Dain

Curated by Bianca Romero, the new Lombardy Walls is a delightful addition to East Williamsburg’s visual landscape, bringing color and charisma to what was once a banal North Brooklyn block. The huge mural featured above was painted by Brooklyn-based Bianca Romero in what has become her distinctly infectious signature style. What follows are several more artworks that surfaced this summer for the first edition of Lombardy Walls.

Brooklyn-based Dain on door

Street art veteran and Robots Will Kill founder Chris RWK

Harlem-based Marthalicia Matarrita

Chicago-based Czr Prz

  Filipino artist Jappy Lemon, currently based in NYC, does Spiderman

Will Power and Albertus Joseph do OlDirty Bastard

Lombardy Walls is located at Lombardy Street and Porter Avenue.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

Opening this coming Saturday, April 28th at Detour Gallery, a hugely impressive space in Red Bank, New Jersey, is CLASH: An Urban Collective, a group exhibition presenting a diverse array of urban artists. The image featured above was fashioned by Brooklyn-based Dain who remains active on the streets of NYC. What follows are several more images from the upcoming exhibit:

LA-based Cleon Peterson

LA-based Ashleigh Sumner

Norweigian artist Ståle Gerhardsen

Montreal-based Stikki Peaches in collaboration with Dain

New York-based Faile

The opening reception will be held Saturday evening from 6 to 9:30pm at Detour Gallery, 24 Clay Street in Red Bank, NJ. The exhibit continues through June 2.

Photos courtesy Detour Gallery

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.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

noe-two-paints-urban-art-fair

Last evening, the first edition of the New York Urban Art Fair opened its doors at Spring Studios in Tribeca. It continues through Monday, July 3, with three dozen international exhibitors showcasing a diverse range of urban art, along with live painting and book signings. Pictured above is the Parisian artist Noe Two — represented by Les Galeries Bartoux — at work. What follows are several more images — all captured by travel and street art photographer Karin du Maire at yesterday’s launch.

London-based Mr Cenz, also represented by Les Galeries Bartoux

mr-cenz

Paris-based Hopare, represented by Galerie 42b

hopare-urban-arts-fair

NYC-based Logan Hicks with WallWorks NY

lohan-hicks-urban-art-fair

 Brooklyn-based Dain with Joshua Geyer in collaboration with Street Art Direct

dain-urban-arts-fair

UK-based Prefab77 and NYC’s Dan Witz with Jonathan LeVine ProjectsJonathan LeVine pictured

jonathan-levine with prefab-and-dan-witz

The Urban Art Fair is open at 50 Varick Street today until 10pm; tomorrow from 11am to 10pm; Sunday from 11am to 9pm and Monday from 11am to 3pm.  Ticket information is available here.

Photos by 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.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

dain-street-art-on-mansion

The First City Project has been busy at work transforming a historic 9000-square foot Glen Cove, Long Island site into an extraordinary Mecca of street art and graffiti. Curated by Joe LaPadulaSean Sullivan and Harris Lobel — with the assistance of Brandon Aviles — it opens tonight, Thursday, March 2, to the public. While visiting yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the projects’s founder Joe LaPadula.

Layer-cake.-graphic-art

This place is remarkable. You guys are making history! There’s such an amazing mix of styles and genres here. It’s home to some of my favorite artists, as well as others who are new to me. What made you decide to open it to the public on this particular date?

The Glen Cove BID (Business Improvement District) is holding its annual meeting on this date, March 2nd. And as I had recently been nominated to serve on its board, I thought that this space would be an ideal place for the BID to meet on this date. And, then, why not invite the public?

Karen-Bystedt-and Joe-Mac-Lapadula

The local residents here seem quite enthusiastic and curious. And as this place is a street art and graffiti aficionado’s dream, many folks are likely to travel into Glen Cove, Long Island from NYC, NJ and beyond.  What can visitors expect to experience at this opening?

For the locals and surrounding communities, it will be a new experience. They will be introduced to the next generation of urban-themed artists. And for everyone, it will be a chance to see some great art and meet dozens of talented artists. There will also be a huge variety of refreshments from Sweet Agenda Cafe‘s Dough Donuts to catered Italian meatballs to Garvies Point Brewery‘s craft beer. We will even have a Gorilla Cheese Food Truck on our grounds.

rocko-calligraffiti

How many artists are included here? It seems that every step I take, I discover someone new!

There are 125, and we are still counting!

dom

What was your greatest challenge in dealing with so many artists with so many different sensibilities?

Placement was the hugest issue.

marc-evan

How can folks visit this space, if they are unable to attend the opening event?

They can contact me or one of the other curators — Sean Sullivan or Harris Lobel.

Ben-f-graphic

That sounds great! Good luck with it all.

curatorars

first-city-project

Images

1 Dain

2 Layer Cake NY

Karen Bystedt and Joe Mac LaPadula

4 Rocko

5 Dom

6 Marc Evan

7 Ben Fronckowiak

8  Joe LaPadulaBrandon AvilesSean Sullivan and Harris Lobel (left to right)

Photo credits: 1-5, 7 & 8 Lois Stavsky; 6 Harris Lobel

{ 6 comments }

Dasic-Fernandez-and-Rubin415-street-art

Penned by photographer, writer, neuroscientist and street art aficionado, Yoav Litvin, 2Create: Art Collaborations in New York City is a distinctly elegant ode to the art of collaboration. Recently released by Schiffer Publishing, it was formally launched last month at the Bronx Museum of the Arts alongside a collaborative photography exhibit, 2gether: Portraits of Duos in Harlem and the South Bronx by Litvin and Tau Battice. A textual and visual documentation of the creative and collaborative process among nine pairs of artists, 2Create also presents first-hand accounts of each one’s early life and work.

Dasic-Fernandez-and-Rubin415-paint

Featuring such duos from NYC-based Al Diaz and Jilly Ballistic to the Iranian brothers Icy and Sot, 2Create: Art Collaborations in New York City showcases a broad range of styles, sensibilities and processes. It also introduces us to the specific locale — from Manhattan’s Union Square Subway Station to a Greenpoint, Brooklyn rooftop — of each of the collaborative works featured. With its astute insights and superb design, it stands out among the dozens of street art-related books published last year.

bunnyM-and- Square-paint-street-art

bunnyM-and-Square-street-art

After reading the book, I posed a few questions to Yoav:

Your first book, the highly acclaimed Outdoor Gallery: New York City, focused largely on individual artists. Why did you decide to focus on duos in this book? 

In contrast to other art forms, such as music or dance, the visual arts involve a more solitary practice. Painters are famous for being hermits: closing themselves off from the world in their studios where they paint their masterpieces. At least, that’s the popular narrative. I feel that because the visual arts are easily commodified and objectified, they have evolved in such a way.  While I was working on Outdoor Gallery, which focuses on 46 individual artists, I noticed several duos of street and graffiti artists who produced incredible works, and I was fascinated by their practices. In 2Create I seek to investigate the art and practice of collaboration in different mediums — collage work, screen printing, stenciling, graffiti and mural making. My goal with 2Create is twofold: to present the behind-the-scenes processes of these artists and to investigate the secrets of collaboration, with the ultimate aim of encouraging others to create together. Just like any skill, collaboration needs to be practiced!

Dain-and-Stikki- Peaches

How did you decide which duos to feature in 2Create?

My process with 2Create was mostly democratic. I was looking to present a diversity of styles, messages, mediums and locales. I am cognizant and weary of the politics involved in the arts and attempted to focus on artists that I felt were doing radical, innovative work and were constantly challenging themselves. Throughout my research on collaborations, I discovered there were two major categories that lie on a continuum — from complementary collaborations – individual works presented side by side – to integrative, a single piece that seamlessly integrates the work of two artists. I chose nine duos that present the full spectrum.

Icy-and-Sot

Icy-and-Sot-paint

What insights did you, yourself, gain into the collaborative process, particularly among visual artists?

Collaboration is a skill that should be practiced by any visual artist as part of his/her development. Collaboration is an exciting and stimulating process that can produce immense growth if approached correctly, but can be very challenging at times. An artist needs to respect and trust his or her collaborator and be willing to be adaptable and open to critique. The collaborative process can open new doors for an artist  — in techniques, messages, ideas and human connections that can be useful moving forward.

ASVP-2Create

The book, itself, is masterfully designed. Can you tell us something about that? 

For the design I worked with the designer Dan Michman, who is also an excellent childhood friend. It was important for me that every aspect of this project be collaborative. Dan is the best designer I know, plus I like him a lot and knew from experience that we’d collaborate well. Our process was incredible. Dan took my materials — images and texts — along with my notions on the artistic process and on collaboration, and created a stunning design “language” for the book. It was a truly integrative collaborative process. I could not be happier with the way it turned out. Plus, the cover design is simply stunning. Lastly, Schiffer Publishing did a great job in the book’s production.

2Create-cover

How has the response been to 2Create?  Is there any particular readership you’d like to reach?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. In addition to appealing to the street art and graffiti fan crowd, my hope is that 2Create will integrate as a text book for art schools, colleges and universities. I believe the behind-the-scenes process shots, the revealing interviews and the insight into the art of collaboration make it a unique resource for artists in general, and visual artists in particular. But 2Create is more than a book on art. It is a document that presents the collaborative duo as the basic unit of a collective humanity in which empathy and collaboration trump disregard and domination. In an era of the cult of celebrity, war and climate change, collective action is not only beneficial, it is necessary. 2Create expresses these radical notions and I hope it will serve to inspire activists fighting for the greater good.

For more listen to Yoav speak on Counterpunch Radio here.

Images

1 & 2 Rubin and Dasic 

3 & 4 Bunny M and Square 

5  Stikki Peaches and Dain

6 & 7 Icy & Sot

ASVP

All images © Yoav Litvin

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.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

dain-portrait-1

Showcasing established artists, as well as emerging ones, Fat Free Art recently opened in an elegantly gritty space on the corner of Allen and Delancey on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. A dazzling solo exhibit presenting new works by the ever-ingenious Dain has inaugurated the space. Here is a sampling:

dain-gallery-1

Several more of Dain‘s distinctly beguiling women

dain-collaged-figure

dain-portrait-720-1

dain-gallery-wide-viewjpg-2

 And on the street — Allen and Delancey — with Cost & more

dain-street-art-nyc

Closer-up

dain-closeup-slant-1

The exhibit — produced in partnership with Street Art Direct — remains on view at 102 Allen Street through January 9.

All photos by Tara Murray

{ 0 comments }

This is the sixth in a series of occasional posts featuring images of New York City’s doors that sport everything from tags and stickers to sophisticated images.

Elbow Toe

Elbow-toe-street-art-door-nyc

RAE

rae-bk-street-art-door-nyc

Dain, Dee Dee and more

dain-and-dee-dee-street-art-nyc

Kenny Scharf

Kenny-scharf-door-midtown-nyc

And seen awhile back, Art Is Trash

art-is-trash-williamsburg-door

 Photo credits: 1, 2 & 4 Tara Murray; 3 Dani Reyes Mozeson & 5 Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

giz-ghost_edited-1

This past Friday, we visited Fillin Global’s inaugural showing of curated art at Castle Fitzjohns on the Lower East Side. Featuring a diverse range of creative artworks by over two dozen artists in different media, the exhibit exudes a wonderfully expressive energy. Among the artists whose works we saw are many who also bring their talents to our city’s streets. While there, we had the opportunity we had the opportunity to speak to Thomas Feinstein — of Fillin Global — who curated the exhibit with co-curator Jackie Collins.

This exhibit is amazing! There are so many different styles and techniques represented here, and everything seems to work together. Just what is Fillin Global?

FILLIN is an artist agency, representing innovative artists from across the globe.

such-graffiti-on-canvas

How did you get such a varied, talented group of artists together in one setting? 

Many are friends. Some I’ve known from my childhood growing up in Long Island. Let’s just say I was a bad kid!

ja-giz

How long did it take you to get this exhibit together?

I began working two months ago for a February 19 launch. But during the final week, I barely slept at all.

marc-evan-art

 What were some of the challenges that came your way in getting this all together?

The biggest challenge was working with such a wide range of styles and media and making it all flow.

Dain-artwork

How have folks responded to the exhibit?

They love it!

phetus-artwork-fillinglobal

 What’s ahead?

We are planning an event in a huge warehouse where artists will be able to paint directly on the walls. It will take place this summer.

That sounds great! Good luck and congratulations on this inaugural show.

Note: Today, Sunday, Feb 28, is the final day to check out the Fillin Global’s inaugural exhibit. The gallery — located at 98 Orchard Street — will remain open until 10pm.

Images:

1. Giz & Ghost, Untitled

2. Such, The Big ‘H’

3. JA & Giz, Tabs of the Rising Sun

4. Marc Evan, Limitless Undying Love

5. Dain, I Wasted Time on You

6. Phetus, Untitled

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

More artworks and info about them can be seen here.

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.

en-play-badge 2

{ 0 comments }

buff-monster-close-up-street-art-nyc

Earlier this month, the LoMan Art Festival brought not only live art by a wonderfully diverse range of artists to Downtown Manhattan, but also a series of workshops, performances and events. And even though the festival has officially ended, mammoth murals continue to surface on our streets. Here are a few scenes from it all:

Another close-up from Buff Monster‘s huge mural

buff-monster-mural-fragment-les-lisa-project-nyc

Beau Stanton at work on mammoth mural on East Third Street

Beau-stanton-street-art-nyc

 French artist Ludo in the East Village

Ludo-street-art-LISA-Project-NYC

Dain and Montreal-based artist Stikki Peaches

dain-and-stikki-peaches-street-art-nyc

JCorp at the Social Sticker Club‘s installation inside the Mulberry Street lot during the festival

J-Corp-sticker-social-club-loman-arts-fest

Ron English with assistance from Solus standing to his right

Ron-English-street-art-LoMan-Arts-Festival-NYC

JPO and B.D. White, one of many collaborations spotted along Mulberry Street

JPO-BD-White-street-art-NYC

Leon Reid,  alongside murals by Team Crash — John Matos, Ananda Nahu and Izolag — and Team BIO — Bio, Nicer and Binho — for the Secret Walls Illustration Battle

Art-Battles-Leon-Reid-street-art-nyc

Keep posted to the StreetArtNYC Facebook page for more images of the works that have surfaced and continue to do so in Downtown Manhattan through the efforts of the LISA Project

Photo credits: 1, 3, 5, 6 & 9 Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2 & 4 Tara Murray; 7 Rey Rosa Photography / The LoMan Art Festival and 8 Lois Stavsky

{ 1 comment }

bk-foxx-art-all-city-street-art-expo

Opening tomorrow at 23 Meadow Street in East Williamsburg, the three-day All City Art Expo 2015 is an exuberant celebration of NYC’s outdoor art culture. We stopped by yesterday and had the opportunity to speak to Evan Tobias of Cluster Wall who, along with Kevin Michael, curated the exhibit.

dain-all-city-art-expo-nyc

This is quite an eclectic collection of art here! What is the concept behind the All City Art Expo?

It is a celebration of all outdoor art. We wanted to showcase a range of artwork — by sticker artists, graffiti writers, street artists and muralists — all in one setting.

see-one-all-city-art-expo-nyc

And it looks great! How did you find such an ideal setting?

We began looking at spaces awhile back. And Mona Liza Furniture — a huge arena with ample outdoor space —  offered to host us.

rob-plater-all-city-art-expo

It couldn’t be more perfect! When did you begin working on this All City Art Expo?

I met Kevin Michael many months ago. We began working together on this project back in the winter.

zimad-graffiti-character-all-city-art-expo

There are so many artists here representing so many different styles, concepts and genres. How did you choose which ones to include?

When Kevin and I came up with this concept, we wrote up a wish list that included a range of artists from Old School graff guys to ones whose works have surfaced recently on our streets.

taki-183-nic-707-all city-art-expo

What was your greatest challenge in organizing this event?

Handling the logistics behind working with over 100 artists!

art-is-trash-all-city-art-expo

What can visitors expect — besides a chance to see and purchase such an extensive selection of artworks?

The Sticker Social Club will join us and visitors will have a chance to “slap and share.”  There will be a Black Book Jam on Sunday with many Old School writers in attendance. On both Saturday and Sunday a Groundswell artist will lead mural workshops. And there will be music all weekend by DJ Pumpkin, food by Arrogant Swine, along with drinks, vendors and raffles.

rocko

Can you tell us something about your relationship with Groundswell?

We have asked each artist to donate a canvas — an All City Compact Canvas — that will be sold for $150.00. Proceeds will be donated to Groundswell to support the wonderfully transformative projects the organization brings to our communities in its work with youth.

IMG_7853

Good luck!  It’s all so impressive, and it looks like it will be so much fun!

Images: 1. BK Foxx 2. Dain 3. See One 4. Rob Plater 5. Zimad 6. Taki 183 and Nic 707 7. Art is Trash 8. Rocko

Interview by Lois Stavsky

Photo credits: 1, 3 5-8 Lois Stavsky; 2 & 4 Dani Reyes Mozeson

{ 1 comment }