Year: 2009

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New York Street Advertising Takeover

Last weekend, 120 illegal street advertisements throughout New York City were covered up by art. The whole project was orchestrated by Jordan Seiler at Public Ad Campaign. He got a large group of artists and volunteers to cover a few of the many illegal outdoor advertisements on New York streets first with a layer of white, and then with artwork. Participating artists included Rachel Lowing and Gaia, Tristan Eaton, Ji Lee (of The Bubble Project), Enjoy Banking, Peru Ana Ana Peru, and many many more. Unfortunately, Jake Dobkin reports that all of these interventions seem to have been taken down (of course, I suppose that was sort of the point. At least it gets rid of the illegal ads. The Capital G project worked the same way. A week later, not only was Captial G gone, but so were those flyposted ads.). Here are a few images that have been popping up online:

Ji Lee
Ji Lee
Enjoy Banking and this really cool artist whose name I forget...
Enjoy Banking and this really cool artist whose name I forget...
Tristan Eaton
Tristan Eaton
Gaia and Rachel Lowing
Gaia and Rachel Lowing

More photos after the jump… Continue reading “New York Street Advertising Takeover”

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Shows I Forgot to Mention (California Edition)

Yesterday I did what I thought was a moderately extensive post on some of the cooler shows opening soon or recently opened, but I realize I missed California completely. Here’s a few things you can go see if you’re in California and looking for some street art:

First, there is The Carmichael Gallery. While their Boxi and Neo-Cons/Zeus shows are still up until the 30th, I’d like to write about what they’ve got opening on May 7th.

In the main gallery, Thais Beltrame has a solo show.

Beltrame

And in their rear gallery is “Get Rich Quick!” GRQ is a show full of secondary market work from top-tier artists like Banksy, Barry McGee, KAWS and Faile.

Get Rich

I know nothing about the show in this next poster except that it is in San Fransisco and Know Hope is involved. That’s good enough for me. Love his work.Needles

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Papergirl Project Open Call

Just got an email this morning about an amazingly cool project that has been going on for the past few years in Berlin. Papergirl distributes packages of art on the street once a year. Sort of like Adam Neate, but Papergirl is open to any artists who send in work, and the art is passed out by bike, sort of kids on a newspaper route. Each package contains a number of works by different artists, so each recipient gets a unique combination of artwork. Check out a video from last year’s Papergirl:

Summer is fast approaching, so the Papergirl team is once again looking for artists to send in work. Last year, a number of artists from across the world participated including Various & Gould and Cake.

Details and PR spiel after the jump…

Continue reading “Papergirl Project Open Call”

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It’s Showtime

The number of interesting shows is really starting to increase as it starts to get warmer. Here’s a number of shows around the world open or opening soon which look interesting:

Ron English

Art In Mind

BrokenHorse

RareKind Gallery

Poland (this show features Blu, Nunca, Os Gemeos and others)

Great Outdoors

  • Spring Fever at Kings County Bar in Brooklyn, New York. A group show curated by Andrew Michael Ford. Open now.
  • Nick Walker’s “A Sequence of Events” at Black Rat Press (speak of BRP, Part 2 of my Matt Small interview will be online as soon as my computer stops freezing when I try to upload it)
  • The always amazing José Parlá has a show in Hong Kong right now.
  • Lazarides will be reopening their main London gallery in a new location on Rathbone Place on May 15th. Lazarides Rathbone place will start out with another “Outsiders” show.

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Jaybo at Nancy Victor Gallery

Last night was the opening of Jaybo’s “The Pocket Show” at Nancy Victor Gallery. I couldn’t make it for the opening, but I stopped by this afternoon.

Jaybo

My friend Rachel and I had split views on the show. For me, although Jaybo is definitely a good painter, it just isn’t my kind of work. Rachel, on the other hand, really liked it. Overall, I’d say it’s a good show, just not for the typical street art fan.

Jaybo’s work is definitely different from what street art fans come to expect. So many of us are used to low-quality stencils, but Jaybo actually knows how to paint. Reminds me of Elbowtoe’s distortion of bodies, but painted.

Jaybo

Jaybo

The really cool work there has to be piece that Jaybo made out of painted match sticks.

Although it wasn’t really my sort of show, Jaybo is talented, and people who prefer a bit more of a painterly style than most street art should really enjoy it.

Photos from Remi

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Vandalog Visits New York

Last week I had the chance to spend 2 days in New York City. New York is where modern graffiti and street art originated (yes I am aware that Cornbread was from Philadelphia), so it was a trip I had been looking forward to for a while. I crammed as much art into my visit as a possibly could.

First, before getting to New York, I was in Baltimore for a day. While there, I had lunch with Gaia. One of the topics we spoke about, the perception of street art as a democratic process, turned into a post on his blog, and soon (probably after finals are over) I think I’ll be doing a similar post.

My first day in New York, I made sure to see a number of galleries. I’m sure I’ll forget to mention somewhere I visited, but here’s a summary.

First I went to the Jonathan LeVine Gallery for their Phil Frost show. I’m not the biggest fan of Phil Frost. I own one small piece by him, and I really like it, but for the most part, I just don’t get his work. I had never seen more than 2 or 3 pieces together at a time though, so I thought that maybe seeing an entire show would convert me to a fan. It did not. I’m still pretty indifferent to his work.

Next, I made a quick stop at the Doma Café and Gallery for a show by Erik Otto. I’d never heard of Otto, but it was recommended by Hooked. I was in a rush, so I only browsed the show quickly, but it was pretty impressive for artwork in a café, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for Otto in the future.

Naturally, Deitch Projects was a place I had to stop, and though I originally had little interest in Ryan McGinness’ show there, a few pieces definitely caught my eye.

After popping in at Glowlab and then seeing the amazing wall where the above video took place, I was headed to Williamsburg, the heart of NYC’s street art scene… Continue reading “Vandalog Visits New York”

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Faile Prayer Wheel in New York

Faile

This “prayer wheel” popped up recently in New York City. Don’t expect it to last long though, after all, its only made of wood.

Prayer Wheel

A number of these were in Faile’s fall show in London in 2008, and it’s great to see them on the street. If I remember correctly, the wheels are all hand carved and painted (though if that’s done by Faile or by some assistant they’ve hired who knows woodworking, I’m not sure).

Prayer Wheel

Photos by sabeth718