Checked this out on Saturday. A great event run by Metro Gallery. Have a look at their website, a really good gallery with some amazing pieces by some renowned artists (Banksy, Blek Le Rat, HAHA, Damien Hirst, Anthony Lister and Michael Peck to name a few)..
Got there a little late, so missed a lot of Twoone and Reka (sorry guys) but saw Rone from start to end.
Enjoy.
Shots of all finished pieces available on Metro’s facebook page.
Photos by Lukey
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
Normally I’d like to avoid doing a link-o-rama post in the middle of the week, but there have been a number of big stories to break in the last 24 hours or so, and since I’m in the middle of moving house, there’s no way I was going to be able to otherwise cover them in a timely manner. So here we go…
Photo by Mark J P
Please note: It is reasonable to assume that most links in this post are NSFW. You have been warned.
Lush‘s graffiti has been popping up in LA recently (sometimes very much announced, sometimes a bit more subtly). Well, Lush is no idiot. In fact, he is pretty damn clever. So it’s no surprise that all these pieces have been leading up to a pop-up show in LA for next month called Lush Sells Out In LA. I’ve no idea what to expect, except that someone will get offended. His show in Melbourne last year was a huge hit, but wasn’t for the faint of heart or politically correct. I’m really excited to see what he does this time around. Get ready LA, Lush is selling out all over again on July 15th, and it’s gonna be crazy.
Escif and San are traveling around the West coast in before for their upcoming show at Fifty24SF. The show, See You In Croatan, opens on June 30th. The Citrus Report has all the info. Until the opening, the two Spanish artists are driving around the West coast checking out the USA and doing some painting. Here is some of what they’ve been up to…
Photos courtesy of Fifty24SF
The queen of sexy stenciled girls, Aiko, has a solo show opening in a few weeks at Amsterdam’s Andenken Gallery. Andenken used to be based in Denver, but has relocated to Amsterdam. Her show, Unstoppable Waves, opens on July 9th (6-10pm) and runs through July 24th. The spray cans that Aiko contributed to Up Close and Personal, the show I put on with MANY last month, were some of the most popular pieces in that show, so this should be a real treat for anyone in Amsterdam. Unstoppable Waves will be Aiko’s first solo show in Europe.
Photos courtesy of Andenken Gallery
Australia’s Anthony Lister is in London right now to launch his latest series of prints at Picture On Walls. Like Dran’s recent release at POW, these prints are actually 100 fairly customized prints. On each print of this Fan Boy series, Lister has painted a different design on the main character’s t-shirt. Here are a few examples:
The POW website describes these prints as “basically halfway between an original painting and a silk screen print,” which is cool. Lister has always been super-prolific, so this format probably works well for him. Of course, POW also describe the prints as “Very desirable,” but I think that’s just a little joke to provoke another certain street art blog.
The Fan Boy prints will be launched this Thursday evening at Pictures on Walls in London from 6-9pm. The show will also include new paintings and stickers.
While in town, Lister has been getting up around London, including the above collaboration with Haculla and something with Very Nearly Almost. I’ve also spotted some new stickers that just say “Lister”.
Photos by Pure Evil and courtesy of Pictures on Walls
Last week, Billy and Malarky opened their first show together, Summer Breeze, at East London’s High Roller Society. Their colorful and cartoonish styles are anything but standard for Londoners doing street art. Maybe they fit in with some of the present and former Burning Candy crew members (they have collaborated with Sweet Toof outdoors), but there’s definitely a lot less of a graffiti vibe from these two. Summer Breeze is the first time I’ve seen either Malarky or Billy’s indoor work, and I really enjoyed it, particuarly Malarky’s paintings. The whole show looks like something I’d expect to see in California, rather than London.
Summer Breeze is open now at High Roller Society through July 3rd.
Photos by RJ Rushmore
Following on the coattails of Rj just three posts down, to bring us all up to speed, Clownsoldier is this months artist showing at Pawn Works in Chicago. I have some vested interest in that space, but what they are doing for the chicago street scene is pretty spectacular as every artist that has come so far has left a little piece of themselves in the city. Now let’s see some more pieces on the street son, you ve got six days!
Photos by Mo.FoTo
Redcoat Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland has a show opening on July 1st called Rudimentary Perfection. This show will be the first show specifically focused on “graffuturism,” a style of modern graffiti promoted by the Graffuturism blog. If you’ve ever felt that graffiti is at a bit of a standstill (rack spray paint, write name, repeat), graffuturism may be the sort of post-graffiti that you’ve been waiting for. Rudimentary Perfection includes She One, Duncan Jago, Jaybo Monk, Matt W. Moore, Augustine Kofie, Nawer, Morten Andersen, Poesia, Derm, and Mark Lyken. These artists have a modern take on graffiti, often most closely associated with Futura’s abstract work, if you need to tie it to traditional graffiti.
Photo courtesy of Graffuturism
