New Issue of The Art Street Journal Out!

Seth and I just printed the newest edition of The Art Street Journal! It’s our longest issue yet and with the move to better paper stock and four color pages inside, it’s a big step toward where we’re hoping to take things in the future.

A lot of really great people helped out with this issue, including Vandalog’s Aaron and Steph! I’ve included previews of their pages (well, one of Aaron’s, at least – his article has the double page spread in the middle of the journal).

Steph's article on Viva La Revolucion at MCASD

Half of Aaron's interview with Boogie

One thing I’m particularly happy about is that our Unurth page has now doubled in size to a two page spread. It’s still not enough to fit all the great images Sebastian finds, but I packed in as much as I could this time around. Sebastian also did a great interview with Escif about the differences between his indoor and outdoor work. You can read an older conversation between these two here to get some context to it.

Other street artist-related articles in this issue include those on EuroTrash with Conor Harrington, Vhils, JR and Antony Micallef in LA, Herbert Baglione in Barcelona, Dan Witz in New York (although the article is actually on his last show of oil paintings), 108 in Grottaglie, Basquiat in Basel, Nina Pandolfo in Sao Paulo, M-City in LA and Ericailcane in Ancona.

Street Art New York, Dan Witz: In Plain View and Poster Boy: The War of Art all feature on the bookshelf page. I recommend you buy all three if you can and haven’t yet. I’m a bit biased, I guess, because all the authors are friends of mine, but I genuinely think they are great books and I know everyone involved worked really hard to get them out there.

If you’re not getting tasj in the mail yet and would like to, you can sign up at www.theartstreetjournal.com. It’s free, no matter where in the world you live.

If you’re in LA, we are having a release party for this new issue here at Carmichael Gallery on Saturday, August 7th. Come by for a drink, pick up a copy, see our Boogie/M-City shows (it’s the last day they’ll be up!), then head out to the other openings in Culver City – there are some fun things going on that night. Hope to see you there and spread the word if you can! Thanks!

- Elisa

Boogie and M-City at Carmichael Gallery

I have been awfully busy recently with my various gallery and journal duties, but I just wanted to take a second to quickly share the way things are looking here at the moment. Boogie is the first photographer to have a solo here at Carmichael Gallery so it’s an important show for us. I’ve loved his work for a really long time (you can see more of it here) and the pieces we’re showing this month mark a really special stage in his career. I was curious to meet someone who’s lived and documented the world the way he has, and as I’ve gotten to know him this week I’ve really come to understand where that fascinating understanding of humanity comes from. He’s an amazing person.

As for M-City, anyone who knows me at all knows I’m a massive fan and have long supported everything he does. The last time we worked with him was a group show back in 2008 and we never talked seriously about working together again until just recently. My long-held belief that he is one of the world’s most talented street artists hasn’t changed from meeting him – I just know now that he’s a really nice person, too. He’s also very hard-working – he literally hasn’t stopped since he got here and now that the show is up, he’s going off to work on a huge wall downtown! I’ll keep you posted.

Anyway, there’s my promotion of my gallery and the artists currently inhabiting it. I really am proud to be working with these two.

- Elisa

M-City: From Brooklyn to LA

Let’s start in Brooklyn: M-City has just painted this huge wall. Brooklynite Gallery was there to take plenty of photos. Here are some detailed shots:

And all the way on the other side of the country in Los Angeles: Carmichael Gallery have a show with M-City in their showcase space. It opens on this Saturday, July 10th. Something definitely worth checking out.

Photos by Brooklynite Gallery

Booked – Group Exhibition and Book Day at Carmichael Gallery

It’s been a long time since Seth and I have had a group show this big at Carmichael Gallery – there will be over 35 artists represented on the walls when we open “Booked” on Saturday, June 5th! Some of the artists we’ve worked with for several years and others we’ll be showing for the first time. We’re also going to have lots of great art books and magazines from publishers like Drago, Gingko, Studiocromie (I really enjoyed opening up the box of Blu and Sam3 books!) and VNA. Books and art are two of the best things in the world, in my opinion, so it should be a fun event! We will be open from 12-8pm on Saturday for Culver City Art Walk (make sure to visit all the other galleries on the block if you come by; there will be lots of cool things to see) and the reception itself is from 6-8pm.

Here are some of the pieces in the show.

Martha Cooper

Escif

SpY

Anthony Lister

Lucas Price (aka Cyclops)

Bumblebee

Brad Downey

Here’s the full line up of artists and publishers:

Aiko, Banksy, Beejoir, Blek le Rat, Boxi, Bumblebee, C215, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, D*Face, Brad Downey, Eine, Ericailcane, Escif, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Stelios Faitakis, Gaia, Hush, Mark Jenkins, Dave Kinsey, Know Hope, Labrona, Anthony Lister, Lucy McLauchlan, Aakash Nihalani, Walter Nomura (a.k.a. Tinho), Other, Steve Powers (a.k.a. ESPO), Lucas Price (a.k.a. Cyclops), Retna, Saber, Sam3, Sixeart, Slinkachu, SpY, Judith Supine, Titi Freak, Nick Walker, Dan Witz and WK Interact

Drago, Gingko Press, Murphy Design, Prestel, Rojo, SCB Distributors, Studiocromie, Very Nearly Almost, Zupi

The show runs from June 5 – July 3. Drop in to say hi if you’re in LA!

- Elisa

Sneak Peek: Nina Pandolfo at Carmichael Gallery

I’ve loved Nina Pandolfo‘s work ever since Seth and I showed it in our first show here in LA in 2006. Having her as the first artist to exhibit in the new Carmichael Gallery makes the experience of settling into Culver City even more special for me and the work she’s made for the show is her best ever, in my opinion. It’s always so good to see artists you respect push themselves to more innovative usage of media and develop deeper thematic layers within their imagery. Nina’s mural along the main wall of the gallery builds upon the piece she painted for Deitch Projects x Goldman Properties’ Wynwood Walls in Miami (pics here and here) with her husband and brother-in-law osgêmeos and friend Finok, while the piece in the progress shot below is a multi-layered combination of acrylic on linen and glass with metal, light and artificial flowers. “Mixed Media” doesn’t really describe the end result, which is simply incredible; I’ve never seen anything like it before!

Nina has made another of these pieces that, in place of flowers, incorporates little beads that look like candies, plus a piece made entirely from Swarovski crystals, a series of large canvases and three hand-made fiberglass sculptures that are perhaps my favorite works in the show. Here’s a progress shot of one, hanging out with her kitty while her friends were in hair and makeup (if she were a real girl, she’d probably kill me for posting this).

Below is one of Nina’s canvases. Before I post it, I’d like to talk briefly about the connection between Nina and osgêmeos. It’s something a lot of people understandably wonder about, seeing as they’re family and have painted all over the world together for so many years. From my perspective, as a fan of both, it’s the simple magic that exists in their work that draws us in. All three possess an innate ability to transport us to a place that, whilst drawing upon the life we live, is much happier, brighter and devoid of the pressures that so often weigh us down. This place is one we can escape to and immerse ourselves in simply by gazing at their pieces, then come away with a more tranquil understanding of why things are the way they are.

The three Pandolfos are intelligent without affectation, kind without condescension, and positive without pretending that there aren’t things wrong with the world. I think that’s why people are so floored by shows like Vertigem (osgêmeos’ touring exhibit), Too Far Too Close (their 2008 Deitch show), the castle they and Nina painted in Kelburn with Nunca, the Wynwood Walls mural, and what I hope they’ll see in Nina’s show here – these artists touch a very tender nerve in us.

This, for me, is the connection between the Pandolfos, and yet at the same time, I feel their work couldn’t be more different. Nina’s characters and landscape have a very different flavor (that’s actually the title of the show, Life’s Flavor). When I look at what she does, what I admire most is her sophisticated melange of surrealist motifs, craftmanship that is as polished as the best in the Asian contemporary movement, and her passionate acknowledgement of Brazil’s colorful street scene.

Then there are the trademark children who populate her work. Unlike the frankly disgusting amount of work in the world that employs imagery of pretty girls to appeal to the viewer’s erotic fantasies (it’s obviously not hard to understand why this work is popular, but (and I’m no feminist) I simply think it’s wrong and I struggle to respect it), Nina’s presentation of youth and the female form could hardly be more different. Her preoccupation is with the return to innocence, to the core of our natural, dreamlike state. Close to bursting with exuberance, her young figures and their world capture a lightness that exists in all of us, even if we can’t always reach it.

Anyway, if you live in LA or will be in town this weekend, come say hello to us all and see Nina’s work in person at Carmichael Gallery, 5795 Washington Blvd, Culver City.

- Elisa

Re-Creation II at Ogilvy & Mather New York

Last week, Carmichael Gallery took over the Ogilvy & Mather offices in New York for Re-creation II, a show with installations and/or paintings from Will Barras, Simon Birch, Boxi, Ethos, Mark Jenkins, Labrona, Aakash Nihalani, Nina Pandolfo and WK Interact. The show will be on until the end of July, so there’s plenty of time to stop by if you’re in New York.

Ethos

Will Barras

All these Aakash Nihalani artworks look great next to each other:

Aakash Nihalani

Labrona

Boxi

My favorite part of Re-Creation II has to be all of the things that WK Interact did:

WK Interact

WK Interact

Lots more photos of the show on Carmichael Gallery’s flickr…

Re-Creation II, the Carmichaels go to NYC

If you follow Elisa Carmichael on twitter, you may have noticed that she’s been dropping some hints recently about a big secret show that they’ve been planning. Well here it is: Re-Creation II features artwork from Will Barras, Simon Birch, Boxi, Ethos, Mark Jenkins, Labrona, Aakash Nihalani, Nina Pandolfo and WK Interact. I know Seth and Elisa have been working like crazy to pull this all together, and it sounds like it’s going to be amazing. They’ve flown some of their favorite artists to New York to work on installations in the space, and with the show running for so many months, plenty of people will have a chance to see what’s created.

In collaboration with Carmichael Gallery, Ogilvy & Mather New York will host Re-Creation II, a global exploration of emerging art, from March 5^th through July 2010.

The exhibit will be held at the new Ogilvy & Mather headquarters on New York City’s West Side at 636 11^th Avenue. Re-Creation II will showcase some of the most important emerging contemporary artists from around the world.

Large-scale murals, installations and original canvas, sculpture and mixed media works will be on display from Will Barras, Simon Birch, Boxi, Ethos, Mark Jenkins, Labrona, Aakash Nihalani, Nina Pandolfo and WK Interact. Many of these artists, who are based in the UK, Hong Kong, Germany, Brazil, the US and Canada, have never shown in New York before, and have never shown together.

Ogilvy & Mather will transform five floors and the lobby space of its new headquarters in The Chocolate Factory into a museum-quality exhibition space. As viewers ascend each floor, they can experience the upward momentum of the artwork. Re-Creation II is the second exhibit to be hosted by Ogilvy & Mather in its new space.  It follows the inaugural Re-Creation exhibit, which featured the work of 12 emerging artists who use recycled materials to create unique forms of art. That exhibit will also be viewable through the end of March.

The opening reception of the exhibit will be held on Friday, March 5 with several of the artists in attendance at Ogilvy & Mather. The exhibition will run through July 31, 2010. Opening on March 5th in the middle of the Armory Art Fair week, the exhibition will run through the end of July 2010.

Doors are open to the viewing public, by appointment only, Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm by contacting Jun Lee at jun.lee@ogilvy.com.

On a side note, this is the 1000th post on Vandalog. Almost a year and a half in, we’ve averaged over 2 posts per day, posting almost every single day.

Aakash Nihalani x Sean John

When a ground-breaking artist collaborates with a cool brand, the result is often amazing. That was the case when Aakash Nihalani teamed up with Sean John. It’s not necessary to add but it should be noted that Diddy, the clothing brand’s creator, is one of the world’s most influential urban taste makers, and Aakash just significantly upped the coolness factor of the clothes. Check out the results below.

Keep in mind that Aakash left for Miami literally the day after his solo exhibit On & Off (Often On) opened at Carmichael Gallery in LA to get working on this- this guy is on a roll.

More info on the new Sean John Miami shop here. All images courtesy of Aakash Nihalani.

- Elisa

Mark Jenkins and Aakash Nihalani

Aakash Nihalani

Aakash Nihalani and Mark Jenkins’ solo shows at the Carmichael Gallery opened last week. Both Mark and Aakash have really pushed forward with these shows. Aakash was able to show that he doesn’t just a one-trick-pony and that he is more than just his tape pieces, and Mark continues to amuse and amaze me with his new sculptures.

Aakash Nihalani

Mark Jenkins

Mark Jenkins

Mark Jenkins

Photos from the Carmichael Gallery flickr

Mark Jenkins and Aakash tomorrow in LA

Thursday night is the opening of both Aakash Nihalani and Mark Jenkins‘ solo shows at the Carmichael Gallery in LA. Here are a few preview pictures:

Aakash Nihalani

Aakash Nihalani

Mark Jenkins

Mark Jenkins