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Studio Visit: Matzu / Tomokazu Matsuyama – “Come with me” @ Gallery Wendi Norris

Posted by sleepboy, February 24, 2015

While preparing for his next big solo at Gallery Wendi Norris in San Francisco, Tomokazu Matsuyama (interviewed) recently hosted a studio visit from prolific art patron Swizz Beatz. While one of the pieces glimpsed in the New York-based artist’s workspace will end up in the record producer’s collection, the photos sent us reveals some of what Matzu has been working on for Come with me, his planned third solo with the Bay Area gallery. The exhibition opening on March 12th will feature paintings rendered in his signature aesthetic […]

Showing: Johnny “KMNDZ” Rodriguez – “I’d Rather Love You” @ KP Projects / MKG

Posted by sleepboy, February 24, 2015

Showing at KP Projects / MKG (Merry Karnowsky Gallery) in the main space (also see Verlato in the back), Johnny Rodriguez (aka KMNDZ) currently has a selection of prime works on display for his fans in Los Angeles. As mentioned in our interview with the locally-based artist, I’d Rather Love You is a deeply personal show drawing from his struggles in the last several years as well as taking inspiration from important influences in his life such as his father and his beliefs. Stop by for a look yourself through March 7th. […]

Openings: Robert Williams – “Slang Aesthetics!” @ LA Municipal Art Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, February 23, 2015

Saturday night marked the triumphant return of Robert Williams to the Los Angeles art scene with his first comprehensive showing in many years. Slang Aesthetics! at the LA Municipal Art Gallery featured paintings, drawings, and sculptural works from the influential painter and and one of the co-founders of Juxtapoz Magazine, and was a testament to the locally-based artist’s talent and the significance of his career. The prime selection of new and recent work must be viewed in person to be appreciated and we will certainly be back multiple time before it […]

Openings: Haroshi – “Still Pushing Despite The Odds” @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Posted by SAL, February 22, 2015

On February 19th, Jonathan LeVine Gallery opened Still Pushing Despite The Odds, a new solo by Haroshi (featured) at their location on West 23rd Street. Consisting of mostly large scale works, this is his third show with the showspace in Chelsea, and is a great demonstration of his unique skills and inventiveness. The Tokyo-based artist’s signature technique of creating incredible sculptural works using old skateboards has evolved so much from his initial concepts with this new body of work being great example of his current concepts. By compressing the boards in different […]

Previews: Phil Hale – “Life Wants to Live” @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, February 21, 2015

Tonight in Chelsea at Jonathan LeVine Gallery (529 West 20th Street), accomplished illustrator and artist Phil Hale will be presenting his first solo stateside in the last four years. Life Wants to Live will feature the London-based artist’s oil on linen paintings as well as drawings in a cohesive body of work in both subject matter and atmospheric language. The new pieces are a testament to the disjointed and uncertain times society is currently faced with, strewn with scenes of disaster and debris fields. Rendered in his distorted aesthetic and with […]

POW! WOW! ’15 / Streets: Sever

Posted by sleepboy, February 20, 2015

One of that artists this year for POW! WOW! Hawaii (more coverage here) that painted in a location off the beaten path was the MSK-affiliated Sever. The graffiti writer who made his name in Atlanta and has been known in the past to use his skills in a satirical way (see Street Art Is Dead mural) once again came up with some clever imagery for this wall in Kaka’ako. Take a look some more detailed photos below… Discuss Sever here.

Previews: Kehinde Wiley – “A New Republic” @ Brooklyn Museum

Posted by sleepboy, February 20, 2015

Today marks the public opening of Kehinde Wiley’s massive mid-career survey entitled A New Republic at the Brooklyn Museum. For this exhibition, the locally-based artist has a selection of Wiley’s World Stage paintings, which started in 2006, many of which feature his signature “street castings” – taking urban youths off the street and posing & dressing them like the upper crust of society in Renaissance and old master paintings. Rounding things out are a serious of bronzes, stained glass paintings, and smaller “altarpieces.” Photo credit: Byron Smith and Chad Batka […]

POW! WOW! ’15 / Streets: Case Maclaim x Smithe

Posted by SAL, February 20, 2015

Mixing their two different but very compatible styles, Case Maclaim from Germany and Smithe from Mexico created one of the most interesting pieces on this year’s POW! WOW! Hawaii (more coverage here). The imagery they chose was a commentary about the preservation of coral life and the effect of human activity on its future. Smithe painted a detailed illustrative part showing a human head with coral for brains, surrounded with different organic & surrealistic elements and creatures. Case wrapped this image with a series of his recognizable […]

Jose Parla Studio By Snøhetta

Posted by sleepboy, February 18, 2015

It looks like the Norway-based company Snøhetta recently designed and oversaw the renovation of an expansive new studio for Jose Parla. The former Brooklyn warehouse was divided into two sections – “the arena” and “the nest.” The first is a double-height workspace for the NY-based artist’s increasingly large projects (see Barclays Center & One World Trade Center), while the other is an elevated lounge space that overlooks the other. Photo credit: Jeff Goldberg / ESTO (via Dezeen). Discuss Jose Parla here.

POW! WOW! ’15 / Streets: Fafi

Posted by SAL, February 18, 2015

Legendary graffiti and street artist Fafi, attended this year’s POW! WOW! Hawaii (more coverage here) for the first time. Known for her playful & sexy female characters and colorful work she’s been creating for decades, she was inspired with Hawaii to create a more conceptual, installation style piece. She first painted two of her characters on a wooden panel, before cutting them out. Than she installed them on a fence nearby festival base Lana Lane and decorated them with numerous colorful flowers. This mix of her flat, illustrative imagery and plastic […]