sculpture

Recently installed on the embankment of Sajsary Lake in Yakutsk, Russia — the second coldest city in the world —  is a massive sculpture fashioned by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel.  Forged with steel in his infectious signature style, the 4-meter public art object represents the artist’s vision of the primitive man —  a punk-like figure sporting spiked hair, released from civilization’s shackles.

Curated by the National Art Museum of the Republic of Sakha in collaboration with Artmossphere, Okuda’s 4-meter public art object, Ancestral Retromirage, is the final project of the fifth International Yakut Biennale of Contemporary Art that began in April 2018.

Photos courtesy of Artmossphere

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Shoot the Pump, a wonderfully engaging exhibit featuring an eclectic mix of works in a range of media by two dozen NYC-based artists, continues through November 4 at Bullet Space, an urban artist collective at 292 East 3rd Street. Curated by Lee Quiñones, Alexandra Rojas and Andrew Castrucci, it is largely a pean to the ubiquitous fire hydrant and its massive significance to the lives and minds of NYC kids. Pictured above is Pink Pump fashioned with acrylic on canvas by the legendary Lady Pink. Several more images follow:

Barry Hazard, Water Main, Acrylic on wood, 2018

Martin Wong, I Really Like the Way Firemen Smell, Acrylic on canvas, c. 1988

John Ahearn, Point Guard Renzo, Acrylic on reinforced plaster, 2018

Bobby G, Superzentrierte, Oil and aluminum paint on canvas, 1983

Alexandra Rojas in collaboration with John Ahearn, Installation; Hydrant water on oil shellac and reinforced plaster, 2018

Lee Quiñones, Trepidation, Metal cans, wood, 2018

Bullet Space is open Saturday and Sunday from 1 – 6pm or by appointment — 347.277.9841. Check here for a full list of the artists on exhibit. Most of the artists, explains co-curator Alexandra Rojas, have strong roots on the Lower East Side, as Bullet Space continues to keep its culture alive amidst the rapid changes in the neighborhood. Lee Quiñones, in fact, lived in the building where Bullet Space is housed.

Photos of artworks by Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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Continuing through this weekend at Red Bull Arts New York is RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder, the historic solo exhibition focusing on the extraordinary, idiosyncratic talents of the late multi-media artist, graff writer, hip-hop pioneer and Gothic Futurist theoretician RAMMΣLLZΣΣ. A diverse selection of the artist’s visual works, music and writings, along with rare archival documentation and ephemera, presents an intimate portrait of the visionary New York cult icon. The mixed-media image above features one of the artist’s wildly imaginative Garbage Gods.  Several more images from the remarkable  RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder follow:

Letter Races, Mixed media

Monster models, Mixed media

Letter M Explosion, Mixed media

Luxturnomere Hammer Bar Hammerclef Force Field One, Spray paint on cardboard

Jams, Spray paint and acrylic on canvas

The man, himself

The exhibit continues through Sunday at 220 West 18th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. Red Bull Arts New York is open from 12-7pm.

Photo credits: 1, 4-7 Lois Stavsky; 2-3 Karin du Maire

Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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In his wonderfully handsome and poignant exhibit, Too Young for Type One, Appleton has created an alternative universe in a range of media that not only delights us aesthetically, but provides us with an entry into the world of a diabetic.  Currently on view from 1-9pm at the Tenth Avenue Gallery, 287 Tenth Avenue at 26th Street, Too Young for Type One ends with a closing reception this Wednesday, November 15th from 6-10pm. What follows are several images I captured on my recent visit:

Appleton with one of his many perturbingly powerful installations

The End, Part One, Photographic transfer / Archival 27″ x 27″

A New Hero Emerges (the Tin Man as Diabetic), Mixed media / Found work 40″ x 28″

Appleton with his Insulin Tree

A small segment of “Too Young for Type One”

Photo credits: First image courtesy Appleton; 2-6 Lois Stavsky

Note: The exhibit is open today, Sunday, until 9pm.

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Presented by RexRomae Gallery and curated by Street Art News founder Rom Levy, Martin Whatson‘s solo exhibit Revive opened last Friday, September 29th, in Santa Monica. Featured in Revive are paintings, prints and sculptures representative of the Norwegian artist’s vibrant graphic imagery fashioned in juxtaposition to his greyscaled stenciled art and staid backgrounds. Pictured above is Whatson‘s recreation of  Salvador Dali’s Figure at the Window — forged with acrylic, spray paint and marker — that originally surfaced on the streets of Norway in 2015 during the Nuart Street Art Festival.  What follows are several more images of artworks on exhibit in Revive:

“Behind the Curtain” — which made an appearance in Miami in 2015 as a large scale mural

“Framed” — originally conceived in 2013  for the Sand, Sea and Spray Festival in Blackpool, UK. 

The artist’s famed butterfly as sculpture

Martin Whatson‘s iconic astronauts — with butterflies fluttering on their fingertips

The celebrated Martin Whatson with his brightly graffitied rhino

The exhibit continues through this weekend at 328 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Contents for this post provided by Luna George; photos by Angela Izzo

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Hektad-and-Urbanimal-Repurposed-art-Fat-Free-Art

An extraordinary array of found objects have been transformed into intriguing repurposed art for Fat Free Art‘s first annual Bizarre Bazaar.  Pictured above is Hektad‘s American graffiti flag looming over Urbanimal‘s table. Here are severel more works from this stylishly imaginative exhibit.

Raphael Gonzalez, An Ciana

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Tomaso Albertini, Butterfly Effect, huge segment of framed piece

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What Will You Leave Behind, Worth Nothing

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Icy and Sot, Let Her Be Free

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Bianca Romero, The Muse Says — to the right of  Hektad‘s spray cans — and shoes designed by SacSix on shelf below

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JPO, 3 of a Kind

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Suckadelic, Pussy Grabs Back

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The exhibit continues through March 4 at Fat Free Art, 102 Allen Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It is open Tuesday – Saturday 11AM-7PM & Sunday 12PM-5PM,

Photos by Lois Stavsky

Note: Hailed in a range of media from Wide Walls to the Huffington Post and the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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While exploring the streets of Mexico City earlier this month, I meandered into Huerto Roma Verde, a huge urban community garden — largely constructed with salvaged materials — in the South Roma colony. Committed to ecological awareness and sustainable consumption, it features a range of workshops and activities for folks of all ages.  It is also rich and varied not only in its offerings and produce, but in its public art, as well. Here is a small sampling:

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One of many art pieces on its grounds

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And this one capturing its spirit–

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As seen from the outside

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Photos by Lois Stavsky

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rae-bk-new-years-eve

NYC’s prolific RAE BK will join forces with the legendary DJ Kool Herc at 99 Bowery on New Year’s Eve for an unprecented event. A brief interview with RAE BK about his new exhibit  and its New Years Eve launch follows:

This sure seems like a fun way to spend New Years Eve! What spurred you to do this? 

After everything that has gone on with this Presidential Election in the US, I decided the best way to bring in a 2017 is with a bang.  I hope it’s a way to at least turn the page for an evening for those who attend. The name of the exhibition is All Systems Go and it centers around the comparison of discarded objects and human beings.

What kinds of works can we expect to see? On the streets we’ve spotted everything from your stickers to your huge installations?

There will be about 40 pieces ranging from ‘found object’ sculptures to large scale canvases to paintings on paper.  These are works I have made over the course of eight months.  And what better way to say goodbye to 2016 than to have a living legend, the Father of Hip-Hop, DJ Kool Herc, to bring some bass and get people moving later on?

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Can you tell us something about the found objects that you have been working with? Where did you find them?

A lot of the parts I have collected and used to make the work have come from an area in Willets Point. Queens, NYC.   It’s about a 10- block section full of “chop shops,” huge pot holes and some really weathered people. The feeling is third-world for sure. For someone looking at it from the outside — like me — it’s like the land of the forgotten.  Mechanics look like they’ve put in a week’s straight worth of doing car repairs. Others are selling drugs and looking to turn tricks. The work I have created is as much a reflection of the materials as it is of the environment.  A lot of rusted metals, worn fabrics and scraps of plastics… Think “pop-artifacts.”

What was it like to work with these objects?

While working in my studio, I kept seeing the worn and weary faces of the people I encountered in the weathered parts. I adopted the philosphy of making the best of the materials you are given.  And these materials came from the people of Willets Point. People there do what they have to do to make a living. Whatever it takes. The interesting thing is that for all the rusted, decayed, crushed pieces I found, I also found stuff that had a nice gold or silver shine or burst of color that created a cool high-end, low-end quality to the finished pieces.

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How can one attend All Systems Go on New Years Eve?

Opening night will be a ticketed event with open bar and music spun on vinyl by DJ Kool Herc.  I will be giving away a small original piece of work just before midnight too. You can get tickets here.

And if we can’t make it to the New Years Eve opening, will we still be able to see your show?

Yes! The show will run for at least another week after that. Check my Instagram for updates.

Interview by Lois Stavsky; photos 2 & 4 from NYC streets, Tara Murray

Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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zoe-leonard-text-art-high-line-nyc

With the mission of fostering a dialog with the surrounding neighborhood and urban landscape, High Line Art — curated by Cecelia Alemani — presents a wide array of provocative artworks in a range of media. Pictured above is I want a president, Zoe Leonard‘s 1992 text-based work installed on the occasion of today’s election. Here are several more works that can be seen on the High Line.

 Tony Matelli, Sleepwalker — for Wanderlust, a group exhibition exploring the themes of walking, journeys and pilgrimages

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And alone at dusk

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Matt Johnson, Untitled — repurposed original High Line rail track  — for Wanderlust

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 Kathryn Andrews, Sunbathers II, as seen at dusk

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Barbara Kruger, “BLIND IDEALISM IS REACTIONARY SCARY DEADLY, an adaptation of a quote from Frantz Fanon

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Photo credits: 1 & 6 Lois Stavsky; 2 & 4 Dani Reyes Mozeson and 3 & 5 Romare Taylor

Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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bayette-ross-smith-Boom-Box

In collaboration with the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance and NYC Parks, FLUX Public Art Projects has brought over three dozen arresting sculptures and installations — all rich with cultural references — to Marcus Garvey Park. Pictured above is Bayeté Ross Smith, Got the Power: Boomboxes.  Here are several more:

Jordan Baker-Caldwell, Golem

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Jack Howard Potter, Belvedere Torso

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Richard Vivenzio, Untitled

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Suprina, DNA Totem. close-up

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Jason WallaceCrosshairs

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Capucine BourcartTrompe l’oeil

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Bob Clyatt, (E)scape

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Photo credits: 1, 3 & 6 City-as-School intern Sol Raxlen; 2 Lois Stavsky 4, 5, 7 & 8 Tara Murray

Note: Hailed in a range of media from the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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