Gallery

Artspace + Us Gallery Presents: “Things Come Undone” Solo Exhibition by Shai Dahan (Gothenburg, Sweden)

Shai Dahan
brooklyn-street-art-art-space-gallery-us-shai-dahan

Artspace + Us Gallery @ Gothenburg, Sweden
Things Come Undone : Shai Dahan
May 27th – June 20
Opening Reception: May 27th @ 6-10 pm
Södra vägen 30
412 54 Göteborg

Artspace + Us Gallery is proud to present the first international solo exhibition by urban contemporary artist Shai Dahan in Gothenburg Sweden. The show will include new works by Shai including large scale canvas paintings, illustrations as well as mixed media installations.

With his recent relocation to Sweden from New York, Shai chose to combine both cultures into the work for this solo show. The work includes hybrids of urban landscapes and familiar Scandinavian wildlife. With his signature birdguns, Shai expanded his animal-gun series and also chose to utilize other means from their environment to express the conflict between animals and the humans who invade their habitat.

Earlier this year, Shai took part of the Madrid Street Ad Takeover and also exhibited in Philadelphia. In 2010, Shai took part of the New York City Underbelly project with a selected group of artists painting in an abandoned New York City subway rail station. In 2009, he took part of the New York Street Ad Takeover, joining other artists to paint over illegal advertising throughout the New York City neighborhoods.

Shai currently lives in Borås with his wife and two dogs where he continues to paint.

artspaceandus.se
thevacantwall.com

Read more

Kravets/Wehby Gallery Presents: “Paperwork” (Manhattan, NY)

Paperwork

Paperwork
Curated by Nina Chanel Abney

May 19 – June 18, 2011
Opening Reception – Thursday May, 19 2011,  6 – 8pm

The Kravets/Wehby Gallery is pleased to announce Paperwork, a group exhibition curated by Nina Chanel Abney including work by Njideka Akunyili, Firelei Baez, Cake, Sydney Chastain-Chapman, Caitlin Cherry, Oasa DuVerney, Langdon Graves, Yashua Klos, Michelle Matson, Aaron Romine, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Aya Uekawa, Nick van Woert and Saya Woolfalk, opening on Thursday, May 19, 2011 and running through June 18, 2011.

The exhibition Paperwork, curated by Nina Chanel Abney, is comprised of young and upcoming artists whose work explores the manipulation of paper in all forms. Traditional pencil on paper drawings are accompanied by 3 dimensional sculpture and collage, all flowing in a seamless cohesion and showing the ways that a simple medium can inspire a new generation of artists. In Nick Van Woert’s historically charged sculpture, paper spitballs mask the identity of a plaster bust while making oblique historic references. The candy colored spiritual worlds in the work of Saya Woolfalk, are whimsical and playful, also veiling societies more ominous side. Street artist Cake moves her public art in-doors, her delicately painted figures describe the way in which people disconnect and how the emotion inevitably shows up in their faces. Figures appear in many of the pieces, providing an inviting glimpse into the fresh thoughts in their minds. Still, each artist utilizes paper in a unique form of expression.

Nina Chanel Abney
is an artist working in New York. Her work can be seen at the Brooklyn Museum as well as in the 30 Americans exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art, which will travel to the Corcoran Museum in September. She was recently included in The Incomplete Paris exhibition curated by Hubert Neumann. This is Nina’s first curatorial project.

For further information please call the gallery at (212) 352-2238 or email info@kravetswehbygallery.com.
www.kravetswehbygallery.com

KRAVETS|WEHBY Gallery
521 West 21st Street, Ground Floor
New York, NY 10011

Read more

3rdEye(Sol)ation Gallery Group Show (Brooklyn, NY)

Group Show
brooklyn-street-art-3rd-eye-solation-gallery

3rdEye(Sol)ation group show 6/3/11. Bushwick, NY

show opens 6/3/11 in conjunction with the Arts in Bushwick Art Walk of 6/3-6/5, at 3rdEye(Sol)ation Gallery ((3rdEye(Sol)ation non-profit arts collective, 1501 Broadway Ave. Brooklyn)) J train to Halsey St. featuring: Billi Kid, Peru Ana Ana Peru, ASVP, Mike Die, Jos-L, dint wooer krsna, Quel Beast, Septerhed, Choice Royce, Kosbe, QRST, Trixtr Rabbit, Bankrupt Slut, CCB, Wisher 914, ZamArt

Read more

Opera Gallery Presents: “The Street Art Show” (London, UK)

Opera Gallery

brooklyn-street-art-Blek-le-rat-Banksy-opera-galleryBlek Le Rat “Banksy” (image courtesy © of the gallery)

Opera Gallery London will be hosting “The Street Art Show” from June 17 to June 30 and will bring street art on posh New Bond Street.
The group show will bring together some of the most established street artists and young promising up-and-coming graffiti artists.

Alexandros Vasmoulakis, Banksy, Blek Le Rat, b., Alexone, Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, Seen, Ron English, Logan Hicks, Crash, The London Police, Nick Walker, How & Nosm, Saber, Roa, Swoon, Kid Zoom, Anthony Lister, Rich Simmons.

The preview night will be dedicated to raise funds for the UK Charity Action for Children.

The event is Free entrance and you can turn up at anytime during opening hours

Mon-Sat 10.00am – 7.00pm and Sun 12.00-7-pm.
Opera Gallery London Ltd
134 New Bond Street
London W1S 2TF

Read more

Fun Friday 05.13.11

Fun-Friday

A GUIDE TO WHAT’S UP, BROTHERMAN AND SISTERWOMAN

This weekend is a perfect storm of shows that are opening on the East, West and points in between.

Up Close And Personal: RJ Curates Street Artists Into an Upper West Side Apartment (NYC)

In the intimacy of a private residence in the Manhattan suburbs of UWS, RJ Rushmore of Vandalog fame along with Keith Schweitzer and Mike Glatzer of newly minted M.A.N.Y. have mounted a fresh new open house show just off Broadway. An exquisitely curated show with marquee names and a few newbies the selection is solid in quality and unusual in it’s scale.

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-troy-lovegate-other-vandalog-RJ-Rushmore-Keith-Schweitzer-Mike-Glatzer

Troy Lovegates aka Other (image courtesy of the curators)

Participating artists include:
Aiko, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Don Leicht, Edible Genius, Elbowtoe, Gaia, How & Nosm, Jessica Angel, John Fekner, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mike Ballard, OverUnder, R. Robot, Radical, Retna, Skewville, Tristan Eaton, Troy Lovegates aka Other and White Cocoa.
brooklyn-street-art-WEB-AIKO-vandalog-RJ-Rushmore-Keith-Schweitzer-Mike-Glatzer

Aiko’s cans are on proudly on display at the bachelor pad, and that’s not all (image courtesy of the curators)

Dates: May 12th– 15th, 2011
Times:
May 12th, 7 – 9pm
May 13th, 7 – 9pm
May 14th, noon – 9pm
May 15th, noon – 7pm
Note: Due to the limited exhibition space, people may be admitted in block times every half-hour.
Location: Apartment on the Upper West Side (217 West 106th Street, Apartment 1A, New York, NY 10025) – Between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues.
Cost for entrance: Free

Go to Hellbent and John Breiner Tonight in Brooklyn (NYC)

Mighty Tanka is presenting a show with two Brooklyn based artists: Hellbent and John Breiner.
brooklyn-street-art-WEB-hellbent-john-breiner-mighty-tanaka-gallery-1
Mr. Hellbent says of the show: “The best part of making a show like this is to finally see it up on the wall and the way that everything interacts. I have been thinking of these pieces as parts of a quilt, different fabrics being stitched together. The different colors, floral stencils, animals, and jaw bones melding together and playing off one another, even down to the different depths and sizes of panels, but until it was hung they were just pieces, not yet a whole. Its given me an opportunity to show the different elements that i am working with and how they have grown out of one another and to display all the different carvings and stencils patterns together, where on the street they are separated in different locations.”

To learn more about “Smiled Distress” at Mighty Tanaka tonight please click on the link below:

Matt Siren and My Plastic Heart present “Ghost in the Machine” (NYC)

25 spirits in the material world have made tributes to Street Artist Matt Siren’s Ghost Girl character for this show on the Lower East Side tonight. The custom toy show transforms the character that appears in doorways around New York, each putting its own unique spin on his character.

brooklyn-street-art-my-WEB-plastic-heart-matt-siren

The show includes work from 64Colors, Royce Bannon, Steve Chanks, Chauskoskis, DarkCloud, Deeker, Gril One, J*RYU, Jester, Keely, Abe Lincoln Jr., Map-Map, Marka27, Brent Nolasco, Lou Pimentel, Reactorss, Marc Reusser, Todd Robertson, Robots Will Kill, Chris Ryniak, Matt Siren, Scott Tolleson, Julie West, Wheelbarrow, Wrona

Click on the link below to learn more about this show:

http://www.myplasticheartnyc.com/gitm_051311/preview/gitm_051311_preview.html

210 Forsyth St   New York NY 10002 | 646 290 6866
Ghost in the Machine
May 13th 2011 – June 12th 2011

Chicago Street Art Show Tonight (CHI)

Tonight the book “Chicago Street Art” is being released at the the Chicago Urban Art Society  in conjunction with a show titled “The Chicago Street Art Show”

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-chicago-street-art-joseph-j-depre

Brooklyn’s AD HOC has a New Puppy in Los Angeles (LA)

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-ad-hoc-arts-New-Puppy-gallery

On the West Coast the dynamic duo and husband and wife Garrison and Allison Buxton have curated a group show “I have a dream, I have a nightmare: Friday the 13th” at The New Puppy Gallery opening this Friaday from 7:00 to 11:00 pm

Artists include: Alison Buxton, Beau Stanton, Bill Fick, Broken Crow, Bunnie Reiss, Chor Boogie, Chris Stain, CRASH, Dabs & Myla, Daryll Peirce, David Loewenstein, Don Leicht, Ezra Li Eismont, Garrison Buxton, Hellbent, Joe Iurato, John Breiner, John Carr, John Fekner, Jordan Seiler, Know Hope, Lady Pink, Michael De Feo, Mikal Hameed, Paul Booth, Peat Wollaeger, Ray Cross, Rex Dingler, ROA, Robert Steel, Sean Starwars, TheDirtyFabulous, & Thundercut.

Ad Hoc Art – www.adhocart.org

New Puppy LA – www.newpuppla.com

WHERE: 2808 Elm Street, Los Angeles, California 90065

English Kills Group Show Saturday, “The Mother Ship” (NYC)

Chris Harding, owner and ringmaster of the Bushwick Brooklyn-based space station English Kills brings out his strong stable of artists for this group show aptly titled “The Mother Ship” opening this Saturday at 7:00 pm. It’s not necessarily Street Art – but this is a hotbed of new ideas so it is always worth your trip.

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-english-kills-gallery

Participating artists include:

Brent Owens, Andy Piedilato, Vilaykorn Sayaphet, Jim Herbert, David Pacheco, Hiroshi Shafer, Gyles Thompson, Sarah H. Paulson, Holly Faurot, Tescia Seufferlein, Peter Dobill, Steve Harding, Judith Supine, Lenny Reibstein, Andrew Ohanesian, Jason Peters, Don Pablo Pedro, Steven Thompson, Andrew Hurst and Rob Andrews.

English Kills is located at:

114 Forrest St. Ground Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11206
(718) 366-7323

Specter is a “Repeat Offender” 5/14 at Pawn Works in Chicago (CHI)

Brooklyn based artist Gabriel Specter’s solo show “Repeat Offender” opens this Saturday at the Pawn Works Gallery.

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-specter-pawn-works-gallery

Opening Reception Saturday, May 14, 2011/ 6-10pm

PawnWorks
1050 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60622

Ph: 312.841.3986

London Police in Denver, “Amsterydynasty”

In Denver Colorado Black Book Gallery brings back the glamour of the 80’s with The London Police and Handiedan in a show titled “Amsterydynasty”

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-the-london-police-black-book-gallery-Handiedan


Opening reception May 14th at 7pm

Click here to learn more about this show

Olek Crochets for a Bicycle in Poland

ROA in San Francisco

Women’s Faces in Art

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art by Philip Scott Johnson.

MoCA Art in the Streets. Wisk, Ser, Chubbs and Prime destroy a wall.

Read more

Ad Hoc Art and New Puppy LA Present: “I have a dream, I have a nightmare: Friday the 13th” (Los Angeles, CA)

Ad Hoc Art
brooklyn-street-art-ad-hoc-arts-New-Puppy-gallery

AD HOC ART GATHERS 34 INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS TO EXPLORE DREAMS, NIGHTMARES, SUPERSTITIONS, AND EXISTENCE TO YEILD CREATIONS RANGING FROM THE PAINFULLY REAL TO THE ETHEREAL FANTASTIC.

— An Art Exhibit Celebrating the Expansiveness of Consciousness & Culture —

WHEN:            Exhibition Opens Friday, May 13th, 7-11pm

with an additional Artwalk Opening: Saturday, May 14th, 7-11pm

Through June 18th, 2011.  Hours: 12-6pm Thursday – Saturday and by appointment.

WHAT:            AD HOC ART presents “I have a dream, I have a nightmare: Friday the 13th”, an eclectic and electric charge of vast creativity, synapses, and neural networks seeping into Los Angeles’ artmind via New Puppy LA.

That we are living in very fascinating and unprecedented times on the cusp of something is crystal clear.   What that “something” is, exactly, is not.  What waits on the other side?  Is it beautiful or horrendous, sustainable or cataclysmic, truthful or deceptive, just or fraudulent?  We all play a leading role in guiding the future of this sweet unraveling already well underway.

Around the world, energies are coming together, people are relating, and the future is so bright.  Is the light from the billions of shining smiles of a humane and democratic existence that sustains life; or is it the glistening blast from a bomb dropped by the sociopathic ceo/politico at MegaGlobalBankCorp determined to take all or nothing at our expense?

To divine an answer, dreams, nightmares and Friday the 13th energies have been harnessed, channeled and will be unleashed this 13th of May in the City of Angels.

Enjoy these visual nuggets swimming through the realms of spacetime.

Artists include: Alison Buxton, Beau Stanton, Bill Fick, Broken Crow, Bunnie Reiss, Chor Boogie, Chris Stain, CRASH, Dabs & Myla, Daryll Peirce, David Loewenstein, Don Leicht, Ezra Li Eismont, Garrison Buxton, Hellbent, Joe Iurato, John Breiner, John Carr, John Fekner, Jordan Seiler, Know Hope, Lady Pink, Michael De Feo, Mikal Hameed, Paul Booth, Peat Wollaeger, Ray Cross, Rex Dingler, ROA, Robert Steel, Sean Starwars, TheDirtyFabulous, & Thundercut.

WHO:                        Ad Hoc Art – www.adhocart.org

New Puppy LA – www.newpuppla.com

WHERE: 2808 Elm Street, Los Angeles, California 90065

Read more

Matt Siren and My Plastic Heart Present: “Ghost in the Machine” (Manhattan, NY)

Matt Siren
brooklyn-street-art-my-plastic-heart-matt-siren

myplasticheart and Matt Siren presents Ghost in the Machine, a custom toy show dedicated to Matt’s iconic Ghost Girl figure. Twenty-five artists have been chosen by Matt to transform and put their own unique spin on his character. This talented group consists of seasoned street artists, painters, illustrators, and top-notch customizers. Join us for the festivities on Friday May 13th from 6-9pm. Many of the participating artists will be in attendance.

Also making its debut on opening night will be the Do-It-Yourself version of Ghost Girl available for purchase for the first time… a perfect blank canvas for those who want to try their hand at customizing a Ghost Girl of their own.

Artist List:
64Colors
Royce Bannon
Steve Chanks
Chauskoskis
Darkcloud
Dril One
j*ryu
Jester
Keely
Abe Lincoln Jr.
Map Map
Marka27
Brent Nolasco
Lou Pimentel
Reactor88
Marc Reusser
Todd Robertson
Robots Will Kill
Chris Ryniak
Matt Siren
Scott Tolleson
Julie West
Wheelbarrow
Wrona

Curated by Matt Siren

myplasticheartnyc
210 Forsyth St.
Lower East Side
New York
646.290.6866
www.myplasticheartnyc.com
www.myplasticheart.com

Read more

Mighty Tanaka Gallery Presents: Hellbent and John Breiner “A Smiled Distress” (Brooklyn, NY)

Hellbent and John Breiner
brooklyn-street-art-hellbent-john-breiner-mighty-tanaka-gallery-1

brooklyn-street-art-hellbent-john-breiner-mighty-tanaka-gallery-2

You’re Invited…

To the Opening Reception of A Smiled Distress, A Duel Art Show by Hellbent & John Breiner

Mighty Tanaka gallery is thrilled to bring you our latest show: A Smiled Distress, a duel art show featuring the work of Hellbent and John Breiner!  Both artists have been individually creating a lot of buzz in the NYC underground art scene for with their consistently dynamic artwork and we are super excited to be featuring both powerhouses in one show!

A Smiled Distress Opening Reception:
Friday, May 13th
(show runs until June 3rd)
6pm  – 9pm
68 Jay St, Suite 416
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(F Train to York Street)

Balance. All life on Earth depends on it. However, human’s impact on the world is disrupting the natural cycle, suffocating the planet. We have reached a breaking point as human beings teeter on the edge of an uncertain future. Whether it’s man-made or natural, another disaster is always right around the corner. A Smiled Distress, a duel exhibition featuring the artwork of Hellbent & John Breiner, brings forth the brutal truth of a world in transition and the ultimate fragility of life itself.

A Smiled Distress mirrors the myth of Cassandra, as one foresees the future, yet the warnings will never be heeded. Hellbent and John Breiner’s art juxtaposes the duality of life and death through our acceptance of a fate and the inevitable outcome. Their work reflects the strains of the Earth through a beautiful and enchanting interpretation of a planet in distress.

Hellbent & John Breiner approach their work from different angles, both complimenting and conflicting one another, with a means to a common goal. As the world further declines into a state of anguish, the artist’s work becomes a prophecy of things to come. A Smiled Distress matches the beautiful with ominous through each artists unique understanding of the world.

Read more

D*Face “Going Nowhere Fast” In Los Angeles

“Going Nowhere Fast” went somewhere with the pedal to the metal – mainly private collections. The almost sold out show at the Corey Helford Gallery in the Culver City section of LA flew out the door like a ’57 Chevrolet with tail fins last week so RISK, CRASH, and FREEDOM could take over the joint.

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-2-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The gorgeously mounted show by English street artist D*Face is fuel injected with Pop vernacular while kidnapping some Pop masters of the last half century with prankish lo-brow witticism.  Driving with almost surgical precision and fastidious attention to detail D*Face slickly amuses with Lichtenstein cells and flying knives, customized Warhol warping, and a mounted Hot Rod skull butterfly collection. For his fans these now familiar cruelly clever customizations by D*Face are amalgams of advertising-soaked memories and associations – a happy blast to an inexact past, graphic images afloat in the timeless area of a citizen/consumer mind.

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-1-web D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-4-web

Nearly a nightmare to assemble, this flying knife installation hovered like cheery racing death above visitors heads at Corey Helford. The price tag for this sculpture included it’s installation by the artist himself. The gallery would be   flying the artist to Australia to install this piece in its new home.  D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-5-web

The knives were each cast in plastic out of a mold that the artist created.  D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-7-web

There’s no business like death business. D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-11-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-10-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-3-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-6-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-9-web

A thrilling reinterpretation of Warhol and MJ. D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-8-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-12-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-14-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dface-jaime-rojo-corey-helford-gallery-los-angeles-04-11-13-web

D*Face. Culver City, CA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This show is no longer on view.

Read more

Vandalog and M.A.N.Y. Present: “Up Close and Personal” (Manhattan, NY)

Up Close And Personal

brooklyn-street-art-troy-lovegate-other-vandalog-RJ-Rushmore-Keith Schweitzer-Mike Glatzer

Troy Lovegate AKA Other (image courtesy of the curators)

Starting on May 12th, a New York City home will play host to a new type of street art exhibit. While the community concentrates on artists creating larger murals in often controversial public spaces, the subtle nuances of the genre are lost in the hype. Up Close and Personal explores the craft of artists who usually work in large-scale formats outdoors, by challenging them to create pieces that conform to the intimacy of a residential indoor setting. The works will be no larger than 30 x 30 inches, as small as a Metro card and exhibited on the walls of a small city apartment. As street art continues to morph into an all-encompassing art genre, Up Close and Personal will showcase works by talented artists whose work is impressive both indoors and outdoors. Up Close and Personal is curated by RJ Rushmore of Vandalog, and Keith Schweitzer and Mike Glatzer of M.A.N.Y.
Participating artists include:
Aiko, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Don Leicht, Edible Genius, Elbowtoe, Gaia, How & Nosm, Jessica Angel, John Fekner, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mike Ballard, OverUnder, R. Robot, Radical, Retna, Skewville, Tristan Eaton, Troy Lovegates aka Other and White Cocoa
brooklyn-street-art-logan-hicks-detail-vandalog-RJ-Rushmore-Keith Schweitzer-Mike Glatzer

Logan Hicks. Detail on anodized aluminum.  (image courtesy of the curators)

Dates: May 12th– 15th, 2011
Times:
May 12th, 7 – 9pm
May 13th, 7 – 9pm
May 14th, noon – 9pm
May 15th, noon – 7pm
Note: Due to the limited exhibition space, people may be admitted in block times every half-hour.
Location: Apartment on the Upper West Side (217 West 106th Street, Apartment 1A, New York, NY 10025) – Between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues.
Cost for entrance: Free
M.A.N.Y. (Murals Around New York) is a team of artists and curators who organize street and contemporary art exhibitions around the United States.
Vandalog is an international street art blog that covers the art scene as it evolves. Posting interviews, art news, show critiques and photographs of relevant works, Vandalog has gained a loyal following among the street art world. Founded in 2008 by then teenager RJ Rushmore, Vandalog now includes various writers and publishes across a number of social media platforms. Vandalog was Arts Media Contact’s top art blog of 2010.
Read more

Opera Gallery Presents: Saber “The American Graffiti Artist” (Manhattan, NY)

SABER
brooklyn-street-art-saber-opera-gallery-05-11

Saber. “Buffed” (photo © courtesy of the artist)

Saber – The American Graffiti Artist

Among the thousands of people who make up the graffiti community around the world, there are few names that carry the same legendary quality as SABER. Born in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, SABER was raised by creative parents and discovered his passion for art at an early age. At 13, his cousins introduced him to graffiti when they took him to see the spray paint-covered Belmont Tunnel. From that moment on, he was hooked. After honing his skills on local walls, SABER joined MSK, and was later inducted into legendary piecing crew AWR.

SABER was already a fixture in the Los Angeles graffiti scene by 1997 when he completed the largest graffiti piece ever created. His piece on the sloping cement bank of the Los Angeles River was nearly the size of a professional football field, and took 97 gallons of paint and 35 nights to complete. In a famous photograph—taken by his father just after it was finished—SABER stands on the piece and appears as a tiny speck amid a giant blaze of color. It catapulted SABER to legend status in the graffiti world.

SABER began exhibiting in his fine art in 2002. While known for his elegant and aggressive abstract letterforms, SABER’s artistic output has also included drippy, surreal cityscapes and his painstakingly rendered “new reality” canvases. SABER has also worked corporate projects with Hyundai, Scion, Boost Mobile, Roland Sands Design, Montana Paint Company, and Karmaloop. His monograph, SABER: MAD SOCIETY, complete with stories of his graffiti misadventures, was released by Gingko Press in 2007 and is now in its second printing.

In October 2010, SABER released a video in which the year’s heated debate about healthcare was spray painted over the American flag. While some saw it as desecration, SABER advocated for healthcare reform in the video, revealing that he had epilepsy and was un-insurable. This work led SABER to create a large group of American flag paintings called the Tarnished series.

In 2011 SABER’s artwork is featured in two museum exhibitions, “Street Cred” at the Pasadena Museum of California Art and “Art in the Streets” at MoCA Los Angeles.

Saber

Read more