Franco Fasoli, better known as Jaz, has his first European solo show this week in Barcelona at RAS Gallery. The show, curated by Maximiliano Ruiz, opens on May 17th from 7:30-10pm and runs through June 16th. Jaz is one of my favorite street artists, and his work really should to be seen in person to be properly appreciated. I saw him finished one of the pieces for this show when we were in Baltimore last week, and it was quite spectacular. Check after the jump for more of a preview of the show…
Other and Labrona at Haverford College. Photo by RJ Rushmore
Earlier this month, Labrona and Troy Lovegates aka Other came down from Canada for a few days. Their first stop was Haverford, the small Philadelphia suburb where I go to college. At Haverford College, they painted a mural on the same building that Gaia painted last year. Then, they spent less than 24 hours in Baltimore, but took advantage of every second for painting and getting up. In Baltimore, Martha Cooper invited them to paint in SoWeBo, a part of town where she has been photographing the residents.
Other and Labrona in Baltimore. Photo by Martha Cooper
By this weekend, the G40 Art Summit will have brought 19 new murals to Richmond, Virginia. This year’s version of Art Whino‘s annual event includes 19 new walls by muralists from around the world and an indoor group exhibition with over 500 artists across 6 locations. You can go here for more about the indoor show, which opens this evening. Once all the murals are done, you can expect a massive post here on Vandalog with photos of a lot of them. Artists painting murals include Aryz, Gaia, Jaz and Roa. For now, here are two videos of walls in-progress:
As Lois mentioned, “My Turn” (curated by L.A.-based Bumblebee) opened at the Carmichael Gallery recently, showcasing global artists deserving of wider audiences. Although the show’s title and theme failed to carry through to the works on display, it’s worth noting that Bumblebee showed admirable range in selecting fellow artists from the UK, Colombia, Argentina, Italy, and the Ukraine.
Interesni Kazki stood out as capably transitioning indoors without losing the magic that makes their large-scale work so spectacular. Building on their solo opening at Mid-City last year, the duo contributed separate pieces this time (each attributed to either WAONE or AEC), employing acrylics, rather than aerosol, in all but one piece.
Moneyless also showed strongly, with geographical works that utilized similar techniques to his yarn sculptures. (In fact, I’d be very interested to see what Moneyless could do if given free range in an entire gallery.) Though I love the idea behind Jaz’s animal transformations, they weren’t nearly as impressive on a smaller scale. However, what was impressive about the show was the diversity of work on offer–from Hyuro’s detailed pen work to Klone’s watercolors–bringing a solid perspective on where street art is going, and how it might continue to transition into gallery spaces.
“Play Me” runs through April 7 at the Carmichael Gallery, 5795 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232.
While I spend my day at my other job explaining to people how a skee-ball tournament is art (seriously), I hope you’ll enjoy these newsbites from the past two weeks:
You can listen to this conversation between Retna and his friend Med if you want a bit of insight into the Bowery/Houston mural, although it may just confuse things further in a good way.
GrafRank is an attempt to graph the popularity of street artists and graffiti writers online using data from flickr. Interesting idea, but they need your feedback to make sure they are getting things right.
Although I have yet to make it to its Culver City space, I became an instant fan of Carmichael Gallery after seeing its astoundingly beautiful 2010 Recreation II exhibit in collaboration with Ogilvy & Mather in New York City. If I were anywhere near the West Coast, I would definitely make it to its upcoming exhibit, My Turn. Curated by Los Angeles-based artist Bumblebee, it opens this Saturday evening featuring work by some of the most provocative and passionate artists working on the streets across the globe today. Personal favorites include Jaz, Hyuro, Klone and Stinkfish. Here are a few images:
Jaz, based in Buenos AiresHyuro, based in ValenciaKlone, based in Tel Aviv
Open Walls Baltimore is a project that I have been personally coordinating with the not for profit Station North and is supported by the PNC foundation and a generous Our Town grant from the NEA. The intention is of course to produce great art on the streets and put on for my city that I love so much. Yet, of course, as every public art project must be, the OWB initiative will hopefully produce more than just spectacular murals. This is about an investment in a neighborhood that is burdened by 150 vacant homes and bridging the gaps between the artist community that calls Station North home and the residents of Greenmount West. Inspired by my experience with both Wynwood Walls in Miami and Living Walls in Atlanta, this initial and very exciting start will hopefully result in a continued support for public art and experimental intervention that can become more holistic as time moves forward. The current line up is as follows: Interesni Kazki, Maya Hayuk, Swoon, Specter, Doodles, Jaz, Ever, Freddy Sam, Mata Ruda, Nanook, MOMO, Vhils, Sten and Lex, Chris Stain, Jetsonorama, Overunder, and others. The website is now live. More to come!!!
Fun side note from my week: William Parry, author of Against The Wall, spoke at my college today. He’s currently on a speaking tour around the USA, so if you happen to hear that he is in a town near you, I highly recommend going to see him. And here’s the link-o-rama:
Interesting interview with Shepard Fairey. Shepard and I definitely don’t agree on everything, but it’s cool to hear what he has to say and exactly how he defends his work.
Speaking of Shepard Fairey, he will be guest-starring on The Simpsons soon alongside Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal. If The Simpsons had not officially jumped the shark before, this is it. Still, I’ll be watching.
