All posts tagged: San

ESCIF, BLU, SAM3, More Join “SenseMurs” as Activists Protecting “La Punta”

ESCIF, BLU, SAM3, More Join “SenseMurs” as Activists Protecting “La Punta”

April 5, 2018

AYÚDANOS A DEFENDER LA HUERTA Y PARAR LA ZAL – Help Us to Defend the Garden and Stop the ZAL.

Street Artists in Valencia, Spain are using their work to reclaim land for a people’s agenda.

BLU. Detail. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Street Artist Escif organized with other artists to fight the commercial development of seaside land in Valencia last month. With the help of other socially responsible artists including Aryz, BLU, Borondo, Escif, Anaïs Florin, Hyuro, Luzinterruptus, Daniel Muñoz “SAN”, Sam3 and Elías Taño, Escif and local organizers are publicly pushing a message that shows the local council what it means when citizens are engaged.

According to the organizers La Punta is a hamlet of orchards and gardens located in the south of the city of Valencia where more than 15 years ago the “Logistics Activities Zone” (ZAL) project of the Port of Valencia decided to chase hundreds of people out of this land to give to developers as a new port initiative.

BLU. Detail. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Well, that failed spectacularly, probably because funding fell through due to the global financial crisis, and 15 years later development has not happened. The land has begun to evolve and return to its more natural state and a local farm economy has sprouted up. Meanwhile city planners are hoping they can conjure up another way to use these public lands for private profit.

But grassroots organizers say they want the public/private predatory folks to step back and let citizens decide what to do with this area. Thanks to this new “SenseMurs” public art initiative that is drawing a lot of critical eyes to the matter, more citizens may actually get a seat at the table. Well organized and great communicators, on March 10 and 11 the artists and activists gave tours of the murals of SenseMurs, called a press conference, threw a concert, and opened the doors to other citizens for their participation in the process.

BLU. Detail. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Within this context, neighbors and associations are trying to bring attention to this reality in order to negotiate with the Administration and start a public participation process,” says the art collective Luzinterruptus in an email, “where it will be decided how these lands will be used and to mend the injustices committed against the neighbors so another chance is given to the deported families to return and work the lands of l’Horta de la Punta.”

Enjoy these shots of the installations from Martha Cooper and two from Juanmi Ponce, starting off with the one and only BLU.

BLU. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Escif. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Escif. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Because there are lettuces!

From Escif’s Instagram:

A: ¿ Porqué HAY LECHUGAS ?
B: Pues porqué alguien plantó semillas en esta tierra fértil, les puso agua y dejó que el sol hiciese su trabajo. Imágino que es un ciclo natural. La tierra es generosa y muy prospera. A poco que la cuides, te regala lechugas como estas.
A: No me refiero a eso. Mi pregunta es porque escribes la frase HAY LECHUGAS.
B: Ah! …pues porque hay lechugas!

Hyuro. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Borondo. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Borondo. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Aryz. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Aryz. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Sam3. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

SAN. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

SAN. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Luzinterruptus. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Juanmi Ponce)

Luzinterruptus. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Juanmi Ponce)

Elías Taño. SenseMurs. La Punta, Valencia, Spain, March 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)

 

SenseMurs participating artists: Blu, Luzinterruptus, Aryz, Hyuro, SAN, LIQEN, Anaisflorin, Eliastano, Sam3, Escif

To learn more about the project please go to RECUPEREM LA PUNTA / Valencia, Spain
Recuperem La Punta, aturem la ZAL and La Punta.

 

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The Weeknd: Fer Alcala in Cardedeu, Granollers and Baladona, Catalunya, Spain.

The Weeknd: Fer Alcala in Cardedeu, Granollers and Baladona, Catalunya, Spain.

January 4, 2018

Today we take a random walk around some of the most interesting street art in the metropolitan area of Barcelona with photographer and fervent observer of the scene, Fer Alcala, who shares with BSA readers about his own participation in the scene as a documentarian and vibrant part of the street ecosystem. An insatiable chaser of Street Art and murals, Fer doesn’t let a recent back operation keep him down for long and soon you are off discovering more in Granollers, Cardedeu, and who knows where else!

– by Fer Alcala

2017 was a weird year for me. It’s been more than 6 months that I’m trying to learn how to live in pain as I have a problem in my backbone which is healing as a Work In Process (WIP). At the same time, I’ve had the chance of collaborating with lots of artists, taking part in very interesting projects and shooting tons of photos. However it has not always been easy for me to find the motivation and the energy to go out there and hit the streets.

Roc Blackblock. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Apart from all this, you know how it works; There’s that spark, that unavoidable feeling that pushes you to do what you love to do despite everything else. So, this is what happened to me some weeks ago while being alone at home: I HAD to go for a walk, yes or yes. So, I did.

I had the need to go to Badalona and check some of the latest pieces of Spogo out. Spogo’s work is familiar to the BSA readers:  One of the finest abstract artists in the country, Spogo opens walls in his hometown and gives the chance to other artists to paint in his playground, developing a homeland legacy that is appreciated by neighbors, pedestrians and fellow artists. In these times when street art and gentrification are becoming almost synonymous, Spogo’s personal effort contributes to beautify the city through collabs with Elbi Elem, Tayone, Ángel Toren, Lost Optics, Kazzius or Nico Barrios & Toni Cuatrero.

Aryz . Gurtel. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

In the meanwhile, it’s nice to find a big wall by H101 by chance, almost feeling it as a tribute to the defunct Sixe wall in the opposite side of the highway which was replaced by some useless gardening ad. It was also a great pleasure to find ‘Inocente II’, the great mural by Mohamed Lghacham and Iván Floro, two friends that hadn’t painted together in 6 years and whose figurative skills are reaching mastership levels.

So, in order to keep on feeding my hunger for art, I decided to visit the always interesting city of Granollers with about 60,000 inhabitants which is 40 minutes away from Barcelona by train, after seeing online what Velvet and Zoer had created for ‘Murs que parlen (Walls that speak)’. Murs que parlen is a project promoted by Granollers’ town hall, a project which they say is seeking to give life and color to some medium and large scale walls of the city. The result of the work of the French artistic duo, who were advised by Aryz on the occasion, is one of my personal faves in Catalunya this year.

Aryz . San . Zoer. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

I love how Zoer has explained the whole process in his IG account:

‘One month ago, Velvet and me started painting this mural in Granollers / Catalunya. Relating an artistic action to its close environment and context is a big question as: Does the mural/ public space/ art have to make a clear connection with its time or to a special meaning? The population of Catalunya expressed recently its will of autonomy and most generally the possibility of reorganizing the society around a strong regional and cultural defense. As foreigners, we can only watch and interpret the information from a certain distance.

The Can Bassa district in Granollers is a very quiet district, let’s say mostly Castillan, or inhabited by people from all of the country. We were invited to take a look at the academic system here, by giving a class to young art students and by visiting the primary school though the high school. The focus is set on the personal development and awakening in creative fields, developing an atmosphere of exchange and curiosity.

Aryz . San . Zoer. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

In a dance class, where children were training, we found dozens of drum sticks in a blue plastic basin. Besides that we had the chance to meet Toni Cumella and to visit his splendid ceramic factory. Their ceramics are designed for architecture mainly, where a million single pieces can shape an ensemble, become a pattern, a second skin to a concrete structure.

Well known for having designed this sophisticated ceiling ceramic map for the Santa Caterina market in Barcelona, they worked as well with Renzo Piano on the Centro Botin, creating a sensational floating pattern from thousands of ceramic disks modeling the facade and reflecting the light. During the inauguration, musicians were playing percussion using the ceramic facade as a giant drum with thousands of pads’.

Aryz . San . Zoer. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

It’s great to see how interacting with the locals and taking into account the neighbors’ participation is becoming so important and giving meaning to the artist’s work, even becoming a norm in several projects all over the world.

My next stop was another Murs que parlen wall. It’s strange because almost no one out there has taken pics of this colossal Sixe Paredes piece. I tried to shoot it from the courtyard of the school, but the place was closed and nobody was working that day. To know more about this beautiful work, please check this nice documentary that a local TV filmed for the occasion.

Sixe Paredes. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

It has been approximately four years since I had the chance to visit Roca Umbert. This cultural facility keeps some almost hidden gems by Aryz, Zoer, and Daniel Muñoz ‘SAN’ and Roc Blackblock, among others. Born as a tribute to Ferrer i Guardia and the modern school, with 250 students taking part in the process, this is what Roc said about it on his FB page at that time: ‘We arrived to the conclusion that education, knowledge and wisdom are the real superpowers that allow us to face all the challenges with success’.

One of the things that I love about Granollers is that it has everything: big walls, random ones all over the city, abandoned factories…and the ditch. Home of a superb, but now buffed old smoking bird by Aryz, this never ending urban canvas offers tons of great art by some of the biggest and more interesting names in da house: Aryz, Rostro, Cinta Vidal and Peeta, Japon, Treze … this list could go on forever, so here you have an small selection of what you can find down there. And, please, be careful if you decide to cross the river.

Velvet. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

As I was on fire, I decided to take the train and go to Cardedeu. This almost 13 km2 village is a creative gold mine. Aryz’s and Cinta Vidal’s homeplace, Cardedeu’s outskirts gives shelter to one of the most admired abandoned factories in the biz: Ofidirect. I’ve been here several times with lots of different friends, artists and colleagues and everybody loves the place.

It was the first time that I was there alone and I have to say that I was almost overwhelmed by the silence and the majesty of this concrete and brick space. Being some kind of a private playground for the MixedMedia Crew and other artists and graffiti writers, Ofidirect is still alive preserving its urban decay beauty and charm. It was funny for me to see how Zoer, Velvet and Aryz had got some fun in there apart from the big Wall in Granollers.

Zoer. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

After a 40 minutes walk to go back to Cardedeu, some beer, and a train and back to Barcelona, I was at home editing pics and speaking with friend artist @elbielem. She asks me about an Aryz mural in Cardedeu. ??? I had no clue about what she was talking and Aryz painting in his hometown on kind of a big wall? He’s one of my favorite artists and I had been there for hours and I haven’t got any f*cking idea about it? Well: sh*t happens. Best street art hunter (hate this title…) ever.

I went back to Cardedeu the next day very soon in the morning, but that, my friends, is a different story…

Velvet . Aryz . Gurtel . Zoer. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Treze. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Los Ratos. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Sergi Marqués. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

KIKX. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Aryz. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Japon VLOK. Ofidirect/Cardedeu, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Aryz. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Rostro. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Aryz . Rostro. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Cinta Vidal . Peeta. Granollers, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Mohamed Lghacham . Iván Floro. “Inocente II” Baladona, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

‘This wall is the second part of another one that I painted two years ago about the same issue,” says artist Mohamed Lghacham who painted this wall with assistance of Iván Floro.

“Its main character is a friend of mine who was born on December 28th which is the ‘Santos Inocentes’ day in Spain (note: this is the equivalent of the April’s fool day in the States). Basically, it consists on playing little jokes on your friends and relatives. When my friend was a little kid and it was his birthday his classmates didn’t trust him, thinking that he was just kidding. There’s not a big concept behind the piece: it’s just something anecdotal that seems funny to me.

The idea about painting that mural came from Badiu Jove Badalona as one of the activities of Conect’Art which is an art fair for young creators that takes place in the city.” Lghacham says he would like to thank his assistant Floro.  “Everything went great and I guess that we will work together often in the near future.”

Spogo . Nico Barrios . Tony Cuatreros. Baladona, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Spogo . Elbi Elem. Baladona, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

H101. Baladona, Spain. December 2017. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Instagram handles:

Sixe @sixeparedes, Spogo @spogo15, Elbi Elem @elbielem , Tayone @tayone.abz , Ángel Toren @angeltoren , Lost Optics @lostoptics, Kazzius @kaz.zius or Nico Barrios @mrnobodysmind ,Toni Cuatrero @tonicuatrero, H101 @h1_01, Mohamed Lghacham @oiterone, Iván Floro @van_vuu, Velvet @velvetcsx, Zoer @zoerism, Aryz @mr_aryz, Daniel Muñoz ‘SAN’ @danielmunoz_san, Rostro @rostrovalseca , Cinta Vidal @cinta_vidal & Peeta @peeta_ead , Japon @japonvlok , Treze @acidcollapse, Peeta @peeta_ead , Japon @japonvlok , Treze @acidcollapse

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12 Finalist Artists Announced for Contorno Urbano Mural in Barcelona

12 Finalist Artists Announced for Contorno Urbano Mural in Barcelona

October 30, 2017

Almost 300 artists and collectives from around the world (42 countries) have entered the 2018 Contorno Urbano competition for this wall/residency/7000€ prize in Barcelona! It is astounding how many high caliber artists are at work today in cities everywhere, bringing innovative new techniques and unique perspectives to public space like never before.

After reviewing all applications and submitted materials during a process begun this summer, today we are excited to announce that this list has been narrowed to just 12 finalists. Next month their names will go to the final stage of selection in Barcelona with esteemed co-jurors from organizers and creators in the areas of art academia, mural art, public art, and Street Art to narrow the list to one.

The 12 premiere finalists for the Mural de la Salut in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona, Spain) are:

Axel Void
Borondo
Colectivo Licuado
David de la Mano
Escif
Guido Van Helten
Hyuro
Innerfields
Millo
Otecki
Sabotaje al Montaje
San

Congratulations to each artist! It wasn’t an easy task for the pre-selection committee to decide the best from 300, but your work rose to the top 4% of the applications according to the selection criteria.

#MuralSalut: Finalistas – Finalists from Contorno Urbano on Vimeo.

Among the considerations for selection were academic studies, experience and history creating murals in public space, previous internships or residencies, and suitability of artwork style to the central purpose of this 400 square meter mural.

Each of the 12 finalists will be asked to submit a sketch and a written proposal.

The final stage of the selection will be on November 15th and 16th, with the following professionals travelling to Sant Feliu de Llobregat:

Monica Campana (Cofounder of Living Walls and project manager for the urban art exhibition Open Source),
Fernando Figueroa (PHD in History of Art and independent researcher specialized in graffiti and urban art),
Esteban Marin (President of Contorno Urbano and mural artist),
Jaime Rojo (co-founder of Brooklyn Street Art and curator), and
Veronica Werckmeister (painter and muralist, curator).

The mural will commemorate the neighborhood’s fight 30 years ago to have this public square created for the neighbors instead of building a gas station. After meeting with the Association La Salut and the neighbors who live in the area, members of the jury will review previous artworks and experience of the 12 finalists to help them to select the artist who is best suited for painting the mural.

The winner will receive an artistic residence beginning in Spring 2018 and will receive a 7000€ prize. The wall will be painted after an artistic residency in order for the artist to become acquainted with the historic context of the project and the city itself.

The project is a collaboration between the municipality (Ajuntament) of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Fundacion Contorno Urbano and Kaligrafics.

Kaligrafics: Founded in 1999, it’s the oldest non-profit organization dedicated to graffiti and street art in Cataluña, and a significant record of experience in Spain.

Contorno Urbano: The first Foundation in Spain to be fully dedicated to street art and graffiti. The team has over 10 years’ experience organizing murals and urban art dissemination locally and internationally.

Following in no particular order are the 12 finalists:

Guido Van Helten / United Kingdom

Guido Van Helten for Nashville Walls Project. Nashville, TN. June 2017. (photo © Eric E Johnson)

Borondo / Spain

Borondo for Urban Nation this spring (UN) in the Tegel section of Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif / Spain

Escif. Living Walls Atlanta. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daniel “SAN” Muñoz / Spain

Daniel Muñoz. The curtain ( 983 followers). The Highlands, Scotland. (photo © courtesy of the artist)

Axel Void / USA

Axel Void. Los Muros Hablan. El Barrio/Spanish Harlem. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hyuro / Spain

Hyuro. What In The World PM/12. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Berlin, May 19, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Colectivo Licuado / Uruguay

Colectivo Licuado. Lisbon, Portugal. (photo © courtesy of Colectivo Licuado)

Millo / Italy

Millo in Kiev for Mural Social Club Festival/NGO Sky Art Foundation. (photo © Maksim Belousov)

Innerfields / Germany

Innerfields for ArtUnitedUs in Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © @dronarium)

David De La Mano / Spain

David De La Mano. Urban Nation Musuem For Urban Contemporary Art. Berlin. September 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sabotaje Al Montaje / Spain

Sabotaje Al Montaje. Los Alcazares. Murcia, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Otecki / Poland

Otecki. Urban Forms. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Courtesy Urban Forms)

 

 

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Asalto 2016 In Zaragoza

Asalto 2016 In Zaragoza

November 9, 2016

For the 11th annual Asalto Festival in northern Spain’s Zaragoza the public art portion of cultural celebration is anything but assaulting in its content and style. In fact, the works can be compelling, and agreeable.

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Borondo. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

The juried selection from a large number of applicants is carefully chosen and more integrated in the architecture and the city’s environment than most “Street Art” themed festivals. The murals are often designed to be site specific, appear far removed from the concepts of activism or protest and from accounts in local media, make people very happy.

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Borondo. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

For example the remarkable mural by Aryz and SAN (Daniel Muñoz) on a historic chapel transforms its appearance while carefully staying within the bricked perimeters of other framing aspects of the original design, Elian’s conversion of steps into colorful abstract shapes is very decorative and agreeable, and Erica con C. Asalto’s “Rhinos in Love” piece is gently cute and completed with a heart.

Borondo’s multi-framed poolside piece really opens the conversation and imagination of viewers and invites you to imagine what he is seeing through those open doors.

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Borondo. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Borondo. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Erica con C. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Elian. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Elian. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Elian. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Aryz . San. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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San. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Aryz. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Aryz. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Aryz. Asalto 2016. Zaragoza, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

 

We thank photographer Lluis Olive Bulbena for sharing these recent photos from Lluis Olive Bulbena for BSA readers.

For more on the Asalto Festival see http://www.festivalasalto.com/

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Madrid Diary and the Street : Velasquez, Goya, Borondo, Spy!

Madrid Diary and the Street : Velasquez, Goya, Borondo, Spy!

May 5, 2016

Velasquez, the painter of the Spanish Golden Age died here. Along with the mannerist paintings of El Greco, the extravagant baroque of the Flemish Rubens, and the romantic Goya, one can see Velasquez’ works here at the wealthy and famous El Museo Del Prado of Madrid.

Also, we cannot forget the Bosch exhibit opening here at the end of the month. In fact there are two dozen or so world-class museums hosting vast collections of historical and contemporary art all around this capital of Spain.

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Borondo at La Tabacalera. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Naturally, their influences are also felt on the streets of the city, but you’ll need to veer away from the scrubbed-clean tourist areas and glide beyond the high-end boutiques to get this story. Behold Borondo! Suso! Spy!

The Tetuan neighborhood has been attracting an impressive list of local and international artists to its dilapidated walls and rough streets, now home to many immigrants from South America and Sub-Sahara Africa. It is the sort of environment that artists seek for experimentation and creativity and a rather instant audience. Paintings, illustrations, sculptural installations large and small. Sometimes they are finished works, often they appear as studies.

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Borondo. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

This same storyline is repeated throughout the great metropolis in areas that are neglected, abandoned or otherwise overlooked. There are no luxury brands nor Disneyfied aspects or over attentive security to deal with here, this hotbed of creativity. Compared to the general ticket price of 14 Euro at Del Prado, admission to the street show is quite reasonable, and you may even meet the artist.

The images below sent to us by BSA contributor Lluis Olive Bulbena are culled from Tetuan and La Tabacalera for this Madrid Diary.

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Suso 33. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Suso 33. Detail. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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San. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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San. Detail. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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San. Detail. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Pincho at La Tabacalera. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Spy. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Spy. Detail. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Susie Hammer at La Tabacalera. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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E1000. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

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Parseci at La Tabacalera. Madrid, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

 

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Bien Urbain Presents “Artistic Path on (and With) Public Spaces (Besançon, France)

August 29, 2011 , , ,

Bien Urbain
Brooklyn-street-art-bien-urbain-france«BIEN URBAIN» is an artistic path in a popular city center district and the University campus of Besançon – France that aims at promoting art in public spaces just next a rich historic architecture.
The invited artists, all coming from the “street art” scene, are used to work with different kinds of tools and materials to create their own pieces of art: painting, paper, pasting, wood sculpture…
Once they have taken over the place, they finally start to make their ideas come true, revealing sometimes abandoned or unused spaces!
The event will take place every year at the end of summer, invading the town block by block.
Street art spread worldwide: many websites are updated every hour, presenting new crazy artists everyday, whereas in France a small number of events tend to promote these artists

BIEN URBAIN will contribute to make people realize the power of art on our everyday life perception on museums, theaters or clubs, and also on the streets!
For us presenting such an event is a good way to question everybody on our public space using. «Where is the place for art when ads and grey walls are everywhere? How to enjoy public spaces then?»
Moreover we are very proud to promote great artists and give them the possibility/chance to travel with their art in the best conditions.

As an inaugural issue, we wanted to welcome some of our favourite artists. So we got in touch with them and gladly realize that they really looked enthusiastic about our project!
Nine European artists and an Argentinean artist will be part of the artistic crew in September 2011.

ESCIFAfter a classic graffiti life, escif has developed a beautiful and poetic way of painting the everyday life on walls. Through simple scenes, he returns the context with an «mise en abîme» process: the painting wall is not just a wall, it is a canvas where escif paints another wall!

MONEYLESSThe Italian artist known as Moneyless uses geometric tools to reveal strange spaces: abandoned landscape, woods or temporary urban zones. The tension with his sculptures and the quiet space where he makes them create an unreal, ghostly third dimension.
SAM3
Painting his large black figures all over the world, Sam3 is about to come to France for the really first time. His really sensitive work combines huge painting and introspective scene. He also has an experimental way of working on fabulous stop motion films.
NELIO, TBLR*ONE & ZEROZEDRIP

They are three French guys who love pastel colours, old wood, abandoned things, geometric shapes and urban explorations.
SAN
One of the finest spanish street artist, SAN is first of all an amazing drawer who emphasise weird walls into great and disturbing pieces of arts.

For further information regarding this art festival visit the official site:

http://www.bien-urbain.fr/

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Fifty24SF Gallery Presents: “See you in Croatan” – A San & Escif road show. (San Francisco, CA)

June 21, 2011 , , , , ,

Fifty24SF
brooklyn-street-art-San-Escif-FIFTY24SF- GalleryFIFTY24SF Gallery in Association with Upper Playground presents:
“See you in Croatan” – A San & Escif road show.

“We were taught in elementary school that the first settlements in North America failed; the colonists disappeared, leaving behind them only the cryptic message “Gone to Croatan”. The very first colony in the New World chose to renounce its contract with the Empire and go over to the Wild Men. They dropped out. They became ‘Indians,’ ‘went native,’ opted for chaos over the appalling miseries of serfing for the plutocrats and intellectuals of London” – TAZ, Hakim Bey

SAN FRANCISCO, CA [6.21.11] — FIFTY24SF Gallery presents “See you in Croatan” a road show by San & Escif opening on June 30th, 2011.

“See you in Croatan” is an experimental research project which will cross the lives and experiences of two friends, Spanish artists San and Escif, in a random road trip across the West Coast of the United States. Their mission is to work as far away as possible from doctrines, imperialisms and linear reasoning, searching for beauty in errors and fortuitous tools, working with intuition and hazard; trying to light relations, transitions and processes; working with research as the way itself; understanding chaos as an ideal space for creation.

brooklyn-street-art-San-Escif-FIFTY24SF- GalleryEscif & San (photo © courtesy of the gallery)

From Escif:
I’ve spent a few days thinking about the project, and about the way we are approaching it. The idea of generating a third language seems like it’s not working very well, at least not in a practical way. Certainly it is a path that should become stronger during the journey, but so far it has seemed to be more of an impediment than the correct path. We already knew that teamwork is very complex, but I think it is a lot harder when the roles on the team are not well established. Because then the fight between the two egos grow to see who is the one directing the movie (I´m thinking out loud) and its something that gets more complex when the two directors (you and I) have such different ways of working.

From San:
I completely understand what you say. I think we have to be practical, although we both like to navigate riskier terrain than we normally would on our own. Team work is hard, and even more so when obsessive perfectionists like us work together, each with our own story, but it is what it is. When I made the two drawings that I sent you, I always thought that what I was doing was twisting my work a little bit to get closer to a new “skin”, not so much trying to invent a third language. I think that´s exactly where the focus of the expo should be, in making an effort to get out of our safe zone and dig into something a little less personal, but using our powers, of course…

FIFTY24SF Gallery Contact Information:
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Sunday from 12-6 P.M. and by appointment
Address: 218 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

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