Royce Bannon

Royce-Bannon-&;-Kerren-Hasson-Fishing-Buddies-art

On exhibit through tomorrow — Saturday — evening at 17 Frost is Royce Bannon‘s Living the After Life.  Fashioned on a range of found surfaces — some collaboratively — all of the images intrigue. Curious as to what is going on, I posed some questions to Royce.

What does this all mean? What is going on here?

These works represent my ideal vision of the afterlife — doing the things that I enjoy doing — when I am living as a ghost. It is a celebration of life after death.

Royce-Bannon-KA-art-17-Frost

Royce-Bannon-Afterlife

 What, do you suppose, was the impetus behind this theme? Why the focus on life after death?

My mother recently died. For quite awhile I’d been preparing myself for her death and thinking about the afterlife. Death is not the end.

Royce-Bannon-Only-Positive-Thoughts

How have folks responded to this body of work? 

The response has been positive. There’s been considerable interest in the works.

Royce-Bannon-Observer-Obscura=art-Frost

How can folks to be sure see the exhibit before it closes?

Everyone is invited to the closing party to be held tomorrow evening — Saturday, March 21 — at 17 Frost Street from 7-11pm.

living-the-after-life-party-invite

Note: Tomorrow evening’s closing party will feature a new collabo with EKG and a live drum machine performance by Jefferson Wells.

Images

1. Fishing buddies, Collab with Keren Hasson, Acrylic on wood

2. The swing is always broken in limbo, Collab with KA, Acrylic and spray paint on metal.

3. Remember that day, pt 2, Acrylic on wood

4. Only positive thoughts, Acrylic on metal

5. So far, Collab with Observer Obscura, Mixed media on wood

Photos of artworks by Lois Stavsky

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Featuring a wondrous array of characters in a diverse range of styles, What a Character — curated by See One — continues through September 11 at Low Brow Artique. Here are a few of the characters — from the comical to the surreal — that greet you:

Patch Whisky, Tripping Faces

"Patch Whiskey"

Reno Msad, Multiple Personalities

"Reno Msad"

Chris Cortes, Dragon

"Chris Cortes"

Royce Bannon, Ride or Die

"Choice Royce"

PlasmaslugIntergalactic

Plasmaslug

Shiro, Pillow

Shiro

Also featured are works by Cern, Epic Uno, Marka 27, Sheryo and the Yok.  Low Brow Artique is located at 143 Central Avenue in Bushwick.

Photos of images by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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La Maison d’Art, a lovely guesthouse on West 132 Street in Harlem, is also home to some intriguing art.  On exhibit in its indoor gallery through August 28 is “GETTING UP!” — the Evolution of Graffiti. Here is a small sampling of what is on display:

The legendary T-Kid, Back in Da Day, Acrylic spray on canvas

T-Kid

 King Trio, Acrylic spray on canvas 

t-Kid-graffiti-king-trio

MRS — whose works we’ve seen on the streets of the Bronx –Contact High, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

Mrs

French artist Oeno, Mechanical Child  Stencil, spray paint,  pencil, markers on canvas

Oeno

Harlem-based Royce Bannon aka Choice Royce, Everyday Hustle, Acrylic on oak (top left); Alone by Myself, and Ride or Die, Acrylic and spray paint on wood

"Choice Royce"

And in the garden is a huge array of works in different media forged with found objects by the masterful Linus Coraggio.

"Linus Corragio"

Close-up from huge mixed-media installation

"Linus Corragio"

Also on exhibit in the gallery are works by Paul Deo,  Mathametics Patterson, Flygirrl and Ausm.  La Maison d’Art is located at 259 W 132 Street in Harlem.

Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson  

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"Outdoor Gallery NYC"

Currently on view at 17 Frost is an exhibit of artwork by artists featured in Yoav Litvin’s remarkable book, Outdoor Gallery NYC. While visiting the exhibit on Thursday afternoon, we had the opportunity to speak to Yoav: 

This exhibit is in many ways a reflection of your book. It is wonderfully eclectic.

Yes, like the book Outdoor Gallery NYC, it celebrates the diversity of the incredible range of street art that surfaces in NYC’s public spaces.

"Enzo and Nio"

How did you connect with all of these artists – whose works are featured in your book and in this Outdoor Gallery NYC exhibit?

I initially met most of them through encountering their works on our streets. I further connected with them via Facebook or Instagram.

Cern

Can you tell us something about the process from the time you had your resources – your photos and interviews — to the actual production of the book?

Working with the designer, Steve Mosier, I created a template for a book. I then presented my concept to about 30 publishers. In late summer, I signed a contract with Gingko Press, my first choice.  The first copies of the book became available last week.

Billy Mode

The book looks wonderful, and your book launch party was quite remarkable. We’ve heard that folks waited on line for hours to get in.

Yes, that was quite humbling. And I feel grateful to everyone.

"Alice Mizrachi"

To what do you attribute the incredible success of the book launch?

My sense is that folks appreciate my particular approach. I have deep respect for all of the artists who share their works with us in public spaces. I admire their visions and their skills. I particularly love the way they challenge conventions.

"Chris Stain"

You are a scientist, as well as a photographer and street art documentarian. Has your background as a scientist affected the way you approach street art?

I suppose it has. It is essential that my research and findings remain “clean” and unbiased. I am interested in presenting something that is important not only on a local level, but on a global one, as well.

Bishop203

In what ways has this project impacted you?

I feel that I’ve developed a distinct personal style and approach to documenting street art.

"Icy and Sot"

If you had the opportunity to spend time in another city and work on a similar “Outdoor Gallery” project, which city would you choose to visit?

I’d probably choose São Paulo, Brazil.

NewMerica

The exhibit, curated by Yoav Litvin with Royce Bannon, continues through March 8 at 17 Frost Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Yoav can be contacted at yoavlitvin@gmail.com; for updates, visit the book’s Facebook page.

Interview with Yoav Litvin conducted at 17 Frost by City-as-School intern Anna Loucka with Lois Stavsky; photos of artworks by Lois Stavsky. 1. Exterior of 17 Frost painted by Bishop203, elsol25 and Royce Bannon; 2 .Enzo & Nio, Retro Bomba; 3. Cern, Jardim Electrico; 4. Billy Mode, Love; 5. Alice Mizrachi, Queen, close-up; 6. Chris Stain, Up in the Bronx; 7. Bishop203, Jesus Christ Superstar;  8. Icy and Sot, Race and 9. ÑEWMERICA, small segment of collaborative mural 

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This is the sixth in an ongoing series featuring the wide range of faces that surface in NYC’s open spaces:

Reka at the Bushwick Collective

Reka

RAE in Bedford-Stuyvesant

RAE

JMR in Williamsburg

JMR

Raquel Eschinique in Bushwick

Raquel Echanique -street-art-NYC

Royce Bannon in Midtown West

Royce Bannon

Russell King in Bushwick

Russell-King-street-art-NYC

Photos of Reka and JMR by Lois Stavsky; of RAE, Raquel Eschinique and Russell King by Tara Murray; of Royce Bannon by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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phetus-elle-public-art-centre-fuge-NYC

The now-iconic trailer on First Street and First Avenue is undergoing yet another transformation. For its current cycle, Cycle 11, the Centre-fuge Public Art Project invited artists who’ve painted there this past year to return. Here are a few images captured earlier in the week from the still-in-progress huge, energetic collage of distinct styles.

 Matthew Denton Burrows at work; Damien Miksza on left; Phetus on right

Damien-Miksza-for-centre-fuge-NYC

Phetus with Nicole Salgar & Chuck Berrett on right

phetus-public-art-centre-fuge-NYC

 CS-Navarrete at work

root-system-public-art-for-centre-fuge

Mor

Mor-stencil-art-Centre-fuge-East-Village-NYC

Joseph Meloy

Meloy-for-centre-fuge

Demer

demer-public-art-for-centre-fuge

Royce Bannon with Miishab on right

Royce-Bannon-for-centre-fuge

ElleDamien Mitchell and Korn

elle-damien-mitchell-and-Korn-street-art-centre-fuge-nyc

Keep posted to our Facebook page for more photos of the completed pieces.

Photo of  CS-Navarrete at work by Lois Stavsky; all others by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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One of NYC’s most prolific street artists, Royce Bannon aka Choice Royce is also a first-rate curator.  His most recent venture, SPECTRUM, is on view at Gallery Brooklyn through August 31.

Gallery Brooklyn

Your iconic monsters surface throughout the boroughs – both on the streets and in galleries – and you also have curated some of NYC’s most impressive street art shows.  What got you into curating?

Back in 2005, my sister and her husband ran a gallery space in Harlem.  I loved the idea of organizing an exhibit that would showcase my friends’ work.  And since I had access to a space, I did just that.

Who were some of the artists in your first exhibit?

They were mostly members of my crew, the Endless Love Crew. Guys like Abe Lincoln, Jr., Infinity, GoreB, Anera…

EKG and Royce Bannon

I remember seeing Work to Do at 112 Greene Street a few years back in SoHo. It was amazing!  How did it come to be?

In 2009, Steve Loeb and John Robie offered me their 4000 square foot studio space to curate an exhibit.  With help from my friends, we organized an exhibit with 50 — 60 artists. Work was installed just about everywhere in every manner possible. The response was wonderful and it whet my appetite to curate more exhibits.

What about other spaces? Where else have you curated?

I’ve curated shows at 17 Frost and at the Mishka Store in Williamsburg and at the Woodward Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. My current exhibit, SPECTRUM, is at Gallery Brooklyn here in Red Hook.

Rubin

Tell us a bit about your process of curating? How does it begin?

It begins with a concept. And once I have the concept, I contact the artists I’d like to feature and, then – sometimes — I have to begin searching for a space.

What about SPECTRUM? What is the concept behind SPECTRUM?

The concept for this show was actually See One’s. He suggested that I curate an exhibit featuring abstract graffiti with works by Col, Rubin and Hellbent and him. I added EKG.

See One

It’s certainly a great selection of artists – all five are active on the streets, as well as in their studiosHow did you hook up with Gallery Brooklyn?

I began contacting various spaces and Gallery Brooklyn – that had hosted Geometrics last year — was welcoming and enthusiastic. It was the perfect match.

And the installation is flawless!

Thanks! I couldn’t be more satisfied. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and the results are beyond my expectations! The works all complement one another.

Hellbent

How did the opening go?

It was fantastic. The response was all positive and it sold well.

What’s ahead?

More curating. More art. More writing. And more interviews for the Source.

Col

Have you any new concepts for exhibits?

I’d like to curate an exhibit on the theme of characters.

That sounds great! I am already looking forward to it!

Interview by Lois Stavsky; photos of EKG and Royce collab, See One, Rubin and Hellbent — in that order — by Lois Stavsky; final photo of Col courtesy of Royce.

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Damien Miksza, Cern and QRST

The once-abandoned trailer on East 1st Street off 1st Avenue in Manhattan’s East Village has once again been transformed into an intriguing canvas of urban art. Here are a few images we captured these past few days from Cycle 9 of the Centre-Fuge Public Art Project.

Cern at work

Cern

Cern, close-up

Cern

Damien Miksza at work

Damien Miksza

QRST at work

QRST

Cassie Lynn O’Neal at work

Cassie Lynn O’Neal

 Cake — close-up

Cake

Caroline Caldwell at work

Caroline Caldwell

Royce Bannon at work on collaborative piece with Korn

Royce Bannon and Korn

The curatorial vision of Pebbles Russell and Jonathan Nevillethe Centre-Fuge Public Art Project was conceived in 2011 in memory of Mike Hamm.  Submissions to Cycle 10 — due by August 26th — can be sent to centrefuge@gmail.com. Keep posted to our Facebook page for more images from Cycle 9

All photos by Tara Murray, except for final photo by Lois Stavsky.

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A diverse range of work from dozens of artists is currently on view at Heath, a gem of a gallery housed in a landmark townhouse at 24 West 120th Street in Harlem. Among the artworks — all 6 inches by 6 inches — are many by artists who also share their works in public spaces. Here is a sampling:

Harlem-based artist and curator Royce Bannon — whose iconic monsters can be found just about everywhere in NYC

Royce Bannon aka Choice Royce

NYC-based TMNK who maintains an active presence both on NYC streets and galleries world-wide

TMNK aka Nobody

Lower East Side-based graphic designer and painter BlusterOne 

BlusterOne

One of Jenevieve’s intriguing urban landscapes

Jenevieve Reid

And another cityscape — this one by the prolific Joseph Meloy 

Joseph Meloy

Curated by Mike McManus, the exhibit continues through May 10.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Featuring a wondrous array of sticker art from first-rate handstyles to images of alluring women, SLAP: Adhesives and Egos, a DIY Sticker Exhibition opened this past Wednesday evening at Con Artist Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Here are some images from the exhibit that continues through April 3 at 119 Ludlow Street.

Lady Millard

Lady Millard sticker

Luv1

Luv1 Sticker Art

Choice Royce

Roycer sticker art

Lady Aiko

Lady Aiko sticker art

WKST

WKST sticker

Shaina

Shaina sticker art

Klops

Klops sticker art

Amongst Thieves

Amongst Thieves sticker

Serp 

Serp sticker art

And from Wednesday evening’s opening party

Con Artist Gallery

Opening Party at Con Artist

Check us out on Facebook next week for more sticker images from the exhibit.

Photos by Dani Mozeson & Lois Stavsky 

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