Anthony Lister – ‘Unslung Heroes’
16th November – 29th December 2012 (Private View Thursday 15th November)
The private views will both take place from 6pm – 9pm on Thursday November 15th 2012.
To attend the London private view you must RSVP to info@theoutsiders.net with your name and that of a guest by Wednesday 14th. The Newcastle private view does not require an RSVP.
An exhibition held simultaneously at:
The Outsiders London | 8 Greek Street | Soho | London | W1D 4DG | Tel +44 (0)203 214 0055 / 66
The Outsiders Newcastle | 77 Quayside | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | NE1 3DE | Tel +44 (0)191 221 2560
The brightest international talent emerging from street art takes over both The Outsiders galleries simultaneously this November for a tour de force exhibition, Unslung Heroes.
For his all-new show, Anthony Lister – consistently described as “Australia’s best contemporary artist” – has used his sketchbook featuring portraits of hip hedonistic revellers, drawn at revels he’s attended, for inspiration. The elegant and sophisticated figures in the paintings – also dubbed the ‘Party Life Series’ – may be a contrast to the obnoxiously intoxicated international youth of today. But this is exemplary of the artist’s most consistent theme: “I try to combine the highbrow and lowbrow,” says Lister, “creating analogies which allow the viewer to feel comfortable with subjects that maybe they’ve made snap judgements on before.”
On a surface level the content of Unslung Heroes marks a departure for Lister. The artist’s past trademark has been paintings of super-powered ‘grey paladin’ characters indulging in louche behaviour, more inclined to shoot laser beams from their sexual organs than their eyes or gauntlets. “The super-heroes I always described as ‘mis- guiding role models’. Well, the characters in Unslung Heroes are the products of those bad role models. Also this whole show is about people without super-powers who influence us. Super-heroes are just people in costumes after all.”
Red, black and white dictate the palette of the entire show. Across both galleries the exhibition features several large canvases at 180cm square and a wide range of mid- sized canvases at 90cm square. These are painted using charcoal, acrylic, spray paint and oils. The rare grey shades employ the neutral ‘buffing’ paste used to delete graffiti by local authorities, “stolen from the council out of necessity” says Lister. The canvases are supplemented by miniature drawings on lined notepaper using felt pen and Tippex correction fluid. “When I started making the sketches, red and black pens – plus Tippex, which I’ve always worked with – were all I had to hand. A lot of the time when I’m travelling I’ll be alone and I’ll have to meet people. Sketching them helps for that. Plus it stops me drawing all over the tables and walls.”
Sculptural installations made on site will provide an immersive experience, including a grand piano in the style of a Picasso painting, a statue of Lister’s great-grandfather cut from packing foam using hot wire, and a bronze bust of his errant uncle. “My references to my family are also on the theme of role models,” says Lister. “You can choose your role models but you can’t choose your family. Apparently my great-grandfather was respected and established. My uncle though, he’s not right. It’s about detachment and influence. I imagine all these people in the paintings have uncles… and great- grandfathers.”
This is the first time both Outsiders exhibition spaces have been given over to one artist since David Choe’s UK debut in 2008. Get under the influence of Anthony Lister’s intoxicating artwork at Unslung Heroes this autumn.
About the artist
33 year-old Anthony Lister is hailed as the most compelling artistic talent coming out of Australia today. He has exhibited internationally to considerable acclaim, and been featured in Art Collector’s 50 Most Collectable Australian Artists. His 2007 painting Spider Woman recently sold at Lawson-Menzies auction house for just under AU$20,000, a personal record.
Anthony began his artistic career painting “awful” (in his own words) graffiti graduating to abstract landscapes on electricity junction boxes. A prolific worker he exhibits several times a year, consistently at Miami’s Art Basle festival. His most recent show in his home country took over an abandoned brothel, and an eponymous show earlier in 2012 in California featured ballerinas in group sex with dingoes.
For his first solo show in Los Angeles since 2009, Know Hope continues his research and narrative, this time focusing on the notion of ‘The Weight’.
Portraying ‘The Weight’ in both a visual and symbolical nature, this exhibition observes on the various interpretations of what weighs down on us, collectively speaking.
Know Hope has recently been using the image of the flag in his work, attempting to look into the idea of patriotism-not necessarily from the directly-political aspect, but by focusing on the minor human situations that compose this larger issue.
The artist conducts this research from a standing point of aiming to understand how patriotism works; as an emotional mechanism, hoping to show the indifference between the personal and the political
Another primary concept portrayed in Know Hope’s work is the idea of ‘The Missings’, the empty spaces which he sees as a common denominator. The artist believes that there is a collective longing that exists in subjective manners (i.e. ‘a missing’, or an empty space) that we seek to fill, more specifically in this case by patriotism.
There is an emphasis on the process of adopting these ‘truisms’-being born into a charged reality and embracing these values without questioning; such as we do the flag and it’s role in our lives.
By creating a new body of work and a site-specific installation, all while keeping these things in mind, Know Hope presents ‘The Weight’, an observation on where we are now, how we got to being there, and how we manage the burdens that we bear.
Our new show opens Thursday night. It’s about wonder and is a modern Museum Of Curiosity. Swoon has been over for a week installing the Dream Reliquary sculpture and we also have works by Tessa Farmer, Butch Anthony, Candice Tripp, Nancy Fouts, Giles Walker, Jessica Harrison, Taylor Shepherd, Delaney Martin and Oscar Rink. As well as lots of curiosities – hippo skull, taxidermy ostrich from 1785 and so on.
Klughaus Gallery is proud to present, “Keys To The City,” a solo exhibition featuring recent works by Jurne. Striking a delicate balance between contemporary abstract design, calligraphy and traditional graffiti letterform, Jurne’s artwork is a seamless combination of timeless and modern.
“Keys To The City” will showcase the acclaimed graffiti writer Jurne’s transition from large-scale exterior work to fine art. “Keys To The City” exhibits a combination of text-based décollage paintings as well as abstract geometric calligraphy compositions on found vellum Parisian maps from a 2010 trip abroad. This exhibition provides a narrative for Jurne’s approach to his work through a short film, also titled “Keys to the City.” The film is a collaborative work between Jurne and Lea Bruno, an accomplished Bay Area videographer who has worked alongside Jurne for the past few years, and created films featuring some of the world’s premier graffiti artists. This film is an exploration of the “Keys To The City” body of work, as well as a look inside Jurne’s creative approach and unique lifestyle.Klughaus Gallery
Featuring: Andy Appleton, Mauro Caputo, John Carr, COL, COPE2, DD$, DeeKay, Dog Byte, Richard Duardo, Rene Gagnon, Gregos, Listak, Devin Liston, Septerhed, Smear, Steven Swimmer and Tazroc
OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY November 10, 2012, 6PM – 8PM
Exhibition: Every Day, 1PM – 8PM, and by appointment
Maximillian Gallery, the award-winning street art gallery in West Hollywood, unveils its newest exhibit, Once Upon a Time in the West, with an artists’ reception on Saturday, November 10, 2012 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The exhibit features top street and urban art by a talented roster of artists: Andy Appleton, Mauro Caputo, John Carr, COL, COPE2,DD$, DeeKay, Dog Byte, Richard Duardo, Rene Gagnon, Gregos, Listak, Devin Liston, Septerhed, Smear, Steven Swimmer andTazroc. Once Upon a Time in the West runs through Thursday, December 20, 2012. Also, Maximillian Gallery is pleased to now feature a selection of unique Rene Gagnon Abraham Obama lenticular prints reworked from Ron English originals. Maximillian Gallery is open daily from 1:00pm to 8:00pm, except major holidays, as well as by appointment, inside the Sunset Marquis Hotel (1200 Alta Loma Road, West Hollywood, CA 90069; 323-546-9615). Maximillian Gallery is also often open late on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, please see http://maximilliangallery.com.“We are thrilled to showcase the exciting collection of cutting-edge works in the new exhibit,” says Caradoc, Maximillian Gallery’s owner and director, “The show brings together a fresh selection of work from emerging as well as established artists.”Once Upon a Time in the West -
Curated by third-generation art connoisseur and entrepreneurCaradoc, Maximillian Gallery is dedicated to showcasing contemporary art, featuring dozens of emerging as well as established artists, with an emphasis on urban, graffiti, and street art. The gallery’s upcoming exhibition, Once Upon a Time in the West, features works by some of the most provocative and prolific artists working today.
WHAT:Once Upon a Time in the West Art Exhibition
WHO: Andy Appleton, Mauro Caputo, John Carr, COL, COPE2, DD$, DeeKay, Dog Byte, Richard Duardo, Rene Gagnon, Gregos, Listak, Devin Liston, Septerhed, Smear, Steven Swimmer & Tazroc
WHEN: Opening reception Saturday, November 10, 2012 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm (with some featured artists in attendance), as well as daily through Thursday, December 20, 2012 from 1:00pm to 8:00pm, and by appointment
WHERE: Maximillian Gallery, 1200 Alta Loma Road, West Hollywood, CA 90069
The Argentinian Street Artist named Ever was in Puerto Rico in October for the festival called “Los Muros Hablan” and here are images of him at work on the building-sized mural he completed, entitled “Liberation and Revolution”.
Reality and a parallel multicolored low-tech hologram of it are seen as connected in this freeze frame, portraying a brief peek at the complexity of the life experience. Ever’s physical forms are full of blood rich life force, serving to intensify his kaleidoscopic depiction of the inner life, individual vision and our myriad abilities to perceive experience . When combined with a historical analogy or perhaps a philosophical message, on this scale, Ever’s work has the power to help a viewer contemplate their own perceptive abilities.
Special thanks to photographer Rosanna Bach for these exclusive images for BSA readers.
Today in the US we are electing a President. Exercise your right to VOTE. Otherwise we don’t want to hear one single complaint out of you, okay?
We endorse President Barack Obama for a second term. Here’s why:
In four years Obama has proved to have the character and integrity to lead us out of financial ruin and build some good things for our future. They drove the car into the ditch and drunkenly tossed Brother Barry the keys – what he inherited was a country on the verge of financial collapse with a growing bad reputation in the neighborhood. With steady hands and determination he managed, without much help from the Republicans in Congress, to slowly rebuild our nation and make it stronger. Sure he didn’t do everything he promised he would. But he accomplished a lot, despite unrelenting attacks on him every time he drew a breath.
Let’s call it like it is – racist hatred came out in full force over the last four years like sewage from an overflowing septic tank. We’re getting better at this racism thing, but we still suck at it. And Obama faced it with honor and grace. People reversed their own positions completely – just so they could fight him, box him out, sandbag him, or try to put him in his place. Some of these people would have mowed down their own grandma with an SUV if Obama was helping her across the street. Regardless of who captures this race for the next four years, Obama has made us proud with his style of steadily fighting for what he believed was good for the country – without trashing other people in the process. That’s a style of American we can support.
There are a lot of people who will be affected by your vote for Obama/Biden:
Artists: If you are an artist and care for the arts in this country or if you have an artist friend or relative, Obama is your man. Romney promises to gut the National Endowment for the Arts, National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System, and to put Big Bird on the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Teachers: If you are a teacher and care for our schools and our kids education or if you have a teacher friend or a relative, Obama’s got your back. He has also been on the side of most working people in general, and supports union people and families, fire fighters, car workers, the whole enchilada.
GLBT folks: Dude was a little slow at first, but eventually O and Biden have proven to be torch bearers in one of the most important civil rights issue of our time. If you are not gay but you have friends or relatives who are, voting for Obama will help make sure that LGBT aren’t stripped of their rights again. It’s rough to go back in the closet once you are out, and you really should have the same rights as everybody else.
Social Service workers: Only Obama and the Democrats are committed to help funding our social safety net – This prevents people from falling into despair and poverty when they are old, sick, unemployed, hungry, disabled. It’s what we are supposed to do – take care of our people. Millions of families are poorer now than ever before and Money Bags Mitt and his friends will happily shred the safety net if they can make another buck. Social Services workers deal with individuals who have special needs and who need special care too – these are true heroes of our communities. If you have a family member or friend who is mentally ill or physically challenged, you know who are the people who work with them to treat them and care for them with dignity. Obama and Co. will work to make sure that they keep getting what they need to do God’s work, instead of figuring out ways to cut budgets for food, travel, medical treatment, rehabilitation.
Immigrants: If you know a friend or a relative who is a decent human being, a hard worker and a value to our society who cannot secure a safe position in the community due his or her legal status in this country you will help them to achieve their dreams by casting a vote for Obama. Scapegoating people who have consistently contributed great things to society is kind of sick. Keeping people afraid and economically insecure is so below us.
Women:Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was Obama’s first – giving women the right to sue after they realize they’ve been getting paid less than men. He also put two women on the Supreme Court by the way. Mitt and his buddies may have binders full of women but the ugly truth is they have been totally busy rolling back the clock on women’s rights to the 1950s, or 1850s. If you are a woman or love one, support women’s right to live in the 2010s.
People who breathe air and drink water: Not that he’s been the best, and Obama’s still giving up too much to the oil / goal / gas lobbies – but Romney will just hand over everything, including public lands, and will decimate any pretense at protecting our land, water, and air.
People who get sick: About 30 million more people will be able to get healthcare now than 4 years ago. Obamacare isn’t going to be perfect because he gave into the insurance companies too much during negotiations, but it’s a Hell of a lot better now than four years ago – and we can build on this plan. Pre-existing medical condition? – You can’t get dropped like a hot potato anymore. You can also stay on your parents’ health insurance till your 25. That didn’t exist 4 years ago. Mitt wants to scrap the whole thing.
Old People and Future Old People: Just like the Bush-Cheney people before them, when it comes to Social Security and healthcare, Romney and Ryan want to slice and dice that shit, and play it on the horses. If we had let George put Social Security into investments in the stock market like he wanted to, your grandma would be starving right now. That would have crashed in ’09. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid – that’s yours baby. Social Security is the most successful program in human history that has helped prevent millions of old people from falling through the cracks . Don’t let them slice and dice it away. You are gonna need it later. No kidding.
The President and the First Lady have endured a lot since the day they moved into the White House and in a lot of ways they have made us proud and sometimes full of admiration. Keeping them there is an excellent way to tell the haters how bad their behavior has been – And that the first time we elected him wasn’t a fluke.
Okay we’ve said our piece. It’s not about Street Art, really, and we’re not strictly thought of as political analysts. But you know, this blog is about you and people who follow this ongoing conversation that artists have on the street. Politics, sex, love, money, power, social issues; Somehow it’s all related. Most importantly you should probably just vote your conscience, and thanks for your time and support.
While tooling around Brooklyn neighborhoods under the ever-grey pall of stormy skies that lingered for days, it was good to see that Chris and Veng from the collective Robots Will Kill completed their new wall in Bushwick just before the winds picked up. The guys have been working together a little over a decade and RWK walls now number at least into the 60s.
Here are some progress shots and the completed wall.
This new one is called “The Memory Remains” and marks a fifth anniversary of painting on this same spot with their buddy ECB, who gets some shout-outs here. A sort of premonitory image of some of their characters on an ark-like vessel is notable, and this could be one of their strongest collaborations, a sort of throw-back collection of their greatest hits and evidence of their stylistic evolution. During a difficult time and some frayed nerves in NYC it is nice to see old friends continuing to do what they love, working collaboratively for weeks to accomplish it, and ultimately let us all share in the process.
This was a tough week for New York and we’re still struggling to recover from the Hurricane whose name we’re tired of saying. We have every reason to believe New Yorkers will continue to pull together, as we always do. Go Brooklyn! Go Staten Island! Go Manhattan! Go Queens! Go Bronx! Go Long Island! Go New Jersey! Go Connecticut! New York, you are beautiful and we love you.
As ever, photographer Jaime Rojo was on the streets shooting a lot of stuff, and of course there was new Street Art to discover too. So here’s our weekly interview with the street, including 2501, Bast, Cash for Your Warhol, Classic, Cynthia von Buhler, FKDL, Gilf!, Hanksy, JR, Nick Walker, Pixel Pancho, Rene Gagnon, Ron English, and You Are Beautiful.
Still on his global 2012 painting tour the maximal minimalist MOMO was in Chicago over the last week with Seth and Nick from Pawn Works Gallery to paint a large mural under mostly grey skies while the crippling Superstorm named Sandy jacked a third of the country.
“Chicago was great,” MOMO tells us, not just because of the opportunity to paint a huge wall in his signature style and because he got to hang with a friend who had been stranded by the storm at the O’Hare airport, but because he got a taste of some of the city’s local delicacies with the Pawn Works crew.
“We did our best to share the Chicago experience,” says Nick while he talks about procuring premium encased meats form Hot Doug’s, breakfast at Art’s Drive-In, and tacos from secret hot spots all over the city. Call it Chicago hospitality. Judging the still-thin MOMO teetering on the edge of the cherry picker, this sort of modern mural making really burns the calories!
Special thanks to photographer Marc Moran for these photos exclusively for BSA readers.
VOLUNTEER TODAY AND THIS WEEKEND – RESOURCES AVAILABLE
Happy Friday Everyone!
This is not a typical Friday and not very fun in New York and for much of the east coast as we continue to grapple with the results of the storm called Sandy. New Yorkers always help each other get back on our feet and this time it is again heartening to see so many people volunteering and doing what they can to bring this city back. Our art listings this week take a 2nd place to our listings for places you can go to get help, and things you can do to volunteer.
LOOK FOR THE FULL LIST OF ART EVENTS AFTER THESE VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES.
Donate Storm Supplies: Donate extra food, water, and batteries to local shelters and food banks. Search here to find a food bank near you.
Volunteer in Local Shelters: Contact shelters directly for volunteer needs. Find your local emergency shelter location here: http://gis.nyc.gov/oem/he/index.html.
Volunteering The Mayor’s Office has stated that the best way to find out how to volunteer is to register with NYCService.org and you will get notified of opportunities. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook
Red Hook Initiative is seeking donations at 767 Hicks Street (at West 9th) “Please bring donations of food, flashlights, candles, water pumps, generators. Many buildings in the neighborhood will likely not have power for the next 4-5 days.” For more information call, (347) 770-1528 or email redhookrecovers@gmail.com
Clean up at BWAC / Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition in Red Hook on November 3rd & 4th: “This Saturday and Sunday we hope to clean out all the trash and debris. This includes much of the sheet rock as well as anything destroyed. If anyone has a portable generator, long extension cords, or work lights, we would like to borrow them. Anyone and everyone is needed for this effort. We will be starting at 10AM on Saturday. RSVP/questions: bwacinfo@aol.com”
The MoMA and PS1 curator Klaus Biesenbach is helping to organize relief efforts in the Rockaways Saturday: http://bit.ly/WcFgWD Biesenbach plans to meet volunteers outside the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research building at 4 West 54th Street at 10am on Saturday, and then will drive people and supplies out to the Rockaways.
Donate to families in the Rockaways now-Sat. Nov.3rd 9:30-11am. El Puente is collecting donations of clothing/supplies/nonperishable food for affected families in the Rockaways, now through Saturday. Drop-off location: El Puente Headquarters, 211 South 4th St. (@Roebling) in Williamsburg BK 11211
Donate clothing and food items in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn today Nov. 2. The Arab American Association of NY is collecting clothing and food items for donation. “All clothing donations should be washed & all food items must be sealed. We will deliver items to three Brooklyn shelters – Brooklyn Armory, FDR High School, and the Caton School” Please drop off items to 7111 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209 between 10am-6pm today until 2pm Friday, November 2ed. Contact: faiza.aaany@gmail.com
Help cleanup New York City Parkshttp://on.nyc.gov/Pp0v3n to volunteer in our parks this weekend. Help clean up Prospect Park Nov. 2ed, 3ed, 4th: Volunteer with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation to aid in the cleanup and recovery of Prospect Park this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (11/2 – 11/4), clickthis link to sign up.
The American Red Cross
Red Cross: The Red Cross is seeking volunteers over 16 and who are able to lift 50 pounds and comfortable working in stressful situations. Email them at staffing@nyredcross.org
Give Blood – Hurricane Sandy has caused the cancellation of 100 blood drives in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, a shortfall of 3,200 blood and platelet donations that would otherwise be available for those needing transfusions.
Volunteer at a Hurricane Sandy Shelter – The American Red Cross is specifically seeking individuals over 16 years of age that can carry 50 lbs to volunteer at local New York Red Cross Shelters.
Donate Money – You can choose to donate money to the Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting their website or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
AmeriCares
Donate Money – AmeriCares delivers medicines and medical supplies to disaster areas, and as of yesterday was deploying a mobile medical unit to affected areas in Connecticut.
The Salvation Army
Donate Money – The Salvation Army is currently on the ground in New Jersey helping with relief efforts, according to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Food Bank for New York
Donate Money – The Food Bank for New York provides food and emergency meals to New Yorkers, and as of last night was planning to continue distribution on Tuesday. You can donate money by simply texting FBNYC to 50555. If you wish to volunteer, check with and contact your neighborhood pantry or kitchen via the Food Bank for New York’s website.
The ASPCA
Donate Money – The ASPCA will assist and rescue the thousands of animals affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) takes donations to rescue and shelter animals affected by the storm. According to spokesperson Emily Schneider, the group’s efforts are currently focused in the New York City area, where nearly 240 animals are staying with their owners in pet-friendly Red Cross shelters. The ASPCA is also setting up a distribution center in Syracuse, New York with 4,000 sheltering units, which contain pet food, crates, food bowls, toys, and anything else an animal may need. They’re also standing with water rescue units should they be called.
The Humane Society of the United States
Report – The HSUS has a 24-hour hotline for New York evacuees to report pets that were left behind. The number is 347-573-1561.
The Bowery Mission Has Current Needs
Financial donations — They are serving three times as many as normal, and will need to restock food and resources once we have power.
Help provide food for 200 people at a time (make and/or get and drop off at the Mission – 227 Bowery)
Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drop them off
Trays of cooked food, ready to be served
Large amounts of Gatorade and Iced Tea – Currently only serving water
Gasoline for generators that are providing emergency power — Please deliver to 227 Bowery (at Prince Street), 45-51 Avenue D (between 4th and 5th Streets), or our Administrative Headquarters at 132 Madison Ave. (Madison & 31 St).
Blankets at The Bowery Mission Transitional Center — Please deliver to 45-51 Avenue D (between 4th and 5th Streets) or our Administrative Headquarters at 132 Madison Ave. (Madison & 31 St).
Sweatshirts, Large and XL coats and hoodies, men’s jeans and boots, at The Bowery Mission — Please deliver to 227 Bowery (at Prince Street) or our Administrative Headquarters at 132 Madison Ave. (Madison & 31 St).
Pantry items such as sugar, oatmeal, coffee, rice, potatoes — Please deliver to 227 Bowery (at Prince Street) or our Administrative Headquarters at 132 Madison Ave. (Madison & 31 St).
For those who want to send other kinds of help, the American Red Cross collects funds and coordinates blood donations. The organization sheltered more than 3,000 people across nine states during the worst of the storm. You can donate $10 by phone by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999.
The United Way has created a regional fund for communities hit by Sandy. They’re asking for donations at uwsandyrecovery.org. Donors can also give $10 by texting RECOVERY to 52000.
Volunteers in New Jersey are being coordinated through an emergency response hotline, 1-800-JERSEY-7 (1-800-537-7397). Alternate numbers, for when the hotline isn’t staffed, include 609-775-5236 and 908-303-0471 or emails can be sent to Rowena.Madden@sos.state.nj.us.
1. New York Kings at Pure Evil (London)
2.”Stikman 20.1″ Opens in Philadelphia Tonight
3. EVOK “Ordinary Things” in Detroit
4. “Four” Group Show at Loft F (Boston)
5. Dale Grimshaw’s”Moreish” Signal Gallery in London
6. ARD*POP-UP 2012 Festival in Oslo, Norway
7. Unruly Gallery in Amsterdam showing Finland’s Graffiti Artist EGS
8. JonOne solo show “Beautiful Madness” at Fabien Castanier in Studio City, CA
9. All City Canvas: The Short Film (VIDEO)
10. Chris Dyer in Montreal (VIDEO)
New York Kings at Pure Evil (London)
“New York Kings” is the title of the new group exhibition at the Pure Evil Gallery in London featuring COPE2, INDIE 184, BLADE, STAY HIGH 149, SEN2, FUZZ ONE, POEM, BOM5, RD 357, DECK, and EASY & JOZ . In London for the first time in over a decade, a unique exhibition of the godfathers of graffiti art using new york subway maps as their canvas to tell their 30 year story while remaining true to their roots. this is a rare opportunity to see examples of a genre that is often temporary by its very nature.
For further information regarding this show click here.
“Stikman 20.1” Opens in Philadelphia Tonight
Enigmatic Street Artist STIKMAN has a solo show titled “Stikman 20.1” opening today at the Stupid Easy Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. You might not see him if you to the opening but you sure will see his vast artistic output on display. For 20 years Stikman has been putting his art on the streets based on this one character presented in so many different ways and situations, with humor, wit and poignancy – more recently they have appeared with a lot of Mondrian influences. Most people never tire of discovering these rigid little fellers as they turn a corner, look up a sign post, cross a street, admire an architectural detail on a building.
For further information regarding this show click here.
REVOK “Ordinary Things” in Detroit
REVOK is a son of Detroit and the Library Street Collective Gallery is welcoming him with a solo show titled “Ordinary Things” opening tonight. The things may be ordinary, but what he makes with them are not. Assembling and fashioning found objects and materials he shows a fastidious attention to detail and an acute sense of balance, harmony and color.
For further information regarding this show click here.
“Four” Group Show at Loft F (Boston)
Unveiling his new portrait of a certain candidate in Tuesday’s race, Dave Tree is showing in a group show titled “Four” at the Loft F Gallery in Boston, MA. This show opens today.
For further information regarding this show click here.
Also Happening this weekend:
Dale Grimshaw‘s show “Moreish” is now open to the general public at the Signal Gallery in London, UK. Click here for more details on this show.
ARD*POP-UP 2012 Festival in Oslo, Norway is now underway until Sunday Nov. 04 with the participation of renowned Street Artists including: CODEROCK (NOR), M-CITY (POL), PHLEGM (UK), PEZ (SPA), KENOR (SPA), ZOSEN(SPA), CHANOIR (FRA), GALO (BRA), SUB LUNA (ISL), ACHOE (NOR), MARTIN WHATSON (NOR) and DOT DOT DOT (NOR). Click here for more details on this festival.
Unruly Gallery in Amsterdam, The Netherlands is showing Finland’s Graffiti Artist EGS in a solo show with works on paper and sculptures. This show is now open to the general public. Click here for more details on this show.
JonOne solo show “Beautiful Madness” at the Fabien Castanier Gallery in Studio City, CA opens tomorrow. Click here for more details on this show.
Now you have heard it all! – A graffiti artist taking the big beige buff to his own large 20 foot long piece. Yet another performance by Saber, who can safely add conceptual to the adjectives that describe his work as artist.
“I’m coming from the future. And the future that I experience is grey and beige and the artwork is destroyed and our history is gone and eradicated,” says Saber during his performance at the Nuart 2012 festival that invites Street Artists from around the world to paint walls in this European Capital of Culture, the oil-rich city of Stavanger, Norway.
Far from the city of Los Angeles, where he has been outspoken against various shades of intolerance over many years as artist and activist, and far from New York City, where he last month organized the skywriting campaign in blue skies over the region in support of public arts funding in the US, the sharp tongued Saber went for pure drama at the group show opening in September. His target in this case was the use of the term “no tolerance” that has been heard more often in recent years along with it’s cousin “zero tolerance”, proclaimed by certain elected and unelected standard bearers wildly across the spectrum when addressing issues as diverse as law enforcement, drug use, education, sexuality, truancy, religious expression, reality TV, fashion choices, and various forms of art on the streets. Seizing the zeitgeist, some liberal folk will even talk about having a sort of “zero-tolerance” for intolerance. The fear addressed by Saber of course is the misuse of these terms that can verge on hyberbole and lead to a sort of blanket fanaticism when miss-applied. “If they want to continue to elect political figures that use the words ‘no tolerance’ then the world they are going to see is going to have a very ugly future,” the high intensity Saber says in this video during his simple performance.
As PR and ad agencies and political campaigns will tell you, the way any topic is framed will lead to a public perception and eventually even public policy – “war on cancer” is much more galvanizing than “medical research into methodologies for curing various conditions classified as cancer” for example. As with any single-phrase campaign, each of us knows that it is shorthand for something greater and the issue is often far more complex and weighty than a slogan like “War on (your word here)” can thoroughly address. But the lacerating style of Saber’s in-show demonstration here is probably meant to be a blunt counterweight to the over-simplified arguments against all manner of public art that stylistically smacks of an illegal kind.
Essentially this is one more argument for free speech and free expression. Clearly this case of wild handed and stylized graffiti artwork inside a gallery at the invitation of it’s organizers is approved and encouraged. Saber’s concern here is a future where the demonizing of this style of work (or any artwork) in or outside the gallery could begin a slide down a slippery slope where certain art is regulated, banned, even criminalized. It sounds extreme, but stranger things have happened in human history, and this artist makes a very public show of it.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
