All posts tagged: Gigi Chen

SKI Curates Friends in “Won For All!” at Pop Gallery

SKI Curates Friends in “Won For All!” at Pop Gallery

This time of the year, many people become nostalgic, remembering earlier times that seemed simpler, bathed in sepia tones. Walking into the Pop International Gallery a couple of weekends ago – fresh from a Swoon talk with Jeffrey Deitch and on the way to the opening of Graffiti Kings at HOWL – it was a surprise trip to the mid-2000s of New York streets when the graffiti scene was adjusting to a fleet of new street art kids on the block.

Fernando “SKI” Romero. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Fernando “SKI” Romero was one half of a graphic team called UR New York at the time with co-writer 2Easae, and they were making their own transition from the street to the studio. In the new show at Pop called WON FOR ALL!, Mr. Romero takes us back to see a cluster of youth who were in his orbit, and if you were walking on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, probably yours.

Fernando “SKI” Romero. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“I’ve known these artists for years,” he says, “Many of us came up together in the art world. They are my friends and family.”

Born and raised in New York, Romero is very familiar with the graffiti scene that made the city famous, even recently curating a show of some graffiti-writers-turned-artists who originally inspired him, like CRASH, DAZE and Tats Cru. After attending Parsons School of Design and selling his own stuff on the street in SoHo for six years, he took a decade to dedicate himself to developing his own deconstructed letter style for the gallery.

Fernando “SKI” Romero. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Now SKI is reflecting on a golden age for his own development as an artist with WON FOR ALL and shows solidarity with a small cluster of talents who have pursued their professional careers that were supercharged by their experiences on the street and around the culture. Here’s Dark Clouds with his patterned and swooping pockets of rain, alongside the graphic output of Matt Siren that hints at superheroes and graphic novels.

Elsewhere the bright font-centric Queen Andrea evokes 1980s teen mag optimism, while Gigi Chen’s formal painting techniques venture into fantasy and photo-realism. In the main window on the Bowery is perhaps the most recognizable top-hatted character, Optimo, another true born and bred New Yorker whose love for the culture is evidenced by a prodigious mass of street stickers incorporated into one of his canvasses. Partnered perhaps in their historical reverence for graffiti writers are SKI, with his sideways blown layers of bright letterforms and gritty graphic cityscapes, and Cerns’ omnivorous forays across realities – anchored by colorful characters that may remind some of the train writers during the 1970s.

Matt Siren. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“I chose these people because of talent, skills, and dedication,” he says. “During the pandemic, these artists were the ones who kept me sane and motivated during a time when I felt alone. This show is a way to bring them all together to say ‘Thank You”. 

WON FOR ALLI
FEATURED ARTISTS include
Queen Andrea
Dark Cloud
Gigi Chen
Matt Siren
Optimo NYC
Victor Ving
Emilio Martinez
Cern
Chris Boss

Matt Siren. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Cern. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Dark Clouds. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Queen Andrea. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Gigi Chen. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Optimo NYC. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Optimo NYC. “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Jeff and Lynell at “Won For All!” at Pop International Galleries. Curated by Fernando “SKI” Romero. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Won For All! is currently on view at Pop International Galleries in Manhattan. Click HERE for further details, schedules, and location.

Read more
BSA Top Stories 2017 – As Picked by You

BSA Top Stories 2017 – As Picked by You

Berlin, Kathmandu, Santa Fe, Brooklyn, Sweden, London, New York, the country of Georgia, Raleigh, North Carolina. The favorite stories of BSA readers spanned all of these places this year as we documented this global people’s art movement variously described as Street Art/ graffiti/ urban art. We put it out there daily and you react to it – sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – starting conversations and creating connections.

The topics of these 15 favorite stories run the gamut as well; From Banksy and Brexit, Marxism and Urvanity to a bodega completely made of felt, your voracious appetite was wide ranging. From a well crafted graffiti writing exhibition at a white suburban Pennsylvania college where the tuition is 50K to an attempt to bring reassuring cultural heritage art to the streets of Kathmandu where the museum was destroyed by an earthquake – the extremes and ironies only peaked your interest.

You loved seeing and hearing Martha Cooper getting her first solo exhibition in New York and the mania that queued thousands to see the transformation of a 5 floor bank in Berlin by graffiti writers, Street Artists, installation artists and performers. You care about the earth and its people, like the story of ICY an SOT in the country of Georgia making human sculptures of trash as a critique of globalized waste, and the story of Chip Thomas using his Street Art to draw attention to a traditional Hopi farming technique called “dry farming”.

And in 2017 the resonance of ‘Resistance is Female’ catapulted our story of the illegal campaign of phone booth takeovers to the top 15, showing that a uniquely impactful high-jacking of the advertising streetscape is always going to win fans.

No matter where we went in 2017, BSA readers were always invited to go along with us and discover people and art on the street and in the gallery or the museum whether it was in Scotland, Hong Kong, Berlin, Sweden, Mexico or Tahiti. We captured what we could and interpreted it – and you told us what you liked by re-Tweeting and re-Gramming and re-Facebooking.

From 365 postings over the last year, here are the 15 you liked the most.


No. 15

Marx and Engels Statues Re-Skinned & Re-Located : Various & Gould

Various & Gould. Berlin, June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Why do you glorify and duplicate these two criminals?! They shouldn’t have a monument at all. Next you’re doing Hitler?”

Various and Gould try to paraphrase some of the comments they received from passersby in a park near the town-hall in centrally located Berlin-Mitte while working on their latest project with a statue of the creators of Marxist theory. Some imagined they were glorifying, others alleged defamation.

“It’s a shame how you treat Marx and Engels!”

Truthfully, this new project in public space that literally copies a monument and then transfers it to another location didn’t have much to do with the capitalist system that creates/allows very rich and very poor people, but it certainly adds stories to the overall experience of Various and Gould.

Various & Gould: Marx & Engels. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 14

“MADRID ME MATA”: Another Look at “Urvanity”

Roc Blackblock Milicians Madrid, Spain. February 2017 (photo © Fer Alcalá FujifilmXT10)

MADRID ME MATA…in a good sense,”

says Fernando Alcalá Losa, the avid Barcelona based photographer of street culture. He doesn’t literally mean that the Spanish capital is deadly, but rather speaks of his devotion to Madrids’ energy, its possibility, its history, its people, and to its art. The torrid affairs of the heart are invariably complicated, as is the evolution of graffiti and Street Art from their outlaw illegal roots to their flirtations and trysts with other forms and venues; murals, in-studio practice, gallery representation, institutional recognition, or commercial viability.

We are pleased that Mr. Alcalá Losa comes to talk to BSA readers today and takes us to Madrid for the new art fair called “Urvanity” to see what he discovers with you, courtesy his words and his lovers’ view behind the camera.

Madrid Me Mata…in a good sense. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 13

Lucy Sparrow Opens an All-Felt Bodega in NYC : “8 ‘Till Late”

Lucy Sparrow 8 ‘Till Late (photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s 8 ‘Till Late, artist Lucy Sparrows first all-felt store in New York, and it’s literally just under the Standard Hotel in the Meat Packing district. She’s made 9,000 items over roughly 9 months out of this soft fabric-like craft material – and at first impression it sincerely looks like everything you would have found in a New York bodega in the 1990s aside from the hard liquor, which is actually illegal to sell outside a liquor store in NYC, but relax, its all heartfelt.

“We sell quite a lot of self-help books as well,” chimes in Clare Croome, a cashier.

“Yes! Self-help books! Have you seen them?” says Brooks “They’ve got nothing in them on the pages, they’re just blank.”

Lucy Sparrow 8 ‘Till Late. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 12

“All Big Letters” Opens, Curated by RJ Rushmore

Faust. All Big Letters curated by RJ Rushmore at Haverford College’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery. Philadephia, PA (photo © Lisa Boughter)

“I wanted to exhibit the mind of a graffiti writer in a gallery, and make that mindset understandable to your average gallery-goer,” he tells us. “To me, that means appreciating not just the finished piece, but how and why it came to be.”

By showing artists, works, photography, and tools that judiciously span the 50 or so years that mark the era of modern mark-making in the public sphere, Rushmore threads a story line that he hopes a visitor can gain an appreciation for in this art, sport, and quest for fame.

All Big Letters. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 11

Anonymouse: Miniature Vignettes on the Street for “No Limit” Festival in Boras, Sweden

Anonymouse. No Limit Boras 2017. Boras, Sweden. September 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miniaturization on the street or in the museum (or in the street museum) causes you to focus on detail, draw closely, to recall your childhood ability to freely invoke a sense of fantasy.

“Since our visitors are mostly nocturnal, our opening hours are quite generous,” the artists known as Anonymous say in reference to their nighttime installations, sometimes glowing with electric light in the lee of a bridge column, or the shadow of a door. They reference the famous Swedish children’s book author Astrid Lindren in their work, and you can easily visualize a small mouse family or a business mouse or a house mouse or church mouse astutely moving through these vignettes, living their important lives.

Possibly one is currently occupied in a back room of one of these installations at the moment but they will be returning presently to greet their new visitor – you, with your big face. Don’t worry, they like you to get up close. They may even provide a magnifying glass for you to get a closer look.

Anonymouse. Minuature Vignettes. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 1o

Bunnies, Birds, Sexuality and VINZ Feel Free’s “Innocence” in Brooklyn

Vinz Feel Free. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Birds are associated with freedom, fish remind him of mindless consumerism, and frogs convey authority. He reserves reptiles for soulless soldiers of capital and authoritarian types. And the sudden preponderance of rabbits? Why sexuality and innocence of course.

“Innocence” is the name of the exhibition here curated by BSA and DK Johnston, and Vinz Feel Free has been preparing these works for many months. A project that has included his study of innocence, the show is meant to demarcate such shadings of the concept as to appear only subtly different from one another. To wit:

1. The quality or state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong.
2. Freedom from legal or specific wrong; guiltlessness.

Vinz Feel Free. “Innocence”.  Continue reading HERE

 


No. 09

Julien De Casabianca, Angry Gods, and Hacking Disaster in Kathmandu

Julien De Casabianca. Outings Project. Kathmandu, Nepal. January, 2017 (photo © Karma Tshering Gurung & Sanam Tamang/ Artudio)

If you are not going into the museum to see art, Julien De Casabianca is happy to bring it out to the street for you. Additionally, if the museum has been closed by an earthquake, he’ll make sure the art gets a public viewing nonetheless.

In Kathmandu recently Street Artist Julien de Casabianca continued his Outings Project by bringing a centuries-old painting outside to the side of the Artudio building in Swoyambhu on Chhauni Hospital Road with the help of Matt Rockwell of the humanitarian hackers group called DisasterHack.

He tells us that the obstacles to getting this piece up seemed insurmountable at times due to the broken social and infrastructural systems in Nepal that still plague people even today, nearly two years since the catastrophic earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 and injured 22,000 more.

Julien De Casabianca/Outings Projects in Kathmandu. Continue reading HERE


No. 08

Rocking “THE HAUS” : A 5-Floor Berlin Bank is Transformed by Artists

Kaleido. The Haus. Berlin. March 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Normally we paint advertising – hand-painted advertising, mostly with cans. So we work all over Germany, with a lot of crews, “ says Kimo, a bearded, bald energetic and sharp witted guy who is lighting up a cigarette in this tattered, beige ex-conference room.  That explanation doesn’t prepare you for what you will see in the rooms upstairs.

The floors are piled with unopened paint buckets and brushes and cans and the walls in this organizing office are covered with scotch-taped project timelines, to-do lists, and floor plans of the old bank. Each former office space is plainly labled with names of German Street Artists or graffiti  crews, some you recognize, others you don’t. More recent Street Art names are next to classic Graff heads, installation  artists mix freely with Optic Artists, photographers, sculptors, even a live moss installation.

Case Maclaim is right next door to Turbokultur with Stohead out in the hall on floor 1.  El Bocho and Emess are in small rooms to either side of 1UP on the 3rd. Herakut in a corner room numbered 506 is right next to Nick Platt and Paul Punk in 505.

Rocking The Haus. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 07

Working the Cornfields on a Santa Fe Facade with Jetsonorama

Chip Thomas. Santa Fe, New Mexico, Earth Day 2017. (photo © John Donalds)

18 year old Hawthorne Hill has learned the traditional Hopi farming technique called “dry farming” from his mom, according to Jetsonorama, and he places seeds in shallow holes, while his sister Metzli creates rows of wind blocks using nearby brush.

The photos are taken on Second Mesa on the Hopi nation, but the artist brings them here to Santa Fe as part of a project he’s doing with Biocultura Santa Fe.

A project originally conceived of as part of Earth Day, with a focus on where our food comes from and traditional farming methods, its good to think of who works to bring food to your table.

Working The Cornfields. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 06

“A Real Turning Point” : Sculptures on the Art Mile at Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art

Seth Globepainter. Art Mile. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I think it’s a real turning point as far as seeing three dimensional things,” says Street Artist and fine artist Ben Frost while hand painting text on the side of the large facsimiles of pharmaceutical boxes that he’s creating for the UN Art Mile. “I think sculptures and installations have been paving a way forward for Street Art.”

In fact sculpture and all manner of three dimensional installations as Street Art have been a part of the current century for sure, from the variety of lego and yarn artists to the soldiered steel tags of REVS and eco-bird houses of XAM and small little men made of wood by Stikman – among many others.

For the opening of UN this weekend, the Urban Nation Museum of Urban Contemporary Art in Berlin this week, a curated selection of artists working in such dimensions were invited to create substantial pieces – including video installation, mobile, interactive, the purely static. Enjoy the variety of works by Street Artists who are working today.

Urban Nation Berlin. Art Mile. Continue reading HERE


No. 05

“Resistance is Female” Takes Over Phone Booths in New York

Gigi Chen for #resistanceisfemale (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The decentralized Resistance, as it turns out, is a majority of Americans.

And leading the charge are women and girls.

So it makes perfect sense that a new grassroots takeover of telephone booth advertising in New York is a campaign called, “Resistance is Female”. Organizers and artists say that the ad takeover project is putting out a message that corporate controlled media seems to be quelling: keep fighting, keep speaking up, persevere.

The artists have put up a couple of dozen or so new art pieces in places where typecast women typically sell shampoo or fashions: a high-jacking of the advertising streetscape which the French and the Situationists would have called détournement in earlier decades.

Resistance Is Female. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 04

Street Artist OLEK and Volunteers Create NINA SIMONE Tribute in Raleigh, NC

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Nina Simone; Three of the women whom Street Artist Olek would like us to remember from U.S. history, and who have been recently featured in public crochet portraits. Her most recent portrait done with help from the community brings art made by the public to the public in a country-wide project called “Love Across the USA”.

Sparked a year ago leading up to the US national election where a woman was on the ballot, Olek says that despite the negativity that followed, “it inspired me to create a project that would celebrate the accomplishments of women, many of whom had been forgotten throughout U.S. history.”

Today we go to Raleigh, NC to see the most recent banner of Nina Simone crocheted by Olek and a small army of volunteers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone, the American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and activist in the Civil Rights Movement.

Olek. Here Comes The Sun. Continue reading HERE

 


No. 03

Icy & Sot and a Man of Trash in Tbilisi, Georgia

Icy & Sot.  “Human reflection on nature”. Tbilisi, Georgia. May 2017. (photo © Icy & Sot)

15 centuries old, Tbilisi may not last as long as this garbage man sculpture by Street Artists Icy & Sot.

“It took us only 10 minutes to collect all this trash because there was so much of it – including American brands – in the river by this village,” says Icy as he tells us about the trip he and his brother Sot made last month. A gorgeous and historically diverse city of 1.5 million people, Tbilisi reflects art, architecture, trade and culture that have given the Georgian capital a reputation as a crossroads for Europe and Asia.

During their stay with the Art Villa Garikula, a self organized community contemporary art center begun Tbilisi born painter and educator, Karaman Kutateladze in 2000, Icy and Sot did two pieces and an ad takeover that reflect the global problems posed by a consumer culture sold by corporations with little concern for its impact long term.

Icy & Sot. Human reflections on nature. Continue reading HERE

 

No. 02

“Martha Cooper” Solo Exhibition Reveals Many Unseen “Action Shots”

Martha Cooper signing the print of Futura 2000 whole car “Break”,  Steven Kasher Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

An intrepid photographer who has launched a million dreams (and perhaps a few thousand careers) in graffiti and Street Art with her photography that captured crucial and seminal aspects of our culture that others overlooked.

That is just one way of seeing this brand new collection of images by Martha Cooper that is spread across one wall featuring artists at work, sometimes intimately. Here is where you see 102 individual shots of artists at work, a stunning testament to the range of art-making techniques that are practiced in the public realm, as well as a testament to the passion and curiosity of the woman behind the lens.

For Ms. Cooper’s first solo photography show in New York, Steven Kasher Gallery is featuring 30 new editions of her legendary street art photographs, the ones that have burned themselves into the collective memory of New York and of our streets in the 1970s and 1980s. While her photographs in the 1984 seminal “Subway Art” and her early Hip Hop street shots may be what she is most known for by artists and collectors and fans in cities around the world to which she travels, the new exhibit also contains more than a foreshadowing into the vast collection of important images she has not shown to us.

Martha Cooper Solo Show. Continue reading HERE

 

No. 01

Banksy Hits Brexit With New Piece, MaisMenos & BLU Used EU Flag Earlier

Banksy. Dover, England. Photo @banksy Instagram

The appearance of a new mural by Banksy in Dover, England caught the attention of many followers on his Instagram account and the mass media folks quickly reported on the new piece that comments on the current state of the EU.

10 months since the Brexit vote, the anonymous artist has created a thoughtful piece marking the crack in the European Union, depicting a white male worker on a ladder chipping away one of the stars on the EU flag, a fissure produced by the action reaching upwards and outwards toward the others.

Banksy Brexit. Continue reading HERE

Read more

Mighty Tanaka Gallery Presents: H. VENG Smith and Gigi Chen “The Birds & The Bees” (Brooklyn, NY)

The Birds and the Bees

The Birds and The Bees

Featuring the artwork of Gigi Chen & H. Veng Smith

Spring is upon us early this year and with it brings longer days full of sun and warmth.  The nice weather ushers in our next show, The Birds and The Bees, featuring the aesthetically pleasing artwork of Gigi Chen and H. Veng Smith. Together, these two artists exemplify an exciting direction of oil painting, unlocking elements of love and pain through their individual techniques.

The Birds and The Bees

Featuring the artwork of Gigi Chen & H. Veng Smith

Spring is the season for growth and renewal and with it, people come together in joyous celebration.  Drunk off the familiar sensation of green grasses and blossoming flora, the world is alive and full of inspiration.  A romantic essence fills the air with an intoxicating blend of rejuvenating aromas that tempts the body and plays with the mind.  It is easy to lose oneself in the cacophony of reawakening, as senses are overloaded and forged into the memory.  Through the enchanted feelings resides a notion of self-discovery that enables reckless abandonment, which leads to a multitude of outcomes.  Mighty Tanaka is pleased to bring you our springtime show, The Birds and The Bees, featuring the fantastical artwork of Gigi Chen & H. Veng Smith.

The Birds and The Bees is a traditional metaphor for love, yet it also encompasses the sharp stinging pain of loss.  It is a constant reminder of balance and desire as well as the shock of reality.  As the warmth grows, so does the undergrowth and the tangle of vines and thorns, creating an ever-challenging terrain of hope and expectations to navigate.

Both Gigi Chen and H. Veng Smith utilize a host of inspiring techniques to create their individual work.  Both artists create their work from oil paint, yet their achieved outcome differs greatly.  As the days grow longer and the sun shines a little brighter, it’s the perfect setting for The Birds and The Bees to come out to play.

Mighty Tanaka

111 Front St., Suite 224

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Email: contact@mightytanaka.com

Phone: 718.596.8781

(F Train to York Street, A/C to High Street)

Hours:

Wednesday – Sunday, 12pm – 6:30pm

 

Read more

Fun Friday 03.09.12 Armory Week BSA Picks

Hells yes, it’s the invasion of the art fairs in New York – and all the associated events around them, including Bushwicks Beat Night and Williamsburg’s Arts Not Fair in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn and many galleries have special programming planned for the weekend around the city. The big fish is the Armory, which is apparently taming itself down a bit if last nights opening was any indication, and their door is a hefty $30 – boutique indeed.  But the hardy street art fan never pays anyway, from what we’ve seen.

Also this weekend are Fountain, PooL Art, Scope New York, Volta , Art Now, and Theorize which are more affordable or free and can be a lot more interesting frankly. Or, just hang out on the street with your bagged container and check out the street art on selected streets and abandoned lots in neighborhoods like the L.E.S, Bowery, Chelsea, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Red Hook, Long Island City, Dumbo. It’s cheap and you might get invited inside for a party if you bring a couple cans of beer. As you know, it doesn’t cost money to access the creative spirit.

1. Armory Arts Week
2. Fountain
3. Volta
4. Scope
5. Lisa Enxing at Le Salon d’ Art
6. Ambush Gallery, “Project 5, Volume 4”
7. “Beat Nite”
8. “Hyper/Hypo” at Secret Project Robot
9. OBLVN “100 Paintings at Klughaus Gallery
10. Jef Aerosol “Hot Spots” @ Galerie Austral
11. Street Artist Ives.One (Video)

For further information regarding Armory Arts Week click here

Fountain

(Images © Steven P. Harrington)

This year Fountain has provided a 200 foot long wall for a slew of Street Artists, including Chris Stain, Know Hope, GILF, Imminent Disaster, Joe Iurato, LMNOP, Elle, ShinShin, LNY, Cake, En Masse, Sophia Maldonado, Hellbent, Radical! and Wing. See some behind the scenes photos posted yesterday here.

Joe Iurato at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LNY will be at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fountain include a great line up of galleries that promote, support and represent Street Artists including:  Kestin/Ray Gallery, Mighty Tanaka Gallery, The Market Place Gallery and Marianne Nems Gallery.

XAM will be exhibiting at Fountain with Marianne Nems Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Brooklyn gallery Mighty Tanaka will be having a greatest hits collection of work by almost everyone in their stable of untamed horses. One of the best walls is the dual red white and blue side by side 3-D sculptural wall installations by Skewville and Miguel Ovalle – including swords on the bottom of the Ovalle piece for the kids.

Featured at Might Tanaka are Abe Lincoln Jr. Adam Leech, Adam Void, Alexandra Pacula, Alice Mizrachi, Andrew H. Shirley, Burn 353, Cake, CAM, Celso, ChrisRWK, Conrad Carlson, Criminy Johnson, Curtis Readel, Don Pablo Pedro, Drew Tyndell, ELLE, Ellen Stagg, EVOKER, Flying Fortress, Gigi Bio, Gigi Chen, Greg Henderson, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, infinity, JMR, Joe Iurato, John Breiner, Katie Deker, Lamour Supreme, Masahiro Ito, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Mike Schreiber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, NEVER, Peat Wollaeger, Robbie Bush, See One, Sofia Maldonado, TooFly, UFO, Vahge, VengRWK, VIK with exclusive murals by Miguel Ovalle & Skewville.

For further information regarding Fountain Art Fair click here

Volta

Carmichael Gallery from Culver City, CA will be exhibiting new works by Aakash Nihalani.

Aakash Nihalani (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding Volta Art Fair click here

Scope

The Corey Helford Gallery from Culver City, CA will be exhibiting works by D*Face, Ron English and Risk at Scope.

D*Face in Los Angeles for LAFreeWalls Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ron English in Miami for Wynwood Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)

White Walls Gallery from San Francisco will be exhibiting works by Blek le Rat at Scope.

Blek le Rat in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding Scope Art Fair click here

Also happening this Weekend:

Lisa Enxing at Le Salon d’ Art For more information about this show click here

Ambush Gallery in Sydney, Australia presents “Project 5, Volume 4”. For more information about this show click here

Don’t miss “Beat Nite” happening this Saturday in dirty Bushwick and presented by Norte Maar. For more information about this event click here

“Hyper/Hypo” group show at Secret Project Robot opens this Saturday. For more information about this show click here

OBLVN solo show “100 Paintings” opens this Saturday at the Klughaus Gallery. For more information about this show click here

Jef Aerosol new solo show “Hot Spots” opens this Saturday at Galerie Austral in Saint-Denis, France. For more information about this show click here

 

Amsterdam based Street Artist Ives.One

A nice stop motion piece made with Arden de Raaij:

Read more

Art Basel Miami 2011 : BSA Picks

Miami is basically “South Brooklyn” starting right about now, minus the bagels, the B62 bus, and the compulsive habit of cutting you off mid-sentence.  Artists, galleries, fans, party girls and boys, djs, – they all head south the first few days of December for the big fair and all the little ones.

It already seems a little quieter here because Fountain took the weirdos, Wynwood Walls took the Soho softshoes, and The Underbelly collected the hardcore characters just long enough to sign a book and scarf some pizza before looking for a tunnel somewhere. Art Basel is a feast and the draw of Street Art and graffiti continues apace this year, with entrants from all the strata looking for a wall, and maybe a party, and a honey to go skinny dip with.

We picked a few Street Art related gems here that you might want to hit, but even if you show up in Miami this week with no plans, you’ll easily find some trouble to get into, we trust. Do your best.

Underbelly Project

Photo © Ian Cox courtesy of The Underbelly Project

After a full year underground, The Underbelly Project is coming to Miami during Art Basel. A pop up gallery, the show will feature original artwork from many of the 103 international artists who participated in the hidden subway project in New York. The exhibition will feature a video piece of multiple installations happening simultaneously, as well as new pieces by many of the artists. Additionally a book signing of the first volume to come out about the project, published by Rizzoli, will take place on December 2nd. Artists participating in the signing include: Dabs & Myla, Rone, Gaia, Lister, Eric Haze, Joe Iurato, Adam Feibleman, Know Hope, Jeff Stark, Jason Eppink, Jim and Tina Darling, The London Police, Dan Witz, Specter, Surge and other surprise artists.

Included in the show are street, graffiti and fine artists alike. The full line-up includes: Faile, Dabs & Myla, TrustoCorp, Aiko, Rone, Revok, Ron English, Jeff Soto, Mark Jenkins, Anthony Lister, Logan Hicks, Lucy McLauchlan, M-City, Kid Zoom, Eric Haze, Saber, Meggs, Jim & Tina Darling, The London Police, Sheone, Skewville, Jeff Stark, Jordan Seiler, Jason Eppink and I AM, Dan Witz, Specter, Ripo, MoMo, Remi/Rough, Stormie Mills, Swoon, Know Hope, Skullphone, L’Atlas, Roa, Surge, Gaia, Michael De Feo, Joe Iurato, Love Me, Adam 5100, and Chris Stain.

THE UNDERBELLY SHOW
29 November – Press Preview 5pm/ Private View 7pm
30 November – Collector’s Preview 7pm
1 December – Secret Wars US vs. UK 6pm
2 December – General Opening 5pm and Artist Book Signing 6pm
The show will take place in the heart of Wynwood at 78NW 25th Street

SCOPE


Jonathan Levine Gallery At Scope with WK Interact, Aakash Nihilani, Olek, and Jason DeCaires Taylor

“Placing a focus on public art for this program, the gallery will present a series of works that highlight a diverse range of distinct styles, cultural perspectives and unconventional mediums. Each of the four artists selected represent fresh directions in creating work in public space through their innovative vision and inventive use of materials. Photography documenting their interventional imagery, sculpture, and performances convey the transformative effect their work has on its surrounding

Aakash Nihalani with Jonathan Levine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Olek with Jonathan Levine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WK Interact with Jonathan Levine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

:SCOPE-Miami, Booth E09
NE 1st Avenue @ NE 30th Street, Miami, FL 33127

November 29—December 4, 2011
Tues 11/29, 4—8pm | Wed 11/30—Sat 12/3, 11am—7pm | Sun 12/4, 11am—6pm

Mallick Williams Gallery at Scope with Skullphone and Curtis Kulig

Skullphone + Curtis Kulig will be showing work from their recent collaborations this fall.

Skullphone with Mallick Williams and New Image Art  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

New Image Art Gallery at Scope

This year New Image Art is proud to present Retna, Cleon Peterson, Paul Wackers, and Maya Hayuk at Scope Miami 2011.

Check out Retna with New Image Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)

White Walls Gallery at Scope

White Walls will be hosting four booths at SCOPE, situated in the center of Miami’s Wynwood Gallery Arts District, featuring a MTN Colors Group show with APEX, Neon, Estria, Vogue, Blek le Rat, HUSH, Kofie and Chor Boogie, a White Walls Group show with Casey Gray, Ben Eine and Greg Gossel, and solo shows for both ABOVE and ROA. APEX, Eine, Kofie, ABOVE, ROA and Chor Boogie will also be painting at the Kohn compound on 24th street.

Ben Eine with White Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA with White Walls  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chor Boogie and Augustine Kofie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For a full listing of exhibitors and events click here SCOPE

Wynwood Walls

Wynwood Walls is premiering 7 new Street Art murals and 16 new pieces at Wynwood Doors and walls outside.

Debuting in tandem with the new murals and installations during Art Basel this year on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, the “Shop at the Walls” the first Wynwood Walls Pop Up gallery space that will offer artworks and the new Wynwood Walls book.The book has interview with Street Artists and photography by Martha Cooper.

Artists include Retna, The Date Farmers, How and Nosm, Gaia (USA), Saner and Sego (Mexico), Liqen (Spain), Neuzz (Mexico), Nunca (Brazil), Vhils (Portugal), Interesni Kazki (Ukraine), Faile (USA) and b. (Greece)Kenny Scharf is expected to augment his existing wall, and remaining work from the last two years from Nunca, Shepard Fairey, Aiko, Ryan McGinness, Stelios Faitakis and avaf will be on display.

Walls Outside the Wynwood Walls, encompassing key locations outside of the actual art park itself and in the surrounding neighborhood, will be created by Friends With You (USA), avaf (Brazil and France), Nunca, and Interesni Kazki (Ukraine); joining works previously completed by Swoon and Barry McGee.

Location:
Wynwood Walls and the Pop Up Shop are located at NW Second Avenue – between Joey’s Italian Café on 25th Street and the art-filled Wynwood Kitchen & Bar on 26th Street – and are open to the public free of charge.

HERE COMES THE NEIGHBORHOOD: WYNWOOD (Video)

Fountain Art Fair

“Our preferred punk rock lopsided Anti-Fair.” —Brooklyn Street Art

This year Fountain Miami’s signature on-site street art installation is curated by Samson Contompasis, director of Albany’s The Marketplace, and will feature over 150 feet of work Street Artists including Sharktoof, Chris Stain, Olek, Hugh Leeman, Chor Boogie, OverUnder, White Cocoa, Army of One, Clown Soldier, Joe Iurato, CAKE, Tip-Toe, Elle, Ian Ross, Know Hope, Depoe, and Zero Cents.

Gilf! at Fountain  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn’s own Mighty Tanaka Gallery is showing at Fountain Participating artists include: Adam Void, Alexandra Pacula, Alice Mizrachi, ChrisRWK, Ellen Stagg, Gigi Chen, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, JMR, John Breiner, Max Greis, Mike Schreiber, Robbie Busch, Skewville, TooFly, URnewyork, VengRWK & Miguel Ovalle

Hellbent with Mighty Tanaka (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville with Mighty Tanaka   (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For a full listing of events and schedules click here Fountain Art Fair

December 1–4, 2011
2505 North Miami Avenue (at the corner of 25th St) | Miami, FL 33137
General Hours: 12pm–7pm daily
Tickets: $10 daily / $15 weekend pass. All tickets sold at door.

Primary Projects

 

 

A new exhibit debuting during Art Basel Miami Beach 2011

Thursday, December 1
Opening Reception
7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

RETNA, Jessy NITE, Stormie MILLS, Evan ROBARTS, Lena SCHMIDT, Luis PINTO, Andrew SCHOULTZ, Karen STAROSTA-GILINSKI, Kenton PARKER, TM SISTERS, Samantha SALZINGER, Emmette MOORE, Anthony LISTER, Charles KRAFFT, Tatiana SUAREZ, Edouard NARDON, Andrew NIGON, Johnny ROBLES and Lawrence GIPE.

For further information regarding this event click Primary Projects

Primary Projects
4141 NE Second Avenue
Suite 104
Miami, FL 33137

 

 

Living Walls is working with with Primary Flight, one of the original graffiti and Street Art mural projects, to create 3 new murals in the Wynwood District.

Participating Artists:

JAZ (Buenos Aires, Argentina) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope (Tel Aviv, Israel) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PULSE Fair

 

Andrew Edlin Gallery at Pulse with Elbow Toe

Brian Adam Douglas AKA Elbow Toe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Joshua Liner Gallery at Pulse with Stephen Powers

Stephen Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For a complete list of exhibitors and schedules of events click here PULSE

 

Read more

Fun Friday 12.10.10

Fun-Friday

It’s beginning to look a lot like Kwanzannukah

Roman Klonek & Jim Avignon at Factory Fresh

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-factory-fresh-roman-klonek-jim-avignon

An unusual breed of pop art with two oddities that are well jump-suited for each other. Expect the unexpected, including a special appearance by His Doodleness Jon Burgerman.

Speedy Wonderland

Factory Fresh Gallery Presents: Roman Klonek & Jim Avignon “Speedy Wonderland” (Brooklyn, NY)Opening Reception FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 7-10pm

ART to be Sold Off the Walls at “12×12”

Hopefully no one will be trampled for the holidays just getting in the door tonight, but you are bound to see something dope here, including a number of street artists you are familiar with at this group show.  Wonder how big the pieces are?

Brooklyn-street-art-mighty-tanaka-12x12-dec2010

brooklyn-street-art-mighty-tanaka

Opening Reception, Friday, December 10th, 6pm – 9pm!Mighty Tanaka presents:
12×12 -A Group Show for the Holidays

FEATURED ARTISTS
Abe Lincoln Jr., Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, Anthony Sneed, AVOID, Briar Elyse, Bruno Perillo, Bryan Raughton, Buxtonia, CAM, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Dark Clouds, Destroy and Rebuild, DOIT, Don Pablo Pedro, DROID, Ed Shawn Herrera, Ellen Stagg, Ellis G, Eric DeFrancesco, Fedele Spadafora, Gary Carlson, Gigi Chen, Gigi Spratley, Hannah Rose Fierman, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, Infinity, Jac Atkinson, Japa, Jason Grunwald, JMR, John Breiner, John McGarity, John Sunderland, Julia Colavita, Julian Duran, Justin Rymer, Katie Decker, Keely, KOSBE, Lauren Asta, Lee Trice, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Melissa Carroll, Mike Schrieber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, Nick Chatfield-Taylor, QRST, Quel Beast, Reginald Pean, Rick Midler, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, SADU, Skewville, Soosan Joon Silanee, Steven Schreiber, Thomas Cecchi, Tony Bones, Tony DePew, Toofly, UFO, URnewyork, Veng RWK

New Video from Sten & Lex

Street Artist Cake: A Collection of Drawings

Brewer’s Mansion is happy to present A Collection of Drawings, a show by Brooklyn street artist Cake, opening Saturday the 12th at this little known place where artists hang out.

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-brewers-mansion-cake-11-10

From the artist, “I use anatomy to describe the intricate relationship structures humans have with themselves and others. I frequently take from the pool of human suffering for subject matter and inspiration. When people disconnect from themselves in any way, it will somehow show up in their faces, bodies and gestures. I prefer to make drawings describing those results.”

Brewer’s Mansion

Cake Opening December 11, 6-9

55 Waterbury between Scholes and Meserole in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Kid Zoom Pop-Up Saturday

“Kid Zoom, Rembrandt with a Spray Can, represents the future of this movement.” – RON ENGLISH

With a Street Art celebrity endorsement like that, you know he’s going to wear a clean shirt to the show, right?  But wait, this is Lo-Brow so maybe just a freshly stained t-shirt.  See our studio visit Here.

brooklyn-street-art-kid-zoom-opera-gallery

OPENING PARTY – SAT 11th DECEMBER – 7PM till Late – MEATPACKING – NYC

72 Gansevoort St
NEW YORK, NY, 10014
Meatpacking District
Read more

Mighty Tanaka Presents “12 x 12” A Group Show for The Holidays (Brooklyn, NY)

12 x 12
MT_logosite

Come out and join us for this Holiday event!  Artwork to be sold directly off the walls! Pieces by both established and emerging artists alike!  Opening Reception, Friday, December 10th, 6pm – 9pm!

Mighty Tanaka presents:
12×12
A Group Show for the Holidays

The holidays’ are upon us once again and now is the time to start thinking about the perfect gift for that special somebody in your life!  Celebrating our one-year anniversary at our current location, Mighty Tanaka is very proud to bring you our latest show entitled 12×12.  We invite you to come out and join us for this exciting event!

12×12 features both successful, established artists as well as some of the hottest up and coming emerging artists from NYC and beyond.  Exhibiting artwork from a wide range of disciplines, this show has a little bit of everything, from the raw to the refined.  The displayed work represents the voice of our generation and exemplifies our interpretations of the world.

This large group show features over 70 artists and all the work was completed on small 12”x12” canvases.  We will be selling the artwork directly off the walls for you to add to your private collection or to give away as a holiday gift.  With various price points and an array of techniques and styles, there is surely a piece of art that will fit nearly every lifestyle.

Featuring the artwork of:
Abe Lincoln Jr., Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, Anthony Sneed, AVOID, Briar Elyse, Bruno Perillo, Bryan Raughton, Buxtonia, CAM, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Dark Clouds, Destroy and Rebuild, DOIT, Don Pablo Pedro, DROID, Ed Shawn Herrera, Ellen Stagg, Ellis G, Eric DeFrancesco, Fedele Spadafora, Gary Carlson, Gigi Chen, Gigi Spratley, Hannah Rose Fierman, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, Infinity, Jac Atkinson, Japa, Jason Grunwald, JMR, John Breiner, John McGarity, John Sunderland, Julia Colavita, Julian Duran, Justin Rymer, Katie Decker, Keely, KOSBE, Lauren Asta, Lee Trice, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Melissa Carroll, Mike Schrieber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, Nick Chatfield-Taylor, QRST, Quel Beast, Reginald Pean, Rick Midler, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, SADU, Skewville, Soosan Joon Silanee, Steven Schreiber, Thomas Cecchi, Tony Bones, Tony DePew, Toofly, UFO, URnewyork, Veng RWK & MORE!

OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, December 10th, 2010
6:00PM – 10:00PM

(Show closes January 7, 2010)

Mighty Tanaka
68 Jay St., Suite 416 (F Train to York St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Hours: M-F 12:30PM to 7PM, weekends by appointment
Office: 718.596.8781
Email: alex@mightytanaka.com
Web: http://www.mightytanaka.com

Read more

“Delineations” Drawing Show at Ad Hoc

IN THE FRONT GALLERY

Image

“Delineations”
a collection of drawings and illustrations from a diverse group of international artists.

Participating artists include: Alley Cat, Adam William Carnes, Gigi Chen, Fernanda Cohen, Molly Crabapple, Adam Collison, Cycle, Deseo, Bonnie Durham, Ezra Li Eismont, Ewelina Ferruso, EZO, Nate Frizzel, Yoko Furuso, Bob Gibson (TLP), Mark Gibson, GROW, Joshua Hagler, Fred Harper, Peter Herpich, Thomas Herpich, Nevada Hill, Phil Hollenbeck, Mike Houston (Cannonball Press), isuel isuel, Jeremyville, Katie Kaplan, Jane Kim, Hiro Kurata, Rafael Ladesma III, Laura Lee, Tim Hon Hung Lee, Tae Lee, Brian Life, Tommii Lim, Daniel Hyun Lim (Fawn Fruits), David MacDowell, Drew Maillard, Sara Antoinette Martin, Martin Mazorra (Cannonball Pres), MIHA, Melissa Murray, Gilbert Oh, Logik One, Pagan, Nathan Lee Pickett, Lady Pink, Lilly Piri, Anthony Pontius, Devin Powers, Carlos (MARE139) Rodriguez, Dorthy Royle, Martina Secondo Russo, Frank Russo, Allison Sommers, Robert Steel, Kevin Earl Taylor, TheDirtyFabulous, Elisabeth Timpone, James Turek, Connie Wang, Jaeran Won, Pippi Zornoza plus Mikey & Doyle of the Black Label Bike Club

January 16th through February 15th 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, January 16th, 7-10pm

Ad Hoc Art is proud to present “Delineations”: a collection of drawings and illustrations from a diverse group of international artists.  Drawing has been and will always be a fundamental part of the art-making process.  Starting as far back as the 1400’s, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, and Raphael used drawing as not only a starting point but as a way to communicate things which could not be accomplished in any other medium. Fast forward to the 1900’s as artists such as Max Beckmann, Jean Dubuffet, Arshile Gorky, M. C. Escher, André Masson, and Pablo Picasso not only continued this serious examination of drawing as fine art, but took it to incredible new places through their creativity and talent.  In more recent times artists such as Marcel Dzama, R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Joe Sacco, Yoshitomo Nara, and Julie Doucet (among many, many others) again redefined how we look at drawing as not only a means to an end but an important and impressive end in itself.  Continuing with this amazing tradition, we present to you a new generation of drawers and illustrators who hope to not only add to this amazing lineage of artists but to also find ways to reinvent and reinterpret how drawing can be used to communicate and enlighten.

Read more