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Tag Archives: Street & Urban Art

Openings: Bäst – “Germs Tropicana” @ Opera Gallery (NYC)

Last week, the Opera Gallery hosted an opening for a rare solo from Bäst at their New York location entitled Germs Tropicana. The show featured somewhat of a new direction for the Brooklyn-based street artist as he delivered pieces that were dense with his collage-style imagery, some of which were circular in nature. Teeming with his signature pop iconography, they resembled giant petri dishes – hence the title of the show. Along with his collaboration with Greek olive oil brand Eléia, rounding out the exhibition were a series of gun sculptures. Photo credit: Joe Russo for Arrested […]

Streets / Videos: ABOVE – “24% DESEMPLEADOS” (Spain)

The Bay Area-based ABOVE (interviewed) was recently invited to paint at the 7th annual International art festival ASALTO in Zaragoza, Spain. He chose a 120 foot long wall to highlight an issue that has been front and center for the people of the country – their 24% unemployment rate (the unemployment rate for those under 25 years old, is a staggering 53%). He enlisted the help of the local Spanish people who posed in his studio to have their silhouettes traced for the project.  Check the video and more photos […]

Streets: Barry McGee – Brooklyn (Part I)

No rest for the weary as Barry McGee has headed over to Brooklyn to work on a gigantic mural after recently putting together a stunning museum solo at the BAM/PFA (UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive). Starting this past weekend, Mr. Twist’s new piece is a larger representation of his signature cluster panel paintings. Located at the building housing the Mark Morris Dance Group, this beautiful and detailed mural will take more than a week to paint, thanks to the help of Colossal Media. AM stopped […]

Openings: JR – “Pattern” @ Emmanuel Perrotin (Hong Kong)

After teasing his fans with updates from the setup of his show in Hong Kong as well as photos of a sweet new mural in the Asian metropolis, JR’s show at Emmanuel Perrotin finally opened last night. The French photograffeur has kindly sent AM shots from the opening of Pattern, where he unveiled his first sculptural creations ever in the form of crumpled photographs, originals featuring his signature eye, as well as a new photobooth for his Inside Out project. Discuss JR here.

Streets: Cyrcle. – “Magic Is Real” (Los Angeles)

During the past month, the art collective known as Cyrcle. had been secretly working on what is perhaps one of the biggest murals in Los Angeles standing today. Finished in the last week or so and now unveiled, the piece titled Magic Is Real is a precursor to the group’s upcoming solo show happening in mid-November. Utilizing a clean style of lettering as well as references to the Ouroboros, microscopic organisms, and an overall design that feels different than most murals, this wall is a step up […]

Fame Fest ’12: Ericailcane (Part I)

With the opening festivities (September 21-22) of the Fame Festival fast approaching, it looks like at least half of the artists (more here) for this year’s event have already made their mark in the small town in Italy. Grottaglie now has another additional mural from festival regular Ericailcane has he painted this new wall entitled gipsy disagio in his usual illustrative style. Discuss Fame Festival here. Discuss Ericailcane here.

Streets: JR (Hong Kong)

With his show opening very soon (September 18th) in Hong Kong, French street artist JR has completed another mural for his Inside Out project. This new long mural was installed on the roof of one of the footpaths of the IFC and can be seen from various viewpoints above the piece. Also, of interest to those who plan on attending the opening at Emmanuel Perrotin is plans for a photo booth at the space that fans can use to participate in the Inside Out project themselves. Seeing his […]

José Parlá – “Gesture Performing Dance, Dance Performing Gesture” @ BAM

Last week, AM attended the much anticipated unveiling of José Parlá’s new work – Gesture Performing Dance, Dance Performing Gesture – at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). José had the honor of being the first artist commissioned to create public art for BAM’s new Richard B. Fisher building. This magnificent painting, which measures 37 x 7 feet, took the artist four months to complete. The christening event was also accompanied by a mini showcase of Parlá’s paper based mono-tranfers and rag installations similar to what he put forth […]

Openings: RETNA – “New Paintings and Works on Paper” @ Michael Kohn Gallery

Last night, Michael Kohn Gallery hosted the opening for local graffiti artist RETNA (featured) and his solo show featuring New Paintings and Works on Paper. Both the outside and inside of the gallery were transformed by the MSK-affiliated writer with his urban hieroglyphics in the form of paintings on the interior and with his script directly on the exterior walls of the showspace. The new body of work spanned the diverse twists and turns his work has taken through the years – from the strong regimented monochromatic calligraphy to the embellished […]

Rewind: Sept 10 – Sept 16

This week’s video Rewind has a mini-documentary (source) on Gary Baseman (featured) produced by Eric Minh Swenson at the very top of the list. The in-depth interview reveals his thoughts behind his character Toby and his travels, his love for masks, how his sketchbooks document his travels, creating his own holiday, various characters he has created, the mythology behind his imagery, his personal history, and more. The footage also gives you an extensive look at his studio. Look for a major retrospective from Gary at the Skirball next […]