All posts tagged: Futura

Coney Art Walls : 30 Reasons To Go To Coney Island This Summer

Coney Art Walls : 30 Reasons To Go To Coney Island This Summer

The gates are open to the new public/private art project called Coney Art Walls and today you can have a look at all 30 or so of the new pieces by a respectable range of artists spanning four decades and a helluva lot of New York street culture history. We’ve been lucky to see a lot of the action as it happened over the last five weeks and the range is impressive. These are not casual, incidental choices of players lacking serious resumes or street/gallery cred, but the average observer or unknowing critic may not recognize it.

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How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)

By way of defining terms, none of this is street art. These are murals completed by artists who are street artists, graffiti writers, fine artists, and contemporary artists. In the middle of an amusement park, these are commissioned works that respond in some way to their environment by thirty or so local and international heavy hitters and a few new kids on the block comprising a 40+ year span of expertise.

Open to many strata of the public and fun-seekers who dig Brooklyn’s rich cultural landscape, this outdoor show will surely end up as backgrounds for selfies — while perhaps simultaneously elevating a discourse about the rightful place of graffiti/street art/urban art within the context of contemporary art. Okay, maybe not such loftiness will result, but let’s not rule it out entirely.

 

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How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)

It should come as no surprise that it is the dealer, curator, perennially risk-taking showman Jeffrey Deitch who is the ringmaster of this circus, or that the genesis of this cultural adventure is perplexing to some who have greeted his newest vision with perplexity and derision. His Deitch Projects and related activities in the 2000s regularly presented and promoted the street-inspired D.I.Y. cultural landscape, having done his due diligence and recognizing that new life springs from the various youth movements always afoot. The Jeffrey-conceived “Art Parade” itself was a street-based all-inclusive annual panoply of eye candy and absurdity; inflicting humor, sex, gore, fire, glitter and possibility into the minds of Manhattan sidewalk observers.

As MOCA Los Angeles director Deitch also flipped the script with his “Art In The Streets,” organizing a vast survey of a half-century of the modern grassroots genres including graffiti/street art/urban art/tattoo/punk/hip-hop/skater culture that far surpassed anyone’s predictions for audience attendance and public engagement. Aside from tripping wires and a public misstep here and there, the show earned critical praise, pinched art-school noses, and pushed skeptical institutions and patrons to question their prejudices. It also gave voice to a lot of people.

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Daze (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Notably, that MOCA exhibit drew a little over 200,000 attendees in four months. Coney Island beach and boardwalk gets about 14 million annually. Even if the Smorgasbord pop-up village food trucks feed a fraction of that number, there will be more folks viewing art and interacting with it here than, say, the Four Seasons dining rooms, which also display street artists and contemporary artists in the restaurants’ artistic programming. Side by side comparisons of Smorgasbord/Four Seasons diners ethnic diversity, income, age, education level, museum board membership or real estate investments were not available at press time. But neither can be fairly described as exploitative to artists or audience without sounding patronizing.

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Daze (photo © Jaime Rojo)

These multicolored and monochromatic murals illustrate a wide and balanced smorgasborg of their own; examples of myriad styles are at play with some engaging in activism and local politics and Coney Island history. From original train writer Lady Pink to aerosol drone sprayer Katsu, from eL Seed’s lyrical Arabic calligraffiti to Retna’s secret text language to graffitist-now-collagist Greg Lamarche, from Shepard Fairey’s elegant Brooklyn salute to polluters and blasé consumerism to Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s spotlight on current Coney Island neighbors, from urban naturalist ROA’s monochrome marginalized city animals to How & Nosm’s eye-punching and precise graphic metaphors, you are getting a dizzying example of the deep command Deitch has of this multi-headed contemporary category that is yet to settle on a moniker to call itself.

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Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Coney Art Walls assembles world travelers from NYC and LA and Miami and internationally; Belgium, Barcelona, Brazil, Paris, Tunisia, London. Some are 80s Downtown NYC alumni, others were train writers in the 70s or big crew graff heads and taggers from the decades after. Some are considered historical originators of a form and cross-genre risk takers pushing beyond their comfort zone. Take a close look and you’ll find names that are in major collections (private, institutional, corporate) and that go to auction.

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Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Some are regularly showing in galleries and are invited to street art festivals, exhibited in museums and discussed in academia and print. Others have studio practices spanning three decades, are lecturers, panelists, authors, teachers, community advocates, art stars, reality TV personalities, film actors, product endorsers and art product makers working with global brands. One or two may be considered global brands themselves. A handful have been painting on the streets for 40 years. Monolithic they are not.

One more notable aspect occurred to us as we watched this parade making its peregrination to these summer walls – either because of Deitch or the romance or history of Coney or both; When you are looking at the range of ages and ethnicities and family configurations and listening to the variety of accents and opinions expressed and seeing the friendly but tough-stuff attitudes on display — you might guess you were in Brooklyn. You are.

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Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jesse Edwards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jesse Edwards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Irak (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lady Pink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lady Pink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ben Eine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ben Eine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ben Eine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Maya Hayuk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Maya Hayuk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lady Aiko (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lady Aiko  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Miss Van (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Miss Van (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jason Woodside (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jason Woodside (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ron English (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ron English (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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AVAF  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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eL Seed (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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eL Seed with Martha Cooper (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kenny Scharf (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mister Cartoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jane Dickson (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jane Dickson (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Marie Roberts (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Marie Roberts (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Greg Lamarche (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Gregg Lamarche (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Katsu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Retna (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kaves (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kaves (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kaves (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kaves (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kaves (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lauren Halsey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Our previous weekly updates track the installation period of Coney Art Walls:

Coney Art Walls: First 3 Completed and Summer Begins

DEITCH Masters, Coney Art Walls Part 2 : Coney With a Twist

Eine, Hayuk: A Riot of Color at Coney (Update III)

Coney Art Walls: Gypsies, Stallions, Mermaids, and Pop Optics! Update IV

Coney Art Walls Opens for the Mermaids! Update V

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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DEITCH Masters, Coney Art Walls Part 2 : Coney With a Twist

DEITCH Masters, Coney Art Walls Part 2 : Coney With a Twist

Just because you are a spectator in Coney Island Shepard Fairey doesn’t want you to be a spectator at civic responsibility. His newly wheat-pasted Coney Art Wall is fashioned as a graphically designed advertisement skewering the excesses of mindless industrial development running unchecked and baked into a pleasingly twisted version of the once upwardly bound “middle class”.

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Shepard Fairey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Of course Fairey’s smart-mouthed wall seems at home floating here at this seaside all-American semi-permanent festival of oddity and diversion. And the theme of poisoning the natural world is as current as today’s headlines.

Fairey may have been thinking of the sooty and stinking oil spill lapping at the shores of his home state of California right now, or the BP oil spill that severely damaged animal and human life on the southernmost US Gulf , or even the medical waste that kept plaguing this Brighton Beach in the 1990s or the nations’ largest underground oil spill that still resides beneath the newly trendy Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.

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Shepard Fairey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“A lot of my work deals with symbols of Americana, the symbols of success and the duality of a lot of those things – that what might be seen as a positive symbol in one realm actually has a dark side,” Fairey said in an interview last year called Obey This Film, a short piece directed by Brett Novak.

The collection of new walls going up this week for the month-long installation of murals is alive and kicking – sometimes in the head – for those who give it a thought, or those who know a little of the history of these artists.

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Shepard Fairey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura is taking his abstraction into a boldly minimal geometry, Lady Pink lays out the idealized romance of Coney’s yesteryear, and a dark horse entry – some members of the graff crew IRAK, fill a hulkingly rigid tag with hundreds of curvilinear hand-sprayed ones.

There has even appeared a painterly bit of satire that pokes fun at the storied history of the New York curator/showman who has jump-started this show in a piece entitled “Deitch Masters”. Here Jesse Edwards points to Jeffrey’s roles in fame-fueled NY art history amongst certain hi/low circles while appropriately tipping the hat to Breuckelen‘s Dutch roots and graffiti’s pivotal role in the development of street culture.

This weekend and next week promise more arriving artists and surprises for the whole family at Coney Art Walls.

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Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lady Pink sharing her sketch for her wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lady Pink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Irak (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Irak (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jesse Edwards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jesse Edwards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jesse Edwards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jesse Edwards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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In Istanbul the “Language Of The Wall”, Street Art, and Graffiti

In Istanbul the “Language Of The Wall”, Street Art, and Graffiti

“The Language Of The Wall. Graffiti / Street Art” Pera Museum. Istanbul, Turkey

No Street Artist is a prophet in his own land, to paraphrase the Latin “Nemo propheta in patria”.

To see a large show of new Street Art in a museum right now don’t think of New York.  Surprisingly a vibrant and impactful art scene that has foundational roots in NYC streets and culture is once again celebrated more often by major museum exhibits elsewhere in the world.

In Istanbul they even invite you to paint on trains.

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With portraits by C215 of his daughter in the background, Evol moves his sculptures for his installation. Pera Museum. Istanbul, August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

The nine year old Pera Museum is currently hosting 20 artists from America, Germany, France, and Japan, along with some more local talents and is featuring photographers whose New York work is considered seminal such as Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, and the California skate culture documenter Hugh Holland.

The detailed study of New York graffiti, train writing, hip-hop culture, and the evolution that pushed this current explosive growth of Street Art are all evident in the curation and choices by Roxane Ayral. Language of the Wall is cognizant of the weight of graff history while looking squarely in the eye of the present and considering the interdisciplinary nature of today’s scene, the show is at once expansive and tightly lyrical. The swath of new works inside the museum and out on the streets of Istanbul is a mix of respected older graff writers and some of the newer practitioners including Futura, Carlos Mare, Cope 2, Turbo, Wyne, JonOne, Tilt, Psyckoze, Craig Costello (aka KR), Herakut, Logan Hicks, C215, Suiko, Evol, Gaia, Tabone, Funk, and No More Lies.

Over the course of the installation, Martha Cooper traveled the city and captured the new works by the artists and she shares with us her shots and some of her observations.

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Parisian Street Artist C215 working on his stenciled installation outside. His daughter and frequent muse, Nina, on the street is assisting him. Istanbul, August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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C215. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Evol. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Evol working on an outdoor installation. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Carlos Mare (Mare 139) working on his installation. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Mare worked with a local foundry to produce 3 big welded sculptures and 2 little “B-Boy” ones,” says Ms. Cooper. “The foundry was able to produce pieces of metal with Islamic patterns, which I found impressive. This was the first time Mare was able to design the metal in this way.”

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Tilt. An assistant helps hang the bus as canvas. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Tilt painted a garbage truck with his iconic throwup,” says Ms. Cooper, of the actual truck he painted on the street. “The garbage men gave him an official shirt to wear and he painted their names (and mine) on the truck. He also painted an entire bus that had been cut apart and hung on the wall of the museum.”

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Tilt in action. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Tilt painted a garbage truck. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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No More Lies. His assistant and girlfriend, an artist named Merve Berkman, is shown here painting an intricate stencil. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Suiko working on his installation. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Suiko is from Hiroshima, Japan. We were in the museum on the anniversary of the bombing on August 16th,” says Martha. “Hiroshima, synonymous with nuclear bombs, now sells spray paint for graffiti bombing. Crazy world!”

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Suiko. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Herakut sits atop their outside installation. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Imagine you had to teach your kids never to laugh” is the translation of the text, which Martha says was Herakut’s response to a Deputy Minister’s outrageous statement that women shouldn’t laugh in public.

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Herakut in action inside the Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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JonOne “came last and painted fast,” says Martha. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Gaia in front of his installation. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Street artist Gaia did very labor intensive pieces inside and outside the museum “commemorating those that have lost their lives in construction murders due to lack of safety, regulation and corruption,” he says. For more information on Workers’ Families In Pursuit of Justice please go to http://iscinayetleriniunutma.org/ .

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Gaia. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Gaia at work on his outdoor installation of workers helmets and Forget-Me-Not flowers. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Turbo in action. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Shoot To Kill . Turbo. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Turbo has the reputation of being one of Turkey’s first writers. He’s an archivist with many graff related collections (cans, markers, books etc). His crew is S2K—Shoot to Kill,” says Ms. Cooper.

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Logan Hicks in action. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Logan Hicks photo-realistic stenciling on display in this outdoor installation. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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The New York legend Futura was one of the first graffiti writers to break new ground into abstraction, and more than 30 years after his first foray, is kicking it. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Mist in action. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Mist painted a bold abstract wall in the museum and numerous pieces outside,” remarks photographer Cooper.  “I liked his ‘Mistanbul’ piece the best.”

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The Mist rolldown gate, “Mistanbul”. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Psyckoze. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Psyckoze is famous for being the king of the Paris catacombs. He knows every nook and cranny,” reports Ms. Cooper.  “I once spent the night there—scary and completely confusing if you don’t have a guide. Psyckoze made an installation replicating a room in the catacombs reproducing paintings that were actually there.”

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KR. Pera Museum. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“KR did his extinguisher thing inside the museum and it turned out great—sort of a delicate blizzard of criss-crossing spray. I liked this shot of the cleaning lady in his room – Who’s to decide what needs cleaning?” asks Martha.

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The action at the train yards. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

A highlight of the events was the opportunity for many of the artists to legally hit a number of train cars in the yards, and archetypal right of passage immortalized by a handful of New York photographers in the 1970s and 1980s like Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, among others. Martha was at least as excited as the artists and felt like she was in a movie she had seen before, but with new enthusiastic  actors and actresses – and without the fear of being arrested.

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Psyckoze at the train yards. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Suiko at the train yards. Istanbul. August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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A new classic by Martha Cooper of the action at the train yards. Istanbul, Turkey August 2014. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Language Of The Wall Graffiti / Street Art” exhibition is currently on view at the Pera Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The show closes on October 05, 2014. For more information click HERE

 

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“The City As Canvas” Opens with the Collection of Martin Wong

“The City As Canvas” Opens with the Collection of Martin Wong

Last night the graffiti and early Street Art history from New York’s 1970s and 80s was celebrated by the City of New York – at least in its museum. Criminals and outlaws then, art stars and legends today, many of the aerosol actors and their documentarians were on display and discussed over white wine under warm, forgiving, indirect lighting.

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DAZE in the background sliced by a wall of cans at the opening of “The City As Canvas” (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

“City as Canvas: New York City Graffiti From the Martin Wong Collection” is an exhibition as well as a book released last fall written by Carlo McCormick and Sean Corcoran, with contributions by Lee Quinones, Sacha Jenkins and Christopher Daze Ellis, and all the aforementioned were in attendance. Also spotted were artists, photographers, curators, writers (both kinds), art dealers, historians, family, friends, peers and loyal fans – naturally most fell into a few of these categories at the same time.

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“The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York welcome text with pieces by Futura 2000 and Zephyr to the right. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

“City as Canvas” is possible thanks to the foresight, eye, and wallet of collector Martin Wong, an openly gay Chinese-American artist transplanted to New York from San Francisco, which is remarkable not only because of the rampant homophobia and near hysterical AIDS phobia at the time he was collecting but because the graffiti / Street Art scene even today throws the term “fag” around pretty easily. A trained ceramacist and painter whose professional work has gained in recognition since his death of AIDS related complications in 1999, Wong is said to have met and befriended a great number of New York graffiti artists like Lady Pink, LEE, DAZE and Futura 2000, who were picking up art supplies where he worked at the Pearl Paint store – a four story holy place on Canal Street that thrived at that time.

 Brooklyn-Street-Art-Sharp-Paints-a-Picture-copyright-Martin_WongThe show contains black books full of tags and drawings as well as canvasses and mixed media Wong purchased, commissioned, and painted, including a portrait of graffiti artist Sharp wearing a respirator and standing before a canvas he’s working on entitled Sharp Paints a Picture (1997-98).

The mood at the museum was celebratory as guests looked at the 140+ works from Wong’s collection; a cross between an art opening and a graffiti trade show, with enthusiastic peers and fans waiting patiently to speak with, pose for pictures with, and gain autographs or tags in their black books from artists in attendance. The only officers that could be seen were holding back the line of guests to make sure there was no overcrowding of the exhibit.

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The famous Martha Cooper photograph of Dondi in action in the train yards. “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

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A Keith Haring and LA2 collaboration at “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

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Artist LA2 with Ramona “The City As Canvas” (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

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Keith Haring (Smiling Face) from 1982 at “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

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Lee Quiñones speaking with a never ending stream of fans before his canvas Howard the Duck, 1988, at “The City As Canvas” (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

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Digital prints of images shot by photographer Henry Chalfant brought the trains alive. On top is an image of a train with Sharp/Delta 2 from 1981 and below is “Stop the Bomb” by LEE (Quiñones), 1979 at “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

 

 

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Futura on a Wall in Mexico City with XGutetto 666

Brooklyn’s own FUTURA just visited Mexico City and here we have a few pics of him working on a new wall there.  The graff master and abstract fine artist has reached such celebrity status that just showing up and being his humble charming self makes a lot of people in the graffiti and Street Art scene really happy. When he collaborates on a project with cans, as he did here with Mexican artist XGutetto 666 (from Da Flow Team) it’s even better.

Strapped up and ready to climb the wall, Futura marches across the street in Mexico’s capital. (photo © All City Canvas)

As organizers of the collaboration, the peeps at All City Canvas asked FUTURA to create a piece for their new project called Global Series.  They tell BSA, “We were stoked to have landed such a legend for this project.” We are most appreciative for these exclusive few pics for BSA readers.

Futura and XGutetto 666 in progress (photo © All City Canvas)

Futura scopes out the wall with traffic flying by in D.F. (photo © All City Canvas)

Futura talks with XGutetto 666 (in the luchador mask) during a break from painting. (photo © All City Canvas)

Futura hitting up a truck in Mexico City. (photo © All City Canvas)

Night time view of Futura and XGutetto 666 in Mexico City (photo © All City Canvas)

To learn more about All City Canvas and their Global Series click here.

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Images of the Week 03.17.13

We just took a tray of green jello shots out of the freezer and you can kiss anybody you want because today we’re all Irish, even Shakisha. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you, unless you are one of the thousands of gay or lesbians dis-invited as usual from marching down 5th Avenue yesterday in the parade.

Here’s our weekly interview of the street, this week featuring Alice Pasquini, Amanda Marie, Foxx Face, Futura, HRH Queen Elizabeth, JR, Lädy Millard, Nick Walker, OCMC (Oh Captain My Captain), PM AM, Raemann, Shie Moreno, and WK Interact.

Top image > Alice Pasquini (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alice Pasquini. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alice Pasquini (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Her Royal Highness is hawking this royal brand of air, harvested from the finest sources near Sandringham House and the wooded areas around York Cottage, no doubt. Raemann (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Graff master Furtura is getting up in a new Street Art way with Oh Captain My Captain AKA OCMC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Foxx Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WK Interact (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shie Moreno (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PM AM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PM AM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lädy Millard (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. This updated poster featuring the ubiquitous Kate Moss reminds us of some of the work of the great Conceptual American artist the late David Wojnarowicz.

JR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Seagram Building. Manhattan, March 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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Fun Friday 12.14.12

Hey bro and sis! Here are some of our favorite picks for the weekend around the global way as we head into the final holiday and New Year beauty that we hope everyone is surrounded by. Happy 7th night of Hanukkah to the Jews, and Happy ongoing holidayz to the Christmas and Kwanzaa and Solstice people.

1. 215 “Orgullecida” (Barcelona)
2. “Kids Eat For Free” at Tender Trap (BKLN)
3. Fresh Low-cost Original Silkscreens at “First Worldwar in Silkscreen” Group Show (BKLN)
4. “Graffuturism” at Soze Gallery (LA)
5. “Dark Corners, Savage Secrets”, Photography by Imminent Disaster (BKLN)
6. “Snap Back…” Rime and Toper at Klughaus (Manhattan)
7. New2 at White Walls (San Francisco)
8. Dave Kinsey “Everything at Once” at Joshua Liner (Manhattan)
9. Brett Amory at 5 Pieces (Switzerland)
10. RISK: The Skid Row Mural Project by Todd Mazer (VIDEO)
11. Swoon’s Konbit Shelter in Haiti (VIDEO)

215 “Orgullecida” (Barcelona)

French Street Artist C215 has a new solo show titled “Orgullecida” at the Montana Gallery in Barcelona, Spain. The artist has been for awhile using a lot of color with his multilayered stencil work – expanding his established vocabulary bravely in a way that most artists are too afraid to do. His portraits are placed well, are individually hand-cut, and sprayed with a sense of the humanity he’s always giving center stage.  This show is now open to the general public.

A one color stencil from an earlier period by C215 on the streets of Brooklyn, NY. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A detail from a more recent C215 (© and courtesy the gallery)

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Kids Eat For Free” at Tender Trap (BKLN)

A phrase lifted from restaurant franchises that serve food like you are livestock at a trough, “Kids Eat For Free” is a mini survey of train riders who know the back sides of the country well. Under the moniker of The Superior Bugout, curator Andrew H Shirley continues to explore fresh talent from the emerging margin, and this group exhibition features work by North Carolina’s NGC Crew. Now open, and don’t forget the kids!

For further details regarding this show click here.

Fresh Low-cost original Silkscreens at “First Worldwar in Silkscreen” Group Show (BKLN)

The best way to support your local artist is to give their stuff as a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Soltice present. No kidding. Everybody wins. Tonight a show of original silkscreens at totally reasonable prices is at Low Brow Artique in Bushwick. For tonight’s opening of their silk screen print show where you’d be able to purchase prints for $20…yes you read it right $20 bucks buys you art from 25 artists – many of them with work on the street – from Sao Paulo, Brooklyn, Buenos Aires and Berlin. Participating artists include: Selo, Markos Azufre, Hellbent, El Hase, ND’A, XOXU, Daniel Ete, Salles, Baila, Anderson Resende, DOC, SHN, XILIP, Serifire, Vero Pujol, Marquitos Sanabria, Diego Garay, Desastre, and Head Honcho.

Head Honcho. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Salles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Graffuturism” at Soze Gallery (LA)

This is like an exclamation point for the end of the year. No kidding.

POESIA, founder of Graffuturism, the term and website, continues to explore the depths of “Progressive Graffiti” or, as it was previously known, “Abstract Graffiti”. With great intelligence, passion and an acute eye for detail, POESIA brings to the forefront the importance and beauty of this emergent new direction that is impacting the Street Art and graffiti scene (with ramifications for others).

“Graffuturism” opening tonight at Soze Gallery in Los Angeles and promises a smart-headed visual feast of shapes, patterns and color from a mini-galaxy of talent from all over the world. Perhaps more significantly, it’s a bit of a decentralized movement that has been centralized for you. The artists list includes: 2501, Aaron De La Cruz, Augustine Kofie, Boris “Delta” Tellegen, Carl Raushenbach, Carlos Mare, Clemens Behr, Derek Bruno, Doze Green, Duncan Jago, DVS 1, El Mac, Eric Haze, Erosie, Franco “Jaz” Fasoli, Futura, Gilbert 1, Greg “Sp One” Lamarche, Graphic Surgery, Hense, Hendrik “ECB” Beikirch, Jaybo Monk, Joker, Jurne, Kema, Kenor, Lek, Marco “Pho” Grassi, Matt W. Moore, Moneyless, O.Two, Part2ism, Poesia, Rae Martini, Remi Rough, Samuel Rodriguez, Sat One, Sever, Shok-1, Sowat, Steve More, West and Will BarrasSoze Gallery in Los Angeles .

Also New York chronicler and enthusiastic lover of the graff/street art scene  Daniel Feral will be there with a  special edition of the Feral Diagram in glicee prints, and a couple other formats (salivate). An ambitious exhibition like this is rare and not easy to come by so if you are in Los Angeles you must go.

El Mac on the streets of NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show and to read a great essay for the show written by Daniel Feral click here.

“Dark Corners, Savage Secrets”, Photography by Imminent Disaster (BKLN)

Self-appointed moral custodians (mostly white men) have traditionally hampered the exploration of sexuality in formal art history and the academic canon of what gets celebrated and revered continues to evolve more quickly now. The sea change that modern social liberation that was once revolutionary is now a given, but the debate of the appropriate role of sex and sexuality in the arts is far from over. We may have just quashed one Trojan horse of social conservatism in the White House, but the radical right wing has pulled the center pretty far in the last decade and some have even said there was a war on women launched legislatively throughout 2012. So we are pleased to tell you about fine artist and Street Artist Robyn Hasty AKA Imminent Disaster, who has a new show in collaboration with Alex Pergament entitled “Dark Corners, Savage Secrets”. Furthering her exploration of photography Ms. Hasty has semi-retired her now well known hand cut paper pieces and lino prints on the street and traded the cutting knife for the camera. With this show of photographs, sculptures and performance art she’s aiming to tear apart the inhibitions associated with the  sexual act. “Dark Corners, Savage Secrets” opens tomorrow at Weldon Arts Gallery in Brooklyn.

Imminent Disaster and Alex Pergament (exclusive photo for BSA © courtesy of the artist)

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Snap Back…” Rime and Toper at Klughaus (Manhattan)

Freshly snapping back to New York from their successful truck trip to Miami, Klughaus Gallery brings Brooklyn natives RIME and TOPER for their new exhibition titled “Snap Back – Dangerous Drawings About New York”. The storytelling show features illustration and painting inspired by personal stories. Says RIME. “This show aims to tap into our life experience coming up in New York.” Show opens Saturday.

Rime and Toper shown here with Dceve in NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

New2 at White Walls (San Francisco)

The White Walls Gallery in San Francisco are fortunate to host Australian artist New2 with his solo show titled “In One Hand a Ghost, The Other an Atom”. New2’s work on the streets is complex and dynamic with aerosol, but his handcut collage work for the gallery is moreso somehow – maybe because of a painstaking process of arranging thousands of hand cut pieces of paper. This show opens on Saturday.

New2. Detail of one of his hand cut paper pieces. (photo © courtesy of the gallery)

New2 on the streets of San Francisco. (photo © courtesy of the gallery)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Also happening this weekend:

Dave Kinsey with “Everything at Once” at the Joshua Liner Gallery in Manhattan. This show is now open to the general public. Click here for more details.

Brett Amory at the 5 Pieces Gallery in Berne, Switzerland opens on Sunday with his solo show “Lil’ Homies”. Click here for more details.

RISK: The Skid Row Mural Project by Todd Mazer (VIDEO)

Art in the Streets from MoCAtv

 

Swoon’s Konbit Shelter in Haiti (VIDEO)

Street Artist Swoon is looking to return to Haiti to build more shelters for people in the rural part of the country. This video gives a great look at the families and community who are helped. You also can participate by donating to the Kickstarter campaign to help Swoon make it happen.

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Soze Gallery Presents: “Graffuturism” A Group Exhibition (Los Angeles, CA)

Graffuturism

Graffuturism.com, opens in the new Soze Gallery location at 2020 E 7th St, Unit B, Los Angeles, CA, 90021.

Since Graffuturism’s inception as a public blog and private Facebook group in 2010, there have been two major group exhibitions that featured associated artists: “Rudimentary Perfection” in Glasgow and “Futurism 2.0″ in London. Both were successful in their curatorial intentions and created a sense of community and motion for the movement. Soze Gallery also has been an early advocate hosting solo exhibitions in 2012 by Jaybo Monk, Moneyless, Remi Rough, Dale Marshall, and a two-man show with Augustine Kofie

and Jaybo. Recognizing the significance of the Graffuturists, Soze Gallery also presented the opportunity for Poesia to curate this exhibition, which he chose to simply call ““Graffuturism.” This exhibition has been eagerly anticipated as the first group show to be curated by Poesia, because he is the founder of Graffuturism.com and also a well-respected graffiti artist with a twenty-year history. Ending up in this unique dual position as artist and commentator, it has fallen on him to be the cultural instigator and diplomatic facilitator of this renewed interest, practice and discourse surrounding what he calls “Progressive Graffiti,” which has also previously been called “Abstract Graffiti.” At this juncture in the three-year history of the website, as well as in the thirty-year history of this over-looked aesthetic trajectory within the Graffiti movement, Graffuturism.com has become a hub and Poesia the dedicated and consistent chronicler and theoretician. With the internet as his podium and round table, he has been historicizing and canonizing these artists, young and old, who have been creating art outside the norms of traditional graffiti, esoteric forms of painting and sculpture that veer outside of the proscribed boundaries into the experimental, the abstract, the poetic, and the hybrid.Artists that fall under the term Progressive Graffiti are generally innately gifted draftsmen, who aspire to a Master’s Level at their craft. Overall this movement could be classified as a “High Style New Millennial Aesthetic.” The art they produce is derived from a dialogue that ricochets around within a pin-ball matrix constructed of coordinates lying between the historical and the contemporary, including high and low influences, fine art and graffiti studies, scholarly and street pursuits, intellectual and visceral marks. Whether the resulting output is graffiti, painting, murals, design, sculpture or installations, the pictorial elements are mutated and transformed through each artist’s unique vision into a personal vocabulary of cross-pollinated styles. Whereas the Street Art movement of the mid-2000s tended to focus on figurative stencils and wheat-pastes, this group of artists on the whole is more concerned with hands-on, singular creation, whether within an academic or street setting. Unlike Post-Modernism, the resultant overall aesthetic is a seamless personal statement, not a collaged juxtaposition of historic styles.

Because of Poesia’s dual roles within the movement, he as been in the unique position to attract this international line up of esteemed contemporary artists, which includes many of the significant forefathers from the seventies and eighties. As a result, by including so many of these original Masters, he has created a chronological continuum within the line up, which defines this historical thread from its earliest days. Therefore this group show has developed into a “survey” that historicizes and canonizes each artist within the Progressive Graffiti thread, as well as within the larger Graffiti movement. One of the earliest, and possibly the most influential to most these artists, is Futura. In the early eighties, after a ten-year career as one of the early seventies writers, he broke away from one of graffiti’s most sacred traditions, the letterform as subject matter. At that point he began to paint in what became known as an “Abstract Graffiti” style. With his groundbreaking subway whole-car “Break,” as well as on the canvasses he was painting at the time, he pushed an atmospheric geometric style to the forefront of his work and began to experiment with a wide array of experimental spray can techniques that had not been seen before.

Around this same time, other early NYC writers, who had also started their careers in the seventies, began to experiment with new hybrid directions not based in pure graffiti traditions. In 1985, Carlos Mare began to combine abstraction and Wildstyle within the medium of sculpture, which over the past couple of decades has expanded to include other mediums under the term Urban Modernism. Haze also began to cross over into the fine art domain and over the years has created a body of work that might be referred to as Iconographic Minimalism. Doze Green was also a significant member of the early community of writers who crossed over with an experimental style that included the use of archetypal icons, poetic typography, figurative motifs and painterly styles. West was also another early intrepid explorer, adopting a gestural expressionist style, applying the muscle memory of train and wall painting to the canvas with his long whole-body marks and splashy, dripping strokes.

This exhibition has also united artists from the second generation who took off along the path forged by those early pioneers. These artists started to formulate their progressive aesthetics in the late eighties, such as Delta, the European three-dimensional geometric letterform pioneer turned pure abstractionist; New Yorker Greg Lamarche aka SpOne, who has been able to establish an abstract typographic collage aesthetic parallel to his foundation as a graffiti writer obsessed with the hand-written letterform; Part2ism was one of the earliest UK experimentalists in Hyperrealism, as well as co-founder of the Ikonoklast Movement in the UK with Juice126, which also came to include abstract colorist Remi Rough in the early-nineties.

Also beginning in the late eighties on the West Coast of the US, the Wildstyle-reductionist Joker was one of the first graffiti artists to paint purely geometric abstractions and pushed for its acceptance within the graffiti community by founding the Transcend Collective in 1991 with She1, who was an abstract writer in the UK. Poesia, became a key member of the collective in 1995, exploring a more hybrid, expressionistic approach to Wildstyle, as well as taking it into pure abstraction, which he is currently pushing in new directions, as well as reaching back to the Baroque painters and reinterpreting their masterpieces as graffiti-dissected new millennial re-paintings. Over in Europe, first in Paris then Italy during the same time period, Marco Pho Grassi started out as a wall and train painter but quickly started mixing in abstraction and more painterly expressionist techniques much like Poesia, yet totally unknown to each other. Then in the mid to late nineties, back in the US along the West Coast, other artists with alternative, experimental mind-sets, who were aware of recent developments, were coming out with brilliant, refined hybrid styles, such as Augustine Kofie and El Mac.

Artists such as these had been forced to skirt the edges of graffiti culture as well as the fine art world for the past ten to thirty years. Due to the esoteric nature and hybrid aesthetics of their graffiti-based paintings, and their disparate locations around the globe, they had no way to band together or find an audience to support them because of the lack of enough interest in their local communities for their esoteric and singular aesthetics. On the other side of the tracks, they were also ignored by the fine arts establishment because of their association with graffiti culture and for unabashedly continuing their gallery-related practices under the term Graffiti, which they still did not entirely leave behind. But, as the world population grows and becomes more connected through the internet, these geographically disparate artists have found it easier to come together, work together, and share global opportunities with each other, rather than being confined to tiny local communities.

Now, as this historical thread comes of age and recognizes itself in the mirror of history and on the faces of its youth, as the pioneers of the culture are canonized and the younger artists are united, there are many more opportunities afforded them within the design market, auction houses and fine art world, as these communities continue grow in their recognition of the cultural value and influence of Graffiti and Street Art, as the most prevalent styles and art movements in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This particular Graffuturist group exhibition, as well as the previous two, are significant steps in the growth of awareness and activity. This is a significant exhibition because it connects all the artists across the continuum of this overlooked historical trajectory back to these forefathers to finally make the connections and give the recognition due to Progressive Graffiti in all its current manifestations and their historical referents.

Across the board, 2012 has been an explosive year for Progressive Graffiti. The synchronicity of all these group exhibitions and solo shows can only emphasize that there is increased activity by the artists and an amplified interest in the audience. Futura had his first solo show in ten years, which attracted a massive turn out of the wealthy and the fashionable, as well as the highly-respected hardcore members of the graffiti community, which is a testament to his growing importance outside the culture, as well as cementing his stature within it. Following on the heels of the success of his solo show, Futura exhibited with two other crucial esoteric Old School Masters, Rammellzee and Phase2, in conjunction with the Modernist Master Matta in the exhibition “Deep Space” in NYC. This exhibit was particular significant because it canonized these three graffiti artists within the fine art pantheon by successfully illustrating their undeniable aesthetic accomplishments in relation to Matta’s masterworks. Rammellzee also had a banner year, being included in the “Vocabularies Revitalized” exhibition at the MoMA, as well as being given a complete retrospective at the Children’s Museum, both of which were in NYC, not even to mention his solo show at the Suzanne Geiss gallery in 2011 called “The Equation.”

In London, also significant in its curatorial aims to canonize and historicize, as well as it’s grand scope, was “Futurism 2.0,” which compared and contrasted the Futurists and the Graffuturists in an exhibition, book and documentary. Another group show of significance was BrooklynStreetArt.com’s exhibition “Geometricks” which held high the torch of Abstract Graffiti in it’s title and Progressive Graffiti in its roster, which included Hellbent (the curator), Augustine Kofie, Drew Tyndell, Momo, OverUnder and SeeOne. One of the most significant of the many murals and “in situ” collaborations painted this year by Graffuturist-related artists was the abstract mural painted on the Megaro Hotel by Agents of Change members Remi Rough, Augustine Kofie, Lx.One, and Steve More, which is currently the largest mural ever painted in London. Also, a slew of solo and duo exhibitions opened every month around the world by many of the artists associated with Graffuturism and Progressive Graffiti: Poesia, Dale Marshal, Part2ism, Remi Rough, Augustine Kofie, Jaybo Monk, Mark Lyken, Moneyless, Carlos Mare, She One, Matt W. Moore, Jurne, Greg Lamarche, Delta, Hense, Rae Martini, Marco Pho Grassi, and Graphic Surgery. In order to see the full scope of activities though, one would have to go back through Graffuturism.com for a complete review.

Above and beyond the growing interest in Progressive Graffiti is the expanding interest in the over-all culture as well during these first two decades of the new millennium. Massive museum exhibitions encompassing the full spectrum of subcultures and historical threads within the Graffiti and Street Art cultures have also opened to wide acclaim. The success of ticket sales for “Street Art” in 2008 at the Tate Modern in London and “Art in the Streets” in 2011 at the MOCA in Los Angeles revealed the mass cultural interest of these art movements and all the art forms that are connected to them. The fact that these two exhibitions happened at all signifies the growing acceptance by the fine art community as well.

These museum exhibitions, as well as the trend towards many other smaller historical exhibitions, such as “Deep Space” and “Futurism 2.0” at the end of 2012, and “Pantheon: A history of Art from the Streets of NYC” in 2011, indicate a new interest in the study of the history and cultural significance of these movements. Other indicators are the release of high quality scholarly books, articles and movies, such as “Abstract Graffiti” by Cedar Lewisohn in 2011; “Beyond Graffiti” published in ArtNews in 2011 by Carolina Miranda; the 2005 documentary “Next: A Primer on Urban Painting” by Pablo Aravena; and “The Feral Diagram 2.0: Graffiti and Street Art” published in 2012 by Daniel Feral. These are all testament to the growing enthusiasm of scholars, historians, and theoreticians to examine, define and record the fifty year history of graffiti and street art, and recently in particular the Progressive Graffiti thread. Like any misunderstood movement before these, such as rock’n’roll, comic books, and cinema, eventually the art forms, the audiences and the scholars united to finally recognize the movement’s undeniable cultural value, relevance and resonance in all their forms from the simple and visceral to the esoteric and intellectual.

Text by Daniel Feral

On Friday, Dec 14, 2012, the eponymously-titled “Graffuturism” exhibition curated by Poesia, the founder of Graffuturism.com, opens in the new Soze Gallery location at 2020 E 7th St, Unit B, Los Angeles, CA, 90021.

The complete artist list in alphabetical order by first name is as follows: 2501, Aaron De La Cruz, Augustine Kofie, Boris “Delta” Tellegen, Carl Raushenbach, Carlos Mare, Clemens Behr, Derek Bruno, Doze Green, Duncan Jago, DVS 1, El Mac, Eric Haze, Erosie, Franco “Jaz” Fasoli, Futura, Gilbert 1, Greg “Sp One” Lamarche, Graphic Surgery, Hense, Hendrik “ECB” Beikirch, Jaybo Monk, Joker, Jurne, Kema, Kenor, Lek, Marco “Pho” Grassi, Matt W. Moore, Moneyless, O.Two, Part2ism, Poesia, Rae Martini, Remi Rough, Samuel Rodriguez, Sat One, Sever, Shok-1, Sowat, Steve More, West, Will Barras.

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Best Miami Street Art: BSA Picks Awesomest for Basel ’12

BSA Recommends: Where to Hit for the Best Street Art

Art Basel is set to whip Miami into a sea-foamy art-star laden froth this weekend, but art on the street is the unofficial engine that will be keeping it real. No one can doubt that the wave of Street Art, this first global grassroots peoples art movement, is sort of everywhere now, haters be damned.

The ugly streets of the Wynwood District easily get as much traffic as the big commercial art fairs even though there is no guest list or ticket price. It feels remarkably different to see the marbled horde exploring art in the public realm, posing for photos with each other in front of pieces, talking with the artists as they paint, sharing their favorite discoveries on Instagram.  This is the art of this moment, and there is just something more democratic about it all.

Our list, in no particular order, doesn’t even include the main fair actually. Hit the streets!

1. Wynwood Walls
2. Fountain Art Fair
3. The Factory Art Show
4. Scope Fair
5. Pulse
6. Miami Project Art Fair
7. Context
8. Primary Projects
9. BLADE at Adjust Gallery
10. A Box Truck Caravan from Klughaus
11. Snyder “Urban Pop Up Gallery”

We have sifted through the offerings in Miami for 2012, and made some selections to help you see Street Art inside and outside, by brand new artists and some with 40 years in the game.  Take your camera, take your sneakers, and take your love of the creative spirit.

Wynwood Walls

Arguably one of the main reasons that Street Artists began pouring into Miami in the late 2000s, Wynwood Walls opened the streets to the gallery world and increasingly galleries are opening doors to these artists from street. Wynwood Walls founder Tony Goldman would have wanted it that way and is credited by many artists as the first guy to give their art a chance to be seen.

WW doesn’t stop this year even as the recently departed real estate developer will be on many minds, not the least because of the huge wall installation by Shepard Fairey honoring him as a benefactor of the arts.

A well mixed list of internationally known and emerging names are featured on a slightly shorter list this year including: How & Nosm, MOMO, DAZE, Shepard Fairey, Jesse Geller (Nemel, IRAK), Faith47, Daleast, Santiago Rubino, POSE and Kenny Scharf. The out door walls are complemented with an indoor exhibition featuring new works on canvas by AIKO, Logan Hicks, How & Nosm and Futura.

How & Nosm. Wynwood Walls 2011. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information about wall locations and all the artists click here.

Fountain Art Fair

A loosely spun ball of misfits and future art stars, Fountain Art Fair always flies just under the radar of it’s more tony neighbors with its somewhat haphazard staging and the kind of unpretentious collaborative punk flophouse environment that gives rise to many Street Artists on the scene today. If you don’t need your art spoon-fed, you’ll find a link to the future here in the motley D.I.Y. parade. Also, a few really strong talents. As usual Fountain is making certain to spill outside the white box, onto the streets and onto the walls. This year line up of Street Artists painting the Fountain Wall include:

Rone, Australia | LNY, New Jersey | PLF, Atlanta | Trek Matthews, Atlanta | Jaz, Argentina | Elian, Argentina | Ever, Argentina | Dal East, China | Faith 47, South Africa | Molly Rose Freeman, Tennessee | Dustin Spagnola, North Carolina | Pixel Pancho, Italy | Never 2501, Italy | Sam Parker, Atlanta | GILF!, NYC | EnMasse, Canada | Lauren Napolitano, Oakland CA | Joe Iurato, NJ | Anne Preece, LA | Nobody, NYC | Pastel, Argentina | Hec One Love, Miami.

RONE. Wynwood Arts District, Miami 2011 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information and schedule of events for Fountain Art Fair click here.

The Factory Art Show

A little more on the commercial tip, Juxtapoz Magazine and its minion are leaders in blasting open minds to help you enjoy delicious tattoo art, graffiti art, Street Art, pop surrealist and dark pop, erotic art, and of course hypnotically animated gifs. Here Jux teams up with Mixed Media Collective to bring you an indoor and outdoor exhibition featuring a left coast imbued view of the street with national and international artists including: 131, Abstrkt, Alex Yanes, Myla (of Dabs & Myla), DALeast, Evoca1, Faith47, Jose Mertz, Lebo, Tatiana Suarez, Toofly, and La Pandilla among others.

Tatiana TATI Suarez at The RC Cola Factory in The Wynwood Arts District of Miami, 2009. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information about THE FACTORY art exhibition click here.

Scope Fair

Scope Art Fair is a few steps removed from the street, even as it deeply mines that vein and packages it for sale. Big sale. Usually high quality and undoubtedly commercial, the fair aims for deeper pockets and the art trade while still trying to maintain the accessible, challenging works that accomplished GenX collectors are looking for.  Not surprisingly, artists once known exclusively as Street Artists are all up in there too.

Scope’s roster of galleries includes many that represent Street Artists from around the world including:  Cory Helford Gallery from Culver City, CA will be presenting D*Face and Buff Monster. Galerie Swanström from NYC will be presenting Gilf!  White Walls Gallery from San Fransico, CA. will be presenting C215, Herakut, Augustine Kofie, Logan Hicks and Niels Shoe Meulman. Andenken Gallery / The Garage from Amsterdam, Spoke Art Gallery from San Francisco and Thinkspace from Culver City, CA will also have booths at Scope. Scope Art Fair includes a large variety of programs along with their main exhibition including Red Bull Curates with artists Cosbe and Claw Money among others and Anthony Spinello curates TYPOE.

Buff Monster at Wynwood Arts District, Miami. 2011 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For a full listing of exhibitors, programs and other details click here.

Pulse

Pulse Art Fair insists on paring works on canvas with art installations as a way to engage the public and make the art viewing experience (and hopefully the art buying experience) far less clinical and more accessible. Detailed, immaculate, and approachable, Pulse is always a must to visit if you are doing the fair circuit. This year as in previous years Pulse has included some of the most important art galleries representing and promoting the work of internationally established Street Artists. Some examples: LeBasse Projects from Culver City, CA will be presenting Herakut, The Joshua Liner Gallery from NYC will be presenting Stephen “ESPO” Powers, and The Jonathan LeVine Gallery from NYC will be presenting a solo exhibition by French Street Artist and tilest INVADER.

Invader. South Beach, Miami. 2010 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For a full listing of exhibitors, programs and other details click here.

Miami Project Art Fair

One to watch, The Miami Project Art Fair originates from peeps in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and has about 70 galleries in its inaugural showing with contemporary and modern art offerings.  We expect this fair to provide the already charged air with an extra bolt of energy. One worth hitting is the Cooper Cole Gallery from Toronto, Canada will be presenting Brooklyn’s own Maya Hayuk.

Maya Hayuk. Monster Island, Brooklyn, NYC. November, 2009. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For a full listing of exhibitors, programs and other details click here.

Context

Context is one of the newest fairs, and will feature French Street Artists RERO and Speedy Graphito, represented by the Fabien Castanier Gallery from Studio City, CA.

Speedy Graphito “Urban Dreamer” (photo courtesy of the gallery)

For a full listing of exhibitors, programs and other details click here.

Primary Projects

Honorable mention here for the originators of the Wynwood outdoor graffiti (and Street Art) exhibitions that pre-date the official Wynwood Walls and were run on a shoelace budget and lots of hustle, Primary Flight. This year as a gallery project they have refocused their scope and present a full installation by multidisciplinary artist Kenton Parker. He is planning to bring his “Taco Shop” to the 8th floor of the Soho Beach House in Miami Beach.

Kenton Parker. “Las Lucky’s” Taco Shop. (photo © Peter Vahan)

From the Primary Flight press release: “How do you encapsulate the underground, past-midnight culture of Los Angeles into a single structure? For multimedia artist Kenton Parker, his establishment stationed outside the fashionable Las Palmas nightclub brings the beautiful people back to their basic needs; everyone pays the same dollar for the same after-party, hangover fare. Sharply crafted from tile mosaic, Parker’s standalone shop offers patrons everything from sodas to recovered fake Louis Vuitton wallets, from spray paint to Nerds candy boxes”

For a full listing of Primary Projects exhibitions and other details click here.

ALSO HAPPENING IN MIAMI THIS WEEKEND:

In addition to the perhaps 100 or so Street Artists participating this year in the established art fairs and galleries, there will be dozens of installations outside the sanctioned venues. So far Miami is still in love with it all – both legal and illegal installations provide the essential ethos of an art world invasion. Without these artists and independent stagings away of the glitzy openings and glare of cameras, these art fairs and  just feel like “commerce”.  Some other gigs to check out :

BLADE at Adjust Gallery

Adjust Gallery in Miami will be hosting an exhibition of legendary Graffiti New York artist BLADE. Vernissage: December 6 from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Adjust Gallery Miami, 150 NW 24th Ave (305) 458-2801.

Blade in MoCA Los Angeles for Art in The Streets. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Box Truck Caravan from Klughaus

Klauhhaus Gallery has been mounting some of the best graffiti/Street Art/tattoo/low brow shows in NYC since the gallery opened in Chinatown in 2011. We give it up for these ruggedly smart idea people who will be making their inaugural trip to Miami. With a caravan of box trucks parked strategically in the Wynwood Arts District their artists will be live painting on the trucks and the trucks will parade around showcasing a mobile gallery as the trucks will in fact be moving canvases. The trucks will feature art by: RIME, TOPER, DCEVE, WANE, SP, CES, OBLVN, STAE2, GOREY among others.

Rime . Dceve . Toper (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information about live painting schedule and locations click here.

Snyder “Urban Pop Up Gallery”

And finally there is Snyder, who is just one of the intrepid D.I.Y. artists who inspire you with their will to succeed – even without being plugged in to the scene. From the artist’s press release: “Snyder, a Southern California based street artist, will be installing his ‘Urban Pop Up Gallery’ in the streets of Miami. With no contacts, no pre-arranged walls, no assistants and in a city never previously visited, Snyder attempts to install 30+ pieces of art in the streets of Miami over a 7 day period, ultimately curating his 2nd large scale ‘Urban Pop Up Gallery”.

 

 

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Fun Friday 11.16.12

Here’s our greatest hits list for Fun Friday!

1. Lister “Unsung Heroes” (LNDN/New Castle)
2. Abe Lincoln Jr., Robbie Busch “Split Seven” (BK)
3. Portraiture Group Show in Bushwick tonight (BK)
4. Silent Soho Auction For Boardwalks in Coney and Rockaways Saturday
5 Miss Van Going Wild in Rome
6. Cash4 in”Ca$h For” at Tender Trap in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
7. Mexican Collective Sublevarte Colectivo “The Persistence of Dreams” in Gowanus BK
8. L3SUP3RD3MON and ZLY (VIDEO)
9. MadC and The Jurassic Park Wall (VIDEO)
10. OLEK: “Nobody Can Hurt Me Without My Permission” (VIDEO)

Lister “Unsung Heroes” (LNDN/New Castle)

Anthony Lister’s two shows at The Outsiders Gallery titled “Unslung Heroes” are taking place simultaneously at The Outsiders London and New Castle outlets at the same time. “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.”

Both shows are now open.

Anthony Lister in NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding these shows click here.

Abe Lincoln Jr., Robbie Busch “Split Seven” (BK)

Split Seven is a fictitious rock n’ roll experience with both artists producing fabricated albums from invented Punk Rock and Heavy Metal bands. Abe Lincoln Jr. and Robbie Busch show  “Split Seven” opens tonight at Mighty Tanaka Gallery in Brooklyn.

Abe Lincoln Jr. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Portraiture Group Show in Bushwick tonight (BK)

At the Low Brow Artique Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn artists Rachel Hayes, Jilly Ballistic, Vahge, and Vexta explore the discipline of portraiture with their group exhibition “Rewriting Portraiture” opening today. “Typically the subject of paintings throughout art history, Rewriting Portraiture establishes how those who are the object of desire visually depict their realities.”

For further information regarding this show click here.

Silent Soho Auction For Boardwalks in Coney and Rockaways Saturday

“Bring Back The Boardwalks” is a silent auction with 100% of the proceeds going to the reconstruction of the severely damaged communities of Coney Island and The Rockaways. Several Fine and Street Artists have donated works for this benefit including: Curtis LOVE ME, David Ellis, Dennis McNett, Distort, FAILE, Futura, Jeremy Fish, Shie Moreno, Shepard Fairey and SWOON among others. This event takes place Saturday, Trais Gallery in Soho, located at 76 Wooster Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY.

Love Me (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this benefit click here.

Miss Van Going Wild in Rome

“Their faces concealed, these disturbing Venuses are both victims and predators, living their lives according to their instincts and feelings.” Miss Van’s new solo show “Wild at Heart” opens tomorrow at the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome, Italy.

Miss Van. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Also happening this week:

Cash4 has a new show “Ca$h For” presented by The Superior Bugout at the Tender Trap in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Click here for more details.

The Interference Archive in The Gowanus, Brooklyn is hosting the Mexican Collective Sublevarte Colectivo with a show titled “The Persistence of Dreams”. This show opens today. Click here for more details.

L3SUP3RD3MON and ZLY (VIDEO)

The two artists paint a wall in the neighborhood of Coyoacán in Mexico City. From Alejandro Schlauer.

 

MadC and The Jurassic Park Wall (VIDEO)

OLEK: “Nobody Can Hurt Me Without My Permission” (VIDEO)

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Bring Back The Boardwalks. Silent Auction and Fundraiser (Manhattan, NYC)

Bring Back The Boardwalks

BRING BACK THE BOARDWALKS FUND RAISER to benefit the rebuilding efforts in the Far Rockaways and Coney Island

Silent auction on Saturday, November 17th from 2pm – 9pm at

Trais Gallery in Soho, located at 76 Wooster Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY.

What: BRING BACK THE BOARDWALKS will donate 100% of the proceeds of the silent auction to the recovery and

rebuilding of the communities of the Rockaways and Coney Island. As New Yorkers, so many of our memories are

connected to the boardwalks of these wonderful places so close to NYC in the Rockaways and Coney Island. We are all

rallying together to help these places recover, rebuild and… come back again.

ARTISTS:

Alex Sherker, Amanda Wachob, Annie Purpura, Ashley Love, Ben Pier, Billy Gray, Bryce Oprandi, Carter B Smith, Chris

Rubino, Chuck Donoghue, Claire Vuillemot, Claw Money, Craig Wetherby, Curtis LOVE ME, Chris Mendoza, David Cook,

David Ellis, Dennis McNett, Distort, Damon Way, Dan Flores, Dan Sabau, Deanne Cheuk, Dave Ortiz, Eli Gesner, Eric

Patton, FAILE, Fernando Lions, Futura, Giovanni Reda, Greg Bogin, Greg Simkins, Harif Guzman, Hilliary Fisher-White, Ira

Chernova, Jack Sabback, James Muchmore, Jason Campbell, Jason Goldwatch, Jeff Mayer, Jeremy Fish, Jen Davis, Joana

Seitz, Jocelyn Wilkerson, John Lehr, John Roman, Julian Gilbert, Karine Laval, Kisha Bari, Luis Tinoco, Mariah Robertson,

Marilyn Rondon, Megan Burns, Mia Graffam, Micah Ganske, Michael Halsbald, Mike Aul, Milton Glaser, Natalie Keyssar,

Nick Sethi, Nina Hartmann, Othello Gervacio, Pablo Power, Paul D. Miller, Paula Scher, Pat Conlon, Peter Donin, Peter

Huynh, Peter Pabon, Peter Sutherland, Phil Frost, Ricky Powell, Rostarr, Rob Jest, Sabrina Elliott, Sam Friedman, Schandra

Singh, Shawn Barber, Shie Moreno, Shepard Fairey, Stack-Aly, Stash, Sue Kwon, SWOON, Tamara Santibanez,Tat Ito, Todd

St. John, Tom Sachs, Twiggy Levi, Vanessa Rondon, Wyatt Neumann

BRING BACK THE BOARDWALKS committee:

Ulli Barta, Marilyn Rondon, Dave Ortiz, Tim Strazza, Wyatt Neumann, Elijah Wood, Spike Jonze, Adrian Grenier,

Dante Ross, Paul D. Miller, Willy Wong, Kelley Campau, Joy Deibert, Kyrie Tinch

When: Saturday, November 17th from 2pm-9pm

Where: Trais Gallery in Soho, located at 76 Wooster Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY.

www.bringbacktheboardwalks.com

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Futura And The Origins of The Universe

In the beginning, there was Futura.

That’s kind of how this expansive space feels with no people in it.  It is a universe created by a post-graffiti graffiti godfather who has freed his own imagination to search for new planets of influence, new centers of intelligence.  Many of the New York graffiti artists who made names on trains in the 1970s and early 80s found a track to transition to the future, whether through evolving their style or reprising it again and again. When you look at the influence of 20th century fine art abstraction as it has matured on the Street Art scene of the last decade, this cat may have begun in this retro-future, and we’re now just catching up to him.

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Thirty years after he took his work into the gallery from the trainyards, Futura reminds us of the greater possibilities of aerosol as a tool for expression, exploration. The power of the works as presented is cosmic; explosive, exploratory, often serene. Fire and lava formations, oceans, suns, patterned reflections and free nebulous images as captured by powerful telescopes as they float above us. While his hand is freestyle and almost impulsive, Futura can be as selectively deliberate as he is uncontrolled. Viewed in this wide open and darkened gallery galaxy, the space-age illumination gives the works a feeling of astronomy, with each canvas a floating body in the cosmos, clearly viewed from your own porthole.  But it’s clear who the north star is.

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FUTURA – “Future-Shock”, is at the Andy Valmorbida Pop-Up in Tribeca.

 

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