News

Launched in 2015 by SVA graduates Justin Aversano and Travis Rix, the non-profit SaveArtSpace has already transformed 66 advertising spaces into sites for public art in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Louisville and now Golden, Colorado.

Located at 650 West 46th Street in Hells Kitchen, the billboard featured above was designed by Brooklyn-based illustrator Feifei Ruan.  And, along with original artworks by local artist Sadie Starnes and NYC-based Israeli visual artist Meytar Moran, it can, also, be seen in Street Smart, an exhibition currently on view at the SVA Chelsea Gallery — with a special reception next Thursday, November 30th, 6-8pm.

Beginning December 4th SaveArtSpace will be bringing more public art to New York City, showcasing artists on advertising spaces throughout the area. Works by the selected artists will also be exhibited at The Living Gallery Outpost, with an opening reception on December 13, 2017. What follows is a sampling of what you can expect to see there:

 Brandon Sines — known to us street art aficionados as Frank Ape, Social Media Isn’t Always Social

Brooklyn native Angela Alba, Pink Pool

Brooklyn-based Felipe Posada, ‘Can’t Wear My Mask…

And if you are interested in submitting your art for future Save Art Space projects, check this link out.

All images courtesy SaveArtSpace

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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Featuring music, art, video and performance, Women To The Front is an immersive experience celebrating and showcasing women in the art world. Curated by Zoe Croci and Sara Catalan, it presents a range of works in a variety of media by over 30 female artists, many who are familiar to us street art aficionados. Pictured above is by Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Gigi Bio. Other featured artists include:

Philadelphia-based digital artist Makeba Laurent does Lauryn Hill

Japanese painter Mina Hamada

Paris-based Daniela Yohannes, Oculus Sea

NYC-based performance artist Terry Lovette

FAITH XLVII and Dane Dodds, directors, AQUA REGALIA HONG KONG 2017, still from video 

The event — whose mission is “to inspire and empower new female-identified generations and anyone who enjoys good art” — takes place this Thursday evening, November 16, at Superchief Gallery, 1628 Jefferson Ave. in Ridgewood, Queens. There will also be a special premiere of “Dumb Dumb” music video featuring talented female rapper Cipherella directed by Zoe map, along with live art and complimentary drinks. Free to Arts Club members, admission is $10.

All images courtesy Zoe Croci

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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When Don Rimx began painting his portrait of Nuyorican poet Jesús “Tato” Laviera last month, I had the opportunity to speak to the poet’s sister, Ruth Sanchez Laviera. “Don Rimx represents my spirit and my brother’s spirit,” she said. “As soon as I met him, I knew he was the one to paint a mural honoring my brother.” And last Saturday, Oct. 28th, after the mural was officially unveiled at Taino Towers and 123rd Street was renamed for Jesús “Tato” Laviera, I posed a few questions to Rimx:

Your mural depicting Jesús “Tato” Laviera is wonderful. When were you first offered the opportunity to paint his portrait?

I was contacted about a year ago.

Can you tell us a bit about your process? What steps did you take to make this happen?

I began by reading or watching every interview I could find that had been conducted with Jesús “Tato” Laviera. I spent time at Hunter College’s Centro: The Center for Puerto Rican Studies reading Jesús “Tato” Laviera‘s poetry and whatever literature and criticism I could find by him and about him. I came to understand and appreciate just how important a voice he was in the Nuyorican movement. I even had the opportunity to  live in the same apartment in Taino Towers that Jesús “Tato” Laviera lived in and to speak to many folks who knew him.

How about the painting itself? How long did it take you?

I worked 12 hours a day for five days.

And the mural unveiling, along with the renaming of this corner? What was the experience like for you?

It was wonderful! I feel so blessed to have experienced it all. Among the speakers were City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Maria Cruz, executive director of Taino Towers. There was also a poetry reading, along with reminiscences by family and friends.

Congratulations!  We are so happy that this opportunity came your way. It’s great to have your vision and talents shared with us — once again — here in NYC.

Photos: 1 & 2 Lois Stavsky; 3 & 4 courtesy of the artist; featured in the third photo are: Ruth Sanchez Laviera to the left of  Don Rimx and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to his right

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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Just in time for Halloween, Roycer and Matt Siren — two NYC legends known for their iconic characters that continue to surface on our streets — have collaborated on a sometimes gory, always captivating, exhibit of playful artworks in a range of media.  Fusing elements of street art, graphic design, fantasy, folk art and fine art,  Ember City presents the artists’ iconic characters inhabiting a riveting post-apocolytic universe. What follows are several images from the exhibit at the inviting new project space, Best World Gallery:

Roycer, Stuff I Can’t Afford, Acrylic on canvas, 2017

Matt Siren, Untitled, Plexi & enamel on wood, 2017

Matt Siren, Terrible Visions, Acrylic Silkscreen on Wood, 2017

Matt Siren, Roycer, and 907 Crew, 9:07, Acrylic and enamel on wood, 2017

Roycer, Float, Krink & acrylic on canvas, 2017

Curated by Natasha Quam and Rebecca Shenk, Ember City remains on view through November 4 at 219 Madison Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 1-7pm. To schedule a visit at any other time, email ROYCERXSIREN@GMAIL.COM.

Photo credits: 1, 2, 4 & 5 Lois Stavsky; 3 & 6 Tara Murray

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In 2015 Ironbound founder Gary Bloore started Paint for Pink when his partner, Lisa Byron, was battling breast cancer. After years of fighting the disease, Lisa passed on December 8th, 2016.  Gary Bloore has continued the tradition of Paint for Pink in Lisa’s memory. I recently met up with Gary at Ironbound‘s new site, a huge — once abandoned stadium — at 226 Rome Street in Newark, NJ, the home of this year’s Paint for Pink.

What an amazing site this is! Can you tell us a bit about it?

What was once a 4,500-seat concrete bleacher stadium was shut down and abandoned in 1987.  No one wanted to touch it. There was trash everywhere — broken bottles, litter, rubbish of every type. And then in May, we got permission to clean it up.

That’s quite a feat! How did you manage to do that?

Lots of elbow grease and determination. And visions of events — such as this one — that could take place here. There were about 50 volunteers. It has been a year of expansion for us working in partnership with Ironbound president Mike Steadman, along with the City of Newark. It’s a symbol of rebirth for us. Lisa died in December, and in these past few months we took a dead stadium and put life into it.

What is the particular mission of this event — Paint for Pink

Its mission is to create and spread awareness of breast cancer and other health-related issues. The Rutgers Community Health Center brought a mobile van and gave free exams. Since July, in fact, we have been working with the Rutgers School of Nursing and Newark Tech High School’s Teal Center in establishing the LIT (Learning, Inspiring Teaching) Program with the mission of teaching Newark Tech High School kids how to teach other kids about health issues.

What a great concept! How many artists participated in this year’s Paint for Pink event?

Twenty-eight artists contributed. In addition to the Newark-based artists The Artchitectz, others from out-of-town — such as Dojo and Repo — joined us.

And how was the response?

It was tremendous!  There was tremendous community interest and involvement — and lots of entertainment and great food.

Congratulations! It is all so amazing! And the art is wonderful.

Images

1 Goomba, Rizl and BenK

2 Seoz

3 Jodo

4 Repo

5 Chek, Dojo, Lesk, Repo, Tameartz +

6 Mone & Jick +

7 Torch Fuego and Risky — indoors

Photo credit: 1, 2, 4-7 Lois Stavsky; 3 courtesy Gary Bloore; interview conducted and edited 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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Few artists capture the soulful grit of NYC as strikingly as Fernando Romero aka Ski and Mike Baca aka 2Esae, collectively known as UR New York. Their most recent exhibit, A New York Story — a captivating ode to NYC — has graced the walls of Pop International Galleries since early October.  Pictured above is a work of mixed media on canvas simply titled URNY. What follows are several more artworks that will remain on view through mid-week.

Day Dreaming, Mixed media on canvas

Backstreet, Mixed media on wood panel

Don’t Kill My Vibe, Mixed media on canvas

La Bodega, Mixed media on wood panel

Already Read, Mixed media on wood panel

Pop International Galleries is located at 195 Bowery at Spring Street and is open Mon-Sat 10-7 | Sun 11-6 and by appointment. Opening this coming Saturday night at 7pm is a two-man show featuring Sen2 and Reso. To attend the opening reception, RSVP at rsvp@popinternational.com .

Photos of artworks: 1 – 3, 4 & 6 Lois Stavsky; 5 courtesy of Pop International Galleries

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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Conceived by Dusty Rebel, Street Cuts is an ingenious street art-based digital sticker app featuring images by some of our favorite street artists. Eager to find out more about it, I posed a few questions to Dusty:

I just downloaded your newly released Street Cuts app. It’s wonderfully engaging!  Can you tell us something about the concept behind it?

I’ve always loved stickers and their role within the street art community…the way they are collected, traded, and often well-placed on the street — especially on other images like ads. It seemed only natural to bring street art to digital stickers, especially with iMessage, which allows you to drop stickers into your conversations or onto your photos. It felt like a fun way to explore “digital vandalism.” Also, I liked the idea of building a collective of street artists who weren’t being asked to simply “work for exposure,” but would be paid for their work. This Street Cuts app makes that possible.

What about its name — Street Cuts?

When we started developing packs — like Hiss’s and City Kitty’s — made from my photos of their work on the street, we began calling them Street Cuts. We soon realized it would be a cool name for the app, itself.

Who are some of the artists involved in Street Cuts?

It is a growing collective with more artists to come. But for the past few months I’ve been working closely with HISS, Abe Lincoln, Jr., City Kitty, KNOR, Belowkey and the Primate, as they developed digital sticker packs.

How can artists become involved in your project? I’m sure there are many who would like to be included?

While our collective is by invitation-only, I’m open to artists pitching their ideas for a pack to me. They can email me at dusty@streetcuts.co 

How can we find out more about it?

You can come and celebrate the launch of Street Cuts this coming Monday, October 23, from 6-10pm at Arlene’s Grocery, 95 Stanton Street on the Lower East Side. The launch party will include a scavenger hunt, give-aways, and original work by the app’s featured artists, who will also be in attendance. Be sure to download the Street Cuts app first and follow us on Instagram for Scavenger Hunt details.

It sounds great! Congratulations!

All images/photos courtesy Dusty Rebel; the second image features Abe Lincoln, Jr., HISS & KNOR; the third KNOR; the fourth the Primate and the fifth City Kitty; interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky; the app​ ​is produced​ ​by​ ​​Itsy​ ​Bitsy​ ​Media​​ ​and​ ​developed​ ​by​ ​​Tanooki​ ​Labs​.

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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Inspired by the MISSOKO BWITI tradition from the MASSANGO and PUNU tribe he joined when in Africa, the wonderfully imaginative West Coast-based Chor Boogie has recently completed a massive mural in Salem, MA. Commissioned by the Punto Urban Art Museum, the intriguing  artwork, entitled LOVE CHILD, celebrates the gift of life. The artist describes it as “An Offering of Visual Medicine for the SOUL,” as the LOVE CHILD’s arms are open and ready to embrace you.

Closer up

Chor Boogie with his mural

And in progress

Images courtesy of the artist

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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Home to such projects as 100 Gates and Market Surplus, the streets and venues of Manhattan’s Lower East Side have introduced us to new talents, while showcasing some of NYC’s most prominent graffiti artists and muralists. Artists are now invited to submit ideas for an entire mural — or a segment of it — to be painted on the western façade of Essex Crossing‘s site at 145 Clinton Street that will be home to 107 market-rate apartments and 104 below-market-rate units. Check the Request for Proposals (RFP) for all the details and requirements. You have until December 15th to submit it.

The image featured above was painted by Gera Luz. Here are several more that have surfaced on the Lower East Side within the past year:

Hanksy

Flood

Buff Monster for Market Surplus

Claw Money

Lexi Bella

Photo credit:  QuallsBenson

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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