On my recent visit to this year’s Welling Court Mural Project in Astoria Queens, I discovered a wondrous array of art fashioned in a multitude of styles. The distinctly striking mural pictured above was painted last week by Meres One in his singular stained-glass style. Several more images of new artworks follow in this first of a two-part series documenting WCMP23, a community public art project organized and curated by Alison C. Wallis
Proclaimed by his former partner Keith Haring as the “Graffiti King of the Lower East Side,” Angel Ortiz aka LA2 is increasingly gaining the admiration and acclaim that he deserves. A self-taught artist, he has fashioned a distinct aesthetic that has evolved into a stylishly striking synthesis of graffiti, pop art and fine art.
Ranging in tones from black, white and gray to bright, bold hues, Angel’s new works on exhibit in “Ode 2 NYC” at Chase Contemporary vary from the seemingly simple to the remarkably intricate. Exuding a magical energy, together they are a glowing testament to LA2’s singular intuitive skills, as well as the perfect pean to NYC.
Featured below are several more images captured from the exhibit:
“Shazbot,” 2023, Acrylic and marker on canvas
“Rainbow Swirl,” 2023, Acrylic and marker on canvas
“Tiffany,” 2023,Acrylic and marker on canvas
“Subway,” 2023,Acrylic and marker on canvas
“DJ LES, 2023, Acrylic and marker on canvas
Exhibition curator and gallery co-owner and director Christopher Pusey with “Silver on Blue,” 2022, Acrylic and silver marker on canvas
“Ode 2 NYC” can be viewed through June 18 at Chase Contemporary, 413 West Broadway in Soho: Monday and Tuesday, 10 AM–6 PM; Wednesday and Thursday, 10 AM–7 PM; Friday and Saturday, 10 AM–8 PM and Sunday, 11 AM–7 PM.
We’ve become huge fans of Getafe’s ever-evolving, striking graffiti walls. On my recent trip, I revisited the Madrid municipality and came upon a wide range of exuberant new graffiti art amid huge graffiti productions. The image featured above was fashioned by Rikams TFC93 and Chema Rodriguez. What follows is a small sampling of what greeted us:
While driving through the central Spanish city of Illescas, we came upon a huge abandoned property covered with a captivating array of graffiti art. Pictured above is one of the many handsomely crafted burners. Several more artworks in a range of styles follow:
Despite the many changes in Philly’s West Kensington neighborhood, the walls along North 5th & Cecil B Moore continue to host a huge range of striking, first-rate graffiti murals. The image pictured above is the work of the gifted Philly-based Colombian artist Busta. Three more adjacent murals — all on the theme of the greek myth “Jason and the Argonauts” — follow:
Two long walls along a parking lot on Těšnov Street in Prague’s New Town – the largest of Prague’s four historic districts — have long served as a legal open-air graffiti gallery. The crisply executed piece pictured above was painted by the prolific Every Tag Counts for the MontanaGrafficon jam held earlier this fall. Several more images that I captured along the wall — while visiting Prague last week — follow:
Tracing the emergence of graffiti from an underground subculture into a legitimate profession, Duality: A Graffiti Story — directed by Ryan Dowling — focuses on the struggles and successes of five noted graffiti artists. In the Buffalo 8 documentary feature film, legendary writersMeres One, Dual, Sloke, Jaber and Never1959 share their challenges and ventures as they reflect on their personal journeys in this ever-evolving culture.
Many graffiti writers — who were initially deemed as vandals for their tagging and illegal interventions — now earn wide recognition and respect for their stirring murals that grace cities across the globe. Their aesthetics have made their way inside and outside a range of upscale properties from luxury hotels to major corporations — who court them to enhance the “coolness” of their brands.
Once working mainly clandestinely, these artists now foster community, as they share their talents openly with others — who are eager to learn from their skills or simply observe and photograph them as they paint. And as their artwork begins to blur the lines between graffiti, urban art and fine art, it also increasingly finds a home in galleries.
Among the film’s recurrent themes is the artists’ addiction to getting up and their deep love for graffiti. “I’ll probably never ever not want to write my name on something. It’s an addiction for sure,” states Dual. “It’s amazing that there’s that opportunity to bridge the gap from doing illegal graffiti to doing commercial work with big companies.”
Several screenshots from the riveting documentary follow:
NYC-based Meres One, founder and curator of the iconic graffiti mecca 5Pointz — whose talents continue to make their way onto walls, huge canvases, lightbulbs and varied corporate settings.
Houston, Texas-based Dual, best known for his wheat pastes — whose body of artwork includes everything from meticulously-made tape collages to sign painting to huge commissioned murals that beautify cities
Austin, Texas native Sloke — who, in addition to painting, curating and mentoring youth — has produced murals for a range of companies including Apple, Facebook, Nike, Google, Red Bull and Time Warner
West Coast-based Jaber (ala El Ninja Blanco) — who has been making his mark on the streets since the early 9o’s and now does — among other things — design for major fashion companies and film sets
Los Angeles-based Never1959 — who is best-known for his large scale murals on buildings around Los Angeles
Never‘s 50-foot high mural that parodies the 1958 Orson Welles film noir “Touch of Evil”
The premiere of this splendid homage to graffiti will take place tomorrow, October 19th, in Austin, Texas. And beginning Oct. 21, it will be available on Amazon Prime, AppleTV/iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube movies.
Earlier this summer, several members of the OTM Graff Crew brought their spectacular skills to Bushwick, where they fashioned their distinctly impressive rendition of Jurassic World Dominion. Featured above are the talents of Cortes and Scope against a background created by Cortes, Meres, Albertus Joseph and Topaz. Several more images captured from the huge production follow:
Cortes against collaborative background, closer-up
Meres, 5Pointz founder, who spearheaded this production
Curated by COPE2, “Subway Art Legends,” a dynamic mix of artworks created by those icons who “rocked the trains” during the subway era of the early 80’s, continues through Tuesday at One Art Space in Tribeca. The tantalizing image featured above, China Red N.Y.C, was fashioned by the legendary Delta2 with acrylic, spray paint and paint markers. Several more infectiously rhythmic works on exhibit follow:
Bronx native TKid 170, “Old School,” Circa 1989, Redo of a classic
Brooklyn native Dome, “NYC Subway Panel,” Enamel on metal
Yesterday afternoon, James Top Productions brought live painting, art vendors and a host of performances to Jackie Robinson Park in West Harlem. Despite the intermittent rain, the infectious positive energy was palatable from blocks away. Featured above is Queens-based writer and illustrator Topaz, standing alongside his iconic character.
Veteran graffiti artist and painter Wore One alongside his masterly-fashioned hip-hop character
Moving solo to the beats in front of King Bee’s iconic bee
