Alexis Diaz of La Pandilla, Ever and Brian Barneclo just wrapped up their visit to The Painted Desert Project, a mural project in the Navajo Nation organized by Jetsonorama. We posted about Ever’s work in the desert earlier this week. Here’s Alexis Diaz contributions. Look out for another post with Brian Barneclo’s work soon.
Photos by Jetsonorama and Alexis Diaz
LA’s Thinkspace Gallery was just in Philadelphia guest-curating a show at Gallery 309. Looks like the opening was absolutely packed, and with good reason. The show, LAX/PHL, includes installation from NoseGo and work by La Pandilla, Pixelpancho and many more. It’s open now through June 21st. I can’t wait to stop by myself as soon as I finish my exams.
Photos by Daniel Weintraub
LA’s Thinkspace Gallery is coming to my city of Philadelphia soon for a show they’ve curated at Philadelphia’s Gallery 309. LAX / PHL will include work from dozens of artists including Dabs Myla, Gaia, Ghostpatrol, La Pandilla, and Pixel Pancho, but the highlight is likely to be an installation by NoseGo. Thinkspace Gallery is suggesting that this show includes artists from the “New Contemporary Art Movement.” I call it that movement “The artists that Juxtapoz might cover,” but whatever. The point is, there’s gonna be a lot of really impressive artwork at this show.
LAX / PHL opens on Saturday, May 11th from 6-10pm, and runs through June 21st. There will be a second opening reception on June 7th from 6-10pm to coincide with Philadelphia’s First Friday art events.
Photo courtesy of Thinkspace Gallery
Sorry for the late link-o-rama. Caroline came to visit on Thursday, so I’ve been trying to stay offline.
Photo by HowAboutNo!
Well, the street artists went to Miami, did their thing, and now most everyone is on their way back home. I’m guessing we’ll have a few more posts on Vandalog devoted to the murals left behind in Miami this year, but my friend Olive47 has sent over a few photos to get us started. There’s work by Chanoir, El Xupet Negre, Celso Gonzalez, Olive47, Free Humanity, La Pandilla, Logan Hicks, and one unknown artist (if you know, please leave a comment) 2Square.
Continue reading “Miami Madness, part one”
The exterior surfaces of many of San Juan’s decayed and abandoned buildings – along with the concrete walls found largely in its public housing projects – have become canvases for some of the most vibrant graffiti and alluring street art that I’ve seen anywhere. Here is a sampling of what we saw on our recent visit:
Bad, a member of the HD crew, escorted us to walls we never would have found on our own, while delivering cans of spray paint to just about every artist getting up in town. Curious about it all, we had the chance to ask him some questions on a brief coffee break:
Tell us about all these cans of spray paint that travel with you. What exactly is your role here?
I represent Montana Colors in the Caribbean. I am its sole distributor.
How did that come to be?
I saw that there was a need here for quality spray paints. Too many graff artists were using cheap paints. When I began getting up in 2002, I used to have to get mine from the States. And this way I am doing a service for the artists, and I am also making money.
How has this job affected your life?
It is my life. I know at least one graff writer in every country. I have a home anywhere I travel. It’s the best life!
How does the graff here in Puerto Rico differ from what you’ve seen elsewhere?
Our styles are more distinct and more varied than most of what I see elsewhere.
Certainly more so than we see back in NYC. How has the graff scene in Puerto Rico changed since you began getting up over 10 years ago?
Back then, most of the writers came from the lower class. That’s not the case anymore. The scene has also been going in cycles. It was huge at the beginning of the century. We hit a low in 2005, and in 2010 it began, once again, to boom.
Any favorite artists?
There are many. Among them: Os Gemeos, the Mac from Germany, Celso here in Puerto Rico…
How do you feel about graff artists exhibiting their work in galleries?
I respect both the artists who promote themselves and the galleries who support them.
How do you feel about the role of the internet in all of this?
It’s definitely been a positive force. I remember when all we had were magazines and photos of our pieces that we mailed back and forth. The internet is a much easier and speedier way for us to share our work.
What do you see as the future of graffiti and street art here in the Caribbean?
You’re here for our first international street art festival that has brought some of the world’s most renowned street artists — including Roa, Ever, Sego and Jaz — to Puerto Rico. This is just the beginning. And in a few weeks, we have a major graffiti jam happening in the Dominican Republic. It just keeps on getting bigger — both here and across the globe.
Photos by Lenny Collado, Dani Mozeson & Lois Stavsky
Here’s some stuff I missed this week while sitting under a giant stack of books and papers to read, mostly stuff I was supposed to read for school but avoided because I was at Nuart last weekend.
Photo by Colin Chazaud
The talent of Puerto Rican duo, La Pandilla, is undeniable. They’ve received a lot of attention this past year, after turning heads at a few mural festivals including Living Walls Concepts, G40 Art Summit, and Wynwood Walls.
As previously voiced by one sarcastic reader, “Animals are sooooo hot right now”. But perhaps, La Pandilla’s technical ability stands out because we’re not distracted by the subject matter or overwhelmed by color. Their work lives in this Goldilocks zone of being intricate in detail and being conceptually simple which allows viewers to focus on the most important aspect of their work: the talent.
Photos by Molinary and La Pandilla
Mike Pearce was in Miami last week taking photos of the murals getting painted. As it has been over the past few years, Wynwood was overrun (in, I think, a good way) for about a week with artists working outdoors on any wall they could get permission to paint or get away with painting. Here are a few of Mike’s pictures of the artists at work…
Photos by Mike Pearce
