SNIK, the artist duo known for their hand-cut stencil art, has announced their latest project, “EXHALE.” The endeavor spans the remote Norwegian island of Utsira and the city of Stavanger, exploring our connection to nature. The island’s small community lives harmoniously with the cycles of growth and decay, inspiring SNIK’s work. Three murals—Pathways, Afterthought, and Exhale—were created on Utsira, depicting the overwhelming presence of nature, and reclaiming serene subjects. The murals aim to blend with the environment, utilizing muted color palettes that respect the island’s peaceful partnership with its inhabitants.
SNIK, based in Stamford, UK, is known for their distinctive style, complex hand-cut stencils, and haunting portraiture. Their intricate work has gained acclaim among collectors for its vivid colors and their attention to detail. Their commitment to traditional stencil methods sets the work apart from digital techniques, even as the art captures dynamic action, featuring everyday subjects and emphasizing the beauty of the ordinary. In addition to the Utsira project, SNIK also created a mural called “Overcome” in Stavanger.
Welcome to Memorial Day Weekend in NYC, when New Yorkers remember those who died in wars, and we have parades, barbecues, smoke reefer on the stoop, ride the Circle Line, go to the Met Museum, hit Ellis Island, stroll through the park, play kickball with your neighbors, see fireworks, ride your bike across the bridge, blast loud music out of car windows, spray paint on walls, bring food to the elderly, and head to the beaches, which are officially open now.
Each year we try new foods too, because there are so many dishes you have heard of but haven’t tried – one venue with live music here in Brooklyn is touting a menu that Smash Burgers, Lobster Rolls, Snow Cones, and Fresh Coconuts. Haven’t tried all of those before, but that does sound like a recipe for summer. It’s Fleet Week so welcome Sailors! Welcome immigrants! Welcome trans folk! Welcome summer. Welcome Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Atheists. Get in here! Celebrate us all ya’ll. This is worth fighting for.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: City Kitty, CRKSHNK, Jet, Eternal Possessions, Manik, Gent, SKAM, BEOR, Natadee, Ivan J. Rogue, Phaser, Goders, Peso Neto, Liz Christy, Danana Tree, Mini Mantis, Peto, Budar, Geps, Riotk, void, Mung, Dats, and Kalypso Manu.
The Museum of Graffiti, the world’s first museum dedicated to graffiti art, will open “All Black Everything,” the first exclusively African American graffiti exhibition. The exhibition aims to highlight and honor the legacy of these artists, especially considering their foundational role in the genesis of the art form and their inspiration for countless artists in both the streets and gallery spaces and their enduring influence even today.
Celebrating the art and contributions of multi-generational graffiti artists from the African diaspora, the museum will mark the occasion with a panel discussion featuring renowned artists such as Richard “Bama” Admiral, a pioneer in the graffiti movement. The exhibition will showcase the work of acclaimed African American artists, including Bama, Blade, Daze, Delta2, Dondi White, Esteme, Ewok, Kool Koor, Noc167, Quik (Lin Felton), Skeme, Sneke, VFR, and Wane One. In addition, vintage sketchbooks and ephemera will provide a glimpse into the early artistry of the influential Web One. The exhibit will feature original graffiti paintings on canvas and works on paper spanning the past 40 years.
Allison Freidin, the co-founder of the Museum of Graffiti, explains the significance of these artists’ work within the context of their surroundings: “In the 1970s, the Bronx was burning due to economic turmoil and crime. It is no wonder that the imaginations of the African American artists living in these neighborhoods propelled them beyond their surroundings into a world of fantasy and hope. This is what you will see in the paintings by Kool Koor, Bama, and Delta2.”
Alan Ket, the curator and co-founder of the Museum of Graffiti, emphasizes the cultural impact of graffiti within the larger hip hop movement: “Many people around the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop by placing an exclusive emphasis on the music. However, hip hop is a movement with great cultural contributors across many creative disciplines, including graffiti. From Bama in the North Bronx, who participated in the first graffiti exhibition in 1973, to Harlem’s cultural icon Skeme, to Wane One, who has been traveling the world for the past 30 years teaching his unique lettering style, their genius deserves recognition now more than ever.”
Join the Museum of Graffiti on June 16 at 7pm for the release party for their very first book, The Wide World of Graffiti, with over 400 pages of essays, never-before-seen photos, interviews, and more! The author and Museum co-Founder will be signing copies all evening long.
Click HERE for more details about the exhibition and the book launch.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Gonzalo Borondo, “Settimo Giorno”
2. Graciela Iturbide in”Investigation” – Art in the Twenty-First-Century. Via Art21
3. INDECLINE – The United States of Apathy
BSA Special Feature: Gonzalo Borondo, “Settimo Giorno”
Borondo’s latest exhibition, titled “Settimo Giorno” (Seventh Day), is an immersive artistic experience that combines visual, poetic, and auditory elements to delve into the themes of creation, transformation, and the delicate balance between chaos and tranquility.
The artist is taking inspiration from the ancient text of the book of Genesis to explore the first six days of creation artistically. The exhibition is well placed here in the Former Church of San Mattia, which adds a unique atmosphere of reflection, tranquility, and silence to the experience.
Borondo incorporates video as the primary medium of expression; over sixty of them, consisting of manipulated cyanotype photograms, are placed in the church’s six chapels and the altar, visually recounting the creation myth’s six days. These videos, created through a combination of analog development techniques and modern 3D technology, bridge the gap between the past and present, both technically and conceptually, between architecture, dialogue, heritage, and contemporary.
Alongside the visual elements, the exhibition incorporates poetic elements. Ángela Segovia, a renowned Spanish poet and winner of the National Poetry Prize in Spain, provides recorded snippets of text that are whispered by herself, creating an immersive experience for the visitors.
SETTIMO GIORNO at the Ex St. Mattia Church – Gonzalo Borondo
Graciela Iturbide in”Investigation” – Art in the Twenty-First-Century. Via Art21
“For Graciela Iturbide, the camera is a pretext for understanding the world. Her principal concern has been the photographic investigation of Mexico—her own cultural environment—through black-and-white images of landscapes and their inhabitants, abstract compositions, and self-portraits. Whether photographing indigenous communities in her native country, cholos in Los Angeles, Frida Kahlo’s house, or the landscape of the American South, her interest, she says, lies in what her heart feels and what her eyes see.”
INDECLINE – The United States of Apathy
In a stabbingly brutal way, street art/conceptual artist collective INDECLINE juxtaposes the photos of people killed by gun violence with smarmy fatuous unaware patriotic lyrics that rise and fall. Fall mostly. It’s a stunning contrast that brings the story home. It’s also a reductivist critique and somehow targets, if you will, victims and the guilty with similar contempt. You get the point, but a viewer may feel strangely like it misses it too. These victims didn’t ask to become spokespeople, and their families grieve them without fail daily.
Canadian boxcar rider and artist Troy Lovegates (OTHER) has traveled the world on freights and foot from town to city many times in the last three decades, sleeping where he collapses, drawing where he lands. His characters show the wear and tear of life as if they have travelled greatly, if not physically, then perhaps psychologically or emotionally. Their clashing color patterns, piercing planes, and misshapen angles are complemented by stoic, exasperated, exhausted, unnerved, and wistful countenances – each negotiating their way through a world full of challenge. Now known for his illustrations, murals, mixed media, and sculpture work on the street and in the gallery space, there really is no other like OTHER.
This weekend if you are in Taiwan, you can catch some of Troy’s friends in a gallery setting as he travels back to remember the 90s, when he bombed Taipai regularly, even earning him a title, he says, of “one of the first artists to actively participate in graffiti bombing” there. Decades later, he returns to showcase his newest collection of characters – and his personal character – in Kaohsiung City. When you leave the gallery, you may roam the streets, where you’ll still find some of his original tags and monikers.
Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. A Journey Of Stories at Arcade Art Gallery. Taiwan. (image courtesy of the gallery)Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. A Journey Of Stories at Arcade Art Gallery. Taiwan. (image courtesy of the gallery)Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. A Journey Of Stories at Arcade Art Gallery. Taiwan. (image courtesy of the gallery)Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. A Journey Of Stories at Arcade Art Gallery. Taiwan. (image courtesy of the gallery)Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. A Journey Of Stories at Arcade Art Gallery. Taiwan. (image courtesy of the gallery)Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. A Journey Of Stories at Arcade Art Gallery. Taiwan. (image courtesy of the gallery)
“Please join us on May 27th, 2023, from 3 pm to 7 pm ( 高雄市鹽埕區大智路35巷1-1號 ) for an unforgettable night of art and celebration. We cannot wait to share this experience with you.”
Nº 1-1, Lane 35, Dazhi Road, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City
For more information on A Journey Of Stories click HERE
Located just outside Stockholm, Sweden, SNÖSÄTRA is a unique and renowned area known for its vibrant graffiti scene and urban art. A former dump site, it has been transformed into a haven, a site for graffiti jams, and even the SNÖSÄTRA Wall of Fame. Many meters of concrete walls have become a canvas for various artists, and murals and graffiti cover almost every surface. Various styles and techniques are displayed all year, with some pieces conveying social or political messages while others are purely aesthetic or abstract.
SNÖSÄTRA has gained recognition as a popular venue for graffiti jams due to its large walls and acceptance of street art, including SNÖSÄTRA Street Art Festival, the Meeting of Styles – is an international graffiti event that takes place in different cities worldwide, and the Nordic Street Art Festival, focusing on street art and graffiti from the Nordic region.
Last year’s SNÖSÄTRA Street art and graffiti festival featured live performances, dance, workshops, markets, and food trucks. During the first summer days, you are welcome to participate in one of Europe’s most prominent graffiti and street art festivals, with over 60 national and international artists. Visitors could participate in Graffiti, Street art, and dance workshops and eat delicious food from 9 food trucks. This year’s event is holding an Open Call, so take a look at their website and sign up if you are interested.
Naturally, this special place buried in the woods has also become a popular destination for exploring photographers of street art and graffiti culture, and Spanish photographer Lluis Olivas Bulbena recently explored the Swedish spray yard to capture new shots, which he shares here with BSA readers.
In partnership with Greenpeace Malaysia, the artist collective Splash and Burn has undertaken a year-long campaign in Malaysia to combat haze pollution and advocate for clean air as a fundamental human right. The project, led by artist Ernest Zacharevic, has involved five impactful interventions alongside Southeast Asian artists such as Cloakwork, Pangrok Sulap, and Fahmi Reza. The campaign culminated earlier this month in an exhibition called “Haze: Coming Soon” held in Kuala Lumpur, attracting over 6,000 attendees who engaged with thought-provoking art, film screenings, and informative displays.
The exhibition showcased powerful murals, including the “Transboundary Haze” by Ernest Zacharevic and Fahmi Reza’s “Caution: Jerebu Is Coming Back.” Other artists like Cloakwork, Trexus, Trina Teoh, Bibichun, and the Pangrok Sulap collective contributed captivating works. Studio Birthplace, a key organizer, presented a short film titled “Wasteminster: A Downing Street Disaster,” highlighting the daily export of plastic waste. The event also featured films like “Haze-zilla,” “Rewild,” and “Haze: Coming Soon.”
Through the exhibition, Greenpeace’s informative displays emphasized the detrimental impact of haze pollution on health and the environment. Visitors were urged to sign a petition advocating for enacting a Transboundary Haze Pollution Act and engage with local Members of Parliament to combat haze. The collaboration between Splash and Burn, Greenpeace, and filmmaking company Studio Birthplace demonstrates the power of art in driving awareness, fostering dialogue, and inspiring collective action to address environmental challenges, leaving a lasting impact on the fight against haze pollution.
Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)Activist Art Exhibition. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (photo courtesy of Splash & Burn)
A scattered array of actors aim to write upon the modern city today, from the initiatives of arts councils and community leaders to the privately funded neighborhood gentrification projects. There are programs funded by brands eager to use public space to sell their products and quasi-public programs that merge the interests of institutions and neighborhoods. There are pop-up events that restore a sense of carnival and wonder, and there are the somewhat feral free-lance street artists and graffiti writers who self-direct their individual installations under cover of night in a surreptitious rush of feet and adrenaline. Perhaps the lines were blurred between them in the past, but today the events and the actors also appear to switch teams more easily, and the tools of production have multiplied.
Against this backdrop, the Festival of Light in Belo Horizonte, Brazil becomes a playground for AKACORLEONE’s visionary creation, “Temple of Light,” which graces the arches of the Santa Tereza Viaduct. Alongside a slate of creators throughout this city section, he challenges himself to use light to create visual sensations inspired by his personal universe, radiating vibrant colors and aiming for transcendence. Here analog mingles with digital techniques, and fantasy intertwines reality. You may think of them as neon colored stained-glass windows, reframing reality and suggesting new relationships with symbols, patterns, and the night sky.
Here we have new images of thousands of people stepping through a captivating world created by AKACORLEONE, a Portuguese-Swiss visual artist born Pedro Campiche in the 1980s. AKACORLEONE’s artistic journey traces back to his early involvement with graffiti during the early 2000s, a foundation for his subsequent ventures that have included illustration and muralism, painting, installation, and sculpture – in public space and in gallery settings.
Now in its 2nd year here, The Festival of Light presents an array of installations illuminating the hyper center of Belo Horizonte for two days. These immersive pieces blur the boundaries between art, technology, and music, captivating visitors with colorful lights, mesmerizing video mappings, and thought-provoking installations. Alongside AKACORLEONE’s “Temple of Light,” a constellation of artists contributed to the vibrant atmosphere, including Mir Estudio, Márcia Kambeba, Paula Duró, Nívea Sabino, Sandro Miccoli and Flávio Deslandes, and Sébastien Preschoux each engaging with the streets, the architecture, the people of the city in new ways.
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! So much to say, such brief attention spans. Looking around at the chattering masses on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan this week, the excitement of beautiful weather and a sense of liberty sends youthful hearts aflutter. The gams! The biceps! The colorful plumage and sartorial flair all wend and weave down the street and subway steps past you, ahead of you, inside you. Also, check out the peonies and lilacs!
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: City Kitty, Praxis VGZ, Little Ricky, The Postman Art, Homesick, Calicho Art, Cramcept, OH!, Kevin Caplicki, Toe Flop, Miki Mu, Tess Parker, Mr. Fou, El Cono, RatchiNYC, and AweOne.
This singular tower freshly painted by Fabio Pentani is impressive regardless of its location, but placed here in San Vito Lo Capo in Sicily, context means everything.
Painting for and participating in the SUA Project, the muralist and ecologist often combines natural plant life and compounds or derivatives of plants in his work. Here he has named Mannitol, a compound widely used in medicine, food, and industrial applications, along with Fraxinus excelsior (European Ash), which you will find applications for in timber, traditional medicine, and ecological preservation.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. “1 Kilo – 3 Euros” by Ani Mrelashvili
2. Shahzia Sikander: Melting Boundaries
3. Heather Benjamin – “Mother All I Did Was Want To Kill But Just Look At What I Broke”
BSA Special Feature: “1 Kilo – 3 Euros” by Ani Mrelashvili
Today’s edition of BSA Film Friday trains the spotlight on three women. Two of them are artists talking about their work and one of them is an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is a woman who wears many hats at once and keeps an immigrant community bonded. Immigration, immigrants, and migration are always on the news. Here in the USA, the big topic is the southern border with Mexico and the influx of immigrants, mostly from Central America, but also from Colombia and Venezuela as well as the regular number of Mexican Nationals who strive for a better future in a foreign land. In the film, Maka runs a parcel shop in Berlin that caters to a tight community of immigrants from Georgia, the country in the Caucasus region in Europe that was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922 but re-gained independence in 1991 riding in the success of the 1980’s Independence Movement. This film is a reminder of the humanity of immigrants and their love for those they left behind. Maka’s big heart and affable disposition facilitate the bond that all these people have in common.
1 Kilo – 3 Euros by Ani Mrelashvili
Shahzia Sikander: Melting Boundaries / Art21 “Extended Play” by Andrea Chung.
For her exhibition at Bim Bam Gallery in Paris. The exhibition closes tomorrow, Saturday, May 20. Hurry!
Bim Bam Gallery 23 rue Béranger 75003 Paris
Heather Benjamin – “Mother All I Did Was Want To Kill But Just Look At What I Broke”
Continuity. That is a characteristic inherent in string art, usually because one associates the act of long rolls of string repeatedly wrapped around nail heads to create a piece. In the area of street art, there have been a few notable examples of artists using string to make new artworks in public space; the American HOTTEA, who is known for his large-scale installations of colorful strings as well as more human-sized typographic slogans on chain-link fences, Spidertag from Spain who began with yarns and nails and graduated to neon and fluorescent installations of geometric, often abstract designs on surfaces. Mademoiselle Maurice is known for string and origami elements in her installations, and Jane Echelman has displayed massive aerial sculptures of woven rope and fibers in public spaces. Although you may easily make that connection, we won’t go into yarn-bombing.
Today we’re talking about the unbroken threads of artist Perspicere and his new exhibition called ‘BARE THREAD’. He has a talent for conjuring ghost-like portraits on canvasses and on the street using a technique not known or mastered by many. Wound in complex and individual patterns, the people emerge upward and outward toward you, even though they are necessarily anchored.
Perspicere. Bare Thread. BSMT Space. London, UK. (image courtesy of the gallery)
Once relegated to the realms of DIY, or crafting, string art has also gained recognition and acceptance as a legitimate art form in contemporary art circles while artists have pushed the boundaries of the medium, experimenting with various materials, techniques, and concepts. Much like its brother graffiti, whether string art is considered “high art” or not largely depends on the individual and the context in which it is presented. Here at BSMT Space gallery in London, there is no question.
BARE THREAD is Perspicere’s second solo show at BSMT Space in London, who say the works are “Truly breath-taking and thought-provoking, ‘Bare Thread’ is an exhibition that deftly weaves together themes of vulnerability, courage, and the human condition.” In a recent posting on Instagram, the gallery says “These pieces need to be seen in person, the complexity of the interwoven thread is astounding!”
Perspicere. Bare Thread. BSMT Space. London, UK. (image courtesy of the gallery)From August 6, 2022, the artist writes with this video on Instagram “Action video of a recent piece down Leake Street. Brief action appearance of @allseeing.ra …. since this video my piece has been tagged, ripped AND set on fire!! Damn… these toys hate the string!!!..”A Photoshopped image of Perspicere’s work in the streets. (image courtesy of the gallery)
‘Bare Thread’ opens at London’s BSMT gallery with a private view on May 25th, with drinks generously provided by our good friends at Magic Spells Brewery. The show runs from May 26th to June 11th, 2022. For catalogue enquiries or to attend the opening night RSVP via hello@bsmt.co.uk.
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
