Exhibits

Fueled by their love of art and their passion to promote the art they love, Brian Jerkface and Iman Johnson are busy curating some of NYC’s coolest art events. On a recent visit to their current art show at NoBar at 608 Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn, we had the opportunity learn a bit about the two talented young men and their upcoming projects.

Phetus

How did this all begin?

Brian: We both love street art and we wanted to share our love with others in alternative settings. It’s great fun, and it’s also a way to help artists, particularly those who work in public spaces, make a living.  Only by selling their art can they continue to pursue their passion.

Do you have a formal art education?

Iman: I attended Cooper Union. My degree is in architecture.

Brian: I studied painting and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts.

Have you any favorite artists?

Iman: My all-time favorite artist is the British painter Francis Bacon.  I also love Lebbeus Woods, a conceptual architect, who was one of my teachers at Cooper Union.  And I love what See One is doing on the streets.

Brian: I love the Cubist style of the Spanish painter Juan Gris. He’s a definite influence on my work. Among those artists who work on the streets, I have many favorites. Among them are: NoseGo, Phetus and Bishop.

Jerkface

What attracted you to street art and graffiti?

Brian:  I grew up listening to hip-hop, and I fell in love with graffiti. When I was about 16, I picked up a spray-can.  I was also into skateboarding.

Iman: Yes, it was the entire culture that drew us in.

What do you see as the future of street art?

Brian:  As it continues to make its mark in both sanctioned and unsanctioned spaces, I see it as getting better and better all the time.

Iman:  Yes, it seems to be in an ideal place right now. While becoming more acceptable, it’s still on the edge and is almost certain to remain so. Most of it will continue to push against authority.

Your current art exhibit here at NoBar is wonderful.  What is the appeal of this particular setting?

Brian:  It’s a wonderful spot, and the neighborhood is easily accessible.  We love the mix of people it attracts, and it is street art-friendly. It allows us to feature live painting at our openings – something we both love.

What’s ahead?  Any other exhibits coming up at NoBar?

Brian:  Yes. Cosbe will be painting live here for our next exhibit on Friday, March 29.  And Deps is among the artists we are featuring in our show opening April 26.

Art-show-@-NoBar

That sounds great! What about other venues? Anything else coming up elsewhere?

Brian:  We are in the process of curating a skate deck exhibit featuring dozens of artists – including Bishop,  Phetus and Col Wallnuts – that will open on April 20th at the Loom Gallery on Flushing Avenue in Bushwick.

Iman:  And we have a number of events coming up in Studio J, our Long Island City space – including a group show, a solo show by Phetus and a kids’ class in street art.

Wow! So much happening! How do you get the word out?

Brian: We get the news of our events out on Instagram and Facebook. We also hand out flyers.

Good luck! We are looking forward to your next event!

Photo of Phetus close-up by Lois Stavsky; Jerkface images courtesy of  POPUP X NYC

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Featuring a wondrous array of sticker art from first-rate handstyles to images of alluring women, SLAP: Adhesives and Egos, a DIY Sticker Exhibition opened this past Wednesday evening at Con Artist Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Here are some images from the exhibit that continues through April 3 at 119 Ludlow Street.

Lady Millard

Lady Millard sticker

Luv1

Luv1 Sticker Art

Choice Royce

Roycer sticker art

Lady Aiko

Lady Aiko sticker art

WKST

WKST sticker

Shaina

Shaina sticker art

Klops

Klops sticker art

Amongst Thieves

Amongst Thieves sticker

Serp 

Serp sticker art

And from Wednesday evening’s opening party

Con Artist Gallery

Opening Party at Con Artist

Check us out on Facebook next week for more sticker images from the exhibit.

Photos by Dani Mozeson & Lois Stavsky 

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Even during the winter months, artists from across the globe make their way to Long Island City’s 5Pointz. Here’s a small sampling of what can be seen on the walls of the world’s Mecca of aerosol art:

Italian artist Mr. Blob 

Mr. Blob

French artist Monsieur Plume 

Mathieu Plume RC

From Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg-Juke-Box-Cowboys-street-art-at-5Pointz-NYC

Moscow-based Zmogk

Zmogk graffiti

And this past weekend, the 5Pointz indoor gallery featured “From Bricks to Blades” as part of Armory Art Week. Here’s a sampling from the exhibit that is set to travel to Europe.

5Pointz founder, curator and artist Meres One

Meres

Spud from Toronto

Spud

And Zimad of the TD4 crew — on a more subtle note

Zimad

Photos by Tara Murray and Lois Stavsky

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Born in Argentina and raised in the Bronx, veteran graffiti artist Nic 707 is once again riding the trains. Curious about the force behind the transient graff galleries that have been surfacing on NYC subways, we posed some questions to Nic.

Nic707

When did you first start getting up?

It was back in 1973.

Wow! So you were at the beginning of it all. What inspired you at the time?

My first hero at the time was Checker 170, the King of the 4 Line. And I saw what guys like Tracy 168, Rub 5 and Pnut 2 were doing.

What train lines did you hit back then?

Mostly the 4, 5, 2, the D and the old CC trains.  But I also hit the 7 and the 1 lines.

Did you work with any crews?

Lots. Among them was MGA – with Set 149, Padre, Stone High.  When I was 16, I started OTB and was its first president. Presidents that followed included Noc 167, Ban 2 and the current one, Cope 2.

Nic707

Were you ever arrested?

Let’s just say I was held against my will a couple of times. Life was more adventurous back then.

What is the riskiest thing you ever did?

Probably jumping off the trains when they were moving. I could’ve gotten killed. Some writers did. I also remember when I had to ride on the top of a train to escape some cops, surf to the next station and leap to the roof and lie there for two hours until the coast was clear.

How did your family respond to what you were doing?

They never supported me.  When I was 19, I returned from summer camp to discover that my mother had destroyed everything I had ever created.  That ended my early stint as a graffiti artist. Luckily, I found my way back to it about seven years ago.

What were you doing all those years you were away from it? And what brought you back to it?

I was doing lots of things – mostly stand-up comedy and other things that I shouldn’t have been doing. But I finally realized how much I missed my graffiti days.

Nic707

I’ve recently seen your work on walls here in the Bronx and up in Inwood.  I also saw it on exhibit at Gallery 69 in Tribeca. Have you exhibited anywhere else?

I took part in an exhibit at NYU and at a number of smaller private spaces.

How do you feel about the movement of graffiti and street art into galleries?

I applaud it. It pushes writers to continually refine their styles, and I think it’s great that they can make some money from their talents. I also like the idea of graffiti reaching folks who frequent galleries.

Why do you suppose graffiti seems to garner more respect in Europe than it does here – where it was born?

You’re never a hero in your hometown. And NYC is filled with too many haters.

Who are some of your other favorite graff artists these days?

There are many.  Meres, T-Kid 170, King Bee, Sonic, and Serve 1 are among them.

Do you have a formal art education?

No. But I attended DeWitt Clinton High School – along with dozens of other writers. It was the best art education I could get.

Nic707

Tell us something about your current project.

I came up with the concept in 2008 for “InstaFame Phantom Art.” It’s about creating moving art galleries – back on the subways where graffiti had its first and strongest impact. It’s about bringing people’s art to the people. Who really wants to read a Budweiser ad twenty times?

And how have folks reacted to it?

They love it!

And what about the “InstaFame” part?

Yeah. I want to be famous. Doesn’t everybody?

I’m not sure!  What do you see as the role of the artist in society?

To inspire others to dream and to follow their dreams.

How do you see yourself in five years?

I’d like to have my own graffiti reality television show.

Good luck! It sounds like fun! And in the meantime we’re looking forward to seeing more of your InstaFame Phantom Art galleries riding our trains.

 Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Dylan Egon

Charmed by Dylan Egon’s paste-ups that surface on the streets of Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s trendier neighborhoods, we loved viewing this Jersey City-based designer’s works currently on exhibit and for sale at reGeneration. Here is a sampling:

Dylan Egon

Dylan Egon

Table stools

Dylan Egon

She’s Found Religion (mod Victorian vanity totem)

Dylan Egon

And the iconic Petey

Dylan Egon

Presented in cooperation with the Jonathan LeVine Gallery and ABC Home Store, Dylan Egon’s splendid pieces can be seen at 38 Renwick Street, between Prince and Canal.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Rammellzee

In a Tribeca loft that became known as the “Battle Station,” the legendary graffiti artist and hip hop MC Rammellzee began in the 70’s to create his own mythology. Known as “Gothic Futurism,” it was a world that he would continue to develop — often with objects he found on the streets — for 30 years. The most comprehensive collection of Rammellzee’s works to-date is on view through February 3 at the Children’s Museum of the Arts at 103 Charlton Street in the South Village.  Among the items included in the RAMMELLZEE Galaxseum are: large-scale paintings, figurines, Rammellzee’s legendary letter racers and full-body life-sized costumes. Here are a few more images that we captured while visiting last week:

Rammellzee

Figurine, close-up

Rammellzee

Letter-racers representing letters of the alphabet — transformed into war machines — seeking to “break free”

Rammellzee letter racers

Letter-racer, close-up

Rammellzee letter racer

Life-sized costumed figure

Rammellzee life-sized costumed figure

Close-up from a second life-sized costumed figure

Rammellzee costumed figure

Curated by Prescott Trudeau, The RAMMELLZEE Galaxseum at CMA is certainly as appealing to us adults as it is to children!

Photos by Lenny Collado and Lois Stavsky

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Committed to the transformative power of art, the members of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative create works that reflect a strong political and social consciousness. Currently on exhibit at Munch Gallery at 245 Broome Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side is Sowing the Seeds of Love, the first Justseeds group exhibition in New York City. Over 20 Justseeds members have created new pieces specifically for this exhibit that continues through December 23. Many of these artists have also participated in public art projects. Here is a sampling of what is on view at Munch Gallery:

Chris Stain, Occupy

"Chris Stain"

Roger Peet, Great Auks 

"Roger Peet"

Colin Matthes, Personal Continuous Evacuation Dwelling

Colin Matthes

Meredith Stern, Mutual Aid

Meredith Stern

  Josh MacPhee, Even the Worms Must Produce

"Josh MacPhee"

 Photos by Lenny Collado, Sara Mozeson & Lois Stavsky

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"Icy and Sot"

Iranian artists Icy and Sot have been busy. In addition to gracing the exterior of the First Street trailer last weekend for the Centre-Fuge Art Project, they have been leaving their mark on the streets of Manhattan’s fashionable SoHo neighborhood and transforming walls at Brooklyn’s Nu Hotel into vibrant canvasses.

In SoHo

Icy and Sot street art

 John Lennon

"Icy and Sot in SoHo"

"Icy and sot"

And opening tonight — NUANCE presented by the Couch Sessions and the Nu Hotel, 85 Smith Street in Brooklyn

Icy and Sot at Nu Hotel in Brooklyn

Photos by Lenny Collado

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With their universal concepts, playful imagery and distinct visual rhythms, Keith Haring’s works continue to seduce folks of all ages from across the globe.  Opening this Sunday, December 2, from 1-5pm at Mana Contemporary’s huge first-floor gallery, Keith Haring showcases a collection of seldom-seen Haring pieces on a range of surfaces.  Here is a brief preview:

Untitled, 1983, Acrylic on leather

Dog, 1986, painted plywood with silkscreen

Close-up

Untitled, 1982, marker on wood

And of particular interest to us New York City street art lovers are oversized metal panels originally spray-painted in 1984 on the FDR Drive

Organized by 99 Cents Fine Art, New York, the exhibit also features several of Keith Haring’s subway drawings. Mana Contemporary is located at 888 Newark Avenue, in Jersey City — just a short ride from Manhattan.

Photos by Lenny Collado and Lois Stavsky

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"Cycle graffiti"

Long acclaimed for his iconic graffiti, infectious images, and skilled graphic design, Cycle continues to gain recognition and respect in the fine art world.  His current solo exhibit at Weldon Arts, CYCLE: Myth, Science, and Color, features a range of work from bold, cartoony images to fanciful, conceptual narratives — all attesting to Cycle’s versatility and talent. Here’s a small sampling:

"Cycle art"

"Cycle artwork"

"Cycle print"

 And here is Cycle on the streets:

On River Avenue in the Bronx

"Cycle graffiti"

Spotted on van

"Cycle graffiti"

At Welling Court in Astoria, Queens — alongside Lady Pink and Free 5 — in 2011

"Cycle, Lady Pink and Free 5"

 "Cycle street art"

Photos by Lenny Collado, Dani Mozeson and Lois Stavsky

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