Veng, OverUnder and Chris

This mural in NYC is a collaboration between Veng, OverUnder, Chris, Peeta and Never. First half is above. Second half is below.

Peeta, Chris and Never

Photos by Luna Park

Organized by Keith Schweitzer for No Longer Empty, Sponsored by the Coney Island Development Corporation, a new mural by OverUnder, Veng and Belgian artist Ephameron is underway on Coney Island’s famed Surf Avenue.

Photos by Samantha Sabatino

Veng in NYC

Well, I’m just gonna brag for a second. Haverford College just got way cooler. M1 from Dead Prez is doing a residency here. Gonna go see him perform tonight in our tiny music venue. And yes, I am aware of the apparent hypocrisy of being a white male at a private educational institution and getting excited to see M1 perform. Anyway. Back to the art.

• This group show in Oakland, CA which includes Deuce 7 looks pretty cool.
• Over on the Vandalog tumblr, Steph posted about the album art that Ron English has made for Chris Brown. I’ve got to agree with her, it’s pretty bad. Maybe Ron was too busy curating this show of South Park themed art, which sounds like it could go either way.
• Loving this photo by Jake Dobkin of a mural by Anthony Lister.
• Here’s a video from the opening of the Street Art Pop Up Store in LA.
• I’m starting to really like Linelinedot.
• Next week, Londoners can pick up some free paintings at Mutate Britain.
• I love it when a street art or graffiti ethos goes digital.
• Some interesting Chinese graffiti in this online zine.
• Colbert sold that portrait of himself that Shepard Fairey and others “made into art” at Philips de Pury and the video is hilarious.
• Slick has done the best artwork to support Japan that I’ve seen so far.
• Zevs made a t-shirt. Not sure if I love or hate it.
• You may have seen this new piece by OverUnder around other blogs, but you definitely should check out his blog to read the full story.

Photo by Luna Park

ChrisRWK

The Robots Will Kill crew has a show in Philadelphia opening on April 1st. Never Say Die, a 10th anniversary show for the crew, will be at Vincent Michael Gallery. ChrisRWK, KevRWK, veng, ecb, peeta, JesseRobot and Flying Fortress will all be in the show.

Veng

I will definitely be at the opening of Never Say Die. Here’s a flyer:

Photos courtesy of veng

Another street artist’s first solo show is approaching as well. Veng, associated with Robots Will Kill, will premiere new studio works at the Pandemic Gallery in Brooklyn on December 17th. The show, Identifiable Reality, will feature new oil on wood canvasses by the artist. What I really enjoy about his work is not just the subtle outdoor aesthetic conveyed in the work above, but the strong figurative associations with surrealism and modernist European paintings. It is refreshing to see street artists have different styles, especially when they translate their work into gallery and museum spaces.

All photos by Luna Park

Chris RWK

Five staples of New York street art (Veng RWK, Chris RWK, Cake, Luna Park and Becki Fuller) have gotten together for their show Death Warmed Over, which opens Friday evening at Fresthetic in Brooklyn. Veng, Chris and Cake will be showing their paintings, while Luna Park and Becki Fuller will have prints of their photos. Naturally, the show’s theme is death. If you’re thinking of checking out this show, best to go down on Friday (7-10pm). Although Death Warmed Over will be on until July 20th, the opening events will include live painting and a DJ set by Royce Bannon. Check out The Street Spot for more info.

Photo by Chris RWK

Veng has done a fantastic job with this new wall. Cool stuff.

Photo by Veng RWK

A charity street art auction at the Factory Fresh gallery will see the largest array of street artists together anywhere so far this year in tandem with the book launch for Street Art New York.

The book by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo (brooklynstreetart.com), with a foreword by Carolina A. Miranda (c-monster.net), is published by Prestel – who have upped the ante with regards the front cover design. Instead of using a free download, ‘graffiti’ font, they have chosen one that doesn’t scream urban cool, tastefully adjacent to an image by Judith Supine. I’ve read that Harrington is a book designer by trade, so it makes sense. I guess the less said about the cover for the pair’s 2008 release, Brooklyn Street Art the better.

The art auction will raise money for the kids charity, Free Arts NYC, who aid children and families with educational art and mentoring programmes.

The list of participating artists thus far includes: Bishop 203, Billi Kid, Bortusk Leer, Broken Crow, C Damage, C215, Cake, Celso, Chris RWK , Chris Stain, Creepy, DAIN, Damon Ginandes, Dan Witz, Dark Clouds, Elbow Toe, Gaia, FKDL, General Howe, GoreB, Hellbent, Imminent Disaster, Jim Avignon, Jef Aerosol, JMR, Jon Burgerman, Keely, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mark Carvalho, Matt Siren, Mint and Serf, Miss Bugs, NohJColey, Peru Ana Ana Peru, PMP, Poster Boy, Rene Gagnon, ROA, Pufferella, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Specter, Stikman, The Dude Company, Tristan Eaton, Veng RWK.

The auction and launch will take place at the Factory Fresh gallery, Bushwick, Brooklyn, April 24, from 7-11pm.

Photo by Veng

Veng RWK has a new website for his art. Vengpaintings.com is where you can find all his latest artwork and news. Definitely check it out.

The film I am most looking forward to in 2009 is Where The Wild Things Are. I could go on and on about how excited I am to see it and how upset I am that I won’t be able to pay to do so (WHY MUST THE FILM BE RELEASED TWO MONTHS LATER IN THE UK THAN THE USA?), but let’s just say I want to see the movie.

Veng and Chris of Robots Will Kill have gotten me even more excited about the film and the book with their latest mural. The piece is at Espeis Outside and was curated by Brooklyn Street Art. Here’s a photo of the finished piece and a time lapse film. For more, check out Brooklyn Street Art.

Photo by Veng