Category: Gallery/Museum Shows

Posted on

Herakut Suprise Show

SlamXHype has the scoop on Herakut’s surprise show in New York City. It opens tomorrow at RegFlagg.

Herakut Teaser

From SlamXHype:

“NO PLACEBOS”

Opening: 21st May 2009, 6 – 8 pm.

May 21st – June 3rd 2009

Red Flagg

638 West 28th Street

New York, New York 10001

Here is the press release:

RedFlagg is pleased to present the New York debut exhibition of Herakut, the highly-acclaimed German collective comprised of Hera and Akut. The exhibition, entitled No Placebos, will open with a reception on Thursday, May 21st from 6-8pm and continue through July 3rd, 2009. This show will feature several paintings on a variety of media, all combining the two artist’s starkly different techniques. Hera’s emotional figures and silhouettes are extemporaneously created using spray cans, brushes, her hands, etc., while Akut’s hyper-realistic paintings of animals, flesh and facial features are rendered using only a spray can. This exhibition follows successful solo shows at Campbarbossa, London, The Leonard Street Gallery, London, and the Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles. Copies of the recently published Herakut monograph The Perfect Merge will be available at RedFlagg.

Posted on

Rowdy Solo Show

Rowdy

Rowdy has a solo show coming up at Sartorial Contemporary Art on June 4th. I’m curious, but aprehensive. I’ve enjoyed his canvases and his street work, which are completely different, but I’m not sure what I’ve seen could fill a solo show.

Here’s the press release:

In his first major London solo show the King of Crocs showcases his diverse talent at Sartorial Contemporary Art. Expect to see Rowdy’s unique take on urban living and landscape in the form of his legendary boulders, abstract cityscapes and of course the ubiquitous crocs.

Bricks and mortar may mean money and mortgages to some but Rowdy prefers his building blocks in their raw state. ‘The local quarry provides the bedrock for our roads and cities’ says the artist. ‘I hit the rocks before they reach their destiny of becoming our new urban spaces’. Simultaneously caveman-esque and contemporary, the cartoon monoliths have been described as ‘Ren & Stimpy meets Goldsworthy’. Their arrival in the urban landscape provides jarring juxtaposition.

His Cityscape paintings show Skyscrapers constructed out of the tiniest marks a spray can can make, reminiscent of T.S Lowry’s ‘matchstick men’, combined with 1980’s graffiti fades. Some are hectic, others more meditative. Highly sought after, this accomplished series offers nuances and subtleties both in style and substance, often somewhat lacking in today’s saturated street art market.

Continuing the narrative of City versus The Ancient; Rowdy’s trademark crocodiles are often huge in scale and are indicative of the playful nature of the imagery in his work, and long may we continue to see these King-sized crocs attacking our walls and lurking in the concrete swamps. The last few years have seen him collaborate with cohorts Cyclops & Sweet Toof resulting in one of the most widespread bombing campaigns seen in the UK’s capital in the last decade.

‘Don’t be taken in by his welcome grin, he’s imagining how well you’d fit within his skin…’

Posted on

Nick Walker book launch @ BRP

Sequence of Events Cover

“A Sequence of Events” is Nick Walker’s new book, due to be released this spring, and in conjunction with the book, Walker has a solo show at Black Rat Press.

The show, also called “A Sequence of Events” opens May 28th, and there will be 2 screenprints released on that night.

They’ll kill me for saying this, but start lining up outside of BRP soon, and bring tents. Camping out overnight may be the only way to guarantee your chance at one of Walker’s highly-in-demand screenprints.

Posted on

New Lazarides Rathbone Place Gallery

Lazarides

It’s finally open. The new space for The Lazarides Gallery at Rathbone Place in London opened last Thursday for their latest group show called “Grow Up.” I went to, and tweeted, the opening, but I’ve waited to do a proper post on the show because it took until today for me to get back when it wasn’t so crowded.

As usual, Lazarides puts on a good show. Even though they seem to have lost their #1 star, Lazarides reminds us that it wasn’t just The Banksy Show over in SoHo. Vhils, JR, Faile, and many others are doing great work there too.

Two giant pieces by Vhils are impressive and I definitely enjoyed them, but almost too big to fully appreciate. You get close enough admire the craftsmanship, and you lose the image, you get far enough away, and the image is clear but simplistic. Hopefully his upcoming solo show (July I think?) will have a range of sizes.

Vhils

As always, the work from JR was absolutely gorgeous. I can’t say enough good things about the best photographer street artist. There was even one piece from his recent trip to Africa where he pasted his work into trains.

JR

This piece is probably old, but it’s a nice Faile and a bit different:

Faile

Of course, there was plenty more interesting work from artists like Invader and David Choe (among others), but one worth mentioning in particular is Charlie Isoe. Isoe is the newest artist as Lazarides. All I know is that he’s from Australia and paints very well. This portrait of Marilyn was my favorite. Yes, his work is a bit like a combination of Anthony Lister and Antony Micallef, but umm… okay let’s just ignore that bit for now.

Charlie Isoe

While I enjoyed “Grow Up,” I’m just glad to see Lazarides finally in a space fitting of the gallery’s importance, and I look forward to the solo shows they have lined up for later in the year.

Photos by WallKandy/Ian Cox

Posted on

Whole in The Wall

Update: turns out, the work from Banksy in this show is secondary market and not direct from Banksy. Still, looks to be an interesting show.

Looks like New York’s first must-see show of the year has been announced. I don’t have much to add about Whole in The Wall with Helenbeck Gallery other than to ask “Where else can you see brand new work from Banksy, Blek le Rat, and early graffiti writers in the same place?” Just read the press release and let me know if you don’t love it.

May 29 to June 27, 2009:

“Whole In The Wall: 1970 – Now”
Largest U.S. Street Art Exhibition Debuts in NYC
_______________________________________

Masters from the 1970s NYC graf movement (Blade, Crash, Daze, Jonone, Quik, Lee Quinones,  Rammellzee, Sharp) and European art stars (Victor Ash, Banksy, Blek le Rat, Ikon, Sozyone, Plateus) are among 19 painters, sculptors and photographers who’ve been working non-stop the last six months on new pieces for “Whole In The Wall: 1970 – Now”. It’s an unprecedented, museum-quality, 150-piece exploration of street art’s ongoing transition to, yes, fine art.

It’s not just the scale of the show that’s important. It’s presented in a lavish style only Europeans could pull off — with 17th Century antiques. This juxtaposition of authentic Luis XVI/XV furniture and crystal chandeliers in a two-story, 25,000-sf space on Manhattan’s industrial West Side puts the artists and their work in a setting Paris gallerists Chantal and Brigitte Helenbeck (Helenbeck Gallery) believe is simply . . . approprié.

The fun-loving, art-loving sisters — identical twins no less — staged a similar show in Paris in November, in which ALL pieces sold, explaining why their artists have been so hard at work). Well aware that NYC street artists command more major museum shows and higher prices in Europe galleries, the Helenbeck’s hope their dramatic presentation will inspire an elevated view of the genre in the city where it was born.

Legendary NYC graf photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant will also feature works, including a new, 40-foot Cooper mural. This show also marks the 25th anniversary re-release of Cooper and Chalfant’s groundbreaking photo book of NYC transit masterpieces, “Subway Art.” (Be on the look-out for updates, including previews of new works and video interviews, including exclusive clips with Cooper, Chalfant and other artists from this show.)

Friday, May 29 to Saturday, June 27
Open 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesdays through Saturdays
529-535 W. 35th St. @ 11th Ave. (former Splashlight Studio)

Posted on

Street/Studio at Irvine Contemporary

Street Studio

What do you get when you put Swoon, Gaia, Dalek, Shepard Fairey, Imminent Disaster, Oliver Vernon, PISA73 and EVOL all in one show? I’m not sure, but it sounds like a recipe for awesome. And that’s just what Irvine Contemporary are doing in DC next month. And remember, Swoon is involved, so it’s not going to be your plain old group show. The show, called Street/Studio, is going to have a gallery component and an outdoor bit as well where the artists cover the alleyways near Irvine Contemporary. Can’t wait to see photos from this show. The only artists I’m doubtful about are Oliver Vernon and PISA73, but hopefully they make it work.

And don’t miss the panel discussion at American University on June 19th with the artists and the curator of Shepard Fairey’s show at the Boston ICA. Hopefully there will be video for those of us who can’t be there.

The press stuff after the jump: Continue reading “Street/Studio at Irvine Contemporary”

Posted on

Painting with the kids

No idea how this is going to turn out, but it sounds like an awesome concept. The Brooklynite Gallery‘s latest show, “By Any Means Necessary”, will feature artistic collaborations between children and established street artists. The artists are: Sickboy, Pure Evil, Ludo, Miss Bugs, Dain, Peru Ana Ana Peru, and Joe Black.

Brooklynite

Posted on

Carmichael Gallery’s Alëxone Show

Looks like I’m a few days late on this one, but better late than never.

French street artist Alëxone is this month’s showcase artist at the Carmichael Gallery.

Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art is proud to present a showcase of new
work by Paris-based artist Alëxone.  An opening reception will be held on
Thursday, May 7th, 2009 from 7.00pm – 10.00pm, at which a new series of
acrylic, ink and mixed media works on paper will be on display. The
exhibition will be open for viewing through Thursday, May 28th 2009 from
1.00pm -7.00pm.
About Alëxone:

Born in 1976, Alëxone lives and works in Paris. With a background in
graffiti, he rose to fame in the early 90s with striking letter-based tags
of the moniker Oedipus on the streets of Paris. He became Alëxone in 2000,
when his artwork took a figurative turn.  Since then, his distinctive work
has won him a reputation far beyond France with exhibitions all over Europe,
including Paris, Hamburg, Milan, Berlin, London, Amsterdam and Brussels.

Alëxone’s universe is filled with eccentric, playful characters.  Masked
penguins, contorted horses, and hairy men with long noses engage and
entertain in wild, colorful scenes, while wordplay and metaphor create a
dynamic dialogue between the work and the viewer.

Alëxone regularly collaborates with other street artists, including members
of the GM and 9e Concept groups.  Their exhibition at the Pompidou Centre
last January was the first time street artists have been featured in a
significant French museum.

Alexone

I’m not too familiar with his work, but he was in Le Tag and I’ve found a couple cool pieces on flickr (after the jump): Continue reading “Carmichael Gallery’s Alëxone Show”

Posted on

FAME Festival 2009 Line-up

Last year’s FAME Festival by Studiocromie was probably Italy’s street art event of the year, and on September 19th it will be back again with an equally impressive group of artists.

Fame 2009

Last year, the artists did some amazing work on the street (like this JR piece below), so hopefully that trend coninues.

Photo by urbanpainting.info
Photo by urbanpainting.info

If I were putting together a street art festival, this is pretty close to my dream line up. To name just a few of the highlights, Erica La Cane did very impressive work on the street at FAME last year, SAM3 and Blu always impress me with their unique styles, Mark Jenkins is one of the top artists when it comes to disruptive realism, and Vhils and Judith Supine are just plain awesome.

I’m looking into flights to Italy for this September.