Rich Simmons "Homeless Superman"

I normally am not this much of an ass, but this was too good to pass up and not post. I have heard about this show at Opera Gallery for awhile now, as I am sure most of you have as well. I may have been able to overlook the ridiculous name of the show, The Street Art Show, because of the incredible line-up: Keith Haring, Jean-Michael Basquiat, Banksy, Blek Le Rat, Seen, Ron English, Logan Hicks, Crash, The London Police, Nick Walker, How & Nosm, Saber, ROA, D*Face, Sweet Toof, Mr. Jago, b., Swoon, Kid Zoom, ALEXONE, Anthony Lister, Alexandrous Vasmoulakis and Rich Simmons, but then I remembered that this is still a show put on by Opera Gallery, the home of the beloved Mr. Brainwash. They do put on good show as well as some really shit ones, and I really do want this to be good, but that association still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Plus I cannot help, but feel a bit suspicious since the show is launching on the heels of Art in the Streets.

The Street Art Show seems to be more for the collectors’ benefit who are still salivating over the interest in the LAMOCA show and want to buy more/start buying some pieces for their own collections. Well, at least Mr. Brainwash isn’t an option this time around, although i am sure he will be again soon enough.

The show opens June 17th at Opera Gallery in London.

Photo courtesy of Opera Gallery

TresOhUno

While I should probably be studying for final exams right now, I’m spending just as much time getting ready for Up Close and Personal, which opens next week in NYC. Check out a preview on Brooklyn Street Art. Here’s some stuff I would have liked to have covered this week:

• Saber has a solo show open now in New York.
• If you haven’t seen NohJColey’s flickrstream in a while, he’s been making some interactive sculptures.
• Faile have a new prayer wheel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
• This article does a good job of showing just how messed up the current legal system is when looking at graffiti.
• A reminder that street art and graffiti can have a real impact.
• Check out Nuria Mora.
• A Keith Haring show in NYC.
• Peter Kennard is showing at Black Rat Projects.
• New questions about if Banksy’s This Looks a Bit Like an Elephant piece left a man homeless.
• Banksy is selling a poster on Saturday at the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair, and all the proceeds are going to charity. Just £5 per poster. The design is a “Tesco Petrol Bomb,” referencing the recent riots in Bristol over the construction of a new Tesco supermarket.
• Herakut get up in LA.
• Melrose&Fairfax have an article about Jeffrey Deitch’s continued ties to The Hole, the gallery that his right-hand woman Kathy Grayson set up after Deitch Project closed and Deitch became the director of MOCA in LA. Most of what they mention was already well-known or expected and a lot less explosive than Melrose&Fairfax make it out to be, but I’d still be curious to hear what The Association of Art Museum Directors think about this.

Photo by TresOhUno

Mare 139

Carmichael Gallery in LA has a pretty crazy show on right now. Martha Cooper: Remix has street and graffiti artists giving their takes on classic photographs by Martha Cooper, one of the photographers behind the classic Subway Art book. Here’s a bit of the show, but check out Arrested Motion for many more photos. Remix runs through May 7th.

Anthony Lister

LA II on a photo of Keith Haring

Photos courtesy of Arrested Motion

Patti Astor at Keith Haring's Fun Gallery show, 1983, Photo by Eric Kroll

If you’re the Jeffrey Deitch or museum-hating type, the next few weeks are not going to be your favorite weeks, at least not when it comes to Vandalog posts. I’m gonna be talking a lot about this topic. I could hardly be more excited for MOCA‘s upcoming Art In The Streets show, and some substantive information about the show is finally starting to come out:

• First of all, what lots of people have been asking for: a solid and confirmed opening date. Art In The Streets opens on April 17th.
• There will be 50 artist installations including Futura, Margaret Kilgallen, Swoon, Shepard Fairey and Os Gêmeos. Arrested Motion has some photos of Shepard’s installation process.
• The MOCA iteration includes a lot of West Coast stuff like Cholo graffiti and writers like Revok and Saber.
• Oh, clarification on the last point: The show movies to The Brooklyn Museum next March. Presumably the show will be refocused a bit NYC graffiti for that iteration.
• The show will include some mini-shows within it including a space dedicated to The Fun Gallery, a RAMELLZEE installation and Todd James, Barry McGee, and Steve Powers’ new iteration of their legendary Street Market show.
• Because MOCA is looking at skateboarding as art on the streets too, there will be a custom skate ramp in the museum and Nike’s skateboarding team will be skating there throughout the run of the show.
• There will be a film festival component to the show.

So yeah. Sounds good. Can’t wait for the opening. If this show succeeds, it could be the American equivalent of Banksy Versus The Bristol Museum in terms of impact.

Here’s some more preview images:

Chaz Bojorquez, Señor Suerte tag with ‘veterano/veterana’ roll calls, Arroyo Seco River, Los Angeles, 1975, photo by Blades Bojorquez

RAMMELLZEE, Battle Station, New York City, 2005, photo by Charlie Ahearn

Photos courtesy of MOCA

In late winter a number of Keith Haring-like images began to surface on the streets of the Lower East Side. I should have immediately recognized them as the work of Angel Ortiz (Little Angel aka LA ll), the main inspiration behind much of Keith Haring’s art. But I didn’t. Whereas Keith Haring is regarded as one of the key artists of the 20th century, LA ll is just now on his way to attaining the respect and recognition he deserves. Deemed as Keith Haring’s “silent partner,” LA ll collaborated with and traveled alongside him for about 10 years, profoundly impacting Haring’s style and sensibility. A solo exhibition of LA ll’s recent paintings is at the Dorian Grey Gallery at 437 E. 9th Street through April 17. It’s worth a visit.

photo by Tara Murray

photo by Lois Stavsky

Photos by Lois Stavsky and Tara Murray

Keith Haring, Untitled, 1989

As a student at Sotheby’s, I know how much flack I get for looking at art in terms of how it’s worth. But I’m learning through the eyes of the art market, so it’s a different perspective than RJ has or Elisa does. So of course I am going to post about auctions.

An interesting one coming up is Phillips de Pury’s 8o’s auction including original pieces, print editions, photographs and designs.

The auction begins in New York on on December 17 at 2 pm.

There are a lot of big names, especially from the street art genre, such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Here are some of the highlights and their estimates that I found interesting from the catalog.

• Basquiat’s: Untitled (Standing Figure), 1981 estimated at $150,000 – $250,000 is a figurative drawing on paper
• Kenny Scharf: Untitled (Head), 1987 is estimated at $50,000 to $70,000 and is a sculptural cartoon-like head
• Keith Haring: Untitled, 1989 is estimated at $10,000 – $15,000 and is a typical Haring drawing that is featured on the cover of the catalouge
• Annie Leibovitz’s iconic portrait of Keith Haring painted in the vein of his work blending into the wall is estimated between $8,000- 12,000

Phillips de Pury’s May 13th and May 14th Contemporary Art auctions have a number of interesting paintings up for grabs, but here’s a few of the pieces that are more relevant to Vandalog.

• Lot 116. Rubber by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Estimated at $1,500,000-2,500,000.

• Lot 145. Untitled by Banksy. Estimated $150,00-250,000.
  I’d love to hear what somebody who can see this in person things of this lot. Seems like an expensive estimate, but it’s a big painting (188 x 180 cm). And it’s from 2003, which for me is one of Banksy’s best years. Can Banksy have a best year? That sounds really weird doesn’t it? But it’s something I seem to have noticed.
• Lot 433. Pyramid (yellow on blue) by Keith Haring. Estimated $30,000-40,000.

• Lot 434. Pyramid (blue on yellow) by Keith Haring. Estimated $30,000-40,000.
  I love this piece. Not so much the yellow on blue pyramid with a similar design (lot 433). But this one, I love.

• Lot 436. Untitled by Barry McGee. Estimated $8,000-12,000.
  Not really for me, but perfect for the true McGee fans out there.
• Lot 437. Charlie Chaplin Pink by Mr. Brainwash. Estimated $50,000-70,000.
  Imagine a Nick Walker mood board, but made by Mr. Brainwash (no offense intended Nick). Ugliness overload. And not only that. It looks so boring. Doesn’t challenge or interest me in the least. But I hate almost everything that MBW signs, so I’m obviously not the best person to comment on this painting.

Some of the most interesting work in these auction for me actually isn’t the work by street artists. There’s a lot great art by artists like Chris Johanson, so it’s worth flipping through the full catalog if you’re curious.

Black Rat Projects (formally Black Rat Press) finally has their first show of 2010 opening in a few weeks. It’s called Now’s The Time. It’s a group show and it brings together artwork by some of the top names in street art’s history: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Barry McGee, Faile and Os Gêmeos. I’ve heard about this show coming together over the last few months, and I like to joke that the idea behind it is strikingly similar to The Thousands, but two artists really separate this show from The Thousands and other similar exhibition that have been put on in the past: Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It’s not often that a gallery has put on an exhibition of what is claimed to be the world’s top street art and been able to include those two essential artists in the line up alongside newer artists artists like Faile. This is going to be a very interesting show. Now’s The Time opens April 22nd at Black Rat Projects in London.

Via Pimp Guides

When I was in New York last week prepping for Re-Creation II, I managed to slip out for a couple hours and run over to the Armory, which was only a few blocks away. I saw quite a few pieces that I liked, although there wasn’t too much by artists related to the street art scene. Highlights included the Barry McGee clusters at Roberts & Tilton and Ratio 3 (former above, latter below) and the fun Keith Haring at Galerie Michael Scultz. Overall, I felt the fair was a bit overwhelming in its size, but I still really enjoyed it. There was a great crowd, flow and energy – all very positive signs for the art market.

- Elisa

Time for some links to other blog’s cool posts:

• Arrested Motion has some photos from the Keith Haring 20th Anniversary show at Tony Shafrazi Gallery.
• Alison from Images To Live By has posted an insightful essay on Jenny Holzer, after seeing Holzer speak at an event recently. Lucky her. Holzer is one of the most often ignored street artists, because her early illegal posters have been largely overshadowed by her more recent works which fall more into the realms of fine art and public art.
• The World’s Best Ever has taken photos of a copy of Hoss, an exhibition catalog for a Barry McGee show from 1999.