoing outdoor project “Art in Public Places” at the Pilsen neighborhood.

Reyes 78 at the Pilsen Neighborhood in Chicago (photo courtesy © Pawn Works Gallery)

The project continues to bring new artists in conjunction with the Mexican Museum of Fine Art and The Chicago Urban Art Society, and this one illustrates the cultural melting pot as well as one of the newer directions that art in the streets is taking where graffiti and Street Art are merging to created something more abstract and geometric.

Reyes 78 at the Pilsen Neighborhood in Chicago (photo courtesy © Pawn Works Gallery)

Reyes 78 at the Pilsen Neighborhood in Chicago (photo courtesy © Pawn Works Gallery)

Reyes 78 at the Pilsen Neighborhood in Chicago (photo courtesy © Pawn Works Gallery)

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Rae In Chicago

July 14, 2012 , ,

Street Artist Rae from the BK tied a knot in the busted fanbelt of his heavily rusted ’83 Camaro with no A/C and made a long hot trip to Chicago last week to visit Nick and Seth at Pawnworks – and to hit up some walls. Whether it’s a scrapyard sculpture or multicolored mural, Rae’s stiff and speckled street dudes are often animated and gesticulating about something very important – but you might not know exactly what. Dapper, direct, and a bit childlike, you have to show them respect because they remind you of your Uncle Eugene who always starts out normal at the family reunion but ends up sitting at a picnic table under an oak tree by himself putting egg salad in his hair and talking about quarter-horse racing or the Republicans or Rupert Murdoch.

RAE (photo © courtesy of Pawn Works Gallery)

“We were very excited to be able to host Rae in Chicago to do some work as part of an on-going mural project in the Historic Pilsen neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago,” says Nick Marzullo.

Pawnworks Gallery have been asked to participate on a neighborhood project working with the local alderman, The Mexican Museum of Art and The Chicago Urban Art Society and other partners to beautify a stretch of wall in the Pilsen neighborhood. And there will be more to see first here on BSA. Says Nick, “Stay tuned for more as there is an array of amazing artists planned to come out to participate in the future”.

I had this dream that I was naked and rollerskating in the park. RAE (photo © courtesy of Pawn Works Gallery.

RAE (photo © courtesy of Pawn Works Gallery)

 

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Pawn Works Gallery Presents: Jon Burgerman “The Hungry Games” (Chicago, ILL)

June 25, 2012 , , , ,

Jon Burgerman

Jon Burgerman’s,

‘The Hungry Games’ :

Hungry for Sugar, Fat and Money!

U.K. born artist Jon Burgerman has risen to become a prominent figure in the recent boom of practitioners who traverse the disciplines of contemporary art, design, illustration and entrepreneurism. His award winning work can be seen globally from gallery and bedroom walls to cinema and iPhone screens. A sense of British self-deprecation, dry humour and modern-day anxiety imbues his work along with an enthusiasm for salad.

Four years ago Burgerman applied to tender for a job for ‘a large sporting event’ (one which he is not legally allowed to disclose). It involved the devising of a set of mascots. Having designed many variations of mascots, tweaking and adapting them to the feedback of the event organisers after many meetings, presentations and pitches spread over two years, Burgermans work had made it to the final two options. Excited and nervous about the possibility of having his characters chosen for the large sporting event a concern also loomed that the large sporting event would in fact own his work and exploit it for as much financial gain as possible. Whilst away in China, Burgerman received a phone call explaining that his characters had not be chosen.

To soften the blow of not having his art work grace the grand worldwide stage of a large sporting event he has now decided to create his own tiny, localised, sporting event in response, entitled The Hungry Games.

As well as devising a series of artworks, mascots and sundries for the exhibition, Burgerman has invented a collection of sporting activities. Much like the arts, new, young sporting events also need patrons, with sponsorship an integral part of the project. Each event will have its own local sponsor, who will also be represented in the exhibition. The opening night will feature a series of actions that require audience participation, such as The Soda Pop Race, Vegetable Toss Off, Cheese Grating Racing and more.

The artwork surrounding the exhibition will include a series of paintings relating to the events and sponsorships from the likes of The Empty Bottle, Very Best Vintage, Bite Cafe, Color Wheel Studio and more,  referencing popular sporting actions and slogans. Also featured will be merchandise, multiple cut outs and medals designed by the artist.

The Hungry Games, aims to satisfy the viewer in their desire for mascots, commercial tie-ins, collective experience and spectacle, whilst leaving them hungry for more.

The Inauguration will be held on Saturday July 21, 2012 at 6pm sharp with the help of our frineds at The Color Wheel Studio in Chicago’s Wicker Park.  The Opening Ceremonies will continue until 10:00pm and the show will be on display through August at Pawn Works 1050 N. Damen Ave. Chicago, Illinois.

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Pawn Works Gallery Presents: “While Supplies Last” (Chicago, ILL)

March 19, 2012 , , , ,

Pawn Works Gallery

Pawn Works Presents: While Supplies Last

While Supplies Last is a concept store providing an alternative retail environment for the discerning customer to browse and purchase exclusive products and unique gifts. With the visual aesthetics of NYC artist 5003 and Agent Gallery, we will be transforming the space into a fully functioning retail shop featuring an array of titles from German based publishing company Gestalten books, apparel from Scumbags & Superstars and The Joneses, and other small edition products created by the participating artists specifically for this project.

Throughout the store’s limited run we will be releasing exclusive items including prints, zines, sticker packs and other multiples from a variety of artists like SHAWNIMALS, SKEWVILLE, KOSBE, 5003, ADER, AMUSE 126, SNACKI, JC RIVERA, MONTGOMERY PERRY SMITH, LEFT HANDED WAVE, MAX KAUFFMAN, NICE-ONE, SWIV and more while featuring a heavy involvement from famed U.K. illustrator JON BURGERMAN.
“Submerged in  a period of kitsch, we persevere, taking part in some of the fun along the way”
Grand Opening
Saturday March 31
12-7pm
While Supplies Last!!
Store Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 12-7pm
Sunday 12-6pm
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Pawn Works Unveils Sticker Collection: Nick and Seth Tell the Story

December 17, 2011 , ,

Do you geek out on stickers?  Come on, you know you do. To you, the world is a place where slapping and hitting are good things to do on your daily travels, especially if the surface is dust free.  We are regularly smacked in the email with exhortations to come out to huge sticker fests and New York has probably a few hundred doorways that are so slapped up and multi-layered with gluey handmade postal labels and mass produced vinyl tags that if a bomb blasted inside the whole door would blow off in one piece. Most sticker fiends point back to the late 70s, early 80s as the time of genesis for this phenomenal addiction and passion, possibly encouraged by Miss Marsette, your second grade teacher who had a pretty figure and pleasing perfume and who used to put a Papa Smurf or unicorn sticker on your History report to award your good work.

For many Street Artists and graffers and collectors and fans of stickers, it is a life-long love: Just ask Dave and Holly Combs, who have run Peel Magazine in print and online since 2003 , or MAD One, who has been running Sticker Phiends in Phoenix since ’08, and King Rid and Jice of Brass Knuckle Crew, who hosted a proper show this summer in New York with contributors from around the world.  Add to that list Seth Mooney and Nick Marzullo, founders of Pawn Works in Chicago, who this week formally proclaimed a long love affair with the humble sticker by mounting a personal tribute with a lot of history totally taking over the gallery windows – a moving and triumphant event in their sticker geekery. They’ve been minting their own line of home-made stickers for a little over a year, but this installation takes in a couple of decades.

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Brooklyn Street Art is lucky that photographer Brock Brake was on the scene to capture the momentous proceedings and even more fortunate to get this very personal insight into some of their history and personal favorites from the guys:

“As sticker heads and collectors ourselves producing and distributing stickers for artists from all over the world via the Pawn Works Sticker Club we have obsessed since day one. All the way back to the days of repping Cruella DeVille and The 101 Dalmation’s, He-Man, Scrooge McDuck, G.I. Joe and other childhood favorites on our sippy cup’s. Both Seth and I can remember holding certain stickers over 18 years ago back to before we were teens. Some of those stickers and many more hoarded over the years as well as new jewels created through the club over the last year, reached their final destination.

 

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

We committed our ‘priceless’ stickers to an intense vinyl sticker collage representing the essence of what Pawn Works is about, the love and support of those responsible for the culture in which we are ensconced in. We often reminisce of our time as harmless teen deviants taking Stussy Clothing labels off of shirts from the mall back when the price tags/labels doubled as unique, hard to get, vinyl stickers. Anyways, we spent most of February last year making this collage to have on permanent display at Pawn Works. This year we are going to display it publicly along with the help of our friend Lucas Blair from Hedrich Blessing Photographers and Vinyl Wrap Technician from Roll Out Industries in Brooklyn, Michael Yrigoyen.

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

A few of our personal stand-outs include the instant classic logo of street wear boutique Bodego spelling out their name using the logos of Major League Baseball teams, which was quite common in the 90’s into the early 2000’s. The use of the Montreal Expo’s logo as the ‘e’ plays on so many levels for us, we love this sticker so much that we don’t feel bad it was taken off a hostess pad at a pub so many years ago. We can’t forget an all time favorite in the 513 OG Circle Sticker. Representing Cincinnati and the grime of their streets, this sticker was everywhere long before we were anywhere. This particular sticker thrived on a privately-owned Tetris Arcade game for so many years and thankfully was salvaged along with the Tetris machine from a damaging personal relationship. Got away with the sticker! Collectively, we love this sticker.

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

The Beastie Boys Ill Communication window sticker 4 pack and J-Dilla’s The Shining album cover sticker top our music charts. With a strong representation of stickers from the music, street and skate cultures, representing brands, boutiques, and important figures in the scene and our lives from Harold Hunter, Keith Haring, Mark Gonzales, Harmony Korine, Jeff Staple, The Dude and more we pay homage to the artists, designers and players on all levels. More notable stand outs include the original Cost and Revs stickers from the Early 90’s, Skewville’s Keep On Grass 1st edition on clear vinyl (small), many hand drawn labels from Evoker,Amuse,Poor One,Full Quip, KWT Crew, ATAK, DMS crew, Full Bleed and more, the scratch ‘n’ sniff pot leaf stickers are always a favorite for us as well. As are the original Ox-Fam Banksy stickers,the endless amount of hand-cut vinyl’s from SKAM Sticker Artist out of Portland, the over-sized classic ‘not for the handicap’ sticker from Gabriel Specter and anything by The Grocer.”

~ Nick Marzullo and Seth Mooney, from Pawn Works

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

Pawn Works Gallery: Sticker Collage (photo © Brock Brake)

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Click on these links for more stickerness on Brooklyn Street Art:

Slap Happy: The Humble Sticker Gets The Job Done

Stuck in Love With New York’s Stickers

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Specter Sidebusts Banksy in Chicago

November 30, 2011 , ,

The city of Chicago is famous for many things, one of them is the city’s zero tolerance for Graffiti and Street Art. Lore has it that if a piece runs for more than one day before “The Buff” hits it with a drab splotch of municipal death, it’s because they thought it was an ad.

One piece that has survived the wrath of The Graffiti Blasters (as they are officially known) is the only known Banksy piece in Chicago. It’s a vintage baby carriage tumbling down the ghosted remnant of a staircase. It brings to mind the movie ‘The Untouchables” with mobsters and police and screeching cars and a panicked baby just for the hell of it. But, really, no one knows why this Banksy baby has survived so long.

The faded Banksy baby carriage and the mysterious woman this summer in Chicago. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Compounding the question this summer was the appearance of a mysterious unfinished non-Banksy body lying further down the staircase. Oddly stiff and praying, nobody knew the cadaverish forms’ origin as we looked through a lense at  the Banksy in all it’s faded glory, looking more poignant and beautifully decayed, tagged but not destroyed. The unfinished form appeared to be levitating above the steps, it’s incompleteness adding an eerie feel to the Banksy carriage. Who painted it? Why was it not finished? Que significa?

Today we can report to you with certainty that the unfinished piece was by that side-busting Specter. And it is unfinished no more.

According to one account, it looks like the Brooklyn Street Artist had gotten in a little deeper than he intended when he began his unwanted collaboration with the biggest name in spraybiz, and he lost his concentration, one could say.

The resulting work, the “restoration” of the original Banksy, will surely infuriate some BSA readers. In the context of Specters other “sidebusts” and his own semi-rigid rulebook, however, it makes it’s own curious sense. And the woman who appears to have inched her way closer to the baby carriage as she become more complete? What of her? Reached for comment, Specter only said that in this unwanted collaboration he “used the Banksy baby carriage to make a reference to the conservative agenda that attempts to control women’s reproductive systems.”

Mystery solved.

Right?

Banksy/Specter (photo © Specter)

Banksy/Specter detail. (photo © Specter)

“In this colab I used the Banksy baby carriage to make a reference to the conservative agenda that attempts to control women’s reproductive systems”. Specter

Banksy/Specter (photo © Specter)

To read our interview with Specter last year as he explains “Unwanted Collaborations / Sidebusts” here >> Specter Spot-Jocks Shepard Fairey in New York City

 

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Pawn Works Gallery Presents: Teebs “Lady Luck” (Chicago, ILL)

November 1, 2011 , , , ,

Teebs

Teebs. Photo Courtesy of the Gallery
‘Lady Luck’
L.A. based artist Teebs is more than just another painter in Southern California’s flourishing contemporary art scene, he’s also an accomplished music producer for L.A. based label Brainfeeder. With his largest and most extensive body of work in over 2 years, ‘Lady Luck’ is the result of the artists thoughts spilled over the last few years, built around the excitement and experiences of the release of his first record whilst traveling all over the world.

The juxtaposition of gentleness in the images and the technicolor aesthetic lends itself to the subtle execution that Teebs uses to immediately define a mood within his work. Much like his music, the tone in his artwork is one of intoxicating amusement. It’s whimsical, gentle and joyful on the surface but upon examination unveils some of the more intricate and abrasive elements. ‘Lady Luck’ will feature many large-scale works on wood, hand-painted installation elements and a handful of original artwork created on blank record sleeves. Through this body of work Teebs has found himself, once again, speaking and working within a language he truly understands.

Join us for the Opening Reception of Teebs ‘Lady Luck’ on Friday Nov. 11, 2011 7-10pm. Followed by an after party featuring the music of Brainfeeder’s Teebs and friends at Beauty Bar Chicago on 11.11.11

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Stencils: Simple, Small, Effective

October 26, 2011 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One trend these days in the world of Street Art is to go lavishly large, big with a bang, gargantuan with gusto!  Copius expanses of epic walls, scissor lifts, cases of cans and buckets of wheat-paste, an assortment of assistants, photographers, a public press release, and a panting play-by-play on social media as the Street Artist progresses across the cinder blocks. The desire to think big is a historical human inclination, from the pyramids to the Great Wall of China to Burj Khalifa to the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude , we love gigantic work.

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Due to its completely democratic nature, the Street Art practice also includes the simplest, least showy, and anonymous pieces. Often we find little one-layer stencils, sprayed in ten seconds, to be just as interesting, and sometimes more powerful than the largest mural. Hidden, tucked away on the bottom of a doorway or a lamppost, the stencil is a fast way for an artist to get up and run, as fast as a sticker slap and just as effective. This collection of stencils recently collected in a few cities reminds us of those days when a lot of Street Art was not conspicuously installed and the works were small.  The artists here are unknown to us but maybe you have seen them.

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Don’t crack your knuckle! They’ll grow as big as the Ritz-Carlton. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Could be hallucinating but does this fly have a lion face? Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Even pugilists take a break. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Señor Conejo has an announcement. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Images of the Week 10.09.11

October 9, 2011 , , , , , , , , ,

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Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring: Nice One, Jim Darling, Cardiff, NohJColey, El Sol 25, Dan Witz.

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Dan Witz. fresh from his participation in NUART 2011 Dan give us his take on “Equus”   (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dan Witz. Detail.   (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NohJColey.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NohJColey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NohJColey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NohJColey. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NohJColey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NohJColey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-nice-one-brock-brake-chicago-3-webNice One. Last month photographer Brock Brake spent some time with Street Artist Nice One on the same rooftop in Chicago where Ludo put his piece in August. Nice One departed from his usual wheat pastes or air brush compressor and painted this piece with the can. (photo © Brock Brake)

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Nice One. (photo © Brock Brake)

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Nice One. (photo © Brock Brake)

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Jim Darling new mural in LA. (photo © Jim Darling)

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Cardiff. Street installation in Pasadena, CA (photo © Cardiff)

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Cardiff. Street installation in Pasadena, CA (photo © Cardiff)

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El Sol 25. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“The benefit of death is you know not to waste life living someone else’s choices. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition” Steve Jobs. Stanford University, 2005.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles and Chicago

September 12, 2011 , , , , , ,

When Street Artist ROA hits your town with his aerosoled animal world, large swatches of walls, even blocks, become alive and are instant gathering places for new and old fans alike.  The one man monochrome machine from Belgium depicts a curious mix of overlooked animals, sometimes in states of death and decay by way of commenting on human’s impact on the natural world.

brooklyn-street-art-roa-jaime-rojo-los-angeles-chicago-09-11-web-2ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Whether in rural Mexico or urban New York, his work is reliably riveting and a favorite for neighbors and Internet surfers alike.  After catching the eye of LA MOCA this spring, his last minute addition to the “Art in the Streets” exhibit brought the collection up to the minute and cemented his place in the graff and Street Art continuum. BSA captured these images of ROA’s work this year on the streets of Los Angeles and Chicago this summer and we’re looking forward to his next stop at “Living Walls: Albany”.

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ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA’s work in Chicago was done in collaboration with Pawn Works Gallery. Thank you to Nick and Brocke for their hospitality.

ROA’s work in Los Angeles was produced with Daniel Lahoda for LA Freewalls Project in The Arts District of downtown LA. Thank you to Daniel for his passion and his time with BSA. We wish Daniel a speedy recovery from a recent accident.

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