"A Study In Fecundity" by Elbowtoe

I’m baking alive here in Atlanta for Living Walls, but damn things are coming along nicely. Nanook and Gaia have finished a couple of walls, including this one. But Living Walls is a busy event, so I’ve been missing out on a lot this week, including some big news from Banksy. Check all that out here…

• The schedule for Living Walls is up and finalized. Festivities start tonight. If you’re in Atlanta, I hope to see you there.
• El Mac’s painting of a cockroach is pretty crazy.
• Channel4 in the UK has two films of note being shown this weekend: Banksy’s tv special Antics Roadshow (it’s about people behaving badly in public) and Graffiti Wars, which is that Robbo (get well soon man) documentary that people have been talking about for a while.
• Art in the Streets had over 200,000 visitors.
• Fine Art Views has an interview with Blek le Rat.
• Retna, Kenny Scharf and Shepard Fairey painted the outside of a parking garage in West Hollywood.
• New work from Phil Frost.
• Nelio is quite cool.
• Did you know that Futura made a rap with The Clash?
• To coincide with Living Walls, the All City street art and graffiti mapping app is available for free all weekend.

Photo by Elbowtoe

In a lot of ways, Hargo sums up Miami's art fair week

With so much of the art world migrating to Miami this week in a frenzy, there seem to be too many events and parties (and I promise not to blog about the parties in detail. This isn’t a gossip site) and exhibits and festivals and everything else to keep track of. Here’s a roundup of some of the things that I’m most interested in seeing (or not seeing).

Things that have already been mentioned on Vandalog:

• This year’s Primary Flight mural project has an impressive list of artists including Roa, Escif, Retna and Boxi.
• Fresh Produce looks to be a solid group show of graffiti and street artists.
• There will be some new Cash For Your Warhol billboards.
• Retna has a solo show at the new Primary Projects space.
• Wynwood Walls is a mural project (among other things) with some big-name artists but questionable motives.

And things that I haven’t already blogged about:

• Elisa Carmichael has her list of Miami must-sees, which includes a Dan Witz book signing and a Trespass book signing with Marc and Sara from Wooster Collective and Carlo McCormick.
• Sorry to bring this up, but Sanrio’s exhibition of Hello Kitty art is just annoying. They got some great artists like Jim Houser to paint Hello Kitty characters. I’ll be avoiding this show like the plague.
• I mostly go for Ryan McGinness’ really abstract work and this isn’t that, but McGinness fans will probably want to check out his solo show.
• Barry McGee will be showing work and signing books at Ratio 3′s book in Basel Miami.
• Jonathan LeVine Gallery has a pop-up show as part of Wynwood Walls. Some of the artists include AJ Fosik, Judith Supine, Doze Green, Dan Witz and WK Interact.
• FriendsWithYou are filling a park with giant blow-up sculptures.
• Last year, OHWOW Gallery’s It Ain’t Fair show was one of the most interesting shows in Miami. Once again, they have a killer line up for the show including José Parlá, Rey Parlá (José’s brother who is, I believe, a filmmaker), KAWS, Phil Frost, Barry McGee and Neckface.
• OHWOW Gallery are also opening a bookstore at The Standard Hotel in Miami.
• New Image Art’s pop-up show includes Neckface, Judith Supine and Os Gêmeos. Probably going to be a must-see.
• Tristan Eaton and his partners are launching Contra Projects with a wide-array of events this week including a tent/lounge space, a mural (by Mr. Jago, Tristan Eaton, Ron English and others) and a TrustoCorp carnival aka TrustoLand. More info on the Thunderdog blog.
• Carmichael Gallery, Joshua Liner Gallery and others will have booths at SCOPE, and I think Maya Hayuk is painting a mural there, which should be awesome if I’m remembering that correctly.
• And of course there’s all the fairs I haven’t mentioned, because there are just so many. So many. Too many. It’s gonna be art overload. But if I’ve missed anything that you think is particularly special, please leave a comment.

Photo by Hargo

His two-man show at Los Angeles Prism Gallery closed less than two months ago, but Phil Frost already has a solo show opening next week at Known Gallery in LA. Phil is a legend and basically in a league of his own. I go through phases of loving or not caring at all for Phil’s artwork. Right now I’m loving it. His paintings (most notably using correction fluid) are entrancing and the obsessiveness with which he has gone about painting them for almost as long as I have been alive only makes them more interesting to me. If you’re in LA next week, don’t miss this show.

The legendary Phil Frost has just put up this billboard in LA for the Undefeated Billboard Project. Previously, artists like Os Gêmeos, Kaws, Barry Mcgee and José Parlá have participated in the project. Such a cool project.

Photos via Dr. Romanelli

A few days ago I mentioned that Barry McGee and Phil Frost had a two man show opening at the brand new PRISM Gallery in LA. Last night was the opening, and it looks spectacular. Arrested Motion has dozens of pictures, but here are a few that I’ve taken from them.

Of course, Phil Frost is The Guy when it comes to painting tiki-themed artwork.

And then there is Barry McGee. Brilliantly awesome.

All images from Arrested Motion

Barry McGee and Phil Frost are showing together at LA’s brand new PRISM Gallery. I’m not usually a fan of Phil Frost, but I think he and McGee will look great showing together. I think that’s really all I need to say about a show of this awesomeness.

Via Slamxhype

Urban/street/graffiti art seems to be everywhere these days. One place I haven’t yet seen it much yet though is the Arab world. What better introduction to those genres than Futura, Phil Frost and Stash. Well later this month, KRUNK and Cuadro Fine Art Gallery are putting on a show with those three artist in Dubai.

KRUNK in collaboration with Cuadro Fine Art Gallery is proud to present a historic three-man exhibition in Dubai, featuring original works by urban art pioneers Futura, Stash and Phil Frost. On the pulse of the contemporary art world, KRUNK/Cuadro will provide foreign markets in the Middle East and beyond a rare opportunity to view and purchase extraordinary new collections by these world-renowned Contemporary Urban Artists. The show will launched by Cuadro during Art Dubai, the U.A.E’s contemporary art fair, which in only its third year has become a leader in the global art scene. A Collectors Lunch on Tuesday, March 17th and an evening Preview Reception on Thursday, March 19 will open the exhibition, and it will remain on view to the public until June 17, 2009.

The unprecedented exhibition represents the debut of KRUNK in Dubai, the cultural hotspot of the Middle East, and exposes never-before-seen works by Futura, Stash and Phil Frost to new audiences. Sharing a common interest in innovating unusual avenues in the contemporary art market, KRUNK partnered with Cuadro, one of the largest and the most prestigious galleries in the Middle East, to create a dynamic platform for representing artists in today’s global art community. The exhibition breaks the mold, reaching beyond cultural and national boundaries to present these notable Contemporary Urban Artists in an unparalleled forum and show their work alongside leading Middle Eastern and International artists. Utilizing Cuadro’s cutting-edge space and latest design concepts for displaying fine art, a site-specific installation will be rendered by Futura for this landmark event. Music and film backdrops will heighten the viewing experience and the exhibition will feature a soundtrack by acclaimed producer and electronic musician Damian Taylor using recorded samples of Futura at work. “KRUNK breaks with tradition, and this show is aimed at reaching new audiences. These legendary artists will have the opportunity to connect with an exciting emerging market as part of international art fair in Dubai. It is our pleasure to be presenting Futura, Stash and Phil Frost on this unique stage.”

- from KRUNK