All posts tagged: Wynwood Arts District

Mantra Flying in Wynwood, Part Deux

Mantra Flying in Wynwood, Part Deux

Rising above the sticky spray-painted chaos on the first story level of nearly everything else here in Wynwood, you’ll walk by and gaze upward at the newly finished panels of scientifically accurate butterflies by the French street artist Mantra. This is part two of a gig he got with a real estate firm that we caught the first part of just before the New Year. (Mantra Flies High in Wynwood, Miami)

Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We’ll be sharing some of the street’s visual cacophony with you in future postings, but for today let’s calm our minds to recover from the harsh conflicting messages of raw commerce crashing into the enormous income gaps and class ruptures everywhere else. These butterflies are expertly rendered, preserved for posterity, floating up from the fray – a stolen moment of tranquility that silences the jackhammers and beeping cash registers.

Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 01.23.22

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.23.22

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BSA-Animated-Banner_Images-Week-Jan-2021-V2.gif

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week.

Worried that voting rights are being stolen from black and brown people in a systematic way across the country? Let Mitch McConnell put your fears to rest.

The concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.

Well, that’s a relief. Wait, what?

Mitch, please. Why are you still in office.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street in NYC and Miami, featuring Beautiful Mind, Bella Phame, BK Foxx, Claudia La Bianca, DAK PPP 907, Dek2DX, djaRodney, Gina Kiel, Gold Loxe, JJ Veronis, Lady JDay, Melski, Rumba Art, StyleOne, Tee Pop Art, and Tutto & Niente.

Rumba Art in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tee Pop Art quotes from James Baldwin: “Artists Are Here To Disturb Peace”. Amen. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
…and so Why Aren’t We Yelling?! asks an unidentified artist in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JJ Veronis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lady JDay portrait of Frida Kahlo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tutto & Niente, Our Lady of Graffiti…Mary is forever the Muse. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Claudia La Bianca in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Foxx (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bella Phame in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dek2DX (photo © Jaime Rojo)
DjaRodeny in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Melski in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gold Loxe (photo © Jaime Rojo)
StyleOne in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gina Kiel in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Beautiful Mind in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
New York Paste (photo © Jaime Rojo)
DAK PPP 907 in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Sunrise. Hutchinson Island, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 10.17.21

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.17.21

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BSA-Animated-Banner_Images-Week-Jan-2021-V2.gif

It’s definitely quieter here in Wynwood when there are no art fairs. But there is still so much activity. The daytime neighborhood is pounding with construction and new buildings and restaurants/bars have a steady flow of guests every night, Monday through Sunday. Thump, thump, thump. The daily foot traffic is diminished, perhaps because the sun and heat have chased everyone inside during the day, but this week we saw hundreds of people whizzing by on scooters, and some large interest with a fleet of workers was preparing for a large music event in an empty lot – with tents, food trucks, stages, lights. Now that Art Basel 2021 is officially kicking off at the end of November, no doubt there will be big things happening in Wynwood again.

So of course we went to the beach to see the never-ending blue waves. The storm on the horizon was dark and funnel-like for an hour before it disappeared and the sun coaxed a half rainbow to glimmer and shimmer brightly. The seagulls gathering near your chaise lounge are clearly there with an air of expectation, however – miserly looking over your ziplock bags with sandwiches and potato chips as you carefully peel back the paper towel to steal a bite. They are cute, true, but ever focused on your moves.

Otherwise, the Wynwood district is just chock-a-block with art – permissioned and otherwise. The faces that watch as you walk are entreating, entertaining, flaunting, peering, taunting, speaking their own impenetrable speeches and poems. The neighborhood is still in movement, still liquid, still poised for revelation. The local names are liberally sprinkled with ones you recognized, many international. If the impulse to walk one more block in search of a jewel captures you, follow it because you are invariably rewarded.

Our interview with the street today includes Anthony Lister, Bird Seed Anthony, Dan Kitchener, Disem305, Greg Mike, Gregg Rivero, Hiero Veiga, Melski, MSG Crew, Narco, NM Salgar, RACE, Sipros, and Tabue.

Disem305. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hiero Veiga. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hiero Veiga. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sipros. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gregg Rivero. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NM Salgar. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bird Seed Anthony. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
RACE. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Greg Mike. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Wynwood Walls, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Anthony Lister. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MSG Crew. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MSG Crew. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WKT, VCR, and friends. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tabue. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Melski Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Narco. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Danny Nike. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
Sickid Paints a Sun-Melted Mind Tableau in Wynwood, Miami

Sickid Paints a Sun-Melted Mind Tableau in Wynwood, Miami

Neo-psychedelic-cosmic-abstract-expressionist Sickid took this wall by storm in Wynwood and is blowing minds daily with his curious cast of misshapen feverish oddballs and satiric characters doing nearly unspeakable things that you love to analyze.

Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Originally from Bristol, the Street Artist has done much travel since those late 2000s where he first hit Shoreditch with his logo and stretched his interpretations of archetypes, architecture, everyday scenery far enough for adventurous viewers to hop inside and slither around, imagining themselves just outside reality.

Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Frankly, this comic world he shows is not that much more surreal than this urban swamp called Wynwood, and he’s probably just painting allegory and metaphor to slag the scaley sidewinders he’s been meeting in the sun-beaten neighborhood. Delicious and salty street food for the unsuspecting tourist, this is a hot-steaming stacked meat sandwich baked inside a deep and chipped chafing dish in his fabulous fever-dream, braised with Corona beer and a hint of coconut suntan lotion.    

Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sickid. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
Three Madonnas In the Gritty Garden: A Hidden Wynwood Triptych

Three Madonnas In the Gritty Garden: A Hidden Wynwood Triptych

Adriana Vila. Pixel Pancho. Uriginal.

A Street Art mural triptych in the thick of Wynwood, without flourish, with guile.

Adriana Vila / Pixel Pancho / Uriginal. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

From Bosch to Beckmann to Bacon the multi-paneled presentation of the barnacled and beatific has commanded the attention of art fans for centuries. Here on a backlot in the swampy section of Miami that’s now known for public painting, we find a trio of uniquely stylized female sitters, one slightly more robotic than her flanks. In a darkly storied and neglected neighborhood now painfully clamoring for attention, it was this partially obscured wall that adroitly captured ours.

Adriana Vila. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Commanding your eyes, and then your heart, these three hold court in the scruffy sod with complementary hues, blinkered by a tree that blocks and reveals according to the breeze and the sun. Calling to mind altar paintings from the Middle Ages as well as pensively poetic video panels at the Venice Biennale, this maximizing of an easily overlooked opportunity skillfully attracts the discerning art fan, leaving you satiated, slightly stirred.

Pixel Pancho. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Uriginal. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Adriana Vila / Pixel Pancho / Uriginal. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 01.26.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.26.20

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Brooklyn-Street-Art-Images-of-Week-solo-900x300.gif

The city is in mid-winter “blah” mode. We suffered a fire at the New York City’s Museum of Chinese in America this week, and the Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams used his Martin Luther King Day speech to tell recent arrivals to ‘Go back to Iowa,’ Things can be tough out here people.

In Street Art and graffiti news, New York has had some “whole car” pieces on the subway line recently, including one that looked like a whole train! Old timers were rubbing their eyes. According to a local media outlet, legendary graffiti artist Chris “Freedom” Pape gave his assessment; “..based on the artist’s philosophy, he gives it an “A” but based on the quality of the graffiti on old subways, he gives it a “C”. Also a new film about New York octogenarian Street Artist Robert Janz opened this week at the Anthology Film Archives. Janz in the Moment is the passion project of Filmmaker Joanna Kiernan that features many corners and crazy details of New York’s streets that are familiar to us – and probably to you.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week from Miami, and this time featuring Add Fuel, Atomik, Bisco Smith, CRKSHNK, Dal East, Feik, Hysterical Men, Jilly Ballistic, Kai, Mr. June, Pure Genius, Rick Azevedo, WCKT, What Will You Leave Behind, Will Power, and Winston Tseng.

London Kaye gives a shout out to the Australian’s wildlife, and of course to the people as well. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
London Kaye gives a shout out to the Australian’s wildlife, and of course to the people as well. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Feik. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Will Power (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Will Power (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jilly Ballistic (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CRKSHNK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bisco Smith. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Add Fuel. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hysterical Men (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Winston Tseng (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kai. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pure Genius (photo © Jaime Rojo)
What Will You Leave Behind (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WCKT (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. June. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ric Azevedo. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. NYC Subway. January 2020. Manhattan, NY.(photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
Wild Animals Run in the Streets: Wynwood Is A Zoo

Wild Animals Run in the Streets: Wynwood Is A Zoo

Yes, Wynwood was a zoo this year.

Martin Whatson. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maybe its because animals are safe subjects to paint and make it past the neighborhood censors, maybe its because they are handily metaphoric when it comes to communicating a complicated or difficult idea. Maybe it is just because they are cute and everybody on Instagram is going to offer a clever rejoinder on your new painting in Miami, you cool dude/dudette.

Ernesto Maranje. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

From unicorns to hippos to lions and alligators, the street is full of them right now around every corner in the Wynwood District and you can still enjoy them until the neighborhood becomes so developed that they kill them all. Well not all of them. One or two will still be creeping up on you in the occasional abandoned lot that has a high tax bill or a hefty remediation of toxic soil that still makes it too pricey for potential investors.

All of that wild conjuring aside, here is a selection of currently running creatures of the gritty urban jungle in this humid and hot southern city for you to marvel at.

Woes. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Telmo & Miel. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Telmo & Miel. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sonny Sundancer. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SkyOne. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Feik. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bublegum Sr. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Saturno. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Saturno. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ron English. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Dheo. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
A Fabulously Baroque Reptile by Saturno In Wynwood

A Fabulously Baroque Reptile by Saturno In Wynwood

Miguel Ángel Sánchez AKA SATURNO is an artist from a small town near Barcelona in Spain. A self-taught painter and illustrator, he’s become a recognized name in the European graffiti scene since he began in 1995, biting off a bigger piece of fame with each project.

SATURNO. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Since 2012 he’s developed his own, unmistakable style that frightens and thrills in equal measure, and he has been painting his fantastical creations on walls big and small across Europe. With an illustration style that boasts ultra-real monsters and characters of exaggerated proportions and serious high gloss, he’s led and collaborated on many commercial projects and brands in the last few years with fire-breathing success.

SATURNO. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The 2019 edition of Art Basel/Wynwood this past December allowed him to showcase his imagination and skills in quite remarkable ways on a couple of murals in Wynwood, Miami. One, in particular, is this astoundingly baroque beast dressed in the finest regal threads, dripping jewels, and saliva with bulging eyes and a voracious appetite for consumption.

SATURNO. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fans say Saturno examines the subconscious and darker aspects of people and behaviors with his work – which may lead one to conclude that this epic character is a thinly veiled metaphor for opportunist alligators whom you may meet here who are trolling flamboyantly through this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, regaling themselves with so many shiny baubles. Certainly this reptilian socialite is audacious and confidently showy, and Saturno has hit gold with a likeness that is both repulsive and compelling.

SATURNO. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SATURNO. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
1UP Crew Represents in  Wynwood, Miami

1UP Crew Represents in Wynwood, Miami

The ever-morphing conglomerate crew called 1UP appears and disappears in cities and countries across the world today, their tag aesthetics drawn from a smorgasbord of styles, rather than just one or two. On the radar, yet skillfully under it, the membership of this large team includes the raw and the polished, the illustrative and the calligraphic.

1UP Crew. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

During Art Basel in December, it appears that a few writers of One United Power were in Miami outputting the simple one-color tags, tight bubbles and sparkling throw-ups, as well as full-blown productions that conjure other worlds and childhood fantasy-scapes.

1UP Crew. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP Crew. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP Crew. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP Crew. Detail. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP Crew. Detail. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP Crew. Detail. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP Crew. Wynwood, Miami. December 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
13 from 2013 : Geoff Hargadon “Girl on a Skateboard”

13 from 2013 : Geoff Hargadon “Girl on a Skateboard”

13shots-from-2013-v7

Happy Holidays to all you stupendous and talented and charming BSA readers! We thank you from the bottom of our socks for your support this year. The best way we can think of to celebrate and commemorate the year as we finish it is to bring you 13 FROM 2013 – Just one favorite image from a Street Art or graffiti photographer that brings a story, a remembrance, an insight or a bit of inspiration to the person who took it. For the last 13 days they will share a gem with all of us as we collectively say goodbye and thank you to ’13.

December-24

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Geoff-Hargadon-December--2013-photogs-names

Geoff Hargadon is a photographer and periodic contributor to BSA who takes his shots from the perspective of an artist, collector, and unabashed fan of the Street Art scene.  Affable and engaged with his surroundings, Hargadon’s wizened perspective is often looking for something that says more than what it appears to and in the process can be revelatory.

brooklyn-street-art-geoff-hargadon-miami-basel-2013-web

Wynwood Arts District/Art Basel. Miami 2013. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Girl on a Skateboard, An Avatar in Wynwood 2013

~Geoff Hargadon

 

With 400 million photos a day being uploaded to Facebook and Instagram alone, it gets harder and harder to shoot photos that stand above the crowd. I think this is no different in the street art world – maybe it’s even harder. This year I shot fewer street art photos than in years past because I don’t see much sense in capturing work that’s already been captured well by others. There is little to add. Instead I’ve been patiently waiting to document moments that come to me – it could be a random person entering the frame, a shift in the light, a changing composition. In this digital world, where others rush to be the first to capture and post something new, and where time is their enemy, I try to put time on my side.

Let me start with what I think is wrong about this photograph, shot in Miami on December 6, 2013, at 1:20am on NW 2nd Ave, between 24th and 25th: it’s dark, out of focus, the subject is not facing the camera, and, perhaps to the great disappointment of BSA readers, there is no art in the frame.

This is what I think is right about this photograph: it’s dark, out of focus, the subject is not facing the camera, and there is art happening all around the frame, very much responsible for creating the scene itself.

There are only a few of nights out of the year when Wynwood is this chaotic, and at this time of the year it’s because of the massive art scene happening around the art fairs. All of this helped to create the moment when I spotted this girl weaving her skateboard freely between taxis that were hopelessly motionless. She seems carefree, risky, happy, ethereal – many of the things that have drawn me to street art in the first place. She is an Art Basel Miami avatar.

(Further, taxis are so scarce in Miami that I challenge anyone to come up with a photo of four of them in a single frame.)

 

 

Location: Wynwood District, Miami. 2013

 

 

#13from2013

Check out our Brooklyn Street Art 2013 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo here.

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

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

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

 

Read more
Rime MSK Photographed by Oliver Correa

Rime MSK Photographed by Oliver Correa

We’re counting down the last 12 days of 2012 with Street Art photos chosen by BSA readers. Each one was nominated because it has special meaning to a reader or is simply a great photograph from 2012 that they think is great. Our sincere thanks to everyone who shared their favorite images.

Our ninth entry comes from photographer Oliver Correa and it was taken in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami during Art Basel 2012. Often the shot is about recording the art. The less featured view is the one that reveals the personal, even intimate relationship people can feel toward it on the street.

In Miami during Basel you’ll see many people posing hard with their crews in front of walls, and then you’ll see friends taking cellphone shots of each other, and couples, families…. all kinds of affinities are posed in front to remember that moment. This one from Oliver somehow goes a little deeper – giving you a sense of the warmth and connection people feel with art in the streets when it speaks to them. The RIME piece goes along the block on North Miami Avenue with a variety of faces and expressions, mimicing the party atmosphere and the multiple conversations taking place – ultimately it was one of the most engaging for many.

“The person in the photo is a friend I made wandering Wynwood,” says the photographer.

Rime MSK (photo © Oliver Correa)

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

Check out the BSA Images of 2012 video here.

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

Read more

New Labrona Shots in Miami

“It was an amazing trip!,” says Canadian Street Artist Labrona, who was in Miami for the Art Basel 2012 festivities this month. While there he collaborated on four walls. Two were with the Canadian art collective En Masse, who has been working with a monochromatic palette to allow a multitude of styles to co-exist in the same venue peacefully; drawing attention to the techniques and hand style of the various contributors while presenting unified mural.

“The other two walls were with my long time painting buddy Omen and new painting buddy name Five,” says Labrona. Here are a few shots highlighting his work.

The large monochromatic wall by collective En Masse. Labrona. Wynwood Arts District, Miami. (photo © Labrona)

En Masse . Labrona. Detail. Wynwood Arts District, Miami. (photo © Labrona)

Labrona . Omen . Five. Wynwood Arts District, Miami. (photo © Labrona)

Labrona . Omen. Wynwood Arts District, Miami. (photo © Labrona)

Labrona. Wynwood Arts District, Miami. (photo © Labrona)

Read more