public art

In Trenton, NJ With: Will Kasso, Luvonesta, Andre Trenier, Lank, Leon Rainbow, Ras, Saoka & Imse and Sloke One

April 2, 2021

Bold and engaging, the murals that surface in Trenton, New Jersey are largely site-specific, many paying homage to those who call Trenton and its neighboring towns home. The image featured above — painted collaboratively in 2014 by Will Kasso, Luvonesta, Andre Trenier and Lank — looms large over a colorful playground, a short distance from the Trenton Transit Center. Several more artworks, far more recent, captured earlier this week on my first visit to Trenton follow:

Trenton-based legendary artist Leon Rainbow — two of four murals paying homage to frontline workers

Close-up

Trenton artist Dean ‘Ras’ Innocenzi pays homage to the late New Jersey skateboarder Brendan Wilkie — one of several murals featured in the 2020 “Murals on Front Street” project, coordinated by Leon Rainbow

Philly-based Spanish artists Saoka and Imse for “Murals on Front Street”

Austin, Texas-based masterly graffiti writer Sloke One for “Murals on Front Street”

And Luvonesta and Lank bringing it inside to Trenton’s Starbucks, close-up from huge mural

Photos by Lois Stavsky

Special thanks to James J Kelewae for introducing me to the streets of Downtown Trenton

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Back to First Street Green Art Park With: Danielle Mastrion, Outer Source, Primo1, Stavro, Meres, Ramiro Davaro-Comas & John Exit

March 25, 2021

One of my favorite spots in town, First Street Green Art Park continues to host — under the curatorial direction of Jonathan Neville — a wonderfully diverse mix of mural art and graffiti. The image featured above was recently painted by Brooklyn-based Danielle Mastrion. Several more murals that have made an interim home in this now-legendary spot, where the Lower East Side meets the East Village, follow:

Outer Source aka Star Farther, another of his galactic space-scapes that continue to enhance our cityscape

Brooklyn-based Brazilian style master Primo1

Brooklyn-based Stavro

The legendary Meres One

Argentine artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas

Staten Island-based John Exit

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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The “Art Box Mural Project” in Hoboken, NJ: Alison Josephs, Greg Brehm, Sayeed A. Syed, Anita Torres Milena, Chesleigh Meade, Matthew Dean, Raisa Nosova and more

March 17, 2021

This past fall, a diverse range of artists who live or work in Hoboken, NJ converted 15 utility boxes into alluring artworks. The charming image pictured above, The Hoboken Tree, featuring birds representing varied nationalities that have found a home in Hoboken, was painted by local painter, designer and illustrator Alison Josephs. Several more images — all reflecting the notion of “equality and inclusion” — follow:

Hoboken resident, Greg Brehm, Home Sweet Hoboken

South India-native, self-taught artist Sayeed A. Syed, Clear Skies

Colombia-native, Hoboken-based multi-media artist Anita Torres Milena, Universal Lotus

Hoboken-based artist Chesleigh Meade, Venuses of Hoboken

West Coast-bred, Hoboken-based style master Matthew Dean, Hoboken United

Russia-native, Hoboken-based multi-media artist Raisa Nosova, Silver Mask

All of these artworks and more can be found along Washington Street — from 1st to 14th — a short walk from the PATH train’s Hoboken stop. The “Art Box Mural Project” marks the first initiative of The Hoboken Arts Advisory Committee, “a group of local citizens–artists, merchants, organizational leaders and public officials–working to bring innovative, interesting and beautiful public art to the City of Hoboken.”

Photos by Lois Stavsky; more from this project to be featured on the Street Art NYC Instagram

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Barcelona Street Artists Protest the Jailing of Rapper Pablo Hásel: Cinta Vidal, Galleta Maria, Kader One, El Edu, Antón G. Seoane, Zosen & More

March 3, 2021

Charged with glorifying terrorism and insulting the monarchy in his songs, Spanish rapper Pablo Hásel was arrested and imprisoned last month. For the past several weeks since his arrest, demonstrations have erupted almost daily, and dozens of murals have surfaced advocating “freedom of expression.” While the demonstrations have, on occasion, turned violent, the street art has been a peaceful diversion.

The image above, painted by the talented Barcelona-based Catalan artist Cinta Vidal, features the rapper as he is being painted over — or obliterated — by the king. Several more of the ephemeral murals follow:

Barcelona-based Galleta Maria depicts a double-headed snake that is preventing a woman from speaking

Graffiti writer Kader One at work painting the rapper hanging while grasping a keychain featuring a crown

Spanish artist El Edu, at work on “La Llibertat (h)a mort,” mourning the death of freedom

Graffiti writer Antón G. Seoane aka SlimROK, “Freedom or Fire”

Barcelona-based Argentine artist Zosen, “Libertad Expresion,” a call for the “freedom of expression”

All photos by Fernando Alcalá Losa; courtesy, Audrey García

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Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival, 2020: Aches & Maser, Dan Leo, Vanessa Power, Magda Karol, Garreth Joyce, Shane O’Driscoll, Niall O’Lochlainn & Caoilfhionn Hanton

January 8, 2021

The Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival celebrated its 6th year in 2020. But it was a year like no other. Instead of taking place over a long weekend in August, it lasted for over 45 days, as artists from throughout Ireland arrived one at a time to paint their murals in accordance with social distancing guidelines. With live interviews and videos online, the festival successfully transformed urban spaces while, also, engaging the public.

The image featured above was created collaboratively by the noted Irish artists Aches and Maser. Several more images that surfaced in the 2020 The Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival follow:

London-born Ireland-based muralist and illustrator Dan Leo

Dublin-based sign painter and lettering artist Vanessa Power

Waterford-based Polish artist Magda Karol

Dublin-based muralist and graphic artist Garreth Joyce

Irish printmaker and muralist Shane O’Driscoll

Dublin-based Niall O’Lochlainn and Waterford-based Caoilfhionn Hanton

All photos courtesy Waterford Walls; special thanks to Houda Lazrak for making the connection

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On the Streets of Dublin, Ireland: Valdis & Tilf, Aches, Subset, Vanessa Power, Joe Caslin, Canvaz and Jor

January 5, 2021

The following guest post is by Street Art NYC contributor Houda Lazrak

One week before Dublin went into its second lockdown in October, I visited the city and snapped a few shots of old and new street art pieces. The image featured above is the work of two Italian artists, Valdis & Tilf. They painted the piece in 2013 in Smithfield Square as part of the MURO Street Art Festival in Dublin.

Below is a selection of several more artworks from the neighborhoods of Smithfield, City Center and Portobello, crafted mainly by local Irish artists:

Dublin native graffiti artist, muralist and graphic designer Aches

Hand painted portrait by the socially-conscious Dublin-based collective Subset

Dublin-based sign painter and lettering artist Vanessa Power

Irish artist and educator Joe Caslin “I will find a way through this / I am not alone / I will hold on / Look after yourself,” — part of the Look After Yourself campaign by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Galway, Ireland native Canvaz to the left of veteran Irish artist Jor

Canvaz, closer-up

Photos by Houda Lazrak

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“Art on the Ave NYC” Intrigues and Provokes: Lance Johnson, A.J. Stetson, Kevin Kinner, Audrey Anastasi, Steve Derrick and Jon Barwick

January 1, 2021

Featuring a wide range of artworks in varied media and styles by a diverse group of artists, Art on the Ave has enlivened the visual landscape of Columbus Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Both vacant and retail storefronts have been showcasing artworks — many fashioned by underrepresented artists — that speak to our immediate times. Conceived this past June by three NYC teachers, the project has a strong educational component, as well.

The image featured above, We the People, is the work of mixed-media African-American artist and arts educator Lance Johnson. Several more images from Art on the Ave — spanning 67th to 77th Street on Columbus Avenue — follow:

From A.J. Stetson’s remarkable photography project Masked NYC: Witness to Our Time

And dozens more installed on the fence of PS 334 at West 77th Street

Fine art photographer Kevin Kinner, Close-up from huge installation of silhouette profiles

Feminist artist and gallerist Audrey Anastasi, Touch, Charcoal and mixed media collage on paper

Artist and game developer Steve Derrick, Alissa Hammer RN, NYU Langone Hospital NYC — from his series of portraits of frontline workers

The hugely imaginative Jon Barwick, Facet, Acrylic on canvas

Serving as creative consultant for Art on the Ave — that continues through January 31 — is Lisa DuBois, director of X Gallery in Harlem. For further information on this project, check here.

Photo credits:

1 Lance Johnson; 2, 4-7 Lois Stavsky

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Back to Soho: Pure Genius, The Creator, Eyes That Love Art, Konstance Patton, Amir Diop, Sule, One Rad Latina, Calicho & Jeff Rose King

December 25, 2020

When the plywood returned to the streets of Soho shortly before the November presidential election, the artists got busy again. What a treat for us street art lovers! The image pictured above is the work of the increasingly prolific NYC-based Pure Genius. A small sampling of what’s been happening on the streets of Soho follows:

Brooklyn-based Manuel Alejandro Pulla aka The Creator with a call to support small businesses

Eyes that Love Art brings his mixed-media aesthetic to Grand Street plywood

Konstance Patton‘s signature lady with Amir Diop‘s political art to her right

Konstance Patton with a message; Sule on the door to her right and Light Noise above them both

Two short-lived works by One Rad Latina in her signature style

One of several collaborative works by Calicho and Jeff Rose King

Photo credits: 1, 4 & 6 Lois Stavsky; 2, 3, 5 & 7 Ana Candelaria;

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Carlos Pinto and John Sear Fashion Elegant Mosaic Mural of Endangered Swan for “The Audubon Mural Project” in Uptown Manhattan

December 17, 2020

163rd Street off Broadway was the place to be last week. Multidisciplinary artists Carlos Pinto and John Sear brought their wondrous skills to The Audubon Mural Project, adding two elegant trumpeter swans to the approximately 100 uptown murals featuring endangered birds. The Audubon Project’s first mosaic mural fashioned entirely with recycled objects — from shards of glass to shattered plates — garnered a huge welcome from the neighborhood, with volunteers eager to assist in the process.

Featured above is the completed mural that was captured this past Monday. The images that follow were taken last week as the mural was still in progress:

Carlos Pinto at work

And from another angle

John Sear at work

The artists take a brief break

Local folks assist Carlos Pinto and John Sear

John Sear speaks to Audubon Mural Project director and curator Avi Gitler, who is standing next to Totem TC5‘s memorial to his son, Chris — a special, welcome addition to the mural

Photo credits: 1, 2 & 7 Lois Stavsky; 3-6 City-as-School student Jasper Shepard

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At Philly’s New Magical Sharktown Walls With: Alloyius Mcilwaine, Sean Lugo, Greta Maletsky, Seven, Leon Rainbow, Naythan Anthony, CAV, Seip, Kyle Boich, Busta, Seper and John Zerbe

December 4, 2020

When visiting North Philly’s graffiti mecca over at 5th and Cecil B Moore last month, its curator, Tameartz, suggested that I continue walking along Cecil B. Moore Avenue until I reach Hancock Street. And I’m so glad that I did, as near completion was a treasure trove of adjoining magical murals. Featured above is multimedia artist, designer and Sharktown Walls curator Alloyius Mcilwaine. at work. Several more images captured that evening follow:

Sean Lugo in collaboration with Alloyius Mcilwaine