Sorry for the short notice, but Troy Lovegates aka Other has a solo show opening in Copenhagen this Friday the 24th at MOHS exhibit. Shallow Lake opens on May 24th and runs through June 29th. Definitely check it out. Lovegates is one of my favorite painters, indoors and outdoors. He has such a way of capturing people.
In addition to the show inside the gallery, Lovegates painted this mural on the outside of the space:
Photos courtesy of Troy Lovegates
Sofia Maldonado has quite a presence in NYC these days. Her work can currently be seen in the exhibit Against the Grain at the Museum of Arts and Design on Columbus Circle, at Magnan Metz Gallery in Chelsea and on East First Street in collaboration with Ray Smith and Cre8tive YouTH*ink for Centrefuge Public Art Project.
And tomorrow, May 23, Magnan Metz is hosting a benefit cocktail to support the wonderful work that Sofia and other artists are doing with the young members of Cre8tive YouTH*ink.
Hyuro is currently at work in Copenhagen painting a massive (271-meter long) mural. I really want to drive along this road once the piece is done. She also has a solo show, In/Between, of 17 drawings opening in a few days at ArtRebels (Nørre Voldgade 18) in Copenhagen. In/Between opens on Friday the 24th from 5-8pm and runs through June 15th.
About the mural, Hyuro says:
“In the battle of opposites, nobody wins and nobody loses. It’s just a cycle, just another one. A deer runs and disappears in the trees, the forest devouring it in its branches. You can’t win the race against time. The night will come first and bring its darkness, but Copenhagen can sleep peacefully. The sun will rise again in the morning and the deer will continue along his way. Nature takes its course. Nature meets city meets nature; chaos meets order meets chaos; night meets day meets night.”
Check out more more pictures of the mural in progress and a preview of the show after the jump… Continue reading “Hyuro at work on her 271 meter long wall in Copenhagen”
2501 has his first LA solo show opening later this month at Soze Gallery in Los Angeles. 2501 has very quickly become a must-have artist on the global mural festival circuit, and so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of new work from him this summer, but his indoor work is equally breathtaking. The show, See you on the other side, opens DATE. Soze Gallery will follow up 2501’s show with a solo show from his friend Pixelpancho in June.
2501 also sent me this text to serve as an introduction to the show. It is written from the perspective of Gargamella, the villain from The Smurfs:
How many lines (circles) (shapes) did I paint (draw), altogether?
The question seems plain. Indeed, actual numbers are often given. But they disagree and – other than variants of “many”- most of them are meaningless because they give equal weight to flea-rabbit and horse-elephant.
The circle shape (form) and its content (lines or void or macchie) discourage the search for a single numerical answer.
With minimal aesthetic of the monotone use of color (variations of black and white with glance of gold and fluo steam) 2.501 questions the deeper meaning of a propensity toward abstraction and toward infinity.
Playing hide and seek with lines and into circles, 2501 creates a vast moving image pervaded by dialectic between seriality –(reality) and disruption, between repetition and variation. (Roughness and smoothness)
Lines highlight the dynamics of graphic influences trough a constant evocative crescendo of juxtaposing and layering; video, tools, images and sounds trace a living path that weaves between explosions and silence, devastation and contemplation, (rise and fall).
Acting as a portal to somewhere else and as a threshold to the exhibition, the circles reveal a process of hidden connections and cuts, became a bridge without linear shape through which the comprehension of the ways of seeing are challenged. Evolving (animated) surface suggest vertiginous ways of experiencing / seeing/ visualizing, according to the point of view that sight is continually active, continually moving, continually holding things in a circle around itself, constituting what is present to people as they are.
How many circle (lines) (shape) will I paint (draw), altogether? I don’t know but I keep looking for (looking at- we only see what we look at) an infinite (we never look at just one thing) numerical answer. Because the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. And the aim has been to start a process of questioning.
(to look is an act of choice and a process)
Photo courtesy of 2501
Pipe Dreams marks not only Sheryo and the Yok’s first exhibition together in the United States, but also a departure from what viewers have come to expect from the duo. As of late, the artists have been defined by their use of a red, black, and white palette to portray unique vision of reality. However, don’t be concerned that these changes mean that the work is missing the cartoonish, pop imagery seen in past pieces. The pizza, drugs, and other wild things are still present, just reimagined.
During their travels to through South East Asia, from Sheryo’s native Singapore to Vietnam, the artists began to infuse their work with the surrounding culture. Now, geishas and dragons have become central characters alongside smoking pizzas and skateboards. While visiting Vietnam, the artists took advantage of the opportunity to begin painting pottery, starting with vases and later expanding in the States to plates. Initially, the work appears a light air blue, mimicking the smoke emanating from elongated cigarette holders. After three coats, the plates begin to don the cobalt blue associated with Eastern ceramics.
Beyond these surface appearances, this influence extends to deeper meanings, including numerology. During the studio visit, patterns of 4 (4, 8, 12) began to emerge within the bodies of work, however intentional or not. Sheryo was quick to speak about the auspicious meanings of the numbers 4 and 8 in Chinese, representing wealth and death respectively. Other coded beliefs trace their way through the different media in the exhibition, including the Illuminati. The all-seeing-eye positioned atop a pyramid has become a widely recognized symbol for the alleged secret society. Through these allegorical codes, an air of mysticism is hidden within their playful cartoons. Continue reading “Pipe Dreams: Coded Meanings and Cartoons”
LA’s Thinkspace Gallery was just in Philadelphia guest-curating a show at Gallery 309. Looks like the opening was absolutely packed, and with good reason. The show, LAX/PHL, includes installation from NoseGo and work by La Pandilla, Pixelpancho and many more. It’s open now through June 21st. I can’t wait to stop by myself as soon as I finish my exams.
Photos by Daniel Weintraub
Happy weekend. Hope you’ve had a less busy week than me.
Photo by Unusualimage
A manic excitement came from Hellbent as he opened the door to his studio, his first visit in nearly two weeks. Strands of tape wafted in the breeze created as the artist circled the narrow room. The lace-patterned strips dangle, waiting for their newly reimagined purpose, as a part of the Mix Tape series. Leftover from masking his other series, cleverly titled Demos, this formerly discarded tool becomes repurposed. These two bodies of work combine to form Mighty Tanaka’s upcoming exhibition, Even Romantics Love Violence, opening tonight from 6pm – 9pm.
Hellbent continues tracing his way around the periphery of his space, as if following a track, and sharing his inspiration along the path. In the same breath, I am told about David Wojnarowicz stenciling through the 80’s before being launched into a discussion about graffuturism and post-graffiti art. With an education in art history, Hellbent rattles off influences with the intensity of someone who devours the visual culture in which they are surrounded. This excitement for art animates the room, bringing dimensionality to the flat plains in his panels.
The exuberance that Hellbent exhibits in his studio weaves itself though the neons and lace that connote his style. Once the backdrop for characters, his patterns have come to the foreground in the past year, most notably in the artist’s largest wall to date, a collaboration with See One in Bushwick. Here, the delicate details that were once behind bold graphics, such as Freud’s jawbone, now stand alone adjacent to See One’s shards, which dance lightly across the surface. Even Romantics Love Violence marks an several important transitions in Hellbent’s evolution; while the artist’s geometric interpretation has appeared in the public sphere in multiple locations, Mighty Tanaka is the first to give this work a solo exhibition.
The second shift in the artist’s body of work comes through the repurposing of masking tape, where patterns emerge from the overspray found used to mask his lace stencils. Using liquid glass, board, and tape, the Mix Tape series becomes a tongue-in-cheek poke at these materials. Just as the artist consumes the visual history with which he is surrounded, each part of his process has been utilized for these series. Through his varied means of creation, the two play off of one another as the light pieces of tape become encased between layers of board and glass. In contrast, the Demos sufrace remain untouched, thus retaining the delicate texture of lace.
The energy comes to a close with the studio visit as the florescent layers of tape, glass, and wood are stacked together. The pieces are placed on a shelf and the light is turned off.
For many artists, their work is a manifestation of themselves, be it politically engaging, thoughtful, or comedic. In the case of Hellbent, the care taken to thoughtfully plan out the arrangement of lace combined with the energy of neon spray paint speaks to these sensibilities.
Even Romantics Love Violence opens Friday, May 10th, from 6pm – 9pm at Mighty Tanaka (111 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY).
Photos by Rhiannon Platt
Colin M. Day made this video at Roa’s recent show in Brussels, Belgium. It’s not your typical show teaser or post-show wrap up video. Dolin is doing his own thing with what he is passionate about. And I guess I’m not the only one who thinks so, because Brussels TV did a piece about Colin filming Roa. It’s a great little insight into the mind of an art fan. If you’ve ever wondered why people like Colin do what they do or people like me run blogs in our spare time, this should give you some idea:
