Street & Urban Art « Arrested Motion

Category Archives: Street & Urban Art

Streets: Andrew Hem // UPEART (Finland)

Posted by sleepboy, October 12, 2018

Recently in Oulu, Finland, Andrew Hem (interviewed) completed by far the hardest mural he’s ever painted due to the challenging texture of the wall. Created for multi-city UPEA street art festival, Crystal Blue from the American artist has a pixelated feel to it due to the tiny rocks on the surface of the wall. Using masterful gradients of of red and orange in the background, the stunning piece really stands out from the surroundings. Take a look at more photos below… Photo credit: Hannu Uusitalo, the artist, and the festival. Discuss Andrew Hem […]

Streets: World Roundup (Sept 2018)

Posted by sleepboy, October 11, 2018

It’s been a long while since our last Streets World Roundup but we felt like sharing so here’s a look at some recent street art. Headlining things is this clever series of handpainted sequential billboard takeovers from Mobstr (interviewed). Not sure where these pieces are located, but presumably in the UK somewhere. Wherever they are, the text-based work is a prime example of his wittiness, talent for placement, and minimalistic aesthetic. Other public art that caught our eyes last month include pieces from JR (Germany), AlfAlfA (Spain), Andrew […]

Previews: Dabs Myla – “THINGS THAT CAN’T BE SEEN” (LA Popup)

Posted by sleepboy, October 10, 2018

On October 20th, Dabs Myla will be opening a new show curated by Roger Gastman in Los Angeles (8070 Beverly Blvd). Entitled THINGS THAT CAN’T BE SEEN, the new body of work includes over 20 large scale interior and floral paintings, works on paper, handmade ceramics, and an installation. The husband and wife duo further explain – “we wanted to bring our subconscious thoughts to life in this new body of work and have spent the past two years exploring and painting these ideas, broadening the scope […]

Showing: Barry McGee – “SB Mid Summer Intensive” @ MCA Santa Barbara

Posted by sleepboy, October 9, 2018

A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to attend an artist talk from Barry McGee at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara where his solo is currently on view through this weekend. SB Mid Summer Intensive features an expansive selection of paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptural objects from the renowned San Francisco-based artist. Those familiar with McGee’s work will know his attention to detail in the installation of his exhibitions is an artform in and of itself. This showing continues in that vein with clusters of […]

Banksy Painting Shreds Itself After Selling At Sotheby’s

Posted by sleepboy, October 6, 2018

The genius of Banksy was on display again Friday night in London when his iconic Girl Red Balloon sold for a record £953,829. Right after the hammer, the piece from the British artist ran through what appeared to be a remotely activated shredder hidden in the unusually thick frame, leaving half of the work hanging from the bottom in strips. The elusive street artist later took to social media to claim that he added the self-destruct option in the frame in case the piece was […]

Interview: Yasha Young (Urban Nation, Berlin)

Posted by SAL, October 5, 2018

Last weekend marked the official opening of the second large exhibition of Urban Nation, Berlin’s unique and world’s museum of urban contemporary art. Featuring works by 50 artists from around the globe, including some of our favorites such as DALeast, Damien Hirst, Herakut, Jeff Soto, João Ruas, Sergio Garcia, Shepard Fairey, SHOK-1, Swoon and Vhils, the event also included the open studios of UN’s newest art residency program. We had a chance to sit and chat with Yasha Young, the director and curator of UN, and talk about […]

Releases: Shepard Fairey x Zummo x SJC – Rise Above Limited Edition Snare

Posted by sleepboy, September 30, 2018

Combining art, music, and craft, Shepard Fairey (interviewed) has teamed up with Frank Zummo of Sum 41 and SJC Drums to create a custom drum. The Rise Above Limited Edition Snare will be produced in a run of 25, come with a signed (by Shep, Zummo, and Mike Ciprari of SJC) and numbered COA, and cost $999. Sales start at October 1st, 2018 (noon PST) and will be available through SJC’s website and select authorized dealers with a portion of the sales going towards a scholarship for students at Silverlake Conservatory of […]

Openings: Conor Harrington – ‘The Story of Us and Them’ @ HENI Gallery

Posted by butterfly, September 29, 2018

Conor Harrington (interviewed) recently returned to London with a new solo exhibition entitled The Story of Us and Them at HENI Gallery. Fascinated by art history, especially from the Renaissance and Baroque era, the Irish born artist combines classical oil painting techniques and graffiti influences to explore patriotism and contemporary social-political themes. The exhibition features 12 new large-scale works featuring two fictional male figures dressed in ornate uniforms fighting each other and brandishing their bright coloured flags as weapons. “The works are set against a background of a fictional nation state and […]

Streets: Leon Keer // Murals In The Market (Detroit)

Posted by sleepboy, September 25, 2018

For the fourth edition of Murals In The Market, anamorphic street artist Leon Keer recently finished a piece entitled Urban Colonization. Painted on a decrepit building around Detroit’s Eastern Market, the wall featuring the Dutch artist’s considerable 3D skills (aided with some sculptural additions aka painted tires) deals with some of the controversy surrounding the city’s water drainage rate or “rain tax.” He states – “Seems like the water shutoffs and massive drainage charge in Detroit has been set up to seize poor people’s homes and land to […]

Streets: Vhils (Lisbon)

Posted by SAL, September 25, 2018

The organizers of the popular Festival Iminente in Lisbon have teamed up with Amnesty International for their ongoing Brave Walls project. Using the recognition of the event to address important issues, their most recent effort resulted in a new mural by Vhils (interviewed), demanding justice for Brazilian human rights defender Marielle Franco. The Rio city councilor and her driver were shot dead by two men in what appears to have been a targeted assassination on the 14th of March, which caused a series of protests held across […]