Mausolee is the latest street art/urban exploring combo project to emerge. Like The Underbelly Project or The Ghostvillage Project, Mausolee is the takeover of an abandoned space by graffiti art. Mausolee was put together in an abandoned supermarket outside of Paris by Sowat (of the DMV crew) and Lek, who found the last in the summer of 2011 and have since taken 40 artists to paint there.
This week, Sowat and Lek will be unveiling (through documentation) the space this week in Paris from April 12th-14th.
Later this month, Roa will have a 2-location solo show with London’s Stolenspace Gallery. The name of the show, Hypnagogia, comes from the state between being awake and falling asleep. In addition to Stolenspace’s usual location, a second part of the show will be at The Stone Masons (17 Osborne Street, London E1 6TD). Hypnagogia runs from April 20th through May 6th. It will also function as the UK launch event for Roa’s first book.
First volume of Label 228, published by Soft Skull Press, 2009
The priority mail label, Label 228, has become the canvas of choice for thousands of artists and sticker heads. When I was down in Washington DC last month, I met up with Camden Noir, an artist with a passion for postal sticker art. A few years back, Camden put out a call for artwork fashioned on priority mail labels. The result was the book LABEL 228: A Street Art Project, one of my all-time favorite collections of sticker art. Camden is at it, once again, seeking original artwork on priority mail labels for a second volume of his book. Submissions can be sent to: Label 228 Project, 56 Miller Street, Cortland, NY 13045.
Hand-crafted postal by Camden NoirSome of DC's finest street/sticker artists: Astrotwitch, IWN iwillnot, Aniekan Udofa and Camden Noir
Images courtesy of Camden Noir; photo by Lois Stavsky with IWN iwillnot
That was a long week. But at least it was a fun one too. For one thing, Jill Cohen was in town for a show at my university. Definitely have a look at her drawings. That’s some crazy skill. Here’s the art news I’ve been reading:
Shepard Fairey’s latest print is called Eat The Rich. I hate to be the one to call him out on this one since many will understandably perceive it as hypocritical of me, but can a millionaire artist really legitimately make that statement? I know he is a hard-working guy who has been at this for decades, but then the proper time for that rhetoric was 20 years ago. Not when his art sells for hundreds of thousands to millionaires and his overpriced t-shirts are found in the fanciest clothing stores. Plus, the man is a committed and unashamed capitalist. Thoughts? Maybe he is just using the phrase as an example of a culture he is interested in, rather than as part of an intended propaganda poster?
Anthony Lister had an extremely well received show earlier this year at New Image Art in LA. Here’s a little look at how it came together along with an interview with Lister. I always love to hear what Lister has to say, because he seems like a smart guy who knows a bit more about art in general, his own work and just about anything else than your average artist.
There’s something about this poster by Brian Barrios that I absolutely love, but I can’t quite figure out out. The placement isn’t some impossible spot, but rather somewhere where the piece would look at home. The drawing skill is not noticeably better or worse than Barrios’ previous work, but the subject is captured perfectly. The style isn’t something that hasn’t been done before, but it still looks fresh to me. I dunno exactly why, but I love this poster. I just wish I wouldn’t have to go all the way to the Philippines to see it in the flesh.
Malarky x Pez in London (and spot the Mr. Penfold). Photo by HookedBlog
I have always been a fan of colourful character based street art. For me personally, there is only so much of the polar opposite, stencil art, I can take before I find it all merges into one large mess of overlapping ideas and style. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the use of stencils on the street, and there are a few artists that I really appreciate, Mobstr for one. But I rather enjoy seeing streets of brightly painted walls and shutters with a variety of characters and shapes popping out at me.
HUH? by Mobstr. Photo by HookedBlog
There seems to be a steady increase in the amount of artists painting in this style, one in which I feel the Burning Candy Crew recently promoted in the UK, but has been pushed by a variety of other artists including Malarky, Lucas, Ronzo, Billy, Sweet Toof, Paul Insect, Vinnie Nylon, and Mr. Penfold, among others.
My enjoyment of character based street art has been stirred this week by Pez, painting some nice pieces in the run up to his show at Tony’s Gallery, but also through Mr. Penfold’s exploits in Birmingham. I hope you enjoy them all as much I as do.
Pez in London. Photo by HookedBlog.Mr. Penfold x Tempo 33 in Birmingham. Photo by Mr. PenfoldMr. Penfold in Birmingham. Photo by Mr Penfold
This weekend Needles & Pens in San Fransisco has what looks to be a particularly cool group show opening. Everything Ever & Nothing Never, curated by Austin McManus, includes work by Read More Books, Deuce 7 and many others. The show opens this Saturday from 7-9pm and runs through May 27th. Seeing work made for indoors by either Read More Books or Deuce 7 isn’t too common, so seeing the art of these two very talented artists together in the same show is a rare opportunity. Don’t miss this one. Check out our exclusive preview of Everything Ever & Nothing Never after the jump…
By this weekend, the G40 Art Summit will have brought 19 new murals to Richmond, Virginia. This year’s version of Art Whino‘s annual event includes 19 new walls by muralists from around the world and an indoor group exhibition with over 500 artists across 6 locations. You can go here for more about the indoor show, which opens this evening. Once all the murals are done, you can expect a massive post here on Vandalog with photos of a lot of them. Artists painting murals include Aryz, Gaia, Jaz and Roa. For now, here are two videos of walls in-progress:
