Art Whino, probably best known in the street art sphere for their annual group show in Miami each December, are hosting the latest solo show from stencil artist Joe Iurato at their DC gallery. Fall and Rise opens August 20th and runs through September 12th. The work for Fall and Rise will include some pieces in a new style for Joe where stencils are photographs are combine.
Often exuding a playful social consciousness, Mundano’s delightful quasi-monsters surface randomly throughout the city. I discovered them in quite a few unlikely places. Here are a few:
Next month, Swoon has an installation opening at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Anthropocene Extinction, the name of the show which is the phrase coined to denote the extinction of a species due to humans, opens on September 3rd and runs through December 30th. It will consist of a 40-foot tall papercut piece and sculptural elements (including a 200-pound bamboo sculpture). This comes on the heels of Swoon’s recent installation at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Photo by Jake Dobkin
As a young buck coming up in the Street Art world over the years in New York, I’ve definitely been through the ringer in order to get down with this expansive yet furtive local community. No one’s aired me out more than Skewville, and no one has given my hair such a run for its money. Skewville’s solo exhibition,“Your Ad Here” just opened with my people over at Pawn Works exactly six days ago, and by the photos that were released, the show looks like a tremendous success. Opening just in time for Fairey’s latest extravaganza in Copenhagen, I didn’t necessarily “sit down” with Ad from Skewville, but made a little sortie into our Brooklyn boy’s mind and swollen ego.
GAIA: So let’s get it straight, what street did you really grow up on in New York?
AD: Have you not been paying attention… its not where you’r from, its where you’r at.
GAIA: … Or I heard it’s not where you’re from but where you pay rent Explain How the title “Your Ad Here” came about?
AD: Still not paying attention? the tittle of the Show is “Not my Type”. You must be thinking of someone else’s show, but i wanted to re-reuse” Your Ad Here” in the signage just to remind people that is still not mine.
GAIA: Thoughts on Chicago ?
AD: From what ive seen, It reminds me of the early Bklyn days… a hipster training camp on the verge of a yuppie takeover and Nick from Pawnworks is the Mayoral candidate trying to hold it down. Vote Nick in 2012.
GAIA: Best Place to eat?
AD: The Sunoco down the block from the gallery, semi-frozen Pizzas for $1.99
GAIA: Whats the low on Beauty Bar?
AD: So they wanted me to repaint the awning that Spector did, Uh ” Hells Yeah!” with Pleasure. but their cock-blocking my lingo.. I mean “For Reals!” they got Hot, Drunk, 21 year old’s bumping and grinding to 90’s hip hop but they don”t get the irony of me painting ” Hot Mess”. So as of now.. it’s still pending.
GAIA: Where’s your better half at?
AD: A common Skewville Motto is “Divide and conquer.” So I just checked-in and Droo is chilling poolside in the Hamptons.
GAIA: How was the reception?
AD: Skewville was well received in Chi-town, You know the grass is always Greener, Hence the swollen ego. But you know once I get back to basement of Beat down Brooklyn I easily put myself in check.
GAIA: Smoke much?
Ad: Uh,Duh.
GAIA: Curveball. What’s your obsession with tingly god juice?
Ad: if you know, you know… but everything tastes great when handed to you by a Gorgeous, Fun Loving Blond…
GAIA:Why can’t you get your ears wet?
Ad: ha ha… OK. now where getting deep…its from a childhood illness, but on a positive note, it keeps Droo’s kids from splashing me in the pool and fucking with my hair.
GAIA: So Whose really doing it in America?
AD:hmmm…this is a tuff one. the competition is fierce in the land of black and white woodcut animal head mash-ups that are oversize laser-printed on daddy’s dime.
GAIA: Fierce… What can I say. Anything on the horizon? Better be good…
Ad: Think Space, LA this month, Black Book, CO. in Oct. White Walls, SF in Jan… and after that you might have to talk to my New agent or you can more likely find me sleeping under the BQE.
Lonac is an artist in Zagreb, Croatia. This is one of his latest pieces, Time Catcher.
Time Catcher from Marin Mimica on Vimeo.
Photo by Lonac
Just over a month ago Billy departed London and headed east to Berlin on a bit of a jolly. It seems that since being there she has spend half her time painting, often collaborating with others, to rather good effect. Here are a few of her fantastic pieces…
All photos by Billy
Brooklyn Street Art and Thinkspace Art Gallery have put together a huge group show called Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories. It opens next Friday, August 12th at C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice, CA (not Thinkspace). The 40+ artists (39 names, but some are duos) come from around the world, but mainly New York. There’s a great range of artists from up-and-coming guys like Radical! to legends like Futura.
Photo by Anthony Lister
Christiaan Nagel is the artist who has been putting up strange mushroom sculptures in London for a little while. They can be really fun to come across when you’re not expecting it. If you’ve seen them before, you’re kind of in the know, at least to an extent. Still they are a bit of a mystery. How are they made and what are they made of? Is there a message? And if you’ve never seen one before, well the first time you see one is kind of like the first time you see an Invader. But like Invader, Christiaan is probably better suited for the outdoors than a gallery setting. Nonetheless, he has a solo show at Rich Mix in London opening next Thursday, and it’s been put together by Street Art London. So we’ll see how this goes. But I’m apprehensive. There’s a lot of street artists whose stuff really only works outdoors, and Christiaan’s mushrooms seem to fall squarely within that category. That’s not a slight against him or points for him. Some artworks work well indoors. Some work well outdoors. Some work well anywhere. I’m curious to see if Christiaan can bring his work indoors successfully. More info about the show here.
Faile have been painting this week in Oslo in preparation for the T&J Art Walk taking place this month for the benefit of Human Rights Watch. Faile are the first artists to get to Olso and start painting for the event, but Shepard Fairey, Logan Hicks, D*face, The London Police, Seen, Fenx, Galo and others will be taking part as well. In addition to 10 murals in central Oslo celebrating the work of Human Rights Watch and memorializing the victims of last month’s terror attack, there will be an exhibition from August 18th through September 4th at the Norwegian auction house Blomqvist for the benefit of Human Rights Watch.
Check out some of what Faile has been up to in Oslo after the jump, and expect to see more T&J Art Walk murals on Vandalog soon… Continue reading “Faile in Oslo and the T&J Art Walk”
“In August, ‘No Walls Gallery’ kicks off a series of shows with ‘SHOTGUN’ by Brighton’s very own Imbue. The show runs from the 5th to the 28th of August with the opening reception on Thursday the 4th from 6pm….
Shotgun includes a body of new original works, prints, collages, mirrors (and balloons?!?!?) with classic logos, icons and imagery manipulated and re-mastered like you’ve never seen them before…..” – No Walls Gallery
I recently caught up with Imbue who told me about his show, his art and his life as an artist…
Tell us a little bit about yourself – when did you first start painting and why?
I have always been creative, when I was young my Dad used to bring tape and boxes home from work for me to cut up, stick together and make a mess. I remember trying to make Buzz Lightyear when they were the ‘sell out’ toy one Christmas.
With regards to art, it was my favourite subject at school and then the only thing I studied at college. College gave me freedom to explore and learn about all different types of art and steal a lot of materials!
I know you are originally from London, what attracted you to base yourself in Brighton?
I was born in London and then grew up in Kent. My older brother moved to Brighton and I quickly moved in to his spare room. I really love it here and when the sun is shining, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It has a great community and over the years I have met some amazing people through my art and a brief period selling spray paint!
Tell us about your new show at ‘No Walls Gallery’ entitled ‘SHOTGUN’?
Well it’s something I have been dying to do! ‘SHOTGUN’ is a fun collection of work giving a more realistic view on things, I didn’t set a theme for the show – one just occurred naturally. It will be great to look at a room filled with work and ideas that I have created. I want people to experience seeing lots of ‘Imbue’ all in one go.
Are your methods and techniques of working on the streets the same as when creating pieces for your show?
A few of the show pieces have a worn, street feel but most of the work is screen printed and a lot more polished. I don’t really limit myself to any particular techniques and I am always experimenting -I love using and modifying real items. I generally use whatever is going to work best for each project.
‘No walls gallery’ is a white wall gallery; do you think your work lends itself to white wall galleries?
I guess it does, my work for the show doesn’t look as though it’s been taken from the street and put in a gallery, it’s a piece I have taken time over in my studio knowing that it’s going into a minimal gallery space. Outside of a gallery you have more freedom and don’t have to worry about what people think of the work. On the other hand, sometimes you just want to throw paint at a billboard or over a CCTV camera, you can’t put that in a gallery!
Your work seems to create controversy – especially amongst the brands that you depict in your work! Do you enjoy the fact that you have and can bother these multi-national companies with your art?
I do enjoy it – it means that I am making some kind of impact on these huge companies that can get far too cocky and think they can do what they like without any regard for public or local interest. People need to stand up for things and realise, this is your world and you are important.
Are there any of your street pieces that you are particularly proud of?
The “Drug Vend” machines are a favourite of mine I had a lot of fun making them and even more seeing how people reacted. I put the video on YouTube and it got around 20,000 views! Another of my favourites from last year were small brass plaques I stuck under loads of fat tags around Brighton; the plaques read “This artwork was kindly donated by a local artist”.
I’ve seen your stickers all over the UK, what is it that draws you to sticking?!
I love stickers and try to always have them on me as they are such an efficient way to get up. I send them to people all over the world and take great pride in seeing one of my stickers in a prime spot that has been up for years, I’ve even got my girlfriend to carry a stash in her handbag!
What is the strangest thing that’s happened to you when you’ve been out putting work on the streets?
A guy came up to me in London when I was pasting something up. He turned out to be a plain clothes officer, he asked a few questions and then let me finish whilst he told me about a limited edition print he had recently acquired!
Do you collect art yourself and if so, what art do you have on your walls?
I do – I have some great pieces that Hayden Kays made for me, I swapped a print with Buff Monster and I recently swapped some bits with Static. I have a print by INSA and a massive Sex Pistols bear brick!
Photos by Imbue
