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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
What: Hold Up Art and Work Magazine present Fist Pump, a exhibition of new work from internationally recognized, Los Angeles-based activist and street artist Homo Riot, whose highly charged, and sometimes sexually explicit imagery have became part of the city’s socio-political and physical landscape. Homo Riot’s message started out as a “fuck you” to the supporters of Prop 8, but has morphed into something larger and more profound; seen now as an emblem of pride and strength to the gay community. With drag queens, performance artists, and more eye-candy than a Weho Wednesday, this is the art event of the month and should not be missed.
When: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Arrivals 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Reception ends at 11:00 PM
Where: Hold Up Art
Little Tokyo District of Downtown
358 E. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Convenient Parking Structure Next Door
Who: Music by club favorite DJ Chris Bowen.
Live Performance Art Installations by Rafa Esparza and Trenton Szewczyk. Special appearance by Lady Bear (wearing a Homo Riot-designed ensemble).
In select neighborhoods of Los Angeles, certain street artists keep it local. You might see them in one neighborhood but not another, as the term “all-city” is not too important. Here’s a selection of pieces from the Arts District, Culver City, West Hollywood, Echo Park and Venice.
The young Hold Up Gallery in the Japantown section of Los Angeles currently has a sleek and smart-alec show that shouts for attention. Drawing a clear connection between today’s graphic design-savvy Street Artists and their anti-corporate fascist/ punk rock/ culture-jamming roots, this show is a delicious collection of disgusted discontent. Thanks to its relative proximity to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is assembling an inaugural Street Art spectacular next spring under it’s new director, Jeffrey Deitch, the show has an added dimension of interest. A collection of polished pungency, “Marxist Glue” heralds the smooth collection as a survey of current LA street artists.
Artist and Columnist Gordy Grundy says the show is “Sticky” in his Huffington Post article:
“Marxist Glue, a new street art show curated by Toks Shoyoye, redefines the Los Angeles community and challenges MOCA. Curator Toks Shoyoye has stomped his foot and the earth has quaked. Marxist Glue is a group show, actually a historical gathering, of 13 Los Angeles artists. This show covers an epoch and illustrates the motivations of a movement. Los Angeles street art shall be redefined”
For a decade, SaveArtSpace has transformed New York’s streets into open-air galleries, reclaiming advertising spaces as canvases for public expression. …Read More »
Interpreting Warmia’s Hidden Patterns from Above and Within Bartek Swiatecki’s latest book, Warmioptikum, is a striking fusion of abstract painting …Read More »
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