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Jose De Diego Middle School as Outdoor Museum: Rafael Sliks, Reka, Bikismo, MTO, Paola Delfin, Martin Whatson, Madsteez, Axel Void, Don Rimx, Diana Contreras, the Hox & more

February 21, 2015

While in Miami this past week, I had the opportunity to visit the grounds of the Jose De Diego Middle School. On the edge of Wynwood, its students are among the city’s most economically disadvantaged. Over 600 youngsters, who had been deprived of an arts education due to insufficient funding, now attend a school that is also a wondrous outdoor museum. Curious about it all, I spoke to Don Rimx, one of the many artists who had participated in the school’s amazing transformation.

How did you become involved in this extraordinary project?

Soon after I moved to Miami, I met Robert Skran of WynwoodMap.com, a site that documents the public art that surfaces in Wynwood. A few months later, he invited me to participate in this particular project, the RAW Project, in partnership with the Wynwood Arts District Association.

What was the goal of this project? Did it have a particular mission?

One goal, of course, was to transform a drab, blank concrete canvas into a vibrant outdoor gallery. It was also conceived as a means to raise funds to enable the school to restore its arts program that had been lost to budget cuts.

When did the actual painting begin?

We began in November and most of the murals were completed by early December.

How did the students respond to the entire process?

They loved it. They were fascinated. They loved watching us paint, and they kept on asking us questions.

What kinds of questions did they ask you?

Questions like: Why are you painting this? Where did your idea come from? How do you do this? How long will it take you to finish it? Why are you painting sticks?

Back in December when Art Basel was in town, the school’s makeover attracted so many street art aficionados and art lovers. What’s happening these days?

The entire community loves the murals. The art on these walls have brought us all closer together. When I pass by, I often see teachers taking students on tours of the murals. The kids are always interested in learning something new about them and about the artists. And because so many of the artists traveled to their school from across the globe, there is so much to learn!

This really is fabulous! It would be wonderful if the Jose De Diego Middle School could serve as a model to other schools — on all grade levels — everywhere!

The murals pictured above are just a small sampling of what can be seen on the walls of the Jose De Diego Middle School:

1. Brazilian artist Rafael Sliks

2. Australian born, Berlin-based Reka

3. Puerto Rican artist Bikismo

4. French artist MTO (left) and Mexican artist Paola Delfín

5. Norwegian stencil artist Martin Whatson

6. West Coast-based Madsteez (left) and Miami-based Axel Void

7. Puerto Rican artist Don Rimx currently based in Miami — with son, Kye, standing on bottom right. (I’d asked him to take me to his favorite mural!)

8. Miami-based Peruvian artist Diana Contreras

9. Miami-based the Hox

Photos and post by Lois Stavsky

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Hang It or Skate It at the Clemente with: Chris Soria, Savior ElMundo & N Carlos Jay, Danielle Mastrion, Ben Angotti, Esteban del Valle & more

February 14, 2015

Currently on exhibit at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Hang It or Skate It features over 20 inventive artworks, each incorporating at least one skateboard. Here are a few:

Chris Soria, Harold Hunter

Savior ElMundo and N Carlos Jay, Legends Never Die

Danielle Mastrion, Brooklyn Banks

Ben Angotti, Hamya

Esteban del Valle, The Curator, Collector and Artist

Curated by Savior ElMundo, Terry Nelson and Frankie Velez and presented by Hip Hop USA, the exhibit continues through February 27 at the Abrazo Interno Gallery on 107 Suffolk Street.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert to Present Michael Alan’s Immortal Equations: An Exhibit, Living Installation & Theatrical Happening

February 9, 2015

A new series of painting and drawings by the wonderfully talented multi-media artist Michael Alan will be on view at the Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert Gallery for two days later this month. The second day of the exhibit, February 25, will feature a Living Installation. Curious about it all, I posed a few questions to Michael.

Can you tell us something about the title Immortal Equations? What does it mean?

For me, great artwork conveys a taste of planning mixed with spontaneity. The great masters made sure your eyes moved all around the picture plane. They sure didn’t want their heads cut off. When I work, whether on a flat surface or on people, I think in terms of something that will live past NOW and, also, has an algorithmic pop to it – whether through color and line or just balance.

The Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert Gallery describes Immortal Equations as a Living Installation, a solo exhibition and a theatrical happening. What can attendees expect to happen?

I’ve been going through myriads of health issues, so I just wanted to do a 2-day special show. On Feb 24^th, day one, there will be an exhibit of some new works. I will be there. It’s a basic opening, but my crowd varies from high-end collectors to my boys I grew up with. It’s a real NY show! And I’m planning to return for a month-long exhibit somewhat later on.

What about the second day?

On the 25^th starting at 6pm, the drawings come to life. I will do my staple event, a Living Installation, with nine others, and six hours of live music by me and Tim “Love” Lee. There will also be six hours of non-stop live-action over-the-top recreation of the human body.

What would you like your participants to walk away with? What is the mission of this event?

Creative inspiration, happiness, and many thoughts. We live to shut off, especially in a time of high technology. I try to slow time down and let people watch a Human Fish Tank. It’s for the people. I do this for community and for people to come and participate: to make drawings, write and be turned into living paintings.

Can you tell us something about this specific venue? The curator? Who else – besides – you will be featured?

The venue is Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert Gallery at 33 Orchard Street off Hester on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mitra Khorasheh is curating the show. The performers and participants include: David Modelo, Stacey Dawn, Selina Lee, Genevieve Sophie Snow, Kimtacular, Wren, Laura Weyl, Alyssa D’Anna and photographer Kristen Collins, along with live music by me and Tim “Love” Lee.

How can folks gain admission?

The first night’s exhibit is free and open to the public. The second night – the Living Installation – is by admission only. For tickets, please visit www.michaelalanart.com under Installation.

Interview by Lois Stavsky; photos 1-3 courtesy of the artist; final photo by Kristen Collins

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20in15 Continues through February at Woodward Gallery with Moody, Darkcloud, Kenji Nakayama, Cycle, stikman, Richard Hambleton & more

February 5, 2015

Woodward Gallery‘s first exhibit of 2015 presents a wonderfully diverse selection of works in a range of media by 20 contemporary artists. Among those artists featured are several with special appeal to us street art aficionados, as their artworks have also surfaced in public spaces. Here’s a sampling:

Moody, Mixed media on album cover, 2015

Darkcloud, The End Times, Spray paint, enamel and resin on foam core, 2014

Darkcloud, close-up

Kenji Nakayama, Naked Lunch, Acrylic on wood, close-up, 2012

Cycle, Rex vs Rex, Acrylic on canvas, 2013

stikman, Threaded, Acrylic on plexiglass, 2014

Richard Hambleton, (L) Malibu Seascape, 1986 and (R) Dancing Shadowman, Acrylic on paper, 1983

Woodward Gallery is located at 133 Eldridge Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It is open Tuesday – Saturday 11-6pm and Sunday from 12-5pm.

Photos credits: 1 & 3 City-as-School intern Zachariah Messaoud; 2, 5 & 7 courtesy Woodward Gallery; 4 Lois Stavsky & 6 Dani Reyes Mozeson

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Lady K Fever Solo Exhibit, Dubbed, to Open Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 4th, at BCA’s Longwood Art Gallery

February 3, 2015

Bronx-based Canadian artist Lady K Fever has been gracing the walls of her borough and beyond with her distinctly expressive aesthetic for over a decade. When I met up with her last week, she was feverishly at work on her inventive installation for her upcoming exhibit, Dubbed, at the Bronx Council of the Arts‘ Longwood Art Gallery.

This is all quite amazing! There is so much going on here, and I love it all. What is the concept behind this? What is going on?

I am playing with the language of graffiti. It’s a mix of sketches, drawings, pieces, tags, stickers, wheatpastes, paintings on Plexiglas and cardboard, found objects, transparencies, selfies, subway tiles, razor wire and all that I associate with graffiti. It is quite conceptual. The razor wire represents — among other things — a prison yard and the risks we graffiti writers take. The new drawings made for this exhibit have all been done in conversation with myself or a friend or a family member, exploring direct transmission through the self and hand.

When did the concept for this exhibit first come to you? How did it originate?

It began five years ago when I had a solo exhibit at Masterworks Museum in Bermuda. I became interested in playing with lines and mixing elements. It took me back to my reggae roots. The title of this exhibit Dubbed is a reference to the technical term for copying sound or other media from one tape to another. My installation explores how rhythm and emotion can translate into painted vibration and word.

When did you begin the actual work for this exhibit?

I began working on it about two months ago. But I’ve been thinking about it for the past two years.

What would you like your viewers to walk away with?

I want them to understand that there is more to graffiti than what one generally assumes. It is a rich, highly sophisticated aesthetic that involves a deliberate process.

Why did you choose the the Longwood Art Gallery as your venue?

Since I participated in a group exhibit at Longwood Art Gallery in 2011, I’ve always wanted to have a solo show here. It is the ideal space, as it nurtures and celebrates experimentation.

Note: An opening reception will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, from 5-9 at the Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Curator Laura Napier will also be in attendance.

Interview and photos by Lois Stavsky

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Lorenzo Masnah aka AEON on APC’s First U.S. Exhibit, Romance, Recycled Art & more

January 28, 2015

I caught up with Bogota native Lorenzo Masnah — aka AEON and Third World Pirate — last week in his Bushwick studio as he was readying to head to Chicago’s Galerie F to join Stinkfish, Zas and Buytronick in preparation for APC’s first exhibit in the U.S.

You are leaving in a few hours for Chicago. What’s happening there?

I will be working with Stinkfish, Zas and Buytronick to produce a series of collaborative works. Each of us has a distinct graphic language and they all will come together on an array of surfaces – from found objects to huge outdoor murals — for this exhibit at Galerie F. Drawings, paintings, zines, shirts and all kinds of APC paraphernalia will be on sale at the gallery. The exhibit opens to the public on Friday, January 30.

Can you tell us something about APC? What does it mean? When did you guys all meet?

The crew originated almost ten years ago back in Bogota with a few artists who participated together in festivals. These days we have over 50 members representing APC throughout the entire world. The acronym has many different meanings. Its principal one is Animal Power Cult, as animals play an essential role in our individual and common aesthetic.

What about you? You seem to have three distinct identities. I primarily associate you with Third World Pirate as I remember watching you paint your iconic pirate almost ten years ago in Bogota. But there everyone seems to refer to you as AEON. And, here in NYC, I’ve come to think of you as Lorenzo Masnah.

I’ve been obsessed with pirates and drawing them in endless variations since I was a child growing up in Bogota. That explains Third World Pirate! He is the one character who always travels with me. AEON is my acronym for Al Estilo Orto Nombre (Another Name for Style) – as I began getting up back in 2002 in Bogota with distinct one-line drawings. And I adopted the name Lorenzo Masnah when I had my solo show at Fuse Gallery in 2013.

Among the highlights of your solo show at Fuse Gallery were your refashioned images of beautiful Mexican women. That is another theme that resurfaces in your work. Can you tell us something about that? You seem to be quite obsessed with Mexican ladies!

Yes, for years I’ve been collecting Mexican erotic magazines dated from the early 1950s. This past year, in fact, while visiting Mexico, I discovered in a used book store in Puebla a huge stack of 45 records with covers fashioned from these vintage magazine pictures. I bought them all! And I am now working with them, recreating them with images that transcend that specific era.

Why do you suppose these images so engage you?

I love their pure innocence, their nostalgic beauty! And they represent so much of what we are missing in our era of Internet dating, where romance has lost its essence. And I’ve also always loved working with recycled materials. It is my way of preserving the past, as I create a visual encyclopedia of aesthetics and issues that speak to me – and, hopefully, to others.

What’s ahead?

After Chicago, we plan to travel out West and then return to NYC for APC’s first East Coast exhibit.

It all sounds great! We look forward to seeing you guys in NYC.

Note: Animal Tricks opens this Friday, January 30, at 6 pm at Galerie F. Located at 2381 N Milwaukee Ave in Chicago IL. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM.

Interview by Lois Stavsky. Photos: 1. AEON paints in Chicago, courtesy Galerie F; 2. flyer for exhibit, collaborative by featured APC artists; 3. APC in NYC with AEON, Zas, Rimx and Arepa photographed by Tara Murray; 4. AEON on canvas photographed by Lois Stavsky; 5 – 7. APC in Chicago courtesy Galerie F.

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Comic Characters on NYC Walls: John “Crash” Matos, Ozmo, Jerkface, Mr OneTeas and See One

January 26, 2015

A range of comic characters — from Calvin and Hobbes to Snow White to Batman — have made their way onto NYC walls. Here are a few:

John Matos aka Crash in the South Bronx for the Tag Public Arts Project

Ozmo in Little Italy for the LISA Project

Jerkface in Bushwick

Mr OneTeas at the Bushwick Collective

See One at the Bushwick Collective

Photos 1, 4 – 6 by Lois Stavsky; 2 by Tara Murray & 3 by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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Rainer Judd’s Journal Pages at rag & bone’s Houston Wall Project Space

January 24, 2015

Often showcasing artworks by diverse street artists – from DALeast to Ludo to Meres – the wall outside rag & bone has also featured various artists who don’t generally share their visions in public spaces. For the past several weeks we have been treated to a selection of pages from the journals of Rainer Judd, the daughter of the late artist Donald Judd,

Close-up from “Sunlight on the Iguanas.” Book no. 6, Black Leather Silver Corner, 1987- 1989 — as seen last week

“The idea was to see books on the wall, changing pages,” Rainer explains. “I’ve been filling journal books since I was 11. On November 16, 2014, I brought Swiss bags full of these books to photographer Henry Leutwyler and Javas Lehn. With a focus on the graphic quality of them as objects I could see them differently. For me, journals are a place of dialogue with myself, a testing ground for ideas, a pal, a repository for the stuff of the highway of my heart. This is a small window into a deep archive.”

Here are some pages from Rainer Judd‘s journal that surfaced in December

Then earlier this month

And through the end of this month, you can check out the final piece now outside rag & bone on Elizabeth Street off 73 East Houston.

Photos 1-3 by Dani Reyes Mozeson; 4 courtesy rag & bone’s Houston Wall Project and 5 by Lois Stavsky

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Chris “CYCLE” St. John Brings Organic Distortions to ArtNow NY

January 20, 2015

Wildly inventive and meticulously crafted, CYCLE’s recent body of work, Organic Distortions, is currently on view at Chelsea’s ArtNow NY. Here are a few more images from the exhibit:

Ant Blur, acrylics and spray paint on canvas

Bee One, acrylics and spray paint on canvas

Bee Two, acrylics and spray paint on canvas

Jag Warp, acrylics and spray paint on canvas

Deer Curve, acrylics and spray paint on canvas

The exhibit continues through February at ArtNow NY, 548 West 28th Street in Chelsea.

Photos of paintings by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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Cluster Wall to Launch Tomorrow with Exhibit and Party at 17 Frost in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

January 16, 2015

A specialized new online gallery certain to appeal to us street art aficionados, Cluster Wall launches tomorrow evening with an exhibit and party at 17 Frost in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We recently had the opportunity to speak to Cluster Wall’s founder, Evan Tobias.

What is Cluster Wall? Why that name?

It is a term I respond to! As an art-lover and collector, I tend to cluster art of all colors and styles in our Brooklyn apartment. The results are vibrant, bold and kinetic, like New York City, itself!

What is your mission in launching Cluster Wall?

My mission is to provide art lovers with the opportunity to purchase first-rate, hand-embellished affordable art. There will not be any ink jet prints. All of the artworks will be signed and numbered, and editions will be limited. Prints will be released in a series of 100 or fewer. And, in addition, a small number of original works will also be made available.

What work experiences do you bring with you to your current position?

I was the founder and editor of Block Magazine, and founder of the Full Circle Bar in Williamsburg.

Most of the artists — whose works you will be exhibiting and selling — are active on the streets. Why the focus on street art?

I’m a big fan of street art. I’ve been living in Williamsburg since 2001, and I’ve seen how street art has enhanced my neighborhood. It has made it a better place to live. But Cluster Wall is not limited to street artists. I will be releasing artworks by other contemporary urban artists, as well.

How did you decide which artists to work with?

I started off by contacting artists I know, and then I was connected to some others. I was specifically looking for artwork that I love that would also work well as prints.

Can you tell us something about this weekend’s exhibit? What can we expect to see?

We will be featuring prints and original artworks by Chris RWK, Joe Iurato, Rubin, ASVP, Elle, The Drif, London Kaye, Solus, Opie and ORYX, along with collaborative works by John Paul O’Grodnick and Jilly Ballistic, who will also be painting live.

What is Cluster Wall bringing to the art scene?

It provides art lovers with the opportunity to collect outstanding, innovative artwork at modest prices.

That all sounds great! Good luck!

Note: The launch begins at 7pm tomorrow — Saturday — at 17 Frost Street and will feature, along with dozens of artworks, music by DJ Nigel Rubirosa and refreshments provided by Lion Beer and Sea Grape Wines.

Interview conducted by City-as-School intern Zachariah Messaoud.

Photos

1. Chris RWK

2. Cluster Wall founder Evan Tobias, seated in front of artwork by London Kaye

3. The Drif

4. John Paul O’Grodnick and Jilly Ballistic

5. Joe Iurato

All photos courtesy Cluster Wal l, except for pic of Evan by Lois Stavsky

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