Since its inception in 2009, Wynwood Walls has served as a rotating canvas for a stunning array of street art and graffiti murals painted by outstanding artists from across the globe. Here is a sampling of what I captured last week:
Another segment from huge mural painted by Valencia, Spain natives Pichi & Avo
Chilean artist Inti
Puerto Rico-based Alexis Diaz
French-Tunisian artist El Seed
German artist Case Maclaim, close-up
NYC-based Logan Hicks, close-up
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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In collaboration with the Mana Urban Arts Project, the Bushwick Collective transformed Wynwood’s former RC Cola Factory into a Mecca of first-rate street art and graffiti. During Miami Art Week, celebrated artists from across the globe painted alongside local Miami and NYC-based artists. Here are a few more images from among the dozens of murals I saw last week while visiting Wynwood:
London-based James Cochran aka Jimmy C
London-based Shok1
NYC-based Giz RIS
NYC-based Lady Aiko
Dutch artist David Louf aka Mr June
Miami-based Hoxxoh
West Coast-based Christina Angelina
First image is a close-up from a huge mural by David Sepulveda aka Rimx
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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A stylistically diverse series of portraits of musicians — ranging from Beethoven to David Bowie, RIP — can be found on NW 22nd and 1st Avenue in Wynwood. Curated by Tristan Eaton for Space 52, this mural project was presented by B&A during Art Basel Miami. Here are a few more of the beautifully executed portraits:
West Coast-based Esao Andrews does Bob Dylan
West Coast-based Richard Henderson AKA Hauser does Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk
West Coast-based Drew Merritt does George Harrison
West Coast-based David Flores does David Bowie
West Coast-based Cyrcle does Beethoven
New Zealand-based Askew One does Billie Holiday
Opening image: Project curator Tristan Eaton’s portrait of Afrika Bambaataa
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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This is the eighth in an occasional series featuring images of males who surface on NYC public spaces:
JR in Soho
Sipros in Midtown Manhattan with the Bushwick Collective
Os Gemeos on the Lower East Side
Werc and Gera Luz in LIC with the Welling Court Mural Project
Rob Plater in Bushwick with JMZ Walls
Crash and Solus with the Lisa Project in Noho
The first image features Swoon in Red Hook
Photo credits: 1, 5-7 Tara Murray; 2-4 Lois Stavsky
Note: This blog will be on vacation through next Wednesday, January 13. You can follow us on Facebook and on Instagram.
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A collective of artists based primarily in Harlem, HART has become an active force in the uptown arts scene. While visiting its space, I had the opportunity to speak to one of its founders, Kristy McCarthy aka D Gale.
Can you tell us something about HART’s mission?
Our mission is to use art as a tool to engage, educate and empower the members of our Harlem community. We are especially interested in beautifying abandoned and neglected spaces.
When was the Harlem Art Collective first born? And was anyone – besides you – involved in its conception?
It officially began last February. Gia Gutierrez and I had talked about starting some sort of Harlem-based artist organization. But as she didn’t have enough free time at that point to devote to launching it, Harold Baines and I organized the first few meetings with about 10 other artists and community members.
How did you get the word out? And how many artists are currently involved?
We initially got the word out mostly via emails and through our personal networks. About 40 artists currently participate.
Here at HART’s base, you provide space for local artists to live and free studio space for artists to create. In addition, you rent out two of the bedrooms to folks who are in NYC for short periods of time. How did you come upon such an amazing 5-bedroom space in the heart of East Harlem?
We found out about it from the building’s landlord. And its size and location made it a perfect match for our needs.
Among your projects is the always-engaging Guerilla Gallery on 116th Street off 2nd Avenue. It has introduced us to many new artists, and it also showcases art by some of our all-time favorite ones. What other projects have you initiated?
We have partnered with other community organizations — such as the East Harlem Block Nursery, Concrete Safaris and the Manatí Community Garden — to paint murals at block parties and community events. We worked with Urban Innovations to paint and install little free libraries in community gardens around Harlem, and we have hosted free art workshops at the HART house.
How can an artist join your collective?
We hold meetings twice a month. Anyone interested in attending and finding out more about HART can contact us via our Facebook page. We are also going to start a monthly newsletter this spring and, hopefully, add a community calendar to the Guerilla Gallery.
What’s ahead?
We are working on organizing a spring show that will feature artists from the collective and from the neighborhood. We are also working on starting other Guerrilla Galleries on abandoned construction walls around Harlem. And we are planning to paint more murals that directly involve the community. We have, also, recently formed a women’s caucus within the collective to organize projects specifically dedicated to women’s issues and female empowerment.
That sounds great! Good luck with it all. We are looking forward!
Images:
1. El Nino de las Pinturas, inside the Hart House
2. Lexi Bella, Danielle Mastrion and Kristy McCarthy in East Harlem
3. Kristy McCarthy in East Harlem
4. The Guerrilla Gallery in East Harlem, as seen earlier this year
5. Steve Perez, Zerk Oer and Bio,Tats Cru at the Guerrilla Gallery in East Harlem, as seen this past week on massive wall spelling out E-L B-A-R-R-I-O
Photo credits: 1 & 4 Tara Murray; 2, 3 & 5 Lois Stavsky
Interview by Lois Stavsky
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Since 2011, over 10 million Syrians have been uprooted from their homes. Another Day Lost, a mixed-media installation by Syrian UK-based artist Issam Kourbaj, offers a powerful look into the crisis crippling his homeland.
Inspired by the aerial imagery of the refugee camps in the Jordanian desert, the artist fashioned his installation — reflecting on the lives of refugees living in tents — from waste materials, such as medicine packaging and discarded books.
Each day of the installation, another match is lit and then blown out to mark one more day of Syria’s devastation.
U.S. residents visiting the site are invited to compose and electronically submit a letter to their elected representatives encouraging them to support increasing the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S.
On the grounds of Trinity Church — at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in Lower Manhattan — Another Day Lost can be viewed through January 5th.
Note: This post was written in collaboration with Kristin L. Wolfe.
Photo credits: 1, 3 & 4 Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2 & 5 Kristin L. Wolfe
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A predominantly Mexican neighborhood in Chicago’s West Side, Pilsen hosts an incredible range of public artworks. Following the train tracks along 16th Street, we came upon Mexican-themed murals alongside dozens of pieces by graffiti writers and street artists. Here are a few more images from this outdoor gallery, an initiative of the Chicago Urban Art Society:
Chicago native Max Sansing
Belgian artist Roa
The late Brooks Golden
Chicago-based JC Rivera
Chicago-based Joseph “Sentrock” Perez
Chicago-based Ruben Aguirre with neighborhood artist Miguel A. Del Real
Chicago native Rodrigo Mireles aka RM Solo
Chicago-based Rahmaan Statik
Note: The first image features Montreal-based En Masse.
Photos: 1-3; 5-9 Sara C Mozeson; 4 Lois Stavsky
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An initiative of Columbia College Chicago, downtown Chicago’s Wabash Arts Corridor is home to over a dozen huge public artworks by a range of local, national and international artists. Here are a few of the murals along South Wabash Avenue that I saw this past week while visiting Chicago:
LA native Retna, close-up
Chicago-based Pose
Italian artist Never 2501
Columbia College Chicago alumnus Heidi Unkefer
French artist Kashink
Brooklyn-based Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
LA-based Cleon Peterson
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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For several weeks this fall, Invader was here in NYC installing dozens of his ingenious tile mosaics throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. Among them were several NYC icons, along with a range of images and characters representing popular culture. Here are a few of our favorites:
Joey Ramone at the Bushwick Collective
Lou Reed in the East Village
In the East Village with the Lisa Project
Andy Warhol in the East Village with the Lisa Project
Michelangelo on the Lower East Side with the Lisa Project
In Crown Heights
Leonardo on the Lower East Side
In the Village
Note: This blog will be on vacation through December 27th. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
All photos by Tara Murray
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Brooklyn-based Sara Erenthal has shared her distinct drawings, public art, sculptures, and mixed media artworks with us New Yorkers for the past several years in both galleries and on the streets. After viewing her current outdoor installation adjacent to FiveMyles, I had the opportunity speak with her:
I love your installation here in Crown Heights adjacent to FiveMyles. When did you first begin to share your talents in public spaces?
About four years ago – soon after I returned to NYC from backpacking in India – I drew 100 small faces with a Sharpie in a range of places from phone booths to subways. It was quite secretive! And, luckily, I was never arrested. These days I can’t take those risks, and I only paint outside on found objects – like abandoned mattresses, castoff furniture, useless appliances and discarded canvases.
Why the streets?
I’ve always loved street art, and I love sharing with others. When I paint on found objects and leave them on the streets, I give people the chance to pick up a free gift. Art should be accessible to the public, and art galleries can be intimidating.
When did you first begin drawing?
I’ve been drawing all my life, and I’ve always loved art. But growing up in an ultra-Orthodox family, I wasn’t exposed to art outside of a few landscapes and portraits of Hasidic rabbis. I never went to museums or galleries. I do remember, though, seeing art that I loved while I was riding the subways as a child!
When were you first exposed to contemporary art – other than what was “permissible” and what you saw on the subway trains?
I was 17, and I had just broken away from my community. A young Israeli artist at the time introduced me to modern African drawings. That was the beginning!
How might your strict religious upbringing have influenced your artwork?
Art was my way of releasing myself from all the constraints that had been imposed upon me. Through art, I was able to let go of the negativity I’d experienced as a child. Creating art was part of my healing process.
Your artwork has a distinct “outsider” aesthetic. Have you ever studied art in a formal setting?
No.
You are obviously fond of creating portraits. Who are these people who surface in your drawings?
Many are me – variations of myself at different stages in my life. They’re self-conscious representations of my subconscious. Others are people I encounter in my everyday life or people from my past who remain with me.
Are you generally satisfied with your work?
Yes – but I’m frustrated that I often lack the time, space and materials to do a fraction of what I’d like to do.
Can you elaborate a bit on some of the challenges you face as an artist?
Yes. Working to meet basic expenses consumes far too much energy and time. I would like to be able to create when I’m inspired. Our society needs to do more to support artists. Artists are undervalued. Most people don’t take artists seriously enough. They tend to perceive what we do as frivolous or self-indulgent. Living one’s life as an artist is not a choice; nor is it an indulgence. And the public needs to understand that.
What do you see as the role of the artist in society?
To share beauty and inspire others, while evoking conversation.
What’s ahead?
I would like to continue to create, heal and share. I would also love to exhibit more works in public spaces and in galleries. And I would like to gain more recognition as an artist.
Note: Sara’s installation, Made On a Borrowed iPad — curated by gallery director Hanne Tierney for the Interlude Project — will remain on view through December adjacent to FiveMyles, 558 St Johns Place in Crown Heights.
The interview was conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky. Photos: 1 Anthony Disparte; 2 – 4 courtesy of Sara Erenthal; 5 & 6 Lois Stavsky
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