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Category Archives: Street & Urban Art

Streets: Shepard Fairey – “Shadowplay” (London)

While in town for his show at StolenSpace, Shepard Fairey (interviewed) painted several murals around London. His third and final piece was entitled Shadowplay (one of the many versions of his Andre the Giant motif) and was painted outside of the Truman Brewery. Playing with halftone and gradient, the wall featured new technical territory for the American artist – looks like it turned out great tho! Photo credit: @zagnutz, @wherethereswalls, @jona231089, and @jonathanfurlong. Discuss Shepard Fairey here.

Streets: Tomokazu Matsuyama – Houston & Bowery Mural

Created over the course of 14 days, the newest mural from Tomokazu Matsuyama (interviewed) at the iconic Houston & Bowery location is perhaps the most detailed piece painted there to date. Following in the footsteps of long list of worthy artists before him, the locally-based artist with a team of assistants utilized 200 spray cans, approximately 80 gallons of paint, 80 stencils, and 165 markers to cover the 60 x 20 foot wall with a masterpiece featuring Matzu’s special blend of imagery influenced by his cross-cultural heritqge. Photo credit: […]

Videos: The Tunnels – Nuart 2019

We’ve just received this experimental movie from the Nuart Festival headquarters, put together by Ukrainian art film duo MZM Projects, the makers of the famed Imaginary City film. Using fragments of artist talks, excerpts from the news, interviews and curatorial text by festival director Martyn Reed, the filmers resampled and infused these with the lyrics from Tricky’s Brand New, You’re Retro, 1995 track (by the Bristol artist and producer from which the exhibition took its cues). Taking a different angle to capture and present the vibe during the […]

Streets: Nuart 2019 (Part III)

We’ve been waiting for the official round-up video to give you the final look at the murals, installations, and interventions created through Stavanger during the 19th Nuart Festival which took place this past September. With a series of murals and public interventions, 0.5 kilometers of wall space for their indoor show at Tou Scene (covered), the European premiere of Martha: A Picture Story in the presence of Martha Cooper (interviewed) alongside the director Selina Miles, and a series of academic talks, debates, and presentations, Nuart raised […]

Streets: Life Is Beautiful 2019 (Las Vegas)

This year’s Life Is Beautiful arts and music festival (also see 2016, 2015, and 2014) once again collaborated with JUSTKIDS / Charlotte Dutoit on bringing more public art to downtown Las Vegas. The new works this year include a trompe l’oeil butterfly casing piece from French artist Mantra (seen above), a shadow mural from India’s Daku, the debut wall from Lithuanian artist ​Ernest Zacharevic, one of HOTTEA’s signature hanging installations, something on the former Las Vegas Motel by AKACorleone, and a playful mural from Zosen & Mima Hamada. Take […]

Upcoming: Barry McGee – “The Other Side” @ Perrotin Gallery (Hong Kong)

On Thursday (October 10th), Perrotin’s Hong Kong space will be opening an exhibition from Barry McGee, his first with the gallery. Entitled The Other Side, the show features new works, ephemera, and archival materials from the San Francisco-based artist and will include familiar elements such as his floating heads, geometric patterns, and typography as well as will incorporate found objects sourced during his stay in Hong Kong. This will be the first solo for the American-born artist in the region where part of his heritage lies, as he […]

Showing: Banksy – ‘Gross Domestic Product’ (Greater London)

Unless required for work or family reasons, many Londoners balk at the prospect of journeying to the other side of their city. Localism or laziness are often at play. So if you ever wish to check the status of your relationship with a Londoner, there’s a simple test we believe is about 50% reliable: In case that person is based in West London, suggest meeting up for drinks in East London (or vice versa). And if they live north of the River Thames, invite them […]

Interviews: Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey (interviewed) officially became a household name in 2008 when he created the Obama Hope poster. But even years before that, the South Carolina-born artist already had a notorious reputation for his André the Giant Has a Posse sticker that transformed into the now legendary OBEY GIANT art campaign. Through his career, Fairey has addressed critical topics such as climate change, the Me Too movement, world politics, while basically reinventing the way people see art and the urban landscape. On October 5th, his series of shows around […]

Streets: Tauba Auerbach – “2020” (San Francisco)

Over the course of a few weeks, Tauba Auerbach was able to complete stunning mural in San Francisco with the help of a two man crew. Situated in the Tenderloin and arranged with the help of Luggage Store Gallery, the wall sees the locally-based artist step out of her comfort zone (like with NY Fireboat project) to create something special, what she calls her largest painting ever. Entitled 2020, the piece features patterns no doubt inspired by some function of math and physics, which Auerbach takes to […]

First Look: Banksy – “Gross Domestic Product” (Greater London)

An unusual new housewares “store” called Gross Domestic Product opened overnight in the south London town of Croyd0n. Turns out Banksy has now confirmed that the elaborate art installation is his, an attempt to hold off a greeting card company from seizing legal custody of his name by creating his own range of merchandise. The showroom on view for two weeks and featuring its own security guards will never open its doors, with all eventual sales being conducted online. No word yet on exactly what, when, or how […]