I made it over to Welling Court this afternoon — and was greeted by dozens of freshly-painted walls. Some shutters were closed and a few of the spaces were inaccessible, but there was still much to see and document. I also discovered some new artists.
For the second year, a diverse crew of dozens of first-rate street artists transformed several Queens blocks into an open-air gallery. Here is a selection of photos of artists at work captured yesterday by Lenny Collado, a recent college graduate who’s been documenting graffiti/street art alongside me. More to follow when I visit the site tomorrow:
Photos by Lenny Collado
Disasters is the theme of a collaged mural currently underway in the hallway of the FUSE Gallery in the East Village. 26-year-old Lorenzo Masnah has been collecting, enlarging and painting over and on newspaper and magazine images of global disasters, tragedies and human rights violations for years. His politically-infused work has been published in zines and books and exhibited in a variety of gallery and alternative setting in New York City, LA and in his native Bogota, where, along with Stinkfish, he is a founding member of the APC (Animal Planet Collective). Lorenzo’s newest work will be the subject of an exhibit at FUSE Gallery next year. In the meantime, this mural is definitely worth checking out – if you’re anywhere in the vicinity of 93 2nd Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets in NYC’s East Village.
Opening tonight from 6-9 at the Dorian Grey Gallery at 437 East 9th Street in NYC is the first solo exhibit of Ugly-Kid GUMO, a remarkable French graffiti artist. When I stopped by last night, I was awed by the range of work on exhibit – from collages crafted from found objects to text-infused murals — and the passion that it all exudes. Although the installation was still in progress, I had the chance to speak briefly to Ugly-Kid GUMO.
I love what you are doing. There is an elegant rawness to your work that I find both seductive and provocative. It seems that you want your viewers to think! Definitely. That is my main goal. I want people to look at my work, reflect on their actions and carefully consider their judgments. People need to think about the power they have to impact our children, the next generation. They must assess their role and some need to question their indifference.
Your work abounds with elements of graffiti. Yes, graffiti is my life.
When did you first get into graffiti? Back in ’97-’98, when I was in high school. I lived just outside of Paris and there was lots of graffiti in my neighborhood. I loved its energy and doing graffiti offered me a way to express myself – to affirm my individuality. The entire hip-hop culture inspired me.
Any favorite graffiti artists? Many…the Parisian graffiti crew Grim Team, Sharp, Crash and Seen are among my favorites.
Where are you based these days? I travel between Paris and NYC. When I’m in Paris, I tend to work in the streets. In NYC, I work from my studio. For the past two years, I’ve spent most of my time creating art in my NYC studio – many with plaster chips from Parisian walls! And so I’ve brought my streets here into my studio!
Have you any formal art education? Yes. I studied and graduated from ESAA (Ecole Superieure des Arts Appliques) in Duperré, Paris. After a brief careet in fashion design, I decided to devote my energies to creating artwork. I’ve also worked with children in various settings, using art as a tool to inspire their creativity and growth.
What do you see yourself doing in ten years? Painting and pursuing a career in fine arts.
Curated by Marianne Nems, “This is OZ, Nothing Makes Sense” continues through July 24. At tonight’s opening there will be a live performance “Mask” by guest artist, Bizard.
Photos by Lois Stavsky
Cekis had mentioned to me that he was painting up in the Bronx, and I expected to find him at work on a wall. But when we got up there today, he and Chilean graffiti muralist Dasic Fernandez were painting a bus. Dasic explained that the bus is one of about 35 that will be will be transporting food and medical supplies to Cuba. They will travel next to Canada and eventually be transferred to a boat in Mexico that will bring them to Havana.
Although I haven’t yet made it to New Zealand or Australia, they’ve come to me — thanks to 5Pointz, Long Island City’s graffiti Mecca. Last year, it introduced me to the masterful photorealistic murals created by New Zealand’s Owen Dippie and, more recently, to Australia’s Beastman’s wondrous geometric designs.
Opening tonight from 6:30 – 9:30 at the new FB Gallery at 368 Broadway is Zéh Palito’s solo exhibit, Love Peace Unicorns. As the title suggests, the exhibit brims with whimsical fancy. We stopped by last night as Brazilian native Zéh Palito (Danilo Ricardo Silva) was completing an indoor mural of playful, colorful geometric figures and forms. We spoke to him briefly:
When did you first start getting up in the streets? About 11 years ago. I was 14 and hanging around with my cousin who was quite a tagger. He and the movie Beat Street were my inspirations. At first, I was just into getting my name up in the style of the pixadores. It seemed like the thing to do.
Have you had any formal art education? When I was 12 years old, my mother enrolled me in a special public school, where I studied oil painting for two years. I continued to study fine arts and then graphic design as an undergraduate.
Do you feel that your formal education helped you develop as an artist – an artist whose preferred canvas is the streets? I would say, “Yes.” Certainly the people I met while I was studying art did. One of my closest friends is a former art teacher.
Why have you chosen the streets as your primary canvas? I love sharing my art with others. I feel depressed when I can’t, and I feel happy when I see people responding with smiles to my work.
Where do you most like to paint? I love painting on the countryside. People are friendlier and more appreciative.
Besides Brazil, where else have you painted? I’ve painted in Chile, Bolivia and Peru. I spent six months as a volunteer in Zambia and painted there. I’ve also had a solo exhibit in Santiago, Chile.
How do you feel about bringing your art into a gallery setting? I’d rather paint in a public space, but showing in a gallery allows me to do that.
If you could paint with anyone, with whom would you choose to collaborate? Remed…he’s one of my favorite artists.
What is your most memorable experience as a street artist? I’d say painting in an orphanage in Zambia. The experience has motivated me to become more involved with international NGO’s in the years ahead.
How do you feel about NYC? I love it. I plan to be here for at least a few weeks. I’m looking forward to finding some outdoor spaces and collaborating with some of the local artists.
Photos by Lois Stavsky
I’ve been waiting for awhile for a graffiti/street art anthology that features the work of two of my favorite artists: Native & ZenTwo. I’ve met up with them in Paris and have seen their work on city walls and on paper and on canvas in their working space in Belleville. I discovered ARABIC GRAFFITI (From Here to Fame Publishing, 2011) in MoMA’s bookshop yesterday, skimmed it, immediately read the section featuring Native and ZenTwo and just finished reading (not skimming!) the entire book. The astounding images generated by the fusion of Arabic calligraphy and Western graffiti first came to my attention via A1one’s tehranwalls.blogspot a number of years ago, and I’m disappointed that he, along with the other writers getting up in the streets of Tehran, are not included. I did, though, gain invaluable insights into the visuals and the rich social and political implications of the writings on the walls of such places as Bahrain, Beirut and Gaza.
All images courtesy From Here to Fame Publishing
Conceived and created by Mosstika, this giant wheat-grass Yeti has made its way to John and Adams in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) Bklyn.
Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Queens native KR.ONE was hitting NYC’s subway trains, busses, walls and school yards. He was recently featured, in fact, in Roger Gastman & Caleb Neelon’s The History of American Graffiti. These days he’s bringing his old skool graffiti flavor to canvases, papers, model trains, metal surfaces and more. An array of his recent works are on exhibit at Long Island City’s L.I.C.K Gallery at 45-03 Broadway. The work will remain up through the end of August. Here’s a sample:
Photos by Lois Stavsky
