All posts tagged: Barry McGee

BAM/PFA Presents: Barry McGee: His First Midcareer Survey. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA)

May 21, 2012 Artists, Berkeley, California, Events, Gallery, Museum

Barry McGee

Barry McGee. Detail of The Houston Wall in NYC. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Berkeley, CA, May 14, 2012 — The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) proudly presents Barry McGee, the first ever midcareer survey of the San Francisco–based artist. This exceptionally comprehensive exhibition explores his work from the late 1980s to the present, and gives the artist an opportunity to produce new work. Including rarely seen early etchings, re-creations of large-scale installations, vibrant abstract paintings, animatronics, photographs, painted surfboards, and an intervention on the building exterior, Barry McGee provides a much-anticipated opportunity to experience and assess the broad scope of the artist’s multifaceted career and practice in a single exhibition.

“Barry has influenced a generation of international artists, with the Bay Area as the welcoming and appreciative center for his dynamic, engaged, and progressive approach to art-making,” says BAM/PFA Director and Barry McGee co-curator Lawrence Rinder. “So it is with a sense of privilege and special responsibility that we present this first midcareer survey of his work.”

McGee, who trained professionally in painting and printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute, began sharing his work in the 1980s, not in a museum or gallery setting but on the streets of San Francisco, where he developed his skills as a graffiti artist, often using the tag name “Twist.” Using a visual vocabulary that borrows elements from comics, hobo art, sign painting, and other sources, McGee’s work addresses a range of issues, from individual survival and social malaise to alternative forms of community. His extraordinary skill as a draughtsman is balanced by a passion for pushing the boundaries of art: his work can be shockingly informal in the gallery and surprisingly elegant on the street.

McGee commands a staggering array of media to bring his art into being, including empty liquor bottles, spray-paint cans, tagged signs, televisions, wrenches, scrap wood, and metal. His installations don’t so much occupy space as they engulf it. Dizzying color patterns pour into corners and seep into adjacent rooms; walls packed with clusters of framed illustrations and images bubble out as if to touch viewers; and the interiors of overturned vans become viewing spaces of their own.

McGee will be in residence for the installation of the exhibition from mid-June through late August. Barry McGee is organized by Rinder, with Curatorial Assistant Dena Beard, and is accompanied by a major catalog featuring texts by Alex Baker, Natasha Boas, and Germano Celant as well as nearly three hundred images, many of which have never before been published. The exhibition will travel to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston in April 2013.

Public Programs

Thursday, August 23, 2012
Opening Celebration
5:00 VIP Opening
6:00 Member Opening

Wednesday, August 29, 2012
12:00 Curators’ Gallery Tour
Lawrence Rinder and Dena Beard
Join the exhibition curators, Director Lawrence Rinder and Curatorial Assistant Dena Beard, as they share their insights into the work of Barry McGee, touching on key themes from the late 1980s to the present.

Barry McGee will be inspiration for a series of fall 2012 L@TE: Friday Nights @ BAM/PFA events, including performances by Devendra Banhart, T.I.T.S, and Clare Rojas. Other programs include a conversation with Rinder and Jeffrey Deitch, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; an illustrated lecture about the history of graffiti by photographer Jim Prigoff; a stencil-making workshop with David Anthony King; and a zine-making workshop with V. Vale. As full details for these events are still forming, a comprehensive Barry McGee public programs press release will follow later this summer.

Guided tours of the exhibition with UC Berkeley graduate student tour guides will be offered on selected Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. and selected Sundays at 2 p.m. See the museum’s online calendar for the schedule: www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/events/education

Related Materials

Barry McGee
Edited by Lawrence Rinder and Dena Beard with contributions by Alex Baker, Natasha Boas, and Germano Celant.
Published by the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in association with D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
Hardcover, 450 pages
$49.50
BAM/PFA ISBN 978-0-9719397-0-7
Publication date: August 2012
DAP ISBN 978-1-935202-85-1
Publication date: September 2012

Tour
UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
August 24–December 9, 2012

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
April 5–September 2, 2013

Support
Barry McGee is made possible by lead support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and presenting sponsor Citizens of Humanity. Major support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Ratio 3, Cheim and Read, the East Bay Fund for Artists at the East Bay Community Foundation, The Robert Lehman Foundation, Prism, and Stuart Shave/Modern Art. Additional support is provided by Rena Bransten, Gallery Paule Anglim, Jeffrey Fraenkel and Frish Brandt, Suzanne Geiss, Nion McEvoy, and the BAM/PFA Trustees.

Special thanks to Citizens of Humanity for their additional support of BAM/PFA’s grade-school art experience programs.

Me Collectors Room Berlin Presents: “At Home I’m A Tourist” The Collection of Selim Varol (Berlin, Germany)

May 15, 2012 Artists

Selim Varol

“my collection, that’s me –
my childhood, my friends, my heroes, my role models, what i enjoy, what moves me. pictures from my journey: ‘at home i’m a tourist’” (Selim Varol)

From 26 May to 16 September 2012, me Collectors Room Berlin will be presenting the collection of Selim Varol. The exhibition will thus mark a return to an essential leitmotif of the foundation: the theme of collecting and the passion of the collector. The 39-year-old collector from Düsseldorf with Turkish roots has been collecting toys since his childhood and owns one of the largest collections of figurines in Europe, numbering some 15,000 pieces. A further focus of his collection lies in works by artists who trace their origins back to street art and ‘Pop Surrealism’. One characteristic shared by all the works in this collection is the close link between art and the everyday, as well as their often playful and humorous or subversive character.

The world of toys, most of which are produced in Asia, is a world full of plastic and vinyl. The figurines are detailed miniature sculptures that have variously emerged from the imaginations of contemporary urban artists and designers, or from politics and current events (Andy Warhol, Fidel Castro, Hitler), the dream factory of the film industry (Batman, Superman, Rambo and many others) or comics and manga. Many works in this collection are well-known due to their presence in public spaces. Shepard Fairey helped create a groundswell for Barack Obama with his iconic ‘HOPE’ poster during the United States presidential race in 2008. And JR, the current TED Prize winner, attracted international attention in 2008 with his film ‘28 millimètres: Women Are Heroes’ in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, where he mounted giant images of female residents on the façades of houses in order to raise awareness about their life stories and give these women a voice. The New York artist KAWS (Brian Donnelly) is another artist who has exerted a major influence on Selim Varol’s collection, with Varol’s first acquisition of his work in 1999. KAWS first made a name for himself in 1998 with his alienated images on bus stops, phone boxes and billboards (for instance the ‘Christy Turlington Calvin Klein Ad Disruption’). He is represented in this

exhibition with more than 160 works. The exhibition includes a total of 3,000 works by more than 200 artists & designers from over 20 countries.

Plans are under way to enable artists involved in the exhibition to paint or paste designated facades in the area around the venue.

The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive catalogue of the collection that will include a text by Jeffrey Deitch.

Events:

Saturdays, 3 p.m.: Public guided tour

01.06.2012, 6.30 p.m.: Expert talk with Selim Varol

September: Reading with Autonama & Participation in “Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin”

Children’s Programme: For schools and kindergartens (upon agreement); scavenger hunt (anytime)

Pop-Up Shop: In collaboration with Toykio, a selection of designer toys and exclusive editions will also be on offer in our shop.

Prior registration is required for all events. Programme details are available on our website: www.me-berlin.com

List of artists:

123Klan, Rita Ackermann, Adam5100, Chiho Aoshima, Giorgio Armani, Suki Bamboo, Banksy, Garry Baseman, Bäst, Beast Brothers, Beejoir, Andrew Bell, Biff, Bigfoot one, Tim Biskup, Blek le Rat, Blu, Bob Dob, Bountyhunter, Randy Bowen, Brin Berliner, Bshit, Buffmonster, Milton Burkhart, Thomas Campbell, Case, James Cauty, Mori Chack, Henry Chalfant, Chip Kidd, David Choe, Luke Chueh, Coarse, Martha Cooper, Harmony Corine, Matias Corral, Robert Crumb, Dalek, Date Farmers, Dehara, Delta, Devilrobots, Dface, DJ Shadow, Dolce & Gabbana, Dolk, Doma Dr.Romanelli, Dran, Dust, Tristan Eaton, Eelus, Ben Eine, El Mac, Ron English, F.C .Ware, Fafi, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Ferg, Jeremy Fish, Florian Flatau, Sam Flores, Flying Fortress, Pete Fowler, Glen E. Friedman, Friends with you, Phil Frost, Daniel & Geo Fuchs, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Futura, Rene Gagnon, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Huck Gee, Os Gemeos, Doze Green, Sadi Güran, Eric Haze, Evan Hecox, Herakut, Jean-Louis Dumas Hermes, Jamie Hewlett, Damien Hirst, David Horvath, David Horvath & Sun-Min Kim, Marc Jacobs, Todd James, Jamungo, James Jarvis, Oliver Jeffers, JR, Nathan Jurevicius, Alex Katz, Rei Kawakubo, Audrey Kawasaki, KAWS, Peter Kennard, Josh Keyes, K-Guy, Margaret Kilgallen, Dave Kinsey, Jeff Koons, Frank Kozik, Charles Kraft, Curtis Kulig, Kurt Vonneggut & Joe Petro III, Christian Lacroix, Lady Aiko, Karl Lagerfeld, Helmut Lang, Michael Lau, Joe Ledbetter, Karin Lehmann, Matt Leines, Michael Leon, Paul Leung, Anthony Lister, Livingroom Johnston, London Police, Robert Longo, Lunartik, MAD*L, Herman Makkink, Mantis, Martin Margiela, Marok, Mars 1, Ben Mathis, Barry Mcgee, Lucy McLauchlan, Bill Mcmullen, Dennis Mcnett, Tara McPherson, Alexander McQueen, Eugenio Merino, Mexxer, Anthony Micallef, Donny Miller, Miss Bugs, Miss Van, Mist, Brendan Monroe, Polly Morgan, Mr. Clement, Takashi Murakami, Scott Musgrowe, Muttpop, Yositomo Nara, Caleb Neelon, Nigo, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Steve Olsen, Katsushiro Otomo, Tony Oursler, Jose Parla, Paul Insect, Marion Peck, Perks & Mini, Stefano Pilati, Ricky Powell, Miuccia Prada, Rob Pruit, Pure Evil, Pushead, Oliver Räke, Jamie Reid, Retna, Terry Richardson, Rocketworld, Jermaine Rogers, Rolitoboy, Ryca, Mark Ryden, Saber, Erick Scarecrow, Todd Schorr, Semper Fi, Since, Jason Siu, Sket-one, Skewville, Skullphone, Hedi Slimane, PaulSmith, Hajime Sorayama, Jeff Soto, Space Invader, Spanky, SPQR, SSUR, Jeff Staple, Stash, Static, Tyler Stout, Stefan Strumbel, Suckadelic, Superdeux, Judith Supine, Swoon, Tado, Gary Taxali, Osamu Tezuka, Tilt, Tokidoki, Touma, Tim Tsui, Nasan Tur, Unkl, Urban Medium, Usugrow, Valentino, Gee Vaucher, Mark Dean Veca, Donatella Versace, Viktor & Rolf, Amanda Visell, Nick Walker, Vivienne Westwood, Dondi White, Kehinde Wiley, WK interact, Jim Woodring, Word to Mother, Bubi Au Yeung, Zevs

Kosbe: Under the Radar and in the Studio

April 25, 2012 Artists, Interview, NYC, Studio Visit

Why One Brooklyn Stick Up Kid is Worth Watching

Sometimes on the street you get an inkling of the future. It could be an overheard excerpt from a cell-phone conversation about a club show the night before, or the color and texture of woman’s blouse as it flutters around her while she reads on a park bench, or the sight of the 3rd food truck this week selling spicy meatballs. Something tells you that you just got a glimpse of the future. And while it doesn’t completely reveal itself in it’s fullness, you can see a nascent potential, a storyline developing that may go far beyond it’s current self. Sometimes when you see a Kosbe sticker on a paper box, it feels that way too. In fact, each time you see one of his pieces on the street, it grabs you from above the fray. Yet it seems like he’s been under the radar. He may not stay there much longer.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In the ebb and the flow of the Street Art conversation in New York, you keep seeing Kosbe’s wacky characters popping up in doorways and paper boxes. They aren’t tossed off little marker drawings done while watching TV – they’re intense petite character studies. Packed into one slapped on sticker is a lot of cacophonic kineticism; near crazed city characters with primitive wild eyes staring or blinkered, with tight jaws and teeth squarely gritted. The folk faces and forms are framed by an ardent prose, non-sequitors of angst and inside jokes. “What’s the guy saying?” you could ask. And why is he yelling? “Is he okay, is he mocking me? It’s the bundled rage and cryptic cleverness of the court jester. Layers of reapplied color and repeated lines trap multiple actions on one non-static figure. This is not simple tagging, it’s a stationary tornado.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist Kosbe has put in two good decades of practice, and has learned some lessons the hard way. He’s been hitting up New York for a half decade but he comes from a long graffiti history as a kid in his native Chicago. Now a practicing artist readying a solo gallery show for fall, he grew up in a very young single-parent home where his mom created a small studio for the boy in the back of their apartment. “My mom was really supportive of me as an artist. When I was a kid she gave me this little back room that she allowed me to use like a painting studio. So I was always grabbing stuff off the street and bringing it in there, painting it. I was very secretive with my stuff. A lot of people would come over and see my stuff and they were like, ‘Dude, I didn’t know that you painted’. I was very protective of it.”

That hasn’t changed. He still likes to use found materials as canvasses, as he shows us around his small studio hidden in a warehouse in New York. “I’m always using things that I find in the streets. Like this is an old grading book from 1919,” he says as he pulls out a tattered tome with pages ripped out. “It has all these people’s signatures. I found this outside a high school in Brooklyn. It’s really cool. So that’s what I’ve been using for my drawings.”

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tough times at home got him in trouble at school and with the police as a youth. Describing himself as hard headed, he talks about running away as a young teen to San Francisco for a while in the early 90s, where he spent a lot of time on the street admiring a new kind of character-based and tattoo influenced graffiti on the street by people like Twist (Barry McGee), Mike Giant, and Reminisce. “I went out and there were these Reminisce horses everywhere and they were great because you were going down the street and you would see this horse like galloping down the street. This stuff really blew me away. So I think the same time this stuff was going on there, over here in NY you had like Cost and Revs posting bills and doing rollers. And back then there wasn’t the internet.”

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Years later here in this fluorescent lit studio filled with his drawings, paintings, books, ‘zines, assorted ephemera, a desk, and a loveseat, his excited retelling of stories reveals how much those childhood escapades running Chicago streets and exploring San Francisco formed his view of Street Art and prepared him for moving to New York eventually in the 2000s. A self-schooled student of graffiti, fine art, and street art, Kosbe can recount names of writers and crews, timelines, styles; drawing etymologies and stylistic connections and talking about migrations. With much fanfare he’ll also tell you the stories about the famed Chicago “buff” – a citywide anti graffiti campaign in the mid-late 1990s that he says whitewashed the city’s history.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

But now he’s an artist on his own, and his practice is daily. “Now I’ve learned more that the only way, as an artist, that you can kind of grow and come up with new ideas is you gotta keep giving them away. So that’s why street art is kind of funny. I have friends who are painters that have become painters because of me. They are like ‘Dude, I was totally influenced by your drawings’ and stuff like that.” But the practice of Street Artists putting fully formed works out on the street still confuses some of his peers, “They say ‘Dude you give all your art away’ – you know, they don’t understand the concept.”

His new work on the street and in this studio now bends toward abstract expressionism and his years of comic book reading enlivens that rawness with a furtively bombastic character-driven personality. Almost every piece he does has some sort of commentary- a sort of helpful therapeutic narrative to explain what the character is thinking or feeling at the moment. “I like being bad for the sake of being bad”, “Tupac!”, “deathy”, “not good”, “astro zombie”,”power to the people”,“Kosbe don’t cry”.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe also credits the street as his formative and evolutionary art instructor. “When I took an oil painting class, my teacher was like, ‘Dude you already know how to paint. How did you learn this?’ and I was like, ‘graffiti.’ ” Even though graffiti still attracts him and captures his imagination, Street Art and fine art have occupied his efforts lately and the combined synthesis of a lifetime studying art on the street and plenty of experimentation is coming together very strongly aesthetically. Combine that individual vision with the maturity that hits a person in their 30s and you may think that you are seeing a sudden glimpse of the future.

Brooklyn Street Art: I want to talk about you and your art and your influences. What are these characters? Where did they come from?
Kosbe: I don’t know. I’ve been drawing since I was real young. It’s always something that comes naturally. I don’t do any sketches, I don’t plan anything out. I just – for me it’s more a guttural, more natural thing. It’s good and bad.

Brooklyn Street Art: What’s the bad part?
Kosbe: The bad part is that I don’t focus on it, you know? I just have been doing it so long and I really enjoy it.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Is your experience kind of like a faucet that you turn on and it all comes flowing out and then you decide, “Okay I better turn it off”?
Kosbe: Exactly, right. So the thing with me is, I try to also look for other outlets. So I’m really into other things. Like I like music, photography, writing, all that stuff. But that stuff doesn’t come as naturally to me like this does. But it’s a great outlet for me and I feel really kind of lucky to have something like that – to be able to express myself in that form and manner. It’s helped me out tremendously to kind of learn how to communicate with people. Every year I realize new things – like this is how I communicate with people. Is it bad? Is it bad that I think that this is the only way I think that I can talk to people? Maybe I’ve gotta learn how to become better with talking with people verbally or something.

Brooklyn Street Art: You don’t seem to have great difficulty communicating verbally. But I’m interested in understanding a little more about how you think of this work and this practice as communication.
Kosbe: There is definitely a lot of emotional stuff in my work, you know,

Brooklyn Street Art: There is! Despair, anger …– you use a lot of descriptive words, verbal narratives throughout – whether it’s a sticker or a wheat paste.
Kosbe: Yeah it’s whatever is always popping into my head and so there are a lot of things that are on my mind and hopefully this is a good way to have an outlet for it. I’m trying to not be so negative anymore. And some people are like “Man, it’s so dark”. You know I use a lot of bright colors now, which has been phenomenal. That has really changed my work. Here you can see some of my earlier stuff and it’s really brown, dark. Actually this is beginning where I started experimenting with more color. And then as I got to New York, more and more color started getting into my stuff.

When you do graffiti you learn the fundamentals of color theory, you know. You learn what works.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: You know WK Interact talks about New York being a violent city
Kosbe: I love that guy! You know when I first moved to New York he had that little shop on the Lower East Side and you’d walk in and it was like a locker, a desk, and some Japanese kids standing around. And it would be like, “What is this? Is this a store? Is this a studio?”

Brooklyn Street Art: What made me think of him was I was interested in how you describe the city because WK has said that when he makes work on the street, if it is violent in nature and people walk by it, they sometimes give him the thumbs up! And it runs longer. But if he were to paint a pink bunny it would get crossed out because New Yorkers don’t really respond to positive cheerful stuff.
Kosbe: Oh yeah, and New York has definitely had a profound impression on me in that sense because my work before I got here still had that weird dark edge but it was a little cutesy-er. But like as time has progressed I just think I have kind of matured a bit more, becoming more of an adult and my stuff is getting more serious. But with me everything’s gotta be fun. I think it’s supposed to be fun.

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fun Friday 12.16.11

December 16, 2011 Arizona, Artists, Brooklyn, Events, Gallery, Norway, Nuart, NYC, Opening, Phoenix

1. Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”
2. “Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)
3. “Paranormal Hallucinations” at Pandemic (Brooklyn, Yo!) (Saturday)
4. David Choe and DVS1 for Nuart 11 (VIDEO)
5. “Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)
6. VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)

Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”

Street Artist Chris Uphues uses his signature characters to create this very entertaining game for you to play with while chugging eggnog and rum today as you drink and drive at your keyboard. Try to keep your sled flying over the houses without being hit by giant blobs of snow! It’s a winter blast!

Make sure to click on the link below to play the game:

http://www.megadoug.com/xmasgame/

“Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)

Chip Thomas AKA Jetsonorama and a number of other artists open today in a group show that is getting a lot of pre-buzz here and on Twitter and FB. It should be a great scene tonight at The Hive.

Chip Thomas and Breeze. (photo © Chip Thomas)

For further information regarding this show click here

“Paranormal Hallucinations” at Pandemic (Brooklyn, Yo!) (Saturday)

Pandemic Gallery has a new show “Paranormal Hallucinations” opening Saturday. including, among others, Deuce 7, Swampy and Egyptian Jason.

Swampy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A very fun group show to end out the season before everybody goes into the holiday haze, featuring some unsung gems in the Street Art and graffiti scene, as well as others, including CHARLIE MARKS R.I.P, LLEW payote, Deuce Seven, Egyptian jason, Matt CRABE, Josh and Amy Shandick, Mikey Big Breakfast, Conrad Carlson, G II, Ryan C. Doyle, Mikey I.T., Tamara Santibanez, Othello Gervacio, Mike. P, and Swampy (above).

For further information regarding this show click here

David Choe and DVS1 for Nuart 11 (VIDEO)

David Choe and DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Mookie Mooks)

“Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)

It’s been an excellent year for Street Art all over the world and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot of great stuff from big names to the anonymous. Eye popping, brain-teasing, challenging, entertaining, aspirational and inspirational – it’s all happening at once. We’ve been walking the streets, meeting the artists, going to shows, curating shows, speaking to audiences, providing walls, and asking questions. It ebbs and flows but never stays the same. With the rise of the Occupy movement this autumn, we’re already seeing an uptick in the number of people taking their messages to the street with a renewed intensity.

VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)

“Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (VIDEO)

December 14, 2011 Artists

Left to Right: Shepard Fairey in Manhattan, D*Face in LA, Ludo in Chicago, JR in the Bronx, Barry McGee at LAMoCA, Mosstika in Brooklyn. All photos © Jaime Rojo

Let’s take a look at some of our favorite shots, whether from a rooftop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a block-long wall in Miami, or the “Art in the Streets” show at LA MoCA. As you sample this eye-candy platter, dig the staccato soundtrack made of sounds culled from Brooklyn’s streets by electro duo Javelin, who spent a day in the Red Hook neighborhood collecting sounds and then mixed them in the back of their car. This is the kind of D.I.Y. ingenuity that is fueling the fire in artists neighborhoods all over the world, with people taking their stories and skills directly to the streets. With Javelin as the perfect auditory partner here’s 90 shots by photographer Jaime Rojo from 2011.

The scenes and scenester included here: 5 Pointz, 907Crew, Sadue, Gen2, Oze108, Droid, Goya, UFO, Aakash Nihalini, No Touching Ground, Aiko, Martha Cooper, Anthony Lister, Boom, INSA, Miami, Primary Flight, LA Freewalls, Los Angeles, Kim West, Kopye, L.E.T., Purth, Lisa Enxing, Baltimore, Banksy, LA MoCA, Barry McGee, Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, Albany Living Walls, Chris Stain, Billy Mode, AD HOC Arts, Chris Uphues, Monster Island, Wynwood Walls, Creepy, Brooklyn Street Art, Jaime Rojo, Steven P. Harrington, Dabs & Myla, How & Nosm, Vhils, Dain, D*Face, ECB, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, EMA, The London Police, Kid Acne, Will Barras, Enzo & Nio, Faile, Bast, Faith 47, Gaia Clown Soldier, General Howe, Hellbent, Herakut, Invader, JA JA, Jaz, Cern, Joe Iurato, Welling Court, John Baldessari, JR, Kenny Scharf, Knitta Please!, LMA Cru, LUDO, Mosstika, ND’A, IRGH, Labrona, Overunder, Nick Walker, NohjColey, Nomade, Occupy Wall Street, Os Gemeos, Veng, Chris, RWK, QRST, Radical!, Rambo, Retna, Gifted, Demon Slayers, Read, Booker, Read More Books, ROA, Shepard Fairey, Shin Shin, Wing, Skewville, Specter, Swampy, Sweet Toof, Swoon, Toofly, Various & Gould, VHILS, XAM, YOK, Pantheon Projects

Fun Friday 11.18.11

November 18, 2011 Artists

1. Occupy Wall Street This Weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Repeat)
2. The London Police at Opera Gallery
3. “Fresh Kills” Anonymous Gallery Opens in Mexico City
4. “Groundbreak” behind CBGB’s in the Alley Tomorrow
5. “Paperboys” at Pandemic Saturday (BK)
6. POSE and KC Ortiz show “White Wash” at Known Gallery
7. Sixeart at N2 Galeria in Barcelona, Spain
8. “Dissidents” A group show at West Berlin Gallery
9. “SelfEst” at Kind of – Gallery.
10. Bask solo show “Box of Fun” at William Rupnik Gallery
11. VIDEO PREMIERE! TEEBS by Brock Brake in Chicago
12. JM Rizzi “Day Dreaming Under Streetlights” (VIDEO)
13. Nuria Mora”2 Estrellas” (VIDEO)
14. New from Snyder : “Carlsbad Toreador” (VIDEO)

Occupy Wall Street This Weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Repeat)

Yesterday was the two month mark for this nascent people’s movement and the signs on the Street are bigger and clearer than ever. One of our new favorites is the addition of projection art, which has a powerful effect on the facade of iconic architectural structures, or non-descript ones. Dedicated projection art on the street simply takes a graphic, a hand truck, a projector, and a car battery. It is also non-damaging to property. In these new days of unbridled creativity set free on the street, you can’t beat a good D.I.Y. idea. Look ma, no cans!

Images © Chris Jordan

The London Police at Opera Gallery

“Who Cares Wins” opens to the public today, minus the Dandy Warhols singing songs about dogs like they did last night at the opening. The large show solidifies TLP’s place in Manhattan and the technical tightness belies a deep belief in the power of the fun, friendship, graffiti, architecture, and the imagination. Arrive in a playful mood and you’ll dig it.

The London Police (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here

Read BSA interview with TLP here

“Fresh Kills” Anonymous Gallery Opens in Mexico City

A downtown staple of inquisitive exploration, Anonymous Gallery is opening “Fresh Kills”, a group exhibition today in D.F., featuring their customary mixing of artists to create an ever more potent cocktail. The organizing principal for this show is the huge dump we have on Staten Island that will one day be a beautiful park for dogs to catch frisbees and teenagers to smoke pot in. NO LITTERING!

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artists include Richard Prince, Tom Sachs, Aaron Young, Agathe Snow, Hanna Liden, Swoon, Barry McGee, David Ellis, and Greg Lamarche.

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Groundbreak” behind CBGB’s in the Alley Tomorrow

Curated by Joyce Manalo of ArtForward & Keith Schweitzer of MaNY Project, this outdoor small group show will be waiting for you to come by tomorrow. Featured are Abe Lincoln Jr., Ellis Gallagher, and Jon Burgerman, who doodled the hell out of the sidewalk this week, bless him.

Ellis G (photo © Jaimme Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Paperboys” at Pandemic Saturday (BK)

Okay, time to haul out to the south side of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Saturday night. With this show, you are at an epicenter for a solid new direction Street Art is going to. Wouldn’t want to be so bold to say “don’t miss it”, but…

Featured will be brand new work by ND’A, Labrona and Overunder.

ND’A – Labrona (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Here’s a bit of OverUnder to whet your snappy clappetite for more.

Overunder in preparation mode (photo © Overunder)

“Most of my contributions are gouache pieces referencing some of my favorite paintings and places. I feel so fortunate for being able to travel and paint so much the last 2 years. It has really been a blessing! But now I’ve begun sourcing all those past images and street pieces for this new body of work where I can combine the architecture features, the figurative wheat pastes, and the paper bird phrases. It’s been a real reflective period, which I think is beneficial for people like me that are constantly churning out work (whether good or bad) so that I can now begin to see it with fresh eyes.” ~ Overunder

Also happening this weekend:

POSE and KC Ortiz show “White Wash” at Known Gallery in Los Angeles. Click here for more information.

Sixeart at N2 Galeria in Barcelona, Spain. Click here for more information.

“Dissidents” A group show at West Berlin Gallery in Berlin, Germany. Click here for more information.

“SelfEst” at Kind of – Gallery. A group art event. Sydney, Australia. Click here for more information.

Bask solo show “Box of Fun” at William Rupnik Gallery in Cleveland, OH. Click here for more information.

VIDEO PREMIERE! TEEBS by Brock Brake in Chicago

BSA Video debut of Photographer and BSA collaborator Brock Brake of artist Teebs who was recently in Chicago for his solo show at Pawn Works Gallery.

Brock Brake “Black Book”

JM Rizzi “Day Dreaming Under Streetlights” (VIDEO)

Nuria Mora”2 Estrellas” (VIDEO)

New from Snyder : “Carlsbad Toreador” (VIDEO)

Anonymous Gallery Presents: “Fresh Kills” A Group Art Exhibition. (Mexico City, Mexico)

November 15, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, Mexico, Mexico City, Opening

Fresh Kills

FRESH KILLS

November 17 – January 15

Opening reception: November 17, 6pm – 10pm (11/17/11)

Aaron Young . Agathe Snow . Barry McGee . David Ellis .

Greg Lamarche . Hanna Liden . Richard Prince . Swoon . Tom Sachs

_____________________

Anonymous Gallery’s inaugural exhibition in Mexico City reflects the gallery’s current

and future program. FRESH KILLS will serve as a small survey of 9 important artists

that have lived and worked in New York City and that are actively influenced by their

surroundings, use materials’ specific to the region and who have directly transformed

the landscape of one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

The selected artists aptly apply resources that most would see as refuse or appropriation

but contextualize those items in their artwork, giving it a completely new vitality and

aesthetic verbalization. With demystifying visuals, materials are treated with subversion,

where process and application are placed in the same framework, giving each object

cultural signification. Ideas of perception are evaluated through development as the

dematerialization of the trivial is transformed into symbol – art.

For over 60 years the 2,200 acres known as Fresh Kills Landfill was where 650 tons

of garbage was added each day. Now a multi-phase, 30 year, site development for the

refuse will become Fresh Kills Park. At almost three times the size of Central Park

it will be the largest park developed in New York City in over 100 years.

The transformation of what was formerly the world’s largest landfill into a

productive and beautiful cultural destination is described as

“a symbol of renewal and an expression of how our society can restore balance to its landscape.”

The exhibition FRESH KILLS is inspired not only by artists that come before this group

such as Gordon Matta Clarke and Sherrie Levine, but also Mexican contemporaries

such as Teresa Margolles, Damian Ortega, Dr. Lakra, and Gabriel Orozco

who have been inspired to use materials that reflect their culture, environment and times.

These artists: Richard Prince, Tom Sachs, Aaron Young, Agathe Snow, Hanna Liden,

Swoon, Barry McGee, David Ellis, and Greg Lamarche on different levels and in different

ways, directly give their art and the culture of New York City the same contextualization

– through process, presentation, perspectives, character and relevance

– RENEWAL!

Pics and Video From “Outside In” from Nuart and Martyn Reed

July 27, 2011 Artists

“Outside In” is a small scale but potent and polished presentation of a number of today’s international street artists in one austere exhibition in the port town of Stavanger, Norway. Says Martyn Reed, founder of Nuart and director of this show, it’s also an answer to the selections of artists in the humongous graffiti and Street Art exhibition currently on view at MOCA in Los Angeles.

Opening night at “Outside In”, photo © John Rodger

“We were looking at Deitch’s “Art in the Streets” and thought there were a few important artists missing. We were also a tad jealous so we thought we’d knock up our own little provincial version here in Stavanger, explains Reed. No exhibition of Street Art will ever be complete – that’s what the streets are for – but it is always exciting to see how the story is parlayed in different settings and locales.

Opening night at “Outside In”, photo © Nuart

140 works culled from private collections by 30 of the worlds leading practioners of Street and Urban Art, the show features Banksy, Os Gemeos, JR, Blu, Blek le Rat, Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Mark Gonzales, Shepard Fairey, Dolk, Dan Witz, Borf, Faile, Jose Parla, Jeremy Geddes, David Shrigley, David Choe, Dotmasters, Swoon, Bast, Logan Hicks, Escif, Herakut, Ha Ha, Nick Walker, Charles Krafft, Martha Cooper, Steve Powers, Kaws, Retna, Chris Stain, Skewville, M-City, Date Farmers, Mark Jenkins.

A Blek Le Rat free-range sheep poses while visitors discuss the wall of Swoon pieces on opening night at “Outside In”, photo © Karianne Lauritzen

Brooklyn Represents! BAST on the wall at “Outside In”, photo © Karianne Lauritzen

Learn more at NUART http://www.nuart.no/

STUDIO : Shepard Fairey : Too “Street” For Corporate, Too Corporate For The Street

July 5, 2011 Artists, California, Interview, Los Angeles, Studio Visit

Shepard Fairey has grown up before the eyes of fans, peers and would be competitors. Undaunted by criticism he gets from both sides of his chosen vocation as a globally-known street artist, the man still has a great deal to say. His art has made its way into homes, museums, wardrobes and book collections in addition to all the walls–legal and illegal–and he pays the price and gains the benefit of all of it. A living conundrum, he embodies the sharp tongued anti-establishment, anti-corporate, anti-police state ethos of his formative years, while gradually beginning to resemble the middle-aged dad who so much of the punk generation rebelled against.

He raises money for individuals and organizations who advocate for those who are disempowered or victimized, yet street art and graffiti kids who feel marginalized in their lives call him a sellout for making commercial work. Without the credibility of major shows, arts institutions, and collectors he could never afford to employ people who help him. Yet keeping it clean and doing legal walls costs him “street cred.” How exactly does one become an authority on questioning authority? You try this balancing act, and see how far you get without a scrape or two.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Actually, Shepard seems pretty down to earth and surprisingly un-embittered for a guy who has made a few mistakes and taken some hard bumps since growing up a skateboarder, going to RISD, and making all those weird “Andre the Giant” stickers. It’s not like he’s been hiding behind the couch of course. He likes to be celebrity DJ at openings. He likes to inveigh on panels about Street Art and graffiti and it’s impact on culture. He loves to write on his blog about all manner of social and political issues.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Because of his professional and commercial success as a street artist, designer, and illustrator and his talkative spates as social activist and cultural influencer, he’s laid himself out there for self-appointed persons of outrage and myriad colorful verbal pugilists with rapidly batting wings who are attracted to the light. Just a few weeks ago he and his wife had a first encounter of the gossip kind when they were hi-jacked for 90 seconds by a brain-free tabloid show at an airport. Sure, it was sufficient dish for the terminally distracted, and his fans and critics jumped to throats to settle burning questions like the current state of his credibility as a real Street Artist and to analyze the innerworkings of his marriage.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

If you get to see the people who work with him at his studio in Encino, some for many years, you’ll get the idea that the CEO is fair and friendly as he seems. People buzz in and out of rooms and offices in this polished wood complex; each genuinely warm and welcoming to a stranger, willing to take an extra minute to talk or point the way to something interesting to oggle. They could be stoked because their daily grind is surrounded by cool and storied artwork, stacks of books, records, art supplies and ephemera, and this afternoon alone you might just run into Martha Cooper, Cope2, D*Face, or Word to Mother as they stop by to say hello or discuss a project. Obviously an achiever, he is always in motion and critical of so much in this world and you could see how he may have a choice word in pursuit of greatness, but if the regard for him and the camaraderie you see is forced, Los Angeles really must be full of actors.

The artist himself takes time to give a tour of some of his favorite items, all the while hitting whatever issues or artistic inspirations are evoked; gifts of art from friends and famous, his record cover collection from the 80s displayed on the wall, personal mementos that have meaning or stories. Here is a personally signed Clash LP cover and now let’s talk about America’s dependence on fossil fuels. He’s a new rubylith transparency of Ronald Reagan called “Mo(u)rning in America” and now lets talk about how influential Russian Constructivism has been to his work and how to simplify and exaggerate perspective.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With the meteoric rise in interest in Street Art during the last decade, it’s difficult to know if Fairey pushed the wave or learned adeptly how to ride it, but the list of cities, walls, art products, shows and professional accomplishments requires a catalog. A hotter younger head might get too swollen to fit through a door and hubris might cloud his worldview. During a brief interview at his studio in Los Angeles while he signed multiple copies of a new print, the husband and father of two with grey flickering around his temples comes across as a pretty sincere guy who may worry a bit too much and who has a fire in the belly that burns fiercely, if a little more controlled than before.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What is interesting to you at the moment?
Shepard Fairey: The MOCA show is interesting. The rise of street art in general is pretty interesting. The reason I called my book “Supply and Demand” is because the forces, economic and cultural, are what’s fascinating around the evolution of an artists career, an art movement, politics, fashion, music, everything. I think a lot of what’s fascinating to observe right now is that as Street Art and graffiti have become maybe a little bit more acceptable and marketable that certain people are very happy about that because maybe they have done it in obscurity and poverty for a number of years and other people prefer the idea of it staying underground.

To me that’s actually kind of an elitist standpoint. “Oh the institutions are elitist! We’re underground!” and they don’t want to share it.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: And in the process they are creating their own institution which is called, “The Underground”
Shepard: Exactly! So just seeing how all these points of view are going around – I think debate is really healthy. I think that the most potent things are maybe contentious. So seeing how many people are loving this moment and how others are going out and attacking all the artists stuff that showed in the museum – calling them sellouts – these are all not always uplifting in terms of my opinion of humanity but are fascinating to see. To me it’s just an exciting moment.

But I also think a lot of it revolves around these sort of reductivist arguments that are valid based on defining things very narrowly and putting them in categories that are unhealthy. My strategy as an artist has always been, “Look at every single situation and adapt to it the way that is logical”; the “inside/outside” strategy I’ve called it. For example, trying to reach people in a democratic way by putting stuff up on the street but also if there was an opportunity, for example, to do something for a band I like, or do something in a gallery – that’s just another way to reach people. So it’s not being dictated to by the system, working around it when you need to, but also not being afraid to infiltrate and work within it. That’s been my approach.

And I guess a lot of the friction that I’m seeing seems to based around people who cannot think that way.

Brooklyn Street Art: Your participation in the MOCA show; There weren’t many new elements in that show were there?

Shepard Fairey: Um, yeah there were actually. The big canvas was new, all the environmental pieces were brand new paintings. But really what they asked for in that show was a historical overview but they also wanted the work to have the spirit of the street but have it a stand-alone artwork in an institution. So there are sort of two agendas that aren’t always easy to bring together. So my solution on some of it was to make “paintings”

Brooklyn Street Art: It seems like we’re swimming around in this system that we are all kind of uncomfortable with and that friction that you speak of flares up during times like this. It’s a punctuation in the flow of thoughts. We have this huge show and it’s like, “Here marks a beginning, or an ending”. So many people feel they have to weigh in with opinions.

But you’ve certainly borne a number of strong or vehement attacks over the years just because of the way you negotiate the system and your place as an artist within it. Do you think your skin has gotten thicker as a result? Or have you always been kind of thick skinned.

Shepard Fairey: Um, I’m actually pretty thinned skinned and it always hurts my feelings when people attack my work but the real enemy is indifference. If something is ire-ing or inspiring it is motivating someone to respond. I think that could be the starting point for a conversation and I’ve known a lot of people who, once they’ve heard me articulate my opinions about things, they’ve changed their opinions about my practice, my way of working. Other people haven’t. But it’s not my goal to win everyone over but it is my goal to make work that I think sparks a conversation. So I’ve accepted that my feelings are going to get hurt trying to do what I think is most important to do. (laughs)

Brooklyn Street Art: I’m not sure I could withstand the continuous attention and negativity that can be out there.

Shepard Fairey: Well the nature of street art is about people who are aggressive and rule breakers and oftentimes very opinionated about how they think things should be done or not done. So just by inserting myself into that arena I’m going to be dealing with a lot more static than almost any other area of culture (laughs). But that’s my choice.

Brooklyn Street Art: It also feels like home.

Shepard Fairey: But when I look at the rewards of it, and when I say rewards I don’t mean financial at all, I mean the satisfaction of creating something from nothing and empowering myself and speaking to a lot of people in a way that’s democratic – to me all of that greatly outweighs having to deal with haters from my own community or law enforcement. I mean all of that stuff has been really stressful but when I’m out doing something and a kid comes up and says “Hey, you know I got into graphic design or I got into making art cutting stencils because of you,” – that happens frequently – and that makes it all worth it because that person might end up making art that is very powerful, that’s going to change someone else’s life. The sort of cumulative effect of that influence is hard to even quantify.

Brooklyn Street Art: Is there a sound? I know you have a musical ear – is there a sound when something like that happens in your life when a kid talks to you like that, do you hear a “ping!” or “ching!” – and think, “That was exactly what I wanted”. Or do you see something visual like a light?
Shepard Fairey: Well, I remember a moment in my life when that happened for me and so it’s almost like when you smell the same smell as your first girlfriends perfume or something that’s very Pavlovian, I guess.

Brooklyn Street Art: That’s what I’m thinking about.
Shepard Fairey: When I first got into skateboarding and I went over my friends ramp and the experience of riding that ramp and how it seemed like it was changing the world for me. Or the first time I listened to The Clash or The Sex Pistols and how it was like, “Okay, wow, everything just got a lot different, broader, more exciting.”

Brooklyn Street Art: Doors flew open.
Shepard Fairey: Yeah, knowing those moments in my own life, when someone talks about that for them – I’m like, “How could I not feed into that as much as possible?”

Brooklyn Street Art: I think that is very gratifying.
Shepard Fairey: Yeah it is, I mean ultimately I still enjoy this stuff. I don’t feel in any way like “Oh, I’m such a martyr, I’m doing this for the people” – The great aspect is that I enjoy doing the work and I enjoy going out and putting it up. The funny thing is I used to think about being a thorn in the side of the authorities when I was doing my thing. Now I’m actually a thorn in the side of the authorities and some of my own peers who think I’m too successful. This is really funny. I’m too “street” for the corporate, too corporate for the street.

God save the chandelier; A signed work by Jamie Reid; anarchist, situationist and designer of the covers for Sex Pistols records. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: It’s a funny place to inhabit.
Shepard Fairey: I guess it is about understanding the world we live in and learning how to navigate in a way that you get as much good and as little bad as you can but not just being unrealistic and an isolationist because you refuse to engage something that inherently is going to be problematic. There are a lot of people who do this – they’re like, “oh I’m not part of that” – BUT you go to the store and buy stuff that’s made by evil corporations, you’re wearing Nikes, – by saying that you are not part of it you actually are just being complicit anyway.

Brooklyn Street Art: You’re actually not helping in any way to bring it forward in any way at all. You’re dropping out.
Shepard Fairey: Exactly. And…

Brooklyn Street Art: You’re an expert critic today, but your not doing anything constructive.
Shepard Fairey: And my whole thing is that if there is a really great net positive in doing something that you might have to engage with a company but they facilitate a project that ends up really benefitting the kind of culture and art that you believe in, to me it was worth having to put a logo on a wall in the corner of an art show. But there are some people who, I think in a lot of ways in an effort to justify their own complacency, say “Oh that’s not cool because of that. The whole thing is ruined”. So now they feel much more justified just sort of sitting around hating on everything. And you know, not being able to have the chip on the shoulder is something that a lot of people from the Street Art world don’t want. They want to remain persecuted and angry. It’s something that feeds them.

You know that is something that has driven me in a lot of ways – frustration, anger. And there are people who I think are very self destructive in how they deal with those emotions. But now I feel like I’ve just channeled that in much more constructive ways.

This article was originally posted on The Huffington Post

Fun Friday 07.01.11 : Fourth of July Weekend

July 1, 2011 Artists

Wishing everybody a happy, safe and celebratory Fourth of July. Don’t play with fire kiddies!

“Outside In” Opens (Stavanger, Norway)

Martyn Reed the affable bad boy from Norway curates this new show of urban and street artists who are equally at home tackling antiquated etching techniques, watercolors, drawing and oil painting as they are with a spraycan and marker. Says the impresario “On July 1st we’ll be opening one of Scandinavia’s, and certainly Norway’s, largest exhibitions dedicated to street and urban art.”

K-Guy Print Release

And today in London K-Guy will release a series of prints of his Primate Pontificate piece seen here on the streets of New York:

For more information about the different color-ways of this print and where to buy it click below:

http://www.kguy.co.uk/

Miss Van “Bailarinas” (VIDEO)

French born Street Artist Miss Van talks about here recent show at Jonathan Levine “Bailarinas” via Babelgum by Friends We Love.

A Cell Phone Movie: The Split Screen Life of a NY/LDN Romance (VIDEO)

Carmichael Gallery Presents: “Playing Field” (Culver City,CA)

June 9, 2011 Artists, California, Culver City, Events, Gallery, Opening

Swoon

Featuring original works from Banksy, Faile,
Shepard Fairey, Sixeart, Os Gêmeos, Mark Jenkins, JR, KAWS, Barry McGee, José Parlá, Judith Supine, Swoon, Titi Freak, Dan Witz

Opening Reception

Saturday, June 18, 2011

6 – 9pm

You must RSVP to rsvp at carmichaelgallery dot com

Carmichael Gallery
5795 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
USA

The exhibition will run through July 9, 2011

Carmichael Gallery is pleased to announce Playing Field, an exhibition of artwork from the collections of our collectors. Playing Field features original work from some of the best street artists around the world, including leading figures of the movement represented at the current Art In The Streets exhibition at MOCA Los Angeles.

No other group of artists has so polarized the contemporary art world in recent years. Street artists are loved and hated, tolerated and excluded, yet no one can deny the impact they have had on art in the 21st century. The success of artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey has transformed what was once a small underground movement into mainstream popular culture.

Playing Field brings together a selection of important works from the past 10 years, many of which have never before been exhibited in Los Angeles.

The gallery is still accepting submissions for consignments. Original work from the above artists only.

There will be an opening reception for Playing Field on Saturday, June 18 from 6 to 9pm. The exhibition will run through July 9, 2011.

Images of the Week 04.24.11 MOCA LA Part II

April 24, 2011 Artists

Here’s Part II of our tour of the museum at the “Art in the Streets” show that opened a week ago at MOCA LA. The breadth and depth of the show must have blown away many of the potential critics, because the grousing never really materialized. For our part, the review on the Huffington Post of the show itself (Red Hot and Street: “Art in the Streets” Brings Fire to MOCA) and the images of stuff on the street in 4 0r 5 neighborhoods in LA (Hitting Up LA: The Streets Outside the Show) have been fodder for some conversation (and voting!) and it’s a blast to see how this graffiti/street art movement sparks such intense opinion and feelings.

MOCA Part II Images of the Week, this week featuring Banksy, Barry McGee, ESPO,Steve Powers, Craig Stecyk III, Ed Templeton, Freedom, Invader, Martha Cooper, John Fekner, John Ahearn, Kenny Scharf, Lee Quinones, Margaret Kilgallen, Nunca, Os Gemeos, ROA, and Swoon.

“Hit The North” Belfast 2024. Completed Murals. Part 1.
May 6, 2024
Fast and furious, that’s how the neighborhood filled with people – and how the paint hit the walls yesterday. Returning …Read More »
“Hit The North” Belfast 2024. Dispatch 2
May 5, 2024
You might not expect it, but the Belfast Cathedral Quarter was quite a mad rush of activity on Sunday morning. …Read More »
“Hit The North” Belfast 2024 – Dispatch 1
May 4, 2024
As the busy streets of Belfast hum with anticipation for the weekend’s festivities, an air of artistic energy and cultural …Read More »
Arriving in Belfast, Seeing the Bobby Sands Mural
May 3, 2024
BSA has arrived in Belfast to attend the Hit the North Festival and hopefully gain a greater appreciation for the …Read More »
Paul McCartney Holds Your Gaze: Scenes from ‘Eyes of the Storm’
May 2, 2024
Touring is not unusual for Paul McCartney, who has traversed the globe nearly non-stop for six decades. Yet, this time, …Read More »
Books in the MCL: ROA Codex
April 30, 2024
As founding members of the Martha Cooper Library at the Urban Nation Museum in Berlin, Brooklyn Street Art (BSA) proudly …Read More »
BSA Images Of The Week: 04.28.24
April 28, 2024
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! Spring is astoundingly colorful on the street in New York this year, with …Read More »

Barry McGee. Detail of The Houston Wall in NYC. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Why One Brooklyn Stick Up Kid is Worth Watching

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”

Make sure to click on the link below to play the game:

“Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)

Chip Thomas and Breeze. (photo © Chip Thomas)

“Paranormal Hallucinations” at Pandemic (Brooklyn, Yo!) (Saturday)

Swampy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David Choe and DVS1 for Nuart 11 (VIDEO)

David Choe and DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Mookie Mooks)

“Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)

VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)

Left to Right: Shepard Fairey in Manhattan, D*Face in LA, Ludo in Chicago, JR in the Bronx, Barry McGee at LAMoCA, Mosstika in Brooklyn. All photos © Jaime Rojo

Occupy Wall Street This Weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Repeat)

Images © Chris Jordan

The London Police at Opera Gallery

The London Police (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Fresh Kills” Anonymous Gallery Opens in Mexico City

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Groundbreak” behind CBGB’s in the Alley Tomorrow

Ellis G (photo © Jaimme Rojo)

“Paperboys” at Pandemic Saturday (BK)

ND’A – Labrona (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder in preparation mode (photo © Overunder)

Also happening this weekend:

VIDEO PREMIERE! TEEBS by Brock Brake in Chicago

Brock Brake “Black Book”

JM Rizzi “Day Dreaming Under Streetlights” (VIDEO)

Nuria Mora”2 Estrellas” (VIDEO)

New from Snyder : “Carlsbad Toreador” (VIDEO)

Opening night at “Outside In”, photo © John Rodger

Opening night at “Outside In”, photo © Nuart

A Blek Le Rat free-range sheep poses while visitors discuss the wall of Swoon pieces on opening night at “Outside In”, photo © Karianne Lauritzen

Brooklyn Represents! BAST on the wall at “Outside In”, photo © Karianne Lauritzen

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey, Craig R. Stecyk III (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey, Invader (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

God save the chandelier; A signed work by Jamie Reid; anarchist, situationist and designer of the covers for Sex Pistols records. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blek le Rat at Shepard Fairey Studio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faile (detail) at Shepard Fairey Studio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Barry McGee at Shepard Fairey Studio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy and Keith Hering at Shepard Fairey Studio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard’s collection of signed album covers at the studio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Photo © Jaime Rojo

Photo © Jaime Rojo

Photo © Jaime Rojo

They are arriving by the boatload for “Outside In”. Hope there is valet parking. (Photo © courtesy Martyn Reed)

A little preview of “Outside In” © courtesy Martyn Reed

K-Guy Print Release

K-Guy “Primate Pontificate” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information about the different color-ways of this print and where to buy it click below:

Miss Van “Bailarinas” (VIDEO)

A Cell Phone Movie: The Split Screen Life of a NY/LDN Romance (VIDEO)

Featuring original works from Banksy, Faile,
Shepard Fairey, Sixeart, Os Gêmeos, Mark Jenkins, JR, KAWS, Barry McGee, José Parlá, Judith Supine, Swoon, Titi Freak, Dan Witz