Public Art Projects

The 5th International Street Art Festival of Patras | ArtWalk 5 With: KLE, NSN997, Jay Kaes & Edmon 1419

September 18, 2020

Based in Patras, Greece, Art in Progress — a non-profit cultural organization — is the force behind the city’s dynamic annual International Street Art Festival of Patras | ArtWalk. Its recently-held fifth edition has further enhanced the city’s urban fabric, as well as its reputation as a vital center of street art.

The hugely-impressive mural featured above was fashioned collaboratively by the Art in Progress team under the guidance and painting execution of Kleomenis Kostopoulos (KLE), ArtWalk‘s artistic director. It is dedicated to the 100th birthday of the late Melina Mercouri, a Greek symbol of culture and activism. What follows are several more murals that recently surfaced in Patras during ArtWalk 5.

The Naples-based NSN997 street art collective “dedicated to creating images that speak of society trying to represent the complexity of it”

Close-up

London-based Jay Kaes who is intent as a muralist “to contribute something positive to society”

Noted Cyprus-based artist Edmon 1419 at work as he pays tribute to the esteemed composer Ludwig van Beethoven in honor of his 250th birthday

Completed mural

You can find out more about Art in Progress here and follow its ventures on Instagram here.

All photos courtesy Art in Progress

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The Bowery Union Brings Its Street Art Project Indoors: Isabella Cortez, Stealth Art, Cavier, Tomaso Albertini, Duel RIS, Swoon, Oscar Lett, Miishab, Gagyi Botond, Bermeo, Indie 184 & More

August 24, 2020

In early May — before the brutal death of George Floyd and the ongoing protests that followed it — members of the The Bowery Union began installing images of artworks on Soho’s shuttered spaces. As The Street Art Project progressed, artists from outside of NYC began to contribute their talents, as well.

Over a dozen of the boards have since been salvaged and are now on view at The Bowery Union‘s spacious gallery space at 329 Broome Street. And along with them are works by these same artists on a range of surfaces.

The two large portraits featured above — Barack Oh Mama and Regina George Washington — were fashioned by NYC-based artist and writer Isabella Cortez. And making its way in between them is the now-familiar face created by Jessi Flores aka Stealth Art. Several more images seen on my recent visit to The Bowery Union follow:

Brooklyn-based Cavier, “From Dust to Dawn”

Tomaso Albertini, Duel RIS and Swoon; Swoon’s image was initially made for  the ‘Create Art for Earth‘ campaign 

 NYC-based Oscar Lett, “In Still Waters”

NYC-based Miishab, “Heaven’s Gate,” to the left of Romanian artist Gagyi Botond, “Silence 2.0”

NYC-based Adrian Bermeo, “Bustelo Boy #2”

Dominican-American artist Indie 184, “Take Back Your Power”

All are invited tomorrow (Tuesday) evening for an artist’s talk featuring Doc Hammer at 7pm and to the exhibition’s opening reception on Thursday at 8. Check here for specific details.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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“Bringing Back Bowery: Public Art as Protest” at Howl! Happening and on the Streets on and off the Bowery

August 16, 2020

Following the murder of George Floyd, the spirit of resistance that once characterized Lower Manhattan once again permeated its streets, as the boarded-up stores became canvases for politically driven murals.  Several of these artworks no longer on the streets are on view in a splendid exhibition — curated by Sono Kuwayama, Bob Holman and Howl! Happening — at Howl! on 6 East 1st Street. Others remain on the streets. The image featured above, Black Trans Lives Matter,  was fashioned with acrylic and house paint on plywood by Maya Edelman, Scooter LaForge, and Sono Kuwayama.

Several more images follow — from both the Howl! exhibition and its neighboring blocks.

Multidisciplinary artist Lissa Baur, “Injustice Anywhere Is a Threat,” Acrylic on plywood, on view at Howl! 

Mrs. Skittles, Grace H. Gutekanst and Robert Blodgett, “Little Boy Blue,” Acrylic on plywood, on view at Howl! 

Colombian/American artist Felix Morelo, “GOOD LUCK SPOT,” Acrylic on plywood, on view at Howl! 

Michael Walling and DLA, as seen on East 4th Street

Irena Kenny & Sono Kuwayama, as seen on East 4th Street

The noted painter Izhar Patkin, as seen on Cooper Square

The exhibition continues at Howl! through Sunday, August 23, from 11 AM–6 PM,  Thursday–Sunday.

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

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From Soho to Harlem: Brendan T McNally, Amir Diop, Light Noise, Sule, Konstance Patton & More

August 9, 2020

Several artists — whose works I had discovered on plywood in Soho — recently shared their visions and talents in Harlem, as they painted portraits inspired by the wondrous photography of Barron Claiborne

The image featured above — a portrait of the photographer  — was fashioned by the wonderfully talented Brendan T Mcnally. Additional images follow from several artists, who collectively identify as the Soho Renaissance Factory.

Artist/activist Amir Diop 

Glass & light artist Light Noise 

Multimedia artist Sule 

And joining the artists representing the Soho Renaissance Factory — producer and DJ Xtassy Beats

Konstance Patton aka KonArtStudio

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Back to Underhill Walls: Jeff Rose, Calicho Arevalo, krassness, Justin Winslow, Dylan Bauver, Dylon Thomas Burns, Marivel Mejia, Stem YNN and Aloe Adventures

July 27, 2020

While revisiting Underhill Walls in Prospect Park, Brooklyn this past week, I was greeted by several delightfully intriguing murals that I hadn’t captured on my earlier visit in May. The image featured above was fashioned by Queens-native Jeff Rose, Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo, and Brooklyn-based krassness. Several more artworks from this model community arts-based project, curated and managed by Jeff Beler, follow:

Local artist Justin Winslow’s magical world

Gowanus-based Dylan Bauver‘s geometric Cosmos

 Dylon Thomas Burns offers a glimpse of heaven

Manhattan-based  Marivel Mejia pays homage to our health care workers

Stem YNN and Aloe Adventures take on — in comic book-style — our surreal times as we are “dodgin’ more than corona”

Underhill Walls is located at the corner of St. Johns Place and Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Photo credits: 1 -4 & 6, Lois Stavsky and 5 Sara Ching Mozeson

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New at Welling Court: Daze, El Souls, Lady Pink, SP ONE, Fumero, BG 183, Queen Andrea, Crash, Joe Iurato & More

July 12, 2020

For over a decade Welling Court and its surrounding blocks in Astoria, Queens have been a mecca of street art and graffiti, engaging a widely diverse group of artists, the local community, as well as the the general public.  On our recent visit to Astoria, we were delighted to discover several new murals — curated by Alison C. Wallis —  that have surfaced in these trying times on the walls of one of our favorite street art destinations. The image featured above was fashioned by the legendary Chris “Daze” Ellis. Several more murals — painted over the past few weeks — follow:

Bronx-bred El Souls

Lady Pink‘s tribute to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more whose lives should have never been cut short 

Greg Lamarche aka SP ONE, “Lift Every Voice”

Fumero, “The Glariator” with his name in flames

Bronx-based BG 183, Tats Cru

Queen Andrea, Love Always Wins

John “Crash” Matos and Joe Iurato with a message of LOVE

Also among the new works is a mural fashioned by the legendary John Fekner, to be captured when the sun cooperates!

Photo credits: 1, 6 & 7 Sara Ching Mozeson; 2 – 5 & 8 Lois Stavsky

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part V: Jerardo Calixto, Sofi Signs, Fabio Esteban, Brendan T Mcnally, Dr. Antic, Amir Diop, Matthew Mazur, Mitya Pisliak, Kamila Zmrzla Otcasek and Scott Woods

July 9, 2020

While many of the boards in Soho continue to be dismantled, the ones that remain continue to intrigue. And, happily, new ones surface — largely by artists who generally work in their studios — addressing a range of issues from systemic racism to transphobia. The socially-driven artworks featured above were fashioned  a few weeks back by Brooklyn-based artist Jerardo Calixto in collaboration with Sofi ✍ Signs. Several more images captured earlier this week — several in progress — follow:

NYC-based Fabio Esteban with a message

NYC-based Brendan T Mcnally takes a brief break from “Break Free” in progress (check out Brendan’s Instagram to view the now completed mural and its moving backstory)

NYC-based, Moscow native Sofia Granovskaia aka Dr Antic to the right of artist/activist Amir Diop — with an important request and reproach re: his missing artwork

Multidisciplinary artist Matthew Mazur — dedicated to “our Black Trans Brothers and Sisters who were taken from us too soon.”

Native Belarus artist Mitya Pisliak at work

Brooklyn-based, Czechoslovak-born Kamila Zmrzla Otcasek

On racism — signed Scott Woods 

To be continued next week!

Photo credits: 1, 3, 4, 6-8 Lois Stavsky; 2 & 5 Sara Ching Mozeson

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part IV: Gerry Vewer, Maeve Cahill, Middlemen Doc, Rochelle Leanne, Loren Crea Abbate, Beatriz Ramos, KOFFEE, Android Oi, MaryKathryn Medlock & UNLOK

July 2, 2020

Although dozens of boards that have served as canvases for a diverse range of artworks are no longer part of Soho’s visual landscape, the neighborhood remains my current favorite destination for street art. The image featured above was created by the talented, NYC-based writer and painter Gerry Vewer. Several more images — some discovered earlier this week and others captured within the last month — follow:

West Chester, PA-born, NYC-based Maeve Cahill’s homage to Black inventors, who’ve been largely “written out of history”

Documentarian Middlemen Doc and NY-based filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Rochelle Leanne to the left of the widely-posted “Black Lives Matter” image

Artist and self-described cosmic anthropologist Loren Crea Abbate to the left of multidisciplinary artist Beatriz Ramos

Multidisciplinary artist and designer K O FF EE

Visual artist and poet Android Oi in collaboration with Brooklyn-based MaryKathryn Medlock — to the right of  NYC-based UNLOK

To be continued next week!

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part III: Tyler Ives, Calicho Arevalo, Loren Crea Abbate, Acool55, Erin Ko, Savior Elmundo, Lady JDay, Mike Rimbaud, Jeff Rose King, Vault49, Max Gibbons & More

June 25, 2020

A diverse range of artists — from self-taught to those with advanced degrees in Fine Art — have been busy these past few weeks in Soho, transforming the Lower Manhattan neighborhood into an open-air museum.  Although dozens of artworks on boards have already vanished as stores begin to open, others continue to surface. The works above were fashioned by — from left to right — Tyler Ives, Calicho Arevalo, and Loren Crea Abbate. Several more images in this ongoing series follow:

Multimedia artist and environmentalist Luca Babini aka Acool55 to the left of Erin Ko‘s portrait of  the late noted African-American writer James Baldwin

Savior Elmundo, “Enough Is Enough,” to the left of Lady JDay’s portrait of Breonna Taylor

Lower East Side-based multidisciplinary artist Michael Rimbaud does the late noted poet Gil Scott-Heron with a play on his famed poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

Queens-native Jeff Rose King in collaboration with Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo

Lower Manhattan-based creative agency Vault49

Brooklyn-based artist/calligrapher Max Gibbons

To be continued next week!

Photos: Lois Stavsky

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Mourning the Murder of George Floyd on NYC Streets: Sara Erenthal, Lmnopi, Kate DeCiccio and More

June 7, 2020

Since George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man, was murdered in broad daylight on May 26 by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, protests have risen up throughout the world. Here in NYC, our streets have teemed with images and signs, along with daily peaceful and powerful protests in all five boroughs. The image featured above in memory of George Floyd was fashioned by Sara Erenthal in her Prospect Lefferts Garden neighborhood. Several more images recently seen on NYC streets follow:

 Lmnopi, Black Lives Matter, on the Lower East Side

An unidentified school-age child getting the message out with chalk at Riverside Park on the Upper West Side

LinkNYC for #BlackOutTuesday on the Upper West Side

Stickers posted near Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side

Sign fashioned by West Coast — based Kate DeCiccio, seen on First Avenue in the East Village 

Protestors in Union Square Park demand that “our lives be free of police violence”

And “Justice for Floyd” — in procession walking north from Washington Square Park

Photo credits: 1 Sara Erenthal; 2, 6-9 Ana Candelaria and 3-5 Lois Stavsky

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