This Friday, Herakut will be having their first solo show in Germany. Somehow, these two talented artists have never had a solo show in their home country before this. The show will be in Düsseldorf at the new Galerie Springmann-Varol, which has just finished their first show (a kickass JR solo). Definitely something to check out if you’re in the area.
Okay, you’re thinking: What’s this about Ralph Lauren? Why does some mainstream fashion brand have their logo prominently displayed in a post on Vandalog? Well, turns out, Ralph Lauren/Polo Jeans Co. likes art, and they like street art. Art Stars is a project with 51 artists who have painted or sculpted their artwork onto a 3D star-shaped canvas made of denim. Some of the artists include James Jessop, Herakut, Case, Daniel Tagno, Delta, Bom K, Roa, Matt Small, L’Atlas and Alexone.
So here’s the Art Star press release:
Polo Jeans Co. is proud to present ART STARS, a showcase of work from 51 of Europe’s most recognized up and coming contemporary artists. Inspired by the iconic American Star Spangled Banner and synonymous with the Polo Jeans Co. brand, the artists will create 3D pieces on stars made from the finest American denim. These will be displayed in select Polo Jeans Co. stores in key cities across Europe before coming together in a public exhibition in London in late 2010.
Representing Polo Jeans Co.’s core branding values, each young artist will be challenged to customize a canvas into a three dimensional star using an assortment of unique materials in combination with their practice to create their designs, including a variation of denim, replicas of the American flag, dyes, collage, bleach and embroidery. Beyond the shapes and sizes of the ART STARS, artists are only limited by their own imaginations in transforming the star and denim into a work of art that symbolizes their vision inspired by Polo.
Contemporary art and fashion aficionados will have the opportunity to own one of these exclusive Art Stars. All the stars created will be brought together in a public exhibition in London in late 2010 and auctioned in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of young people with cancer between the ages of 13-24. Teenagers don’t stop being teenagers because they have cancer, which is why Teenage Cancer Trust builds specialist units in NHS hospitals, staffed by teenage cancer specialists. These units are designed for and by young people and aim to give teenage cancer patients the very best chance of a positive outcome whilst being as close as possible to normal life. State-of-the-art facilities keep patients occupied during long, and often grueling stays, whilst bringing teenagers with cancer together so they can support each other. Visit www.teenagecancertrust.org to find out more.
Photos courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Signor Sick and Karma are two Estonian street artists who paint huge and uniquely styled monsters. I’ve been enjoying their blog and I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.
Pedro Matos has a solo show opening on June 4th at the Montana Shop and Gallery in Lisbon. Should be interesting. Pedro’s piece for Art Stars really impressed me, so I can’t wait to see what he’s painted for this show.
The press release:
Montana Shop&Gallery Lisboa is proud to present Reality Show, a solo exhibition of new works by the Portuguese young artist Pedro Matos. The exhibition will feature a new series of oil, acrylic and aerosol paintings on canvas, as well as two site-specific gallery installations thought to make the connection between Pedro’s work both on the street and gallery.
Pedro has been developing a body of work focusing on his concerns about people and their values, about society and the human condition. Although aesthetically influenced by a mix of the old masters, the religious subject matter have been replaced by the portrayal of those who are downtrodden, unnoticed, unappreciated and forgotten. His work also shows a post-graffiti sense of beauty found in the decaying and abandoned surfaces and places. This same sense of beauty and aesthetics is also found in the subjects that Pedro chooses to portray.
Pedro started painting at the age of 16 (2006) completely self-thaught and began by showing his work in small local venues. Simultaneously, Pedro pasted up original charcoal drawings, first in the streets of Lisbon and then around Europe.
One of my favorite things about watching Exit Through The Gift Shop in Banksy’s pop-up cinema off of Leake Street was being able to once again see some of the animatronics from his Village Pet Store show. Here’s the video that came out of that encounter (it’s from Babelgum, so you may not see the video embedded if you are using certain RSS readers):
Miranda July’s sculptures were my 2nd favorite artworks at last year’s Venice Biennale. In fact, this is a picture of me with one of them:
It’s awesome to see that these sculptures will be on display in NYC. I will definitely be stopping by Union Square Park when I’m in town soon. These sculptures are well worth seeing. Even if it’s the same sculptures from Venice, I wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
If you do go and see these, bring a camera and post links to your photos in the comments.
This needed to happen, so I’m glad that someone has finally done it. All City is an iPhone app that maps out street art and graffiti for users based on their current location. Wandering through an unfamiliar city or part of town and want to check out the art? Just pull up All City on your phone and see what’s nearby. And of course, you can add to the global map yourself via your iPhone. I tried it out recently and I’m really impressed. So far, there aren’t many pieces that have been tagged in London, but it’s just a matter of time before All City becomes super-useful. In the mean time, it’s fun to upload images and contribute to the growing community.
The press release:
All City is your hand-held guide to street art from around the world. Easily tag and upload street art spots you find and discover new ones you haven’t seen yet. Check out artist bios and share your favorite artwork with friends. Quickly locate nearby galleries for inspiration and find art supplies for when it strikes. Put your scene on the map with All City for the iPhone.
Marcus White and Kayce Thompson-Russ started this project a year ago, backed by a passion for street art and a desire to connect street art communities across the world. Living in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the lively outer-borough mecca for street artists, inspiration for their project comes daily. More often than not, street art is something stumbled upon by chance and its presence, while exciting and visceral, is temporary. All City makes the best of these chance encounters and offers a simple, well-designed experience that allows every user to be a contributor, letting people locate and share street art from anywhere in the world. The wiki-based platform allows users to identify unknown artists, share, rate and comment on pieces and send alerts if a piece has been buffed. Whether you want to see art within a few blocks of your house or check out the newest, top-rated street art abroad, All City gives you instantaneous electronic and physical access to our constantly-updated, ever-evolving database. All City puts eyes on every street and generates the freshest selection of street art available.
Faile’s recent interview with Jake Dobkin for Gothamist made it sound like they were sticking to things like their Prayer Wheels for outdoor work, as it was different and lasts longer, but I guess that isn’t quite the case as Faile have put up a few stenciled pieces around NYC recently.
Photos by Luna Park
Tonight, I’m doing two things: lots of blogging and even more packing. Tomorrow morning, I’m headed to Barcelona. My friends and I are going to a music festival and then taking a road trip through Spain, France and Italy. It’s a holiday, so I won’t be on the internet very much. Until I get back in to London around June 13th, there may only be posts on Vandalog about every other day.
In March, Swoon, Matt Small, Mike Snelle and I spent about a week in Zambia, primarily working with the Shitima School. I’ve written about the experience before and Mike Snelle recently explained the trip to Arrested Motion in a much more eloquent fashion. Now, here’s a video about our time in Zambia:
