Stephanie is a recent graduate of the George Washington University where she studied journalism and communication and the Sotheby's Institute of Art in London where she earned her Master's Degree in Contemporary Arts. Hailing from the Jersey shore (unfortunately), Stephanie became introduced to street art while studying abroad in London in late 2009. Abandoning her career path in music pr and management, she began to delve into the world of urban art and began reading as many contemporary art books she could get her hands on before graduation. When she does manage to pull her nose out of art books, Stephanie likes to bike, watch old Hitchcock films, and cook a mean mushroom risotto. Some of her favorite artists include Miss Van, Keith Haring, Luke Chueh, Yoshitomo Nara and David LaChapelle.
Here is an overview of one of the most interesting exhibits at SCOPE Basel in Switzerland. Presented by the Joshua Liner Gallery, Kris Kuksi displayed some of his best work to date. With an incredibly meticulous attention to detail, Kuksi’s lifelike miniature sculpture scenes are realistic portrayals of grandeur odes to history. No matter how long one views this masterpieces, one will still miss out on minute details of the skilled craftsmanship. Below are some of the photos of the pieces, but click here to see magnified views of the works.
Colonel Wilhelm Von HowitzerheadPluto and PersephoneEros at Play
I always get excited when Pure Evil decides to display new work his Shoreditch Gallery. One of my favorite street artists, Pure Evil takes a new direction with his latest series of works entitled “Strange Girls.” Reflecting a fascination with the female facial structure, the artist painted several emulsions of interesting ladies of the past and present including Daisy Lowe, Bridget Bardot, and Sylvette David (a muse for Picasso).
In the vein of Sebastian Peiter’s highly recommended street art bookGuerilla Art, Babelgum posted his 60 minute documentary (included with the book) encompassing the beginnings of street to the current trend of commercialism in the asset market. Featuring countless high profile names in the game, Guerilla Art takes a look at the current place street artists have in the elite world of art today and where the genre is headed in the near future.
The description on Babelgum is a more adroit one than I will write, so I am going to post theirs instead:
A new generation of street artists are the latest hot property of art collectors and advertising brands. Featuring Futura 2000, Rammellzee, Banksy, Os Gemeos, Space Invader, Barnstormers, Espo, WK Interact, Zevs, Blek Le Rat, André, Noki, Miss Van and Eine. Filmed in New York, London, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo the documentary introduces the graffiti-inspired street art pioneers Futura, Rammellzee and Blek Le Rat. Art patron Agnés B and art curator Jerome Sans comment on the early days of Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat, when graffiti changed the streets of New York and the urban landscapes of the rest of the world. The film portrays a new generation of street artists led by UK stencil artist Banksy, whose artworks achieve record prices at auction houses like Sotheby’s and who is collected by Damien Hirst and celebrities Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt. Other new street art styles featured are the mosaic tile wall images of Invader, the lyrical folklore inspired murals by Brazilian twins Os Gemeos and the “Visual Kidnappings” of advertising billboards by Parisian artist Zevs. GUERILLA ART reveals how street artists have developed a unique system of economic survival. Their works are bought by young peers and new collectors. Street artist collective “Pictures on Wall” sells limited-edition prints online and organises the Santa’s Ghetto art sale, filmed right in the centre of London’s shopping district. Once street artists have made a name for themselves, they run their own clothing labels or design special lines for streetwear companies. Futura creates record covers and logos for youth brands. Parisian artist André is a typical cultural entrepreneur running an art store, working on designer toy lines as well as opening clubs in Paris and other cities. Noki creates one-off anti-couture fashion pieces using street art techniques. Rammellzee performs a mythology of his own Gods in clubs and gallery spaces. “Over the last few years street art has established itself as an art form. But where can this street-based movement go from here, after works by Banksy have been boarded up, chiselled off the walls, to be sold on eBay for money far exceeding the gallery prices?” Tim Marlow – White Cube Gallery Curator.
Click here to watch the film and feel free to post your reviews in the comments
Surely one of the most talked about exhibits going on currently is KAWS at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut. As a fellow New Jerseyian, I feel it is my duty, nay my privilege, to hail from the same state as such an incredible street turned gallery artist. Made famous for his defacement of bus shelter advertisements back in the day (thanks to Barry McGee who gave him the key to the locks), KAWS continually reinvents his art taking it one step further with each new endeavor. What truly amazes me is that his aesthetic hardly changes, and KAWS’ logo/monster/creature-like-thing is still his work’s trademark embedded into nearly every piece.
Even though one might deem that KAWS’ work is out of place in a white walls museum stiff setting, the pieces are so loud and speak individually, that the white walls are a nonfactor in this instance. I especially enjoy the fusion of his colorful character and celebrity or model portraiture. The pieces are comical, yet strangely sadistic, in the sense that KAWS’ creatures own the subject and are not just a form of vandalism; rather, they belong in the picture. In some odd welding of pop, street, urban, and collage art, KAWS’ new works seem right at home on these walls, and I would be hardly surprised if they do not begin to appear in galleries or modern art museum collections more often.
The exhibit also boasts many of his more affordable collaborations like shoes, skateboards, etc. KAWS’s style just goes to show everyone that his work truly is relatable to and for the public, even in museum space. So if anybody wants to buy me one of the skate decks, I definitely would not decline such a gift.
Oh, and the music is a bit cheesy. You might want to turn it on mute. Or play a little Bruce in Kaws’ honor.
I came across this fantastic video that features an overview of Herakut’s work at the current “Happy Doubt Day” exhibit in Dusseldorf, Germany at Springmann Varol. The video features great animation of the paintings as well as pictures from what i presume to be opening night. Enjoy.
Since graduating college a few months ago, I have been forced to find other ways to pregame on the weekends other than a recurring bad romance with Natural Light and terrible displays of beirut. Now that I am an official adult, going to art openings to see some fantastic art and gulping down the free beer is a pretty appealing alternative. I always look forward to the shows in the Summer time because so many people go to galleries on opening night (for the booze) that the shows seem to be featuring their highest caliber artists. Or maybe I just think so because I am five feet tall and feeling woozy after a beer.
On July 1st, Stolenspace in London will be opening their Summer group show featuring some of the biggest names in the game. When I hear “group show,” my mind jumps to art school end of the year culminations that exhibit an eclectic array of amateur art. This show, however, is too cool for school. Shepard Fairey, Wordtomother, D*Face, Kid Acne, Mr. Jago, Cyclops will have works hanging alongside artists (Miss Van, The London Police, and Chloe Early) who had solo shows at the gallery this past year.
Sadly, I still will not be in London until mid-August and will miss the entire show. I swear some higher power does not want me to see Miss Van’s art in person. Sigh
After the two previous highly successful shows featuring David Choe and Eurotrash (Conor Harrington, JR, Antony Micalleff, and VHILS), Lazarides LA announced that the third featured exhibit at their U.S. gallery will be collage artist, Jonathan Yeo. Known for his pornographic collage celebrity icons, Yeo reflects the out-of-the-box creative approach by the Lazarides team. The show begins July 9th, but for those deemed worthy enough to be invited before the public, the private viewing is July 8th.
I do find this choice, however, to be a surprising one. Yeo has rather large shoes to fill following the likes of Choe, Harrington, and JR who displayed some of their best work to date at these shows and in the greater Los Angeles area. Yeo’s work is not as well known as the others (most likely because of his lack of street presence) and is not priced nearly as high. I think this third show should have been a representative culmination of the Lazarides team, such as the internationally recognized Paul Insect. A dream show would have been Invader in LA. Invader has not shown since the early Fall, so I think it is about time to get the ball rolling, especially in the States. Imagine the coveted street art that the U.S. would get to see. That would definitely get us bloggers talking/searching/discussing/etc.
Oh well, now I get to see some boobs and vaginas cut and pasted from a financially failing Playboy magazine arranged to look like golfer/manwhore Tiger Woods. Yeo should have used pictures from the 157 cocktail waitresses/escorts/reality TV stars Woods’ slept with instead. Now, that would be impressive.
What celebrity or famous work do you think Yeo should attempt for this show?
I really do not advocate artists tagging over others’ work usually (unless it is absolute shit/Waterloo Tunnel/or the artist does it himself), but in this case I applaud TrustoCorp for doing what other artists have wanted to for awhile: vandalize MBW’s street art. Granted the guy is a joke, and his portrayal in Exit Through the Gift Shop did not exactly help to improve his credibility in the art world. TrustoCorps’s work is a physical manifestation of the discussion around Mr.Brainwash and his so called “art” so I smiled when I woke up this morning and saw these pictures. I especially liked the use of the phrase “Locals Only” which harkens back to summer memories of New Yorkers invading my beach on the Jersey Coast. Go away MBW and stop putting up street art. I would rather see a 14-year-old bombing for the first time paint on a wall then see your post modern Warhol wannabe stencils on the streets. And while I’m ranting, Dear Bennies, please stay off the Jersey beaches. Love Stephanie.
Here are some of the pictures from TrustocCorp’s Flickr. You can see the rest from his destructive spree here
Last night, Gaia’s “The Urban Romantic” show opened at Irvine Contemporary in Washington, DC. The artist drew a pretty decent crowd to the exhibit’s first night, as hipsters, art lovers, and curious residents descended upon the gallery. While the bulk of the work featured Gaia’s usual black and white intricate aesthetic of mythical anthropomorphic creatures, the following pieces really stood out among the works.
I especially like the oil paintings that demonstrate an even more mature side of the young artist.
Behind the gallery, Gaia left his mark with two large scale pieces that are great additions to the Irvine outdoor collection.
