All posts tagged: Jaime Rojo

Cryptik “Sacred Syllables” at Hold Up Art

BSA contributor Carlos Gonzalez recently checked out the golden hued installations by Street Artist Cryptik at Hold Up Art in LA. Here he shares with us his observations and photos.

Street Artist Cryptik just opened with a new solo show, “Sacred Syllables” at Hold Up Art Gallery, located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Little Tokyo. The enigmatic, L.A.-based artist has been hitting the streets of for some time with his signature style which includes references to Eastern, Buddhist and Hindu religions. Unlike other street artists, Cryptik’s art holds a spiritual tone that is rarely seen in a city like Los Angeles. Without being overtly religious, the work speaks to those who are looking for more than the flashy, bright palette you might normally associate with Street Art.

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

This exhibit is an perfect example of this mindset. As soon as you enter the gallery space, you feel like you are entering an alley somewhere in India or a market in a distant part of Asia. Still, Cryptik’s artwork is the main attraction. Utilizing a variety of materials ranging from candles to wood, the collection of work gracefully walks a thin line between street art and spiritual text. The style incorporates a precise use of Sanskrit lettering which he has perfected through out the years, and his lines seem flawless as letters create circular patterns inside the confines of a wooden frame. Without jumping at you, screaming for attention, Cryptik’s work rewards a careful observer.

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

<<><>><>>><<>>><><>>><>>

See more images by Carlos Gonzalez on his Flickr.

 

Read more

The Prizes for the “BSA Holiday Giveway” 2011

This year for our Holiday Giveaway we are giving out the following gifts. Our winners holiday wishes will be unveiled during our “12 Wishes for ’12” from December 20-31, along with 7 artists wishes. Here’s a look at the prizes that were donated generously for the big giveaway.

PRIZE Descriptions

 

PRIZES

THE DEEEELUXE PLATINUM BUCKET: This prize will go to the first submission we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” this lucky reader will also get:

A copy of “Eloquent Vandals”, by Marte Jølbo and Martyn Reed.
Your very own “Ca$h for Your Warhol” sign, by Street Artist Hargo
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

THE GOLD PLATED BUCKET: This prize will go to the 2nd submission we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” this lucky reader will also get:

A copy of “Walls & Frames :Fine Art from the Streets,” by Maximiliano Ruiz
“Rocket Pop Boy”, a silk screen print by Snyder & Gregory Siff (of an edition of 21)
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

THE SILVER PLATED BUCKET: This prize will go to the next TWO submissions we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” these lucky readers will also get:

A copy of “Walls & Frames :Fine Art from the Streets,” by Maximiliano Ruiz
A copy of “PANTHEON:A History of Art From the Streets of NYC” by Daniel Feral and Joyce Manalo
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

THE BRONZE PLATED BUCKET: This prize will go to the final submission we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” this lucky reader will also get:

A copy of “Street Art New York,” by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

SHOUT OUTs: Maximiliano Ruiz, Daniel Feral, Joyce Manolo, Adam Void, Snyder, Gregory Siff, Geoff Hargadon, Marte Jølbo and Martyn Reed. Your generosity is truly appreciated.

Read more

BSA Holiday Giveaway for 2011 : Books, Print, Posters, Buttons, Zines

Dear BSA Readers: We’ve invited seven artists to participate in this year’s “Twelve Wishes for 2012”. That leaves 5 empty spots.  Now we would like to invite five BSA family like you to be a part of it — and win extravagant prizes for your efforts:

All you need to do is send ONE wish and ONE picture or image file to 12for12@BrooklynStreetArt.com no later than midnight EST December 9 and we’ll pick the 5 winners. Read the rules at the bottom of this posting.

PRIZE Descriptions

PRIZES

THE DEEEELUXE PLATINUM BUCKET: This prize will go to the first submission we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” this lucky reader will also get:

A copy of “Eloquent Vandals”, by Marte Jølbo and Martyn Reed.
Your very own “Ca$h for Your Warhol” sign, by Street Artist Hargo
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

THE GOLD PLATED BUCKET: This prize will go to the 2nd submission we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” this lucky reader will also get:

A copy of “Walls & Frames :Fine Art from the Streets,” by Maximiliano Ruiz
“Rocket Pop Boy”, a silk screen print by Snyder & Gregory Siff (of an edition of 21)
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

THE SILVER PLATED BUCKET: This prize will go to the next TWO submissions we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” these lucky readers will also get:

A copy of “Walls & Frames :Fine Art from the Streets,” by Maximiliano Ruiz
A copy of “PANTHEON:A History of Art From the Streets of NYC”  by Daniel Feral and Joyce Manalo
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

THE BRONZE PLATED BUCKET: This prize will go to the final submission we pick. In addition to being featured on BSA “Twelve Wishes for 2012” this lucky reader will also get:

A copy of “Street Art New York,” by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo
The Pantheon Prize Pack, by Street Artists infinity and Adam Void
The GRAFFITI & STREET ART Feral Diagram Poster

RULES: You must write a wish for 2012 that you wish for yourself or others; extra points for personal and respectful. Image can be anything BUT you must hold the copyrights to publish the image. Image must be at least 740 wide, and can be in .jpg, .tif, .png, or similar format.  Submissions must be received no later than December 9, 2011. Please include your postal address to receive the prizes, and the name you would like us to be published as. Final selections are made by the editors and buckets are not included. We can’t wait to hear from you!!!

5 Examples from previous participants; Martha Cooper, Broken Crow, Jef Aerosol, Hellbent, Cake

SHOUT OUTs: Maximiliano Ruiz, Daniel Feral, Joyce Manolo, Adam Void, Snyder, Gregory Siff, Geoff Hargadon, Marte Jølbo and Martyn Reed. Your generosity is truly appreciated.

Read more

Images of the Week 12.04.11

Our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Billi Kid, Dain, Ema, Fumero, Iwazaru, Kikazaru, Labrona, Lisa Enxing, ME, Miyok, Mizaru, and ND’A.

An urban diorama is not something you run into everyday. In fact, unless you usually run into air conditioners that stick out of buildings, it would be pretty unlikely you’d run into this one. This is our first encounter with a fully formed diaroma on the streets of New York, made by putting a piece of plexi glass over the end of an air conditioner casing. The building itself looks like it’s getting ready to be demolished, but this pleasant little pastoral pokes it’s head out into the sidewalk, more or less commanding you to stare inside. Larger ones like this are available for you to view at the Museum of Natural History. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Whoa! Careful there, Junior. Could be slippery. Artist Unknown. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Here is Lisa Enxing’s take on the Japanese maxim “Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, See no Evil”.  She replaced the Three Wise Monkeys; Mizaru, Kikazaru and Iwazaru with her stenciled and hand colored Geishas. What are their names we wonder? We get the message. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“E” is for EMA. French Street Artist Ema was recently in Brooklyn. Kind of gives you pause for reflection. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

EMA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Okay, qui a pris ma brie?” EMA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

EMA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dang, Dain is at it again! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Labrona has a couple soldiers in the trenches. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Labrona (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Billi Kid brings those Manhattan gams to the street with another installment of the leggy flowery series. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ND’A (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ND’A (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fumero hit the street with echoes of Thanksgiving in mind with this hand colored family portrait. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

An instant hit, the non-chalance of the pepper spraying police officer who walked up a row of silent students protesting at the University of California like he was dusting a row of corn with insecticide, this image has inspired street art of course. Why not? It has it’s own Tumbler page, after all. Street art here is by Miyok, Me. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Here are a few of our favorites from the site;

Oh, say can you seeeeeeeee?

Uniforms are going to be totally hot next season.

All my shingle ladie, all my shingle ladies…

 

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Read more

Fun Friday 12.02.11

 

Welcome to Friday!

1. New Video from The Paris Underbelly Project
2. The Underbelly Project Art Show
3. “UR NewYork” solo show “Breaking and Entering”
4. Swoon’s “Murmuration” (London)
5. “Wild Life” a group show that includes Dan Witz and D*Face at Stolen Space Gallery
6. Xenz presents his solo show “Cloud Cuckoo Land” at Blackall Studios in London
7. Skount solo show at the Aalborg Hotel in Amsterdam
8.”Wallflowers” a group show that includes LUDO at Carhartt Gallery in Weil Am Rehein Friedlingen, Germany
9. Romanian Artists Allan Dalla and Cosmonotrip (VIDEO)

New Video from The Paris Underbelly Project


See our story of the Paris Underbelly on Brooklyn Street Art  and Huffington Post from this past Monday.

The Underbelly Project Art Show

Opens today to the general public at Art Basel at 78NW 25th Street at 5:00 pm. There will be a book signing at 6:00 pm with many artists in attendance.

UR NewYork solo show “Breaking and Entering”

In Miami today, a solo show by two New Yorkers who keep it real.

See some BSA Picks for Art Basel 2011 click here:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/2011/11/29/art-basel-miami-2011-bsa-picks/

 

Swoon’s “Murmuration” (London)

In London Swoon’s new solo show “Murmuration” opens to the public today at Black Rat Projects:

 

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

See BSA’s posting on Swoon yesterday for behind the scenes photos.

Also happening this Weekend:

“Wild Life” a group show that includes Dan Witz and D*Face at Stolen Space Gallery in London. To read more about this show click here

Graffiti and Fine Artist Xenz presents his solo show “Cloud Cuckoo Land” at Blackall Studios in London. To read more about this show click here

Skount solo show presented by Amsterdam Street Art at the Aalborg Hotel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. To read more about this show click here

“Wallflowers” a group show that includes LUDO at Carhartt Gallery in Weil Am Rehein Friedlingen, Germany. To read more about this show click here

Romanian Artists Allan Dalla and Cosmonotrip (VIDEO)

Come on! Lay down in the paint with me.  Give it up for Romania and breaking in a puddle of color. Please try this at home!

Read more
Swoon’s “Murmuration” Opens Tonight. A Look Inside.

Swoon’s “Murmuration” Opens Tonight. A Look Inside.

The scale! The hand coloring! The reclaimed cabinetry! Brooklyn Native Swoon has been, for weeks, laboring in London in preparation for her solo show “Murmuration”, which opens today at Black Rat Projects Gallery. Telling the stories of people and characters she has often introduced to the streets of New York, Swoon has brought Thalassa  (“sea”), a primordial Greek sea goddess to command the tunnel, and to adorn a small passage in London as a wheatpaste.

Check out the video of Swoon on the street with Time Out London at the end of this post. (video stills copyright Time Out London)

Thanks to Mike Snelle for sending to us a handful of process shots of the installation. He promises to clean up some of this walking area before the doors open tonight!

“I’m not crazy ’bout the art, Clarence, but I could really use this chest of drawers in the pantry. Ask the chap how much he’s getting for it”. Swoon “Murmuration” (photo © Mike Snelle)

Swoon “Murmuration” (photo © Mike Snelle)

Swoon “Murmuration” (photo © Mike Snelle)

Swoon, Thalassa reigns in “Murmuration” (photo © Mike Snelle)

Swoon’s tubes of paint lined up across a drop cloth in preparation for “Murmuration” (photo © Mike Snelle)

Thalassa inspects the ceiling fixture while Swoon runs to the store to get extra light bulbs to complete the illumination of “Murmuration”. (photo © Mike Snelle)

For further information about this show click here

Read more

Specter Sidebusts Banksy in Chicago

The city of Chicago is famous for many things, one of them is the city’s zero tolerance for Graffiti and Street Art. Lore has it that if a piece runs for more than one day before “The Buff” hits it with a drab splotch of municipal death, it’s because they thought it was an ad.

One piece that has survived the wrath of The Graffiti Blasters (as they are officially known) is the only known Banksy piece in Chicago. It’s a vintage baby carriage tumbling down the ghosted remnant of a staircase. It brings to mind the movie ‘The Untouchables” with mobsters and police and screeching cars and a panicked baby just for the hell of it. But, really, no one knows why this Banksy baby has survived so long.

The faded Banksy baby carriage and the mysterious woman this summer in Chicago. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Compounding the question this summer was the appearance of a mysterious unfinished non-Banksy body lying further down the staircase. Oddly stiff and praying, nobody knew the cadaverish forms’ origin as we looked through a lense at  the Banksy in all it’s faded glory, looking more poignant and beautifully decayed, tagged but not destroyed. The unfinished form appeared to be levitating above the steps, it’s incompleteness adding an eerie feel to the Banksy carriage. Who painted it? Why was it not finished? Que significa?

Today we can report to you with certainty that the unfinished piece was by that side-busting Specter. And it is unfinished no more.

According to one account, it looks like the Brooklyn Street Artist had gotten in a little deeper than he intended when he began his unwanted collaboration with the biggest name in spraybiz, and he lost his concentration, one could say.

The resulting work, the “restoration” of the original Banksy, will surely infuriate some BSA readers. In the context of Specters other “sidebusts” and his own semi-rigid rulebook, however, it makes it’s own curious sense. And the woman who appears to have inched her way closer to the baby carriage as she become more complete? What of her? Reached for comment, Specter only said that in this unwanted collaboration he “used the Banksy baby carriage to make a reference to the conservative agenda that attempts to control women’s reproductive systems.”

Mystery solved.

Right?

Banksy/Specter (photo © Specter)

Banksy/Specter detail. (photo © Specter)

“In this colab I used the Banksy baby carriage to make a reference to the conservative agenda that attempts to control women’s reproductive systems”. Specter

Banksy/Specter (photo © Specter)

To read our interview with Specter last year as he explains “Unwanted Collaborations / Sidebusts” here >> Specter Spot-Jocks Shepard Fairey in New York City

 

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

The Paris Underbelly Surfaces : A New Gallery Beneath the City

Opening under cover of night somewhere in Paris, four stories beneath la rue, a secret subterranean gallery in a sealed tunnel appears suddenly. While activity on the street overhead is hectic and dense with cars, trucks and pedestrians, the dry dust is ankle-high here in this darkened silent morgue, its cool dank air now permeated with fresh aerosol. The Underbelly has been here, and if you discover this curated collection of Street Art and graffiti in the chilled dim light, you are officially lost. And lucky.

From left to right: Alice, C215, Saber and Futura. (photo © Ian Cox)

“You start climbing down and it seems like it never ends,” says Workhorse, the project leader who, along with a partner named PAC, has lead wandering artists down a similar path with pounds of spray paint in their backpacks once before, “You feel like your descending into this black pit.” The last time Underbelly appeared, it was in Brooklyn with 100 artists mounting an unsanctioned show in abandoned tunnels during a one-year period. Now these organizers stood in an underground location deep beneath Paris with a tense troupe sworn to secrecy; ten artists, three organizers, two photographers and one writer, converging here from five countries for one goal; to paint walls unencumbered, if quietly, for half a day.

From left to right: Sheone, Tristan Eaton and Conor Harrington. (photo © Ian Cox)

“The mood was a little tense until we were all safely in the tunnel,’ says Martha Cooper, the graffiti and Street Art photographer who has been doggedly pursuing these kind of painting parties in challenging locations for about 40 years. After decades of urban exploration, the world renowned photog with a journalists tenacity recounts stories like this with a glint in her eye and a sort of seasoned glee. “The process of climbing down steep ladders in narrow spaces in the middle of the night felt like a grand adventure.”

For Workhorse, the fear factor felt much more tangible, “If you get seen and stopped, there really is no good way to explain why you’re entering an illegal location with a dozen cameras and spray paint. I think we were all aware of the fact that it wasn’t a time to joke around or fuck up.”

Harnessing the team to help Conor Harrington with his piece. (photo © Martha Cooper)

If you’ve ever tried to organize artists, you know it’s almost impossible, and it always takes longer than you expect, especially when flights are delayed, luggage gets lost, and traffic is thick. “It took us 36 hours to finalize the supply list, get everyone in at the same time and same place and go over the itinerary of how things would work. We met up before sunrise, and made our way into the tunnel,” says Workhorse when describing the corralling of the crew.

C215 on a ladder with the stencil rolling to the left. (photo © Ian Cox)

The crew for Underbelly this time was a mixture of heavyweights and relative newcomers on the graffiti/Street Art continuum, each with a solid presence in an ever morphing scene; C215, Tristan Eaton, Futura, Conor Harrington, How and Nosm, Alice Pasquini, Saber, SheOne, and Will Barras.  If there was street beef, nobody was showing it. In fact some of the biggest fans of these artists are their peers and many of them were just happy to be in each other’s company for the first time. “I felt very privileged to be a part of such an amazing secretive project in one of my favorite cities. It was an honor to paint with these artists and be photographed by Martha Cooper,” says Los Angeles graffiti artist Saber, whose recent health issues caused the team to craft a contingency plan for one of the intermittent paroxysms he’s had in the last year.

“As real dangers go, these guys had worked out the logistics of how to get me out of the deep hole if I happened to have a seizure. Lifting my unconscious big rear-end up many feet is no easy task. I felt safe with these guys knowing they had looked at all sides of the logistics,” he says, now happily at home.

Saber. (photo © Ian Cox)

But what about his piece on the wall? How did his painting go? “I was next to Futura, so no pressure there! How and Nosm’s piece along with SheOne`s wall was amazing. My piece wasn’t so fancy,” he explains while relating how delayed flights and jetlag contributed to a painting performance he feels was less than his best, “I got crushed by the friendly competition.”

How and Nosm alongside SheOne. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Similarly, the New York Street Artist Tristan Eaton says the poor lighting leaves him wondering what his final piece even looks like today. “My area was only lit on one side, so half of my piece was in darkness while I painted. I planned a figurative piece with mostly dark reds, so how it came out is still a mystery to me. I haven’t seen any pictures, so I’m crossing my fingers that it’s not a total disgrace,” he says only half joking. The guy usually exhibits a technical mastery of the can, so it’s not unusual to hear him talk about taking on a new challenge with gusto. “I was trying to paint the Ferry man from Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel for God’s sake. I’ve been trying to do more figurative spray paint work lately, so I thought I’d push myself. Bad idea. I can normally trust myself to make anything work but given the challenges of the situation, I should have done a classic piece in a comfortable style and called it a day.”

Futura self tethered to his ladder reaching for the stars while painting underground. (photo © Ian Cox)

For the ever sanguine quipster Futura, a graffiti legend whose savoir faire was primed by experience from the moment he arrived underground, his active imagination seemed  enlivened by possibility and fantasy. With an elegant red cape and a can in hand, the graffiti and abstract artist clearly let his mind wander while the groups’ other amazing photographer, Ian Cox, looked for opportunities to capture the action and the attitude of the moment.

Futura. A stunning portrait of the artist. (photo © Ian Cox)

Four years in the US military will make a man look at this art project as a mission, and Futura was thinking of video games, regarding Underbelly as a real life multi-player call of graffiti duty. “You know it’s one thing to play Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops: Parisian Metro,” he intoned semi-seriously while talking about the planning that brought him to  this sweet spot to paint, “but the precision and logistical coordination was, without question, a highlight in danger and daring.”

Will Barrass. (photo © Ian Cox)

Setting aside heroic associations with the mission, the paintings themselves are imbued with a mysterious quality that is aided by their clandestine location and the conditions in which they were created; There is Connor Harrington’s epic and faceless horseman astride a stately galloping steed, Alice Pasquini’s Pipi Longstocking girl shrouding her frightened face in the corner, and How and Nosm’s sharp swooping symbols, lines and patterns waiting to be decoded.

Conor Harrington. (photo © Ian Cox)

Imagine walking with a flashlight through this tunnel of darkness and discovering the 12 foot high stencil portrait by hometown Street Art star C215 as it hovers slightly above you. The large grizzled face looms as a memory, perhaps a miner or a railroad worker, with one eye closed, or missing. Maybe he is wincing at you because of the thick dust in this airless tunnel.

From left to right: Alice, C215. (photo © Ian Cox)

He could be also reacting to the aerosol spewing from many cans spraying all at once.  Advance planning aside, one detail escaped the group; ventilation. While none of the participants we spoke with regrets for a minute the opportunity to bury paintings far below the surface of a historical city that celebrates it’s artistic culture, everyone mentions the fumes.

“The tunnel was pretty much sealed with no ventilation,” Cooper remembers, “Had I not been loaned a respirator, I would not have been able to breathe. The paint fumes accumulated so that there was a visible haze in the space.”

Will Barras and Alice Pasquini. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Inside the tunnel, it became 60% visibility with the spray paint fog with an instant headache wall when you walked in,” says Eaton, “We all felt bad for Saber who showed up last and had to bear the worst of it all.”

Saber agrees, “If you stayed too long you could possibly get inhalation poisoning. Seriously, in my 21 years of painting I have never experienced a wall of fumes like that.”

Curiously, no one bolted from the space and six hours stretched to nine, nine to twelve. After fourteen hours, everyone in the party was exhausted by the stress, the fumes, and the new paintings they had labored over. With completed pieces installed and documented, the crew re-packed their bags and collapsed their equipment to begin their ascent back up the steel ladders to emerge into the streets one small group at a time.

How and Nosm at work. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Brooklyn Street Art: Did you see many rats?
Martha Cooper: I don’t remember seeing any rats.
Workhorse: Nope, usually rodents are in active areas because they are looking for food. We were in a section that hadn’t been used in decades so there was no sign of life there.
Saber: No, but I was searching for as many Space Invaders and Horfe pieces I could find.

“After being in the drafty tunnel we were all a bit dried out and hungry,” says Workhorse when describing the scattering of the team once they hit the street. Above ground they  were much more relaxed, and sleepy. But not everyone hit the couch.

Conor Harrington compares his work to his sketch. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Says Eaton, “We were all doing what we love doing more than anything in the world. We got three blocks from the tunnel and ended up sitting down for five cold beers, covered in black dirt from head to toe. The buzz from the experience was strong. Most artists covet the moment when the work is done and you sit back to reflect on what you did with the weight off your shoulders. This was that moment times infinity.”

As for Futura, he’s just a romantic, “Merci beaucoup Paris . . . Je T’aime.”

From left to right: How and Nosm and SheOne. (photo © Ian Cox)

 

 

<<><>>>BSA<>>><<>>>BSA<><>>><>>>BSA<<>>>>>>>

This article is also published on The Huffington Post

See our interview with FUTURA here on Brooklyn Street Art.

Read our conversation with HOW and NOSM on Juxtapoz here.

And our conversation with C215 on Juxtapoz.

Martha Cooper, Photographer of Art on the Streets for Six Decades

Read all BSA pieces on The Huffington Post HERE.

 

Read more
Images of the Week 11.27.11

Images of the Week 11.27.11

Here in New York  everybody is still out kickin around the streets because the weather is warm and to welcome the oceanic flood of tourists who are here to see the big parade, the Rockettes, The Book of Mormon, and to buy fake Louis Vuitton bags on Canal Street. After Thanksgiving, it’s a tradition that we get mobbed by shoppers from all over the place, and it’s a tradition to complain about slow moving wide people in sweatpants slowing us down, even though secretly we’re happy to see cousin Bruce and Aunt Ida again. Also, if you slow down a little, you might even see some new Street Art and appreciate it.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Anthony Lister, Betten, CID, Dr. Za, Erik Berglin, Jaye Moon, Leidy, OverUnder, Phil, RWK, Sise, Veng, and Willow.

Betten (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leidy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

CID (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dr. Za (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Erik Berglin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon. “I write words in number codes so no one can understand.  This series is called ” Transparent Barriers”.  They look like address or phone numbers. but they are cursing words that people are not comfortable to say in public.  By writing them in numbers, I feel free to bring them out in public.  It’s about frustration about expressing inner feelings”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Phil (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sise (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Veng (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Our Lady of Guadalupe. Artist Unknown. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Willow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

New Yorker Spencer Elzey checked out Anthony Lister’s show “Bogan Paradise” while in Sydney recently. Here are a couple of images from the show:

Anthony Lister at Outpost (photo © Spencer Elzey)

See more photos by Spencer Elzey and read more about Sydney’s “OutPost Project” ReCap by clicking here

Anthony Lister at “Outpost” in Sydney (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Anthony Lister at Outpost (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Anthony Lister at Outpost (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Anthony Lister at Outpost (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Read more

The Art of Paul Insect – 3 New Videos from Carlos Gonzalez

The Photographer Continues to Explore Storytelling With Video

Leading up to the Paul Insect exhibit over at Venice’s Post No Bills gallery, photographer Carlos Gonzalez continued to challenge his visual skills by creating a video to impart a visual narrative, a psychological grounding to the physical process of the artist preparing for the show. The discovery of what it takes to create the show and the prints that were to sold inspired Carlos to tell the story in a new way, using video more than he has before.

Careful observation of movement, pattern, subtleties of technique – all underlaid with a sophistication in audio selections – reveals a talent in the storyteller that keeps unfolding before our eyes even as he endeavors to tell us about Paul Insect the artist and the Ramon De Larosa, the print master. As De Larosa mans the 2oo year old machine to create pieces for the U.K. based artist, bobbing and rolling and pulling and pressing play out as dance over a bed of electronic music and mechanical beats,  succinctly merging two centuries into one.

And in this newest video the screen printing process is explained in 80 seconds to the quick cuts and fluttering drum meter of a motor city inflected rockabilly beat as De Larosa gently applies rich patches of color to a new Insect portrait. It feels like we are all learning at one time – artist, master, videographer, observer.

Read more

Fun Friday 11.25.11

Today is traditionally a day of shopping here in New York but we don’t have much coin to spare, so what’s next on the agenda? It is sunny and fresh outside right now so we’re thinking of going to take a walking tour of the neighborhood – if only to process yesterdays Thanksgiving feast and the 2 pieces of pumpkin pie and whipped cream that were piled on in a Jack Daniels-induced stupor deep in the night. You could go to MoMA to see the DeKooning retrospective and at the same time the murals Diego Rivera made for the museum in the early ’30s, but that will cost you an entrance fee unless today is one of their Free Friday nights. Sometimes it is just as fun to hit the gallery of the streets, to stretch you legs and employ a bemused attitude as busy shoppers are buzzing in and out of stores keeping the economy going.

Here’s some cool stuff you may also be interested in:

1. LUDO in a Solo Show at The Garage “Super Discount” (Amsterdam)
2. “East West Connection”, curated by Arrested Motion (Hong Kong)
3. Jorge Rodriguez-Gerarda Solo Show Now Open (Barcelona)
4. Cryptic Solo on Saturday Night at Hold Up (LA)
5. David Walker “Brides on Fire”
6. “Contemporary Istanbul” An Urban and Contemporary Art Fair
7. “Surface Tension” at Ambush Gallery in Sydney
8. “Peeled, Pasted and Posted” at Gift to Gab Gallery
9. The Bishop, Augustine Kofie and Remi/Rough by Agents of Change (VIDEO)
10. “Outside In” Movie Trailer: The Story Of Arts In The Streets (VIDEO)
11. Blek le Rat 30 Years Later By Spencer Keeton Cunningham (VIDEO)

LUDO in a Solo Show at The Garage “Super Discount” (Amsterdam)

French Street Artist LUDO is having a solo show in this cool private space in Amsterdam, opening today.

LUDO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here

“East West Connection”, curated by Arrested Motion (Hong Kong)

Tanley Wong tells us about this curatorial project for an art show that he and Arrested Motion are throwing in Hong Kong. Featured in the show at Above Second Gallery is a lineup of fresh artwork from artists such as Shepard Fairey, Faile, Tomokazu “Matsu” Matsuyama, Akino Kondoh, Nick Walker and more.

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Participating Artists: Luke Chueh, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Evah Fan, Stella Im Hultberg, Tat Ito, Akino Kondoh, Travis Louie, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Brendon Monroe, Edwin Ushiro, Nick Walker, and Yoskay Yamamoto.

For further information regarding this show click here

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerarda Solo Show Now Open (Barcelona)

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerarda Solo Show at the Galeria Ignacio De-Lassaletta in Barcelona, Spain opens today to the public after the official opening last night. “Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada is a founder of the New York Culture Jamming movement and an innovator in the international urban art scene. Since the late 90´s he has been replacing the faces of cultural icons chosen by advertisers with the faces of anonymous people to question the controls imposed on public space.”

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerarda (image © courtesy of the gallery)

For further information regarding this show click here

You can also check out a fine interview on Fecal Face with Mr. Rodriguez-Gerada.

Cryptic Solo on Saturday Night at Hold Up (LA)

Street Art collective Cryptic is having a solo show in Little Tokyo tomorrow night,  “Sacred Syllables” at Hold Up Art.

Cryptik (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here

Also happening this weekend:

David Walker “Brides on Fire” opens today to the public at the Rook and Raven Gallery in London. Click here for more information.

“Contemporary Istanbul” An Urban and Contemporary Art Fair taking place this weekend in Instanbul, Turkey.  Click here for more information.

“Surface Tension” at Ambush Gallery in Sydney, Australia. Click here for more information.

“Peeled, Pasted and Posted” at Gift to Gab Gallery in San Jose, CA. Click here for more information.

The Bishop, Augustine Kofie and Remi/Rough by Agents of Change (VIDEO)

 

“Outside In” Movie Trailer: The Story Of Arts In The Streets (VIDEO)

 

Blek le Rat 30 Years Later By Spencer Keeton Cunningham (VIDEO)

Read more