graffiti

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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NYC’s Stylish Trucks & Vans – from the Whimsical to the Wild, Part XI: Wane, Cone, Magda Love, Crane, Rimx & Seel and Sienide

January 30, 2015

This is the eleventh in a series of occasional posts featuring the diverse range of trucks and vans that strike our streets.

Wane in Manhattan

Cone in the Bronx

Magda Love in Bushwick for JMZ Walls

Crane in Washington Heights/Inwood

Rimx and Seel in Bushwick

Sienide in the Bronx

Photo credits: 1. Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2-4 and 6. Lois Stavsky; 5. Tara Murray

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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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New York City’s Uptown Open-Air Gallery with Cone, Kool Kito, Panic, Jero, Pulse and Ree

January 22, 2015

Few NYC graffiti walls change as frequently as those in Upper Manhattan’s open-air gallery. Curated by South Bronx native, Crane, the walls off the 1 train on 207^th Street and 210^th Street serve as revolving canvases to several veteran NYC writers and their occasional guests. Here’s a sampling of what has surfaced in the past several months:

Uptown stylemaster Cone

Veteran graffiti writer Kool Kito

Local artist Panic Rodriguez

LA-based graffiti writer Jero ICR

Legendary UK graffiti writer Pulse

Veteran graffiti writer Ree

Photos 1, 2, 5 and 6 by Lois Stavsky; 3 and 4 by City-as-School intern Travis Hicks

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Greenpoint’s Vibrantly Diverse Graffiti with: Justin Phame & Bella Amaral, Shiro, 2ESAE, Yes One, Noah TFP, Wolf 1 AOK and Tone MST

January 18, 2015

The walls in the vicinity of McGuinness Boulevard and Clay Street in Greenpoint continue to showcase a diverse range of vibrant graffiti. Here are a few captured this past week:

Justin Phame and Bella Amaral

Shiro, 2ESAE and Yes One

Noah TFP

Wolf 1 AOK

Tone MST

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Subway Trains on NYC Walls with: Damien Mitchell, Downer Jones, Bella Amaral, Danielle Mastrion, Dek 2DX, Shiro and Cern

January 8, 2015

We’ve been noticing more and more subway trains on walls down in Brooklyn and up in the Bronx. Here’s a sampling:

Damien Mitchell for the Bushwick Collective

Downer Jones in Bushwick

Bella Amaral in Bushwick for JMZ Walls

Danielle Mastrion in Bushwick for the Dodworth Street Mural art project

Dek 2DX in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx

Shiro in Bushwick for JMZ Walls

Cern in Williamsburg

Photos: 1, 2, 4 and 6 by Lois Stavsky; 3 by Tara Murray; 5 by City-as-School intern Zachariah Messaoud and 7 by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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Martinez Gallery Brings “Free Radicals” to ALL CITY — An Uptown Space Where Graffiti and Medicine Coalesce

January 6, 2015

While visiting the Free Radicals graffiti exhibit at ALL CITY this past Friday, I had the opportunity to speak to noted Martinez Gallery director Hugo Martinez who — together with Dr. Juan Tapia — envisioned and helped realize this wonderful space that serves as a graffiti art gallery, arts center and pediatric clinic.

What an amazing venture this is! A pediatric clinic, a dynamic art gallery and lounge all sharing the same space. Whose concept was this?

It was Einstein’s. “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity and form,” he once stated. There is a natural synthesis between art and medicine, and a health clinic is an ideal setting to realize it.

What made this extraordinary space possible?

2.5 million dollars and seven years.

Who were the main forces behind it?

I work with Dr. Juan Tapia, a pediatrician and former graffiti artist known as C.A.T. 87. We were inspired to observe and measure evidence-based results of fusing two seemingly antithetical concepts.

How did you two come to collaborate?

I met Juan over 40 years ago when I was a student at City College and he was a Warlord for the neighborhood division of the Young Savage Nomads gang. In 1972, we co-founded the United Graffiti Artists (UGA) as an alternative community to the established art world. Juan then went on to earn his GED and attend college and medical school. We have since collaborated on many community-based art and health projects. And in 2008, we established the ALL CITY Foundation.

Can you tell us something about the ALL CITY Foundation?

It is a community-based health and arts collaborative that has brought together a network of medical practitioners, artists and designers to create and run coordinated health and art programs for youth in New York City.

Your current exhibit, Free Radicals, is a remarkable representation of various works in different media by a range of prolific artists.

Yes. All of the artists in this exhibit have established all-city reputations, most in NYC and a few in other large cities.

Why did you choose this particular space on the corner of 135^th Street and Broadway? It is quite impressive.

It is close to City College, where UGA was first established. And the lay-out of the building, the former Claremont Theater – a 22,500-square-foot landmark that was the first theater to show photoplays — is perfectly designed for our purposes.

What’s ahead?

A range of programs, activities and revolving art exhibits.

Note: Free Radicals continues through March 31 at 3332 Broadway at 135th Street in Harlem. All artworks are for sale. You can follow the Martinez Gallery online at martinezgallery.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/martinezgallery. You can also visit the space with NY1 and check out this recent story in the New York Times.

Photos

1. Kaput, Noxer and Giz

2. Noxer

3. False and Navy8

4. Navy8

5. Soviet, close-up

6. Various artists, as seen from the outside looking inside

Interview and photos by Lois Stavsky

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NYC Shutters – Part VIII: Sweet Toof, Darkclouds, Ben Eine, Ramiro Davaro, Kashink, the Drif and Buff Monster

January 5, 2015

This is the eighth post in an occasional series featuring artwork on NYC shutters:

Sweet Toof on the Bowery for the LISA Project

With Darkclouds

Ben Eine in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx

Ramiro Davaro in the Bronx for the Tag Public Arts Project

Kashink in Bushwick

The Drif on the Lower East Side for the LISA Project

Buff Monster on the Bowery

Photos 1, 2, and 7 by Tara Murray; 3 and 4 by Lois Stavsky; 5 and 6 by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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Riding the Train from East Tremont to Brighton Beach with: Pulse, Praxis, TAKI 183, Nic 707, Skeme and Michael Cuomo

January 2, 2015

Nic 707‘s InstaFame Phantom Art continues to share a range of art — from tags by legendary writers to works by global artists — with NYC subway riders. Here are some images captured on a recent ride from East Tremont in the Bronx to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.

Veteran UK graffiti writer, Pulse

Bogota native Praxis

The legendary TAKI 183

Praxis

Nic 707

Graffiti pioneer Skeme of Style Wars fame

Mulit-media artist Michael Cuomo

Nic 707

Michael Cuomo

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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B-U-S-H-W-I-C-K: Spelling It Out at the Bushwick Collective: Sexer, June1, Sheryo & the Yok, Dasic, Billy Mode, Eelco, Crash and Zimad

December 29, 2014

With Sheryo and the Yok completing the missing letter — S — , the B-U-S-H-W-I-C-K mural at the Bushwick Collective is now complete. Here are some images:

Sexer at work after completing the letter ‘B.’ Letter ‘U’ by David Louf aka June1 to its right