I can never get enough of RAE‘s zany characters that surface regularly on a range of public surfaces in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. TriBeCa gallery Masters & Pelavin is hosting two wondrously fashioned ones in the group exhibit, Legend Tripping, opening this evening from 6-8pm at 13 Jay Street.
Photos by Lois Stavsky and Sara Mozeson
A perfect combination of endearing and grimy, Goya 907’s characters have long been one of my favorite pieces to spot. An active former New Yorker, his pieces will surprise you in places ranging from abandoned buildings to a sticker on a street corner that you must have walked by a thousand times, only to notice it now. Even though he may no longer reside here, Goya’s graffiti is still an integral part of New York’s landscape. Particularly of note in the artist’s studio pieces is his customization of his iconic image. Using the basic structure of claw hands and little stick legs, this skeleton becomes customized with traces of people Goya encounters in his daily life. Whether it’s his friend’s favorite boots or an arm tattoo, these pieces change his cartoon from a representation of self to an endearing representation of others.
Goya aka Tony Bones has a show tonight at Tender Trap in Brooklyn.
For a short biography of the artist (one as comedic as his work) and details of the opening, curator Andrew H. Shirley sent this press release:
The Superior Bugout presents…
DISPATCHES FROM THE CRUD-CAKE
new artwork by TONY BONESOpening Thursday April 18th 7-11pm
at TENDER TRAP
245 South 1st (btwn Roebling / Havemeyer) in Williamsburg, BrooklynTony Bones grew up in Texas. He got his start painting graffiti around his home state and soon moved on to the rest of the country and beyond. Tony made his home in Brooklyn for several years but now lives in a cupcake by the Mississippi River in New Orleans. He has a hedgehog and a pickup truck.
*with Ray Mock of Carnage Zine setting up his zine table
**and music by DJ BOO RAPS of Rap Gang (it’s also his birthday!!!)
In addition to sending preview images, included was a list of upcoming shows at the Tender Trap. Based on his previous exhibitions, it looks like viewers are in for an interesting few months with a mix of graffiti, photography, and conceptual work.
The Superior Bugout 2013 art series at the Tender Trap:
May 2nd Tod Seelie
May 16th AVone
June 6th UFO907
Photos Courtesy of Andrew H. Shirley
The fantastic Dennis McNett has a solo show opening on Friday at MOHS exhibit in Copenhagen, Denmark, so Henrik Haven went over to get some photos as McNett set up and worked on an installation. The show runs April 19th through May 18th, and is pretty much guaranteed to be killer if you have any interest in linoblock or woodblock prints. McNett is an absolute master. Check out more of Haven’s extensive preview photos after the jump… Continue reading “Preview: Dennis McNett show show in Copenhagen”
The Yok and Sheryo are the latest artists to paint in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago courtesy of Pawn Works with support from Alderman Danny Solis, The Chicago Urban Art Society and the Pilsen neighborhood. Their trip also included a tour of Chicago’s many hotdog spots, although I’m guessing they missed my favorite spot since it’s out in the suburbs.
Photos courtesy of Pawn Works
Note: This article is the first in a three part series that discusses how three artists dealt with the topic of histories within their Bushwick Collective murals.
Originally from Venezuela, Mata Ruda drew upon the history of Central America for his first wall in New York City at the Bushwick Collective. Inscribing his images upon the preexisting mural by fellow Open Walls artist Gabriel Specter, the artist combines the context of Specter’s poppy “El Adiós Grocery” with his monochromatic imagery. Using a source photograph of an unknown, undocumented immigrant, this anonymous voice is given an ominous presence within this space. In a city of immigrants, the face of this everyman is accompanied by signage for a store that could exist on any corner in the city, asking us to question our interactions with people and iconography that most New Yorkers would not give a second thought.
Combined with the black and white central portrait are a series of masks that float ominously around him, looming over the grocery’s banner. One of the first Mexican civilizations, the Olmecs were a Mesoamerican culture that now only exists through and is represented by the objects they left behind. The defined faces and hollow eyes of these artifacts have become emblematic of the culture, often called “colossal heads.” By applying traditional imagery from the contemporary figure’s transplanted homeland, Mata Ruda links the importance of a person’s past in their present through the use of historical imagery. The Olmec expression is echoed by the undocumented immigrant, further underlining this message.
Photos by Rhiannon Platt
Last week I posted part 1 and part 2 of our 4-part series of Henrik Haven‘s photographs of Copenhagen graffiti. This week I’ll post the second half of the series. Here’s part 3. Once again, Haven has captured some really amazing pieces. Throughout this series, rather than mention some artists in the photos and neglect others, I’m just going to leave the photos without artist credits.
Continue reading “Henrik Haven’s Copenhagen – Part 3”
Later this month, Seth Carmichael’s new gallery BC Gallery opens in Berlin. Sowat stopped by the space last week to paint their floor. Cool piece. Seems to fit the space really well.
Photos by Sowat and Nick Bargezi
Since 2006, Joshua Liner’s Chelsea gallery has consistently featured an amazing range of works by first-rate artists. His new venue – a huge, bright ground-floor space at 540 West 28th Street – is ideal, as the artworks beckon you in from the street. These are a few of my favorite pieces – by artists who also work in public spaces – from his current exhibit, Direct Address: An Inaugural Group Exhibition, that closes this Saturday. It is worth a visit.
Photos by Dani Mozeson
I’m really enjoying Art For Thought‘s little custom figurine pieces. Some minor modifications and a figurine goes from basically typical to eye-catching and funny. Here are some of my favorites from Art For Thought…
More after the jump… Continue reading “Art For Thought’s street figurines”
Haha, wow. At first glance, this piece by Basik in Rimini, Italy might appear to be a beautiful painting of two hands with a heptagon in between the hands. But, particularly keeping in mind the “CX” in the middle of the heptagon, see if it reminds you of anything a bit less nice to look at.
The piece, titled Goatse is a reference to the goatse.cx meme (don’t worry, that’s just a link to Wikipedia), a disgusting/super not safe for work shock image that has been floating around the web since the late 1990’s. It’s one of the more disturbing non-violent images on the internet. I’m not sure what to think about this wall, but this seemed worth sharing.
Photo courtesy of Basik
