I discovered Kboco’s work in 2007 at Jonathan LeVine’s groundbreaking exhibit, Ruas de São Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art from São Paulo. Since, Kboco has exhibited internationally in galleries. museums and biennials. (I’m not certain just how much he continues to create on the streets; I certainly hope he does.) This past month he covered the entire walls of Lu Magnus, a wonderful art space at 55 Hester Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, with a mural installation and paintings. Its multiple layers, intricate details, subtle colors and global graphics fuse to create an alternate reality. Entitled Efeito Esquimó (Eskimo Effect), it continues through October 23. Here’s a brief glimpse:
photo by Genevieve Dimmitt
Mini Pulpo, mixed media on canvas, photo by Jason Lewis
A huge fan of “outsider art,” I love RAE’s images and don’t get to see enough of them. These past few days, I’ve discovered them in Chelsea and on the Lower East Side. It’s great to see some of my favorite art on Manhattan streets! Here are a few images:
When I last visited Chelsea in late June, the streets were almost devoid of street art. There were a few worn stickers and paste-ups, but not much else. It’s getting better. Here are a few images I saw this afternoon:
Elbowtoe
Celso
Sti(c)kman
Lorenzo Masnah, huge collaged paste-up; Stinkfish on the upper right
Down on Manhattan’s Lower East Side today for the first time this summer, we visited the lot at 145 Ludlow Street that had recently become the outdoor canvas for some of my favorite street artists. Among those whose work is now on the walls are: Bishop 203, Creepy, Gaia, General Howe, Laura Meyers, Nanook, Over Under, QRST, Quel Beast and Yok. The project was sponsored by Crest Hardware and organized by Joe Franquinha of Crest Arts and Keith Schweitzer of M.A.N.Y. Here are some images:
Creepy, photo by Lois StavskyThe Yok, photo by Lois StavskyBishop 203, photo by Lois StavskyQuel Beast, photo by Tara MurrayLaura Meyers, photo by Lois StavskyQRST, photo by Lois Stavsky
It was a great surprise to come upon this Gaia piece on a semi-desolate block up in East Harlem. It looks wonderful! I wish more “street artists” would venture up there!
Based in Berlin, Clemens Behr crafts ephemeral sculptures and installations from recycled materials. Often exhibited in galleries, this one was spotted this past weekend on Second Avenue in NYC’s East Village.
For the second year, a diverse crew of dozens of first-rate street artists transformed several Queens blocks into an open-air gallery. Here is a selection of photos of artists at work captured yesterday by Lenny Collado, a recent college graduate who’s been documenting graffiti/street art alongside me. More to follow when I visit the site tomorrow:
Lady Pink CernOverUnderAlice Mizrachi aka AMJesse Jones
Disasters is the theme of a collaged mural currently underway in the hallway of the FUSE Gallery in the East Village. 26-year-old Lorenzo Masnah has been collecting, enlarging and painting over and on newspaper and magazine images of global disasters, tragedies and human rights violations for years. His politically-infused work has been published in zines and books and exhibited in a variety of gallery and alternative setting in New York City, LA and in his native Bogota, where, along with Stinkfish, he is a founding member of the APC (Animal Planet Collective). Lorenzo’s newest work will be the subject of an exhibit at FUSE Gallery next year. In the meantime, this mural is definitely worth checking out – if you’re anywhere in the vicinity of 93 2nd Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets in NYC’s East Village.
Close-up of mural underway in hallway @ FUSE Gallery, photo by LorenzoLorenzo's iconic Third World Pirate alongside Stinkfish in Bogota, Colombia, photo by Lois StavskyLorenzo as Third World Pirate in the East Village, photo by Lenny Collado
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.
ADRENALINE 20’ x 6’ graffiti on canvasDead Skin Roll in -Collage graffiti wall chip over metallic sheet 8 x 8One of many images in a range of sizes on paperFrom left: Ugly-Kid GUMO, curator Marianne Nems, performance artist Bizard and gallerist Christopher Pusey
