I wouldn’t say that Aiko has ever really had an active presence on the street after starting her solo work, but it is always a nice suprise when she does get up. Here’s some of her latest:
Via Arrested Motion and Aiko’s blog
Burning Candy reclaims space
On a similar note to my last post, Burning Candy has reclaimed a wall in Hackney Wick very recently. Unfortunately, I don’t have permission to you Romanywg’s photos (I should really ask him for that because he takes spectacular pictures), so for the 6 months ago and 10 days ago images I have to give you links, but I can show you the latest piece on this wall.
Here’s a 6 months ago.
Here’s last week when the piece was painted over by a big blue nothing
And here is what they’ve done now:
I think it looks even better than before. Cyclops, Sweet Toof, Gold Peg and Might Mo and done it again. Just with Tek33 was involved a well.
Conor Harrington mural fixed
Thank God. Looks like all is back to the way it should be with Conor Harrington’s impressive painting in New York City. Here’s what happened.
First it was like this and everybody was happy:
Then NPA came along recently and made it look like this:
Nobody (except maybe Steely Dan and NPA) was happy about that.
Luckily, the law was taken into the hands of the citizens of New York City and now Conor’s painting looks like this again:
Thanks to PublicAdCampaign and DickChicken for getting rid of those ads. Always good to see a painting revived when I thought it was lost to adverts.
Also, I’ve emailed NPA asking for some information about this incident, so we’ll see if I hear anything back from them.
I want to go to Posterchild’s party…
So his flower-filled flyer boxes were very cool as well, but this is just so much fun. Check out the third picture – there’s even a radio in there so the ravers have something to dance to. More from Posterchild here.
Thanks for inviting me, Senses Lost.
Elisa x
Brazilian Week Part 2
Brazilian things
This is a very Brazilian week on Vandalog. Every day so far, I’ve posted something about Brazilian artists. On Monday, it was Sixeart’s solo show. On Tuesday I mentioned Tikifreak’s book launch. And today I have two Brazilian street art bits to write about.
First is the awesome gallery Choque Cultural‘s write-up in Newsweek. Choque Cultural is my favorite street art gallery that I’ve never visited. I guess that’s a pretty limited field, but that’s supposed to be a compliment.
São Paulo’s Choque Cultural Gallery prides itself on exhibiting works of pop art, photography, and sculpture by Brazil’s top contemporary artists. But its current exhibit, Coletiva Choque, featuring works by the artists Zezão, Jaca, and Presto, looks like it’d be more at home on the walls of a favela. It consists of large, colorfully embellished murals, known as street art, that have been transferred to canvases. More inspirational than angry, they’re a far cry from “tag” graffiti—hastily sprayed words on outdoor property that convey social and political messages.
São Paulo is not the only place where street art has made the leap from the inner city to the gallery. Exhibition spaces in Los Angeles, London, and New York City have all commissioned street artists to apply their talents to murals rather than on building façades or concrete barriers. Although the artistic style of the outdoor artwork is preserved, some argue that moving it indoors and changing its scale compromises its integrity and mission. Indeed, during Choque Cultural’s Trimassa! street-art exhibit last fall, vandals broke in and spray-painted pichação, or tag graffiti, all over the works to protest the mainstream marketing of the art form.
Read the full article for more about the transition from painting on the street to hanging work in a gallery.
And the other Brazilian street art thing I have to mention is worth bring up for how distinctly un-Brazilian it seems. Today, Unurth introduced me to Urso Morto. Just have a look at these paintings and try to tell me they look like they are painted in Sao Paulo.
The only really giveaway here is the pichação. Urso Morto’s bears don’t seem to display any of the classic touches of Brazilian graffiti. For one thing, the usual bright colors are replaced with white, black and red. Nonetheless, I’m definitely enjoying Urso Morto‘s work. I’ve never really understood the appeal of Berlin’s Little Lucy, a girl who kills her cat over and over again, but Urso Morto’s bears I like.
Well painted walls
Just want to highlight two new walls that I think were particularly well painted collaborations.
First is this wall in NYC with Veng, Indie, Deem and Cern. Great mix of graffiti and street art. Love to see these two often opposing groups working together.
And here is a wall in Cardiff by Remi/Rough and Timid:
Collaboration is where it’s at.
Link post
I’ve noticed a number of links piling up over the past few days, so it’s time for one of my link compiling posts. Oh and thanks to C-Monster for featuring Vandalog on today’s Daily Digest (the probably superior link post series that I try to emulate a bit from time to time).
- On the Beautiful Losers front, the DVD is coming out this month. Anybody who has seen the film will tell you the same thing: buy the DVD. Also, there was a touching profile of Margaret Kilgallen, one of the artists featured in Beautiful Losers, in The Guardian over the weekend.
- The extremely talented Titifreak has a book. I didn’t know he had one coming out, but apparently plenty of people in Rio did because his launch party looks like it was a huge success.
- Some people love D*Face. Some people hate him. If you’re a hater, just pretend this is somebody else, because D*Face says some things work listening to in this interview with Walrus TV (via Juxtapoz)
- And the best link of the day, Posterchild (no, not PosterBoy) is not happy about the illegal ads in the streets of NYC. A really fantastic example of artivism.
Shows this week
I’ve got a few shows opening this week to highlight, most of them in London, one in Brazil.
Let’s start in Brazil. Sixeart has his first solo show in Brazil opening on Tuesday the 11th.
Sixeart “Sueñan las gallinas con ser humanas”
In 2008 the Spanish artist Sixeart achieved international fame by participating in “STREET ART AT THE TATE MODERN” in London, along with brazilian Os Gemeos, and Nunca, french JR, united states Faile and italian Blu. Today his works are shown in Spain alongside those of Miró, Chillida and Tapies.
“Sueñan las gallinas con ser humanas” is series of 13 new pieces on paper made exclusively to be exhibited in ROJO®artspace Sao Paulo from 11.08.2009 to 05.09.2009.
ROJO®artspace Sao Paulo
POP. Rua Virgilio de Carvalho Pinto 297,
Pinheiros. 05415-030 Sao Paulo. Brazil
talk: +55 11 3487 1677 online: http://www.rojo-saopaulo.com
And now back to London.
My Thursday evening starts off with a stop over at Lazarides‘ Rathbone Place gallery for Invader show ‘Low Fidelity’. There should be everything we’ve come to expect from the Parisian globe trotter: mosiac video game characters, rubix cubes, QR codes and even sculpture. Personally, I’ve always preferred the thrill of discovering an Invader on the street to seeing it in my home, but that hasn’t stopped me from buying one in the past. I’m curious, though not enthusiastic, about what this show will bring. Plus, everybody knows that Lazarides throws great opening parties.
Then it’s off to Pure Evil’s gallery for his solo show which mixes art and music.
And then maybe a stop over at Urban Angel for “The Sentiment of Love,” a show of erotic photography.
Friday night I hope to be back in Shoreditch for the launch of London Handstyles at Rarekind Gallery. Another London graffiti book.
Viss Van at StolenSpace
I’ve been eyeing a piece by Miss Van in the office of StolenSpace Gallery for some time now, which is why this announcement caught my attention:
‘Lovestain’By Miss Van1st – 18th October 2009StolenSpace are proud to present ‘Lovestain’ a UK premier solo show from world renowned female street artist, Miss Van. A retrospective as well as a new body of work and taking over two exhibition spaces at StolenSpace, this will be her largest solo show to date.
Toulouse native and current Barcelona resident Miss Van started to paint her graffiti on the streets during the 90s, at the age of 18. Her overtly feminine street art was a breath of fresh air in a traditionally masculine movement of urban art and paved the way for many contemporaries. Now her infamous sultry female characters, known as her ‘Poupes’, are seen on the streets and in galleries alike all over the world.
From these pouting, sulky girls emerges a certain sensuality and disconcerting eroticism that is frank and unabashed. Their thoughts are palpable and the paintings become real in both flesh and spirit.
Miss Van creates her characters with an innovative spirit. Affirming her style, the artist infuses into her work traits from her own personality, rendering them thus, self-portraits. It is through their fantasy that the sensitivity and fragility of the artist is expressed. She takes pleasure in playing with ambiguities, her dolls are childlike women that are equally angelic and devilish. They have a rare appeal that transcends gender-an appeal that also extends to the work that she shows in galleries.
Over the years, Miss Van’s characters keep evolving. They have become less cute and more dangerously alluring, edgier – their sexy aura made all the more complex by their increasingly ambiguous facial expressions. The more she has moved into gallery work and can work with the nuances of more fragile media than the streets allow (pencil, for one), her characters have grown even more sensitive, subtle, and delicately rendered.
Featuring a retrospective of her work & new paintings this show will also see the release of a rare exclusive hand pulled limited edition screen print from Miss Van.exclusive hand pulled limited edition screen print from Miss Van.