Armsrock in Egypt

Armsrock was in Cairo, Egypt recently for a Streets of Cairo festival. Naturally, he did some work outside, mostly more events in his continuing series of projecting drawings onto city walls.

Armsrock also put up at least one wheatpaste in Cairo. With permission, he pasted one image of an Egyptian man outside of Cairo’s Townhouse Gallery:

But by the next day, Egyptian police had seen the artwork and decided that they didn’t like it. The police painted the figure white:

Armsrock’s reaction? Not what you might have expected:

When I interact with the streets I want something to happen, some sort of situation should occur, and it always does. I have only never experienced such a direct form of censorship before, and expressed in such an interesting manner, and that was what I thought was a good thing.

You can read more about what Armsrock thought of the censorship at The Daily News Egypt and his blog.

Photos by Armsrock

While I was cut off from the world…

BETTEN in NYC. Photo by a friend of the artist.

Since the end of May until a few days ago, I’d been more or less cut off from the street art world. I was driving around Europe with my friends. That’s not particularly important, though I would like to thank Logan Hicks, Ripo, Paulo, C215, Nunca and (especially) Angelo for spending time with us.

Here’s some of the things that I missed while I was away…

• Penny’s latest piece kicks ass
• Os Gêmeos have been crazy busy, so here’s one of the things they did: A few paintings at FAME Festival.
• And Blu has been to FAME recently too.
• I’m loving a lot of the pieces Skewville’s show Shift Work Disorder at Factory Fresh.
• Some local residents completely misinterpreted the meaning behind some Shepard Fairey murals and painted them over. Actually a really interesting story. I suppose that when it is a reality of everyday life, people don’t like to be reminded that the police will “kick your ass and get away with it.”
• Lazarides’ latest show in LA is Eurotrash with Vhils, Micallef and JR. Hi-Fructose has pictures.
• Alison Young’s book Street Studio had a launch party in Melbourne.
• High Roller Society has a massive group print show on right now. I stopped by on Saturday. If you like affordable prints and drawings, check this one out.
• Daily Mail reports that Banksy has painted some pub in Primrose Hill. Reality: It’s a PR stunt by the pub’s owner, but at least now they have some artwork on their walls.
• The New Grand Tour, a group show including Jose Parla, Rey Parla and Rostarr, is open now at Bryce Wolkowitz in New York City.
• Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman, former gallery directors at Deitch Projects, have started up their own gallery in NYC called Hole. I’m not exactly sure how much street art or graffiti you’ll be able to find at the Hole when it opens later this month, but they sent me a press release, so presumably they haven’t ditched street art entirely. The Wall Street Journal has more.
• Hrag Vartanian has started an interesting discussion on Hyperallergic about a new piece by Mark Jenkins which could easily be mistaken for trash. And by the way, if you don’t already read Hyperallergic, you should start. It’s perhaps my favorite art blog at the moment.
• Armsrock has a solo show on right now at Signal Gallery. I’m going to check it out tomorrow, but based on the photos on Arrested Motion, I couldn’t be more excited. Armsrock is massively talented and just keeps getting better.

Armsrock – Drawn Towards the Present

Yes. Armsrock has a solo show coming up in London. This is going to be fantastic. Except, for some reason, it sometimes feels like I’m alone in thinking that Armsrock’s work is brilliant. Hopefully this upcoming solo show will change some people’s opinions. Drawn Towards the Present opens at Signal Gallery on June 3rd.

Here’s the press release:

The Danish artist Armsrock, is one of a handful of artists on the Urban/Street art scene whose work reaches out beyond the confines of the genre. The quality and unique nature of his work, both on the street and for the gallery, has made him stand out in that talented crowd.

Armsrock’s work consists of delicately drawn figures, which he pastes on walls in urban settings. Mostly life-size portraits of humans on the edge of society, the character and placement of these pieces make them feel, sometimes, as if they have been tattooed to the wall. At other times, they can appear transitory – as if they had just arrived at a scene and are about to move on. More recently, he has developed an analogue projection technique that enables him to combine his magical drawn figures with light. This has the effect of making the images even more fragile and fleeting, almost like ghosts.

His new show in Signal Gallery is called ‘Drawn Towards The Present’. The show will be built around an installation that will consist of monumental charcoal drawings on rice paper. The imagery represented in the drawings is based on press-clippings from the artist’s archive, which have been reworked to create a fragmentary representation of contemporary history and a glimpse into our future hopes and fears.

Armsrock, was born in 1984 in Copenhagen and graduated at the Hochschule Für Kunst in Bremen, Germany. The quality of his art has been recognised internationally and has been seen in streets and public spaces across Europe and the United States. He has also shown his work extensively in traditional art institutions, such as museums and galleries. This is a young artist whose passion and commitment to his craft has won him supporters and buyers wherever he has shown his work.

Unfortunately, I’m going to be in Italy when this show opens, but I expect it’s going to be quite something to see. And make sure to get down to the gallery quickly, because the show only lasts from June 3rd until the 19th.

New light works from Armsrock

Armsrock has been working on projected street art for some time now, but I think these are his best light works yet. They’re ghostly, but naturally they’re more like forgotten ghosts wandering the city than horror-film ghouls.

Armsrock says: “I have just spend the last couple of days in Lueneburg in Germany doing experiments with two light technicians there, trying out different ways of combining drawing with time based media. Here is some of the things that came out of it. Analogue projections on site in Lueneburg. The original drawings for the dia-slides are about the size of the surface of a hand.”

Armsrock and Imminent Disaster: Refuge

Last night, Armsrock and Imminent Disaster opened Refuge, their two-person show at Thinkspace, and Seth and I went along to check it out. I’d been looking forward to this show for some time, and although the installation and overall presentation didn’t flow quite as well as I was expecting it to, I thought there were a number of fantastic individual pieces. I particularly liked Armsrock’s small drawings and large charcoal and graphite works on paper. It’s always so wonderful to see his work in person; the immense power of them doesn’t always come across online.

Across the room from Armsrock, I felt that Imminent Disaster’s piece, “Crossing The River”, needed a bit more breathing room than it was able to have in the gallery (it’s 96 x 108 x 120 in – gigantic!), while Seth admired her wall of smaller works.

My favorite part of the artists’ installation was their piece in the gallery’s front window – I like the minimal play with bright colors amidst their characteristic use of black and white.

Both Armsrock and Imminent Disaster are important voices in the street scene so I urge everyone in LA to visit Refuge while it’s on view, particularly because it’s Thinkspace’s last show in Silverlake before relocating to Culver City next month! They’re going to be on the same street (Washington Blvd) as us (Carmichael Gallery) soon!

- Elisa

Armsrock and Imminent Disaster at thinkspace

Imminent Disaster and Armsrock have a show opening next month at thinkspace gallery in LA. This should be a really special show. Brooklyn Street Art has some photos of Imminent Disaster prepping for the show, and Armsrock’s blog has some stunning new sketches.

Armsrock in Copenhagen

Armsrock has just posted some photos on his blog of his beautiful exhibition Zettelkasten at We Are Related in Copenhagen. The show is open until March 16th, so check it out if you’re in Copenhagen this month or next. Here’s a few of those pics:

Check out more on Armsrock’s blog…

Armsrock – Upcoming Projects

Been meaning to get this up on Vandalog for a while. Armsrock, one of my favorite artists, is going to be very busy in the next couple months. Here are three great projects for fans and collectors to look forward to – a solo, an outdoor presentation, and a 2-person exhibit:

“Zettelkasten” will consist of a site-specific installation that draws upon the people and environment around Sankt Hans Gade, where Armsrock was born and raised. It opens February 5 at We Are Related in Copenhagen and runs through March 14 2010.

“Bispeengbuen”, also in Copenhagen, runs from February 10 – 28 2010 and will feature new atmospheric and rhythmic light drawings from Armsrock. I love it when he does this style of work. Find out more about the project here.

Now I’m particularly excited about this third show, as it takes place in LA and I’ll be able to go to it! Here, Armsrock will create a collaborative installation with Imminent Disaster at Thinkspace. More on all these shows soon!

- Elisa

Never a Dull Moment at White Walls

This looks like a pretty cool show. iO Wright has brought together an eclectic mix of artists for Never a Dull Moment, which opens in a few weeks at White Walls in San Fransisco. Personally, I’m most excited to see new work from Armsrock.

White Walls is proud to present Never a Dull Moment, a group show curated by iO Wright. Never a Dull Moment will transform the gallery into a cohesive environment that embraces all mediums of creativity from sixteen artists. Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, February 6^th, 2010, from 7-11pm.

Never a Dull Moment features Anthony Lister, Alessandro Zuek Simonetti, Jaybo Monk, Angela Boatwright, Augustine Kofie, Dave Potes, Jonathan Darby, Ray Potes, Remi Rough, iO Wright, Erik Otto, Cheryl Dunn, Armsrock, Dave Schubert, Sam Ash and Clayton Brothers. iO Wright has chosen these artists for their “get your hands dirty” and “don’t worry just do” mentality. Without considering outside forces, they are urged to continuously create and express themselves. With shared roots in graffiti art, this group has a flare for action, immediacy, and unpredictability. Never a Dull Moment exposes viewers to the creative mind’s raw inner workings and draws distinct parallels between everyday immediate expression and fine art.

Never a Dull Moment will be a transformation of the gallery space into a chaotic, organic environment close to the heart of the artistic process. Film, sculpture, installation, and large-scale wheat paste can be expected from this multi media, multi talented group of artists. Embracing the connection between photography and fine art, Never a Dull Moment will meld the two together just as they are in everyday life. Several artists including Jaybo Monk, Remi Rough, Erik Otto, Augustine Kofie and Jonathan Darby plan to create a site-specific installation to accompany their works in the gallery. The installation will no doubt be interactive and multi sensory, with few white walls in sight.

iO Wright is a photography based artist, writer, and curator. Along with co-founding the street art quarterly, Overspray Magazine, iO curated Climb in the Back Window at Shadow’s Space Gallery in Philadelphia in 2009. Keeping close tabs on urban art, she has also interviewed such influential artists as Shepard Fairey and Erik Foss. This exhibition is curated by iO Wright and sponsored by White Walls, Hamburger Eyes, and New Order Magazine.

The opening reception of Never a Dull Moment at White Walls Gallery will be held on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 from 7-11pm. The exhibit will be on display through February 27th, 2010 and is open to the public.

New drawing from Armsrock

I love this new drawing by Armsrock. Just stunning.

Photo taken from Armsrock’s blog