Back to school on Tuesday. Actually, I’m okay with that. And of course, it means more time blogging because it means more time procrastinating. Here’s some of what we missed this week while Caroline and I were on vacation:

• New print from Ron English of his Obama/Hulk custom toy.
• If you’re a fan of Remi/Rough, you should have a look at his new book.
• Vhils has a new mural.
• And Elbowtoe put up a huge new wheatpaste based on one of his collages.
• Martha Cooper and Ian Cox discuss photographing the Paris edition of The Underbelly Project.
• Dan Witz has a show coming up at Lazarides’ Rathbone Place location.
• Zeus (British, not French) also has a show coming up in London.
• And then there’s the show with Nice One and Lucx at Chicago’s Galerie F which opened on Friday night.
• Complex.com has some advice for success as a street artist from Kid Zoom, How&Nosm, Eric Haze, and others. Kid Zoom’s tip? “Don’t be a street artist.”

Photo by Ankles

Category: Books / Magazines, Gallery/Museum Shows, Photos, Print Release, Random, Videos | Tags: ankles, dan witz, elbowtoe, lazarides, martha cooper, remi/rough, ron english, underbelly project, vhils, zeus

Martyn Reed, the man behind Nuart, is finally opening up a gallery space. Reed Projects, like Nuart, will be based in Stavanger, Norway and draw in contemporary artists from the world of street art and beyond. The Re-Jects will be the first show at Reed Project and it features a sampling of artists from past editions of Nuart: Vhils, Dolk, Escif, Evol, Brad Downey, Dan Witz and Roa. Nuart has never come across to me as something done half-assed, so I’m sure Reed Projects will be no different and I can’t wait to see how it develops. The Re-Jects opens this Thursday (7-10pm) and runs through June 22nd.

Photo by Tod Seelie

Category: Gallery/Museum Shows | Tags: brad downey, dan witz, DOLK, escif, evol, nuart, reed projects, roa, vhils

Rizzoli recently published the official book documenting The Underbelly Project, We Own the Night: The Art of The Underbelly Project. If you haven’t heard of The Underbelly Project, check out my firsthand account. Basically, over 100 artists were taken down to an abandoned subway station beneath New York City to put up artwork and explore hidden depths of the city. Artists involved in the project include Revok, Roa, Anthony Lister, Faile, Ron English, Dan Witz, Gaia, Know Hope, Haze and many others.

In December, a collector’s edition of the book was sold at The Underbelly Project’s show in Miami. Until now, that show was the only place to pick up a copy of this special edition of We Own the Night. The collector’s edition version includes a hardcover copy of the book, nine photographic prints from the project, and comes in a handcrafted and laser-engraved oak box. This package is an edition of 100, plus 10 APs, and a handful were held back in Miami to be sold later. Now, the remaining collector’s editions are available online for the first time exclusively at The Vandalog Shop.

The Underbelly Project is one of the most fascinating projects to ever happen in the street art or graffiti worlds. While there are photos all over the web showing what the project looked liked, reading We Own the Night is just about the only way to get a sense of what it was actually like to participate in The Underbelly Project. I saw The Underbelly Project in the flesh, but hearing other people’s stories shed new light on it even for me. I’m extremely pleased that The Vandalog Shop will be selling the collector’s edition of We Own the Night, giving people who couldn’t make it to Basel Miami a chance to pick up a copy. My copy of We Own the Night was the best thing I’ve received under a Christmas tree in years, and I hope other people will enjoy the book and the photographs as much as I do.

Here are a just a couple of the photographs included in the set:

Other images include work by Roa, Anthony Lister, Skullphone, Kid Zoom, Revok, Ceaze and Jeff Soto.

Only a few of these collector’s editions are remain, and The Vandalog Shop is the only place you’ll find them online. They are available for $250.

We Own the Night is also available in a regular paperback edition.

Photos by Ian Cox, Emile Souris and The Underbelly Project

Category: Books / Magazines, Featured Posts, Vandalog Projects | Tags: anthony lister, ceaze, dan witz, faile, gaia, haze, jeff soto, kid zoom, know hope, revok, roa, ron english, skullphone, underbelly project

There are so many interesting shows opening in the next week or two that I thought I’d just throw them all together into one post. Here’s what I think looks worth checking out:

• Yesterday, the Museum of Sex in New York opened a show that sounds absolutely awesome called F*ck Art. It’s on through June 10th and features artwork by Aiko, El Celso, Lush, Mode2, Cassius Fouler, Miss Van and many more.
• Love & Hate is a group show opening at StolenSpace this week and runs through March 4th. D*face, Dan Witz, Ronzo, Word to Mother, Jeff Soto, Eine, Charles Krafft and others are included.
• Chris Stain, Veng and Taka Sudo will be showing together at C.A.V.E. Gallery, beginning February 11th. Brooklyn Street Art has a preview of Chris’ work.
• Zes and Retna are together at Known Gallery in LA. LA TACO has the info.
• Nick Mann aka Doodles, Brett Flanigan, Craig Rodgers and Dan Bortz are collaborating with one another in Oakland, CA.
• Another collaborative group show will be in Da Mental Vaporz‘ (Bom.k, Blo, Brusk, Dran, Gris1, ISO, Jaw, Kan, and Sowat) show at Melbourne. That show, Le Venin, will be at RTIST Gallery from February 16th through March 4th.
• All Talk at Pandemic Gallery will include Aakash Nihalani, Cassius Fouler, Gabriel Specter, Jesus Saves, NohJColey and others and runs from February 17th through March 11th.

Photo courtesy of Da Mental Vaporz

Category: Gallery/Museum Shows | Tags: aakash nihalani, aiko, blo, bom.k, brusk, cassius fouler, cave gallery, charles krafft, da mental vaporz, dan witz, dface, dran, eine, el celso, gris, iso, jaw, jeff soto, jesus saves, kan, Known Gallery, lush, miss van, mode2, nohjcoley, retna, ronzo, sowat, specter, stolenspace, taka sudo, word to mother, zes

UPDATE – LOCATION CHANGE: The Underbelly Show has moved to 78 NW 25th Street in Wynwood, Miami to accommodate the large scale of the artwork in this show.

The Underbelly Project is back. Last year, I posted a lot about the project where 103 artists from around the world secretly painted an abandoned/half-completed New York City subway station. After that initial burst of press here and around the web, The Underbelly Project organizers stayed silent. With only occasional vague tweets from a mysterious twitter account and the appearance on Amazon of an upcoming book about the project. Yesterday though, The Underbelly Project announced that they will be participating in this year’s Basel Miami Week madness with a pop-up gallery in South Beach Wynwood.

The organizers of The Underbelly Project and The Underbelly Show, Workhorse and PAC, have this to say about the show:

Workhorse: The New York Underbelly was an important chapter for us, but the story hadn’t been comprehensively told. The Underbelly Miami show gives us a chance to present the broad scope of documentation – Videos, photos, time-lapses and first hand accounts. The project is about more than just artwork. This show gives us a chance to show the people and the environment behind the artwork.

PAC: While the experience each artist had in their expedition underground can never be captured, it is my hope that this show will highlight some of the trials and tribulations associated with urban art taking place in the remote corners of our cities. Too often the practice of making art in unconventional venues remains shrouded in mystery and I hope this exhibition will shine a faint light on those artists who risk their safety to find alternative ways to create and be a part of the cities they live in.

35 of the 103 artists from The Underbelly Project will be exhibiting art in The Underbelly Show, plus video and still footage of the artists at work in the tunnel. Here’s the full line-up: Faile, Dabs & Myla, TrustoCorp, Aiko, Rone, Revok, Ron English, Jeff Soto, Mark Jenkins, Anthony Lister, Logan Hicks, Lucy McLauchlan, M-City, Kid Zoom, Haze, Saber, Meggs, Jim & Tina Darling, The London Police, Sheone, Skewville, Jeff Stark, Jordan Seiler, Jason Eppink and I AM, Dan Witz, Specter, Ripo, MoMo, Remi/Rough, Stormie Mills, Swoon, Know Hope, Skullphone, L’Atlas, Roa, Surge, Gaia, Michael De Feo, Joe Iurato, Love Me, Adam 5100, and Chris Stain.

For this show, the space will be transformed into an environment imitating the tunnel where The Underbelly Project took place, right down to playing sounds recorded in the station while The Underbelly Project was happening.

If you absolutely cannot wait until February to get We Own The Night, the book documenting The Underbelly Project, a limited number will be available at The Underbelly Show in a box set with 9 photographic prints and the book all contained in a handcrafted oak box. Additionally, you will be able to your book signed by the artists participating in The Underbelly Show.

The Underbelly Show will take place at 2200 Collins Avenue, South Beach, Miami 78 NW 25th Street, Wynwood, Miami. There will be a private opening on November 30th, and the space will be open to the general public December 2nd-5th, with a general opening on the 2nd from 8-10pm.

Photo by RJ Rushmore

Category: Featured Posts, Gallery/Museum Shows | Tags: adam 5100, aiko, anthony lister, chris stain, curtis kulig, Dabs Myla, dan witz, faile, gaia, haze, i am, jason eppink, jeff soto, jeff stark, jim darling, joe iurato, jordan seiler, kid zoom, know hope, l'atlas, logan hicks, lucy mclauchlan, m-city, mark jenkins, Meggs, michael de feo, momo, pac, remi/rough, revok, ripo, roa, ron english, rone, saber, sheone, skewville, skullphone, specter, stormie mills, surge, swoon, the london police, tina darling, trustocorp, underbelly project, workhorse

This year, Vandalog hasn’t been covering the Nuart festival in Norway nearly as closely as we should. Some great work has gone up by a bunch of artists over the last few weeks. Between Nuart’s flickr page and the coverage at Arrested Motion though, the festival has been covered extensively elsewhere. Check out Arrested Motion for Nuart contributions by Lucy McLauchlan, Dan Witz, Phlegm, Herakut, Vhils (including what may be my new favorite piece by him), Escif, David Choe and DVS-1 and Nuart’s flickr set for even more images.

Photo by CF Salicath

Category: Festivals, Photos | Tags: dan witz, david choe, dvs, escif, herakut, lucy mclauchlan, phlegm, vhils

On Every Street is a show opening this Thursday at Samuel Owen Gallery in Greenwich, CT. Curated by Michael de Feo, it features the work of dozens of street artists. On Every Street includes a diverse of street artists both in style and (from Hargo to Tony Curanaj) and when they were active outdoors (from Richard Hambleton to Gaia).

Here’s the full line up: Above, Aiko, Michael Anderson, Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, C215, Tony Curanaj, Michael De Feo, D*Face, Ellis Gallagher, Keith Haring, Ron English, Blek le rat, Faile, Shepard Fairey, John Fekner, JMR, Gaia, Richard Hambleton, Hargo, Maya Hayuk, Don Leicht, Tom Otterness, Lady Pink, Lister, Ripo, Mike Sajnoski, Jeff Soto, Chris Stain, Swoon, Thundercut, Dan Witz.

Images courtesy of Michael de Feo

Category: Gallery/Museum Shows | Tags: above, aiko, anthony lister, banksy, blek le rat, c215, chris stain, dan witz, dface, don leicht, ellis g, gaia, hargo, jean-michel basquiat, jeff soto, jmr, john fekner, keith haring, Lady Pink, maya hayuk, michael de feo, richard hambleton, ripo, ron english, shepard fairey, swoon, thundercut, tony curanaj

Anonymous Gallery, the mostly New York-based pop up gallery, has put together a show that will open later this week at the Wooster Street Social Club, aka the site of the show NY Ink. Flash includes original artwork as well as designs by those same artists that people can get put on them by the tattoo artists at Wooster Street Social Club. Flash opens on September 17th, runs through October 29th,  and includes Anthony Lister, Curtis Kulig (aka Love Me), Dan Witz, Eric White, Greg Lamarche, Kenji Hirata, Kenzo Minami, James Jean, Logan Hicks, Nick Walker, Ron English, Shelter Serra and Tristan Eaton.

Photo by RJ Rushmore

Category: Gallery/Museum Shows | Tags: anonymous gallery, anthony lister, curtis kulig, dan witz, greg lamarche, logan hicks, nick walker, ron english, tristan eaton, wooster street social club

With fall approaching (hopefully quickly after all the time I’ve been spending in 100 degree weather), another edition of Stavanger, Norway’s Nuart festival is just around the corner. This year, Nuart will break away from the murals that its become known for in favor of an event more like The Underbelly Project or Hell’s Half Acre: While there will still be some walls painted around the city, most of the festival will be indoors where artists will focus on painting directly on the walls of “seven abandoned 17x5x5 meter tunnels [and] a 50meter long access tunnel with an entrance hall equal in size to the cities largest gallery.”

And here’s this year’s artist line up… Dan Witz, David Choe, Herakut, Herbert Baglione, Escif, Hyuro, Tellas, Lucy McLauchlan, Dolk, Phlegm and Vhils.

Photo by kalevkevad

Category: Festivals | Tags: dan witz, david choe, DOLK, escif, herbert baglione, hyuro, lucy mclauchlan, nuart, phlegm, tellas, vhils

Stolenspace Gallery‘s summer group show opens next week, on July 7th. All the work in this show, prints and originals, will be new. The artist lineup includes D*face, Dan Witz, Eine, Miss Van, Ripo, San, Shepard Fairey, Word To Mother and a number of others. Check out the full artist list on Stolenspace’s website. Here’s a great little piece from Dan Witz that will be there:

The show runs from the 7th of July (opening from 6-9pm) through July 31st.

Photos courtesy of Stolenspace Gallery

Category: Gallery/Museum Shows | Tags: dan witz, dface, eine, miss van, ripo, san, shepard fairey, stolenspace, word to mother