Erica il Cane show and murals in Ghent

Erica il Cane recently painted three sides of an artists’ studio space, Het vogelnest vzw, in the Belgian city of Ghent. He will also be showing his work inside the space on the 19th-20th of May and there is a “street art night” on the 19th with lectures by Sarah Rombouts, Peter Bosschaert, Harlan Levey and Javier Abarca, and a screening of Exit Through the Gift Shop. For more info on those events, check out the studio’s website. You can see all Erica il Cane’s murals after the jump… Continue reading “Erica il Cane show and murals in Ghent”

Kenji Nakayama’s Stylish Stencil Paintings @ Woodward Gallery

Concrete Jungle

I met Kenji Nakayama a number of years back in Boston when his stencils began surfacing on the streets of Cambridge and in local galleries and motley spaces. I loved Kenji’s technique, style and passion. His formal education as a mechanical engineer back in Japan clearly impacted his work. I’m thrilled now that Kenji’s first solo exhibition — featuring an incredible range of photorealistic, hand-cut stencil, spray enamel, acrylic and mixed-media paintings — is in Woodward Gallery, one of my favorite NYC spaces. The exhibit continues through July 7th at 133 Eldridge Street. It is quite a visual treat. Here are some more images:

Shuttered Reality
CSX Rubric
Brooklyn

And here’s a view of the installation:

Photos courtesy Woodward Gallery

Weekend link-o-rama

LNY in Baltimore

Caroline and I were in Baltimore this week checking out Open Walls Baltimore. If you have the chance, definitely make a trip over there. Full posts about Baltimore coming soon. Point is, between Baltimore and moving this weekend, I’ve been lax this week. Things should return to normal on Wednesday or Thursday, but in the mean time, here’s what I’ve been meaning to post about:

Photo by RJ Rushmore

Broken Fingaz crew leaves London with a bang

Photo by HookedBlog

Just after the closing of their first major UK exhibition “Crazy Eye Hotel” at the Old Truman Brewery, Broken Fingaz let loose on the streets of East London. The Israeli crew, consisting of Tant, Unga, Kip and Deso, was able to put on the indoor display of their comic-strip-acid-trip-illustrations through support from the British Israeli Arts Training Scheme; a program built from a bilateral agreement between the British and Israeli governments that enables a creative exchange between the nations’ artists.

Photo courtesy of Broken Fingaz
Photo courtesy of Broken Fingaz

What better way to say “thank you” to the political effort funding your first major solo show in England, than to further-exhibit your art illegally? On one hand, London is without a doubt one of best cities for street art, so can you blame them for getting up while there? On the other hand, if the British Council, the Government of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Ministry of Culture and Sport, all of whom provide funding for this program, believed that perhaps they were actually funding some no good vandal punks to get up abroad, would it jeopardize the program?

The fact that they were putting up work was no secret, in fact it seemed advertised almost as much as the show itself. …But on that first hand, Broken Fingaz crew is phenomenal. What do you think?

Photo by HookedBlog
Photo courtesy of Broken Fingaz
Photo by HookedBlog
Photo courtesy of Broken Fingaz

Photos by Hookedblog and courtesy of Broken Fingaz Crew

Mau Mau certainly knows how to put on a show

Westbank Gallery welcomes Mau Mau. Photo by Unusual Image

Last Thursday, May 3rd, Mau Mau‘s solo show Pigs Might Fly opened with a private view at London’s Westbank Gallery. I say private view, but with a guest list of over 500 people it was hardly private, more like a public view with a party list, all crammed into the two storey gallery.

Having seen some of the preview images I gave a little heads up prior to the show last week, mainly on the basis that I was actually excited to see the pieces for myself and to see how the installations looked up close.

Unfortunately I could not make the opening, but thanks to Beejoir (one of many who helped curate and hang the show) I has given the opportunity to have a look around a couple of hours before the doors were flung open. And I have to say the show did not disappoint. Continue reading “Mau Mau certainly knows how to put on a show”

Word to Mother can’t afford to be broke

Word To Mother is busy preparing for his upcoming show in San Fransisco at White Walls Gallery, Can’t Afford to be Broke. After years of successful solo shows in London, it’s great to finally see Word To Mother getting the attention he deserves in the USA too. The show includes new original pieces on wood, painted baseball bats and zines with a screenprinted cover.

Can’t Afford to be Broke opens on May 12th (7-11pm) and runs through June 2nd.

Photo courtesy of White Walls Gallery

Weekend link-o-rama

Elfo and BR1 (BR1 won the game)

Late link-o-rama this week. Troy Lovegates and Labrona are visiting to paint a mural at Haverford College, and it’s the week of all my final exams. Here’s what I’ve been reading to distract myself:

Photo by Elfo

Preview: Paint It Now at Space 1026

OverKill Studio’s Paint It Now has finally come to Philadelphia. The traveling series of Paint It Now exhibitions have been in Boston and Brooklyn, and the latest iteration of Paint It Now is due to open this Friday at Space 1026. The idea behind this series of exhibitions is that a group of artists have to work somewhat together as they all paint a series of white walls with only black paint. This time around, some of the artists include Gaia, el Celso, Stickman, Nose Go, Harlequinade and Buildmore.

Paint It Now opens on Friday the 4th from 7-10pm and runs through May 25th.

I stopped by yesterday to see how the show was coming together. From what I saw, the show is going to be close to that perfect mix of familiar faces and fresh talent that so many group shows strive for but few achieve. Check out our exclusive preview after the jump… Continue reading “Preview: Paint It Now at Space 1026”

Evol @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

I discovered Evol‘s wondrous stencil work in an outdoor passageway two years ago in Washington D.C. and became an instant fan of the hugely talented Berlin-based artist. I finally made it over this past Friday to Jonathan Levine Gallery to check out his current work on exhibit. If you are anywhere near NYC’s Chelsea gallery district, the show is certainly worth a visit before it closes this Saturday. Here are some images:

Photos by Dani Mozeson