mixed media

On our first-time, long-overdue visit to Jersey City’s Deep Space Gallery this past Sunday, we were greeted by a treasure trove of first-rate artworks in a wide range of styles and media. Currently on exhibit is MORE MINIS, the gallery’s annual miniature show, showcasing works by over 60 contemporary artists. While many are formally trained, others are self-taught. All produce delightfully intriguing work.

Featured above is a close-up from an installation of spray cans painted by Jersey City-born and bred multimedia artist and graffiti veteran T.DEE, along with a small sculpture — from the series Elephas Maximus Indicus — crafted by noted India-born, Newark-based “3D light artist” Sunil Garg.

What follows are several works by featured artists who also have a strong presence on our streets:

NJ-based GOOMBA, “#8 of 9,” Acrylic, spray paint and ink on canvas

NYC-based Optimo NYC, “AIDSERIES #5: And It Don’t Stop,” Aerosol, enamel and acrylic on canvas

NJ-based RH Doaz, “Moving On,” Mixed media on reclaimed wood

Jersey City-born, bred and based Clarence Rich, “Maelstrom,” Acrylic on canvas

Jersey City-based Catherine Hart, “Love Note 3,” Resin art, one of 12

Wide view of segment of MORE MINIS exhibition

Founded in 2016 by the multi-faceted Jenna Geiger and artist Keith VanPel, Deep Space Gallery is  located at 77 Cornelison Avenue in Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood. To visit Deep Space Gallery and view the distinctly alluring artworks on exhibit through mid-February, you can send a direct message to its Instagram account. or drop an email to deepspacejc@gmail.com.

Photo credits: 1 & 7 Ana Candelaria; 2-6 Lois Stavsky

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Inaugurating its New York space with a sprawling, hugely impressive exhibition of a broad range of works by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat, the Brant Foundation has brought the spirit of the legendary artist back to the East Village. Curated by Brant Foundation founder Peter M. Brant with Basquiat scholar Dieter Buchhart and organized in collaboration with the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the exhibition, itself, is a cause for celebration. The image featured above, “Untitled,” was fashioned by the artist in 1981 with acrylic, oilstick, and spray paint on wood, A few more images featuring Basquiat’s raw and largely irreverent aesthetic, captured at this splendid exhibition, follow:

Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown), Acrylic, oilstick and paper collage on canvas, 1983

Big ShoesAcrylic, oilstick and collage on canvas, 1983

Hollywood Africans, Acrylic and oilstick on canvas, 1983

Irony of a Negro Policeman, Acrylic and lipstick on wood, 1981

Arroz con Pollo, Acrylic and oilstick on canvas, 1981

Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump, Acrylic on canvas, 1982

The exhibition continues at the Brant Foundation, 421 East Sixth Street, through May 15. Although admission is free, reservations are necessary.

Photos of images 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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Curated by Laura James and Eileen Walsh, who work under the name BXNYCreativeLook Closer features deliciously diverse surrealist artworks fashioned by three NYC-based artists: Alexis Duque, Rafael Melendez and Juanita Lanzó. Reflecting such themes as connectedness, kinship, colonial influence, environmental decay and sensuality, the works on exhibit invite us into the subconscious minds of the artists. The image featured above, Dwelling, was fashioned by the Colombian artist, Alexis Duque, whose work I first encountered on the streets of the Lower East Side awhile back. Several more images of artworks on view in Look Closer follow:

Also by Colombian artist Alexis Duque

Puerto Rican native Juanita LanzóUntitled

Chicano artist Rafael Melandez, Order of the New Star, detail

Look Closer

Located at 755 East 133rd Street in the Mott Haven/Port Morris section of the Bronx, Hell Gate Arts , a handsome, welcoming space, is open Fridays and Saturdays, 12PM-5PM or by appointment, For further information, contact Bxnycreative@gmail.com.

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

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Back in 2015, the American-born, Amsterdan-based artist Mando Marie aka Amanda Marie charmed us New Yorkers with her delightfully playful images that surfaced at the Welling Court Mural Project, the Quin Hotel and the 12C Outdoor Gallery. This Thursday, she will be sharing her newest works in Checked Out, a solo exhibition at Montreal’s Station 16 Gallery. A small sampling follows:

The iconic Reading Girl engrossed in Mad Magazine

A Collage of Book Covers

The exhibition opens — with the artist in attendance — this Thursday, November 29, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Station 16 Gallery, 3523 Boul. St-Laurent, and continues through December 22.

Images courtesy Station 16 Gallery

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Earlier this month, the French Collective DA MENTAL VAPORZ — consisting of Bom.k, Brusk, Kan, Blo, Jaw, Lek and Sowat — brought their talents to Tel Aviv. At once darkly discomfiting and stunningly mesmerizing, their exhibition, Alone in the Dark, continues through March at the historic Beit Ha’ir Museum on 27 Bialik Street. What follows are a few more images I captured on a recent afternoon visit to the exhibition that made its way onto Beit Ha’ir’s walls, floors and celings:

From the outside looking in:

One of the many details of the installation

A bit of gore, detail

And some buoyant shapes and colors

One of many collaged images

Beit Ha’ir Museum exterior

One of several postcard images

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

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Since September 26, 57 Great Jones Street — the former home and studio of Al Diaz collaborator, Jean-Michel Basquiat — has been the site of Same Old Gallery, a multimedia exhibit showcasing Al Diaz ‘s masterful wordplay and inventive aesthetic. Curated by Adrian Wilson and Brian Shevlin, it features a diverse array of new work by Al Diaz, in addition to historic photos and memorabilia from back in the day when the SAMO© tag that he and Jean-Michel Basquiat had conceived was the talk of the town. Several photos I captured while visiting the space follow:

Mixed media with stencil art

Another contemplation on the brevity of it all

Mixed media musings

With a message for these times

The 1978 Village Voice article that reveals SAMO©’s identity

And this weekend marks the launch of Al Diaz‘s book with a signing and talk

Photos 1-6: Lois Stavsky

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Continuing through this weekend at Red Bull Arts New York is RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder, the historic solo exhibition focusing on the extraordinary, idiosyncratic talents of the late multi-media artist, graff writer, hip-hop pioneer and Gothic Futurist theoretician RAMMΣLLZΣΣ. A diverse selection of the artist’s visual works, music and writings, along with rare archival documentation and ephemera, presents an intimate portrait of the visionary New York cult icon. The mixed-media image above features one of the artist’s wildly imaginative Garbage Gods.  Several more images from the remarkable  RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder follow:

Letter Races, Mixed media

Monster models, Mixed media

Letter M Explosion, Mixed media

Luxturnomere Hammer Bar Hammerclef Force Field One, Spray paint on cardboard

Jams, Spray paint and acrylic on canvas

The man, himself

The exhibit continues through Sunday at 220 West 18th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. Red Bull Arts New York is open from 12-7pm.

Photo credits: 1, 4-7 Lois Stavsky; 2-3 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.

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I first came upon JR‘s ingenious aesthetic ten years ago when I discovered a series of his portraits of Israelis and Palestinians pasted face to face along the Separation Wall in Abu Dis, Jerusalem. Celebrating the similarities between Israelis and Palestinians, the Face 2 Face Project heightened the absurdity of this seemingly endless conflict among cousins — and has stayed with me since. Within this past decade, JR has continued to bring his wondrous talents and socially-conscious vision to dozens of sites across the globe, often giving a voice to those whose voices are silenced.

This past week, Galerie Perrotin NYC  launched Horizontal featuring an eclectic selection of JR‘s works. His first NYC solo show, Horizontal presents — in addition to the artist’s archival prints — a range of mixed-media installations.

Featured above is Migrants, Mayra, Picnic Across the Border, Quadrichromie, Tecate, Mexico – U.S.A. 2018. What follows are several more images from Horizontal captured by street and travel photographer Karin du Maire aka Street Art Nomad.

Mixed media installation featuring JR‘s signature eye

Women Are Heroes, Le Havre, France, 2014

Giants, Kikito, Front View, Work in Progress, Tecate, Mexico – U.S.A2018

On Galerie Perrotin NYC exterior

And outside the gallery with street artist TomBob

The exhibit continues through August 17 at Perrotin New York, 130 Orchard Street.  Running concurrently at Perrotin is ALOALO, Mahafaly Sculptures of the Efiaimbelos.

Note: In observance of Independence Day, the gallery will be closed through July 4th. It will open at 10am on Thursday.

Photos by  Karin du Maire

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Featuring a selection of large scale drawings and ninety six playing cards, Michael Alan‘s newest exhibition Mind Body Sound opens this evening, December 6, at KHORASHEH + GRUNERT,  524 West 19th Street in Chelsea.  What follows are several more of Michael’s seductively poetic images to be exhibited:

Kindred Spirit the Floating Princess, Watercolor, marker, pencil, acrylic, airbrush, gouache, paint marker on paper, 36″x48″

Sit and Sing, White ink on red paper, 30″x40″

Royal Petite, Mixed media on baseball card

Purple Nurple Grace, Mixed media on baseball card

In conjunction with the exhibit, the artist’s iconic Living Installation will take place in the center of the gallery as Michael Alan and Jadda Cat will create a four-hour HUG human sculpture using their bodies, props, fabrics, sounds and emotions. The Living Installation is by admission only this coming Saturday from 8pm-12pm.

People are welcome to come gather, watch, photograph, make art, become one! For tickets, visit here.

Images courtesy of the artist

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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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