SoHo

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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The Bowery Union Brings Its Street Art Project Indoors: Isabella Cortez, Stealth Art, Cavier, Tomaso Albertini, Duel RIS, Swoon, Oscar Lett, Miishab, Gagyi Botond, Bermeo, Indie 184 & More

August 24, 2020

In early May — before the brutal death of George Floyd and the ongoing protests that followed it — members of the The Bowery Union began installing images of artworks on Soho’s shuttered spaces. As The Street Art Project progressed, artists from outside of NYC began to contribute their talents, as well.

Over a dozen of the boards have since been salvaged and are now on view at The Bowery Union‘s spacious gallery space at 329 Broome Street. And along with them are works by these same artists on a range of surfaces.

The two large portraits featured above — Barack Oh Mama and Regina George Washington — were fashioned by NYC-based artist and writer Isabella Cortez. And making its way in between them is the now-familiar face created by Jessi Flores aka Stealth Art. Several more images seen on my recent visit to The Bowery Union follow:

Brooklyn-based Cavier, “From Dust to Dawn”

Tomaso Albertini, Duel RIS and Swoon; Swoon’s image was initially made for the ‘Create Art for Earth‘ campaign

NYC-based Oscar Lett, “In Still Waters”

NYC-based Miishab, “Heaven’s Gate,” to the left of Romanian artist Gagyi Botond, “Silence 2.0”

NYC-based Adrian Bermeo, “Bustelo Boy #2”

Dominican-American artist Indie 184, “Take Back Your Power”

All are invited tomorrow (Tuesday) evening for an artist’s talk featuring Doc Hammer at 7pm and to the exhibition’s opening reception on Thursday at 8. Check here for specific details.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part VIII: Adam Fu, Duel RIS, Nick C. Kirk, Hektad, Fabio Esteban and Ilina Mustafina

August 2, 2020

When I visited Soho last Monday, it was hardly the rich wonderland it was several weeks ago. Yet, several new pieces greeted me, and I enjoyed revisiting some of my favorite murals that have, somehow, survived. The image featured above is the work of the delightfully talented artists Adam Fu and Duel RIS. Several more images — a few captured earlier — follow:

The legendary Duel RIS

NYC-based multimedia artist Nick C. Kirk

The prolific NYC graffiti pioneer Hektad — captured 6.29

NYC-based multimedia artist Fabio Esteban

NYC-based multidisciplinary artist Ilina Mustafina

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part VII: Sule, The Creator, Amir Diop, Eyes That Love Art, DVNNY, Ridikkuluz, LEXXX, Isabelle & Irena Kenny

July 23, 2020

While many of the original artworks that had surfaced on the boarded-up stores in Soho are no longer on view, others continue to emerge. Featured above are works by NYC-based politically-conscious artist Sule and Brooklyn-based artist Manuel Alejandro Pulla. What follows are several more artworks I came upon earlier this week, along with a few captured within the past month.

Also by Sule, “My Color Is Not a Crime”

Artist/activist Amir Diop in collaboration with Eyes That Love Art, “Take Me to a Place Where I Won’t Be Judged by My Weight, I Won’t Be Labeled as a Nerd– Where Black Lives Matter”

NYC-based multidisciplinary artist DVNNY, “Let Us Live,” — a plea from the transgender community

Jordanian-American multidisciplinary artist Ridikkuluz pays homage to the 30–year-old Egyptian LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi — arrested and tortured in Cairo for raising the LGBT flag at a concert — who died last month by suicide while living in exile in Canada — to the left of LEXXX‘s plea to “Free the Ninos”

Isabelle with Vincent Van Gogh quote: “Art is to Console Those Who Are Broken by Life”

Brooklyn-based Czech artist Irena Kenny, “We are the change that we seek.”

To be continued next week!

Photo credits: 1, 3 – 7 Lois Stavsky; 2 Sara Ching Mozeson

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part VI: Calicho Arevalo, Jeff Rose, Alice Mackay, Marco Villard, Duel RIS, Alberto Barreto, AV, Si Golraine, Konstance Patton, Amir Diop, Brendan T Mcnally and Light Noise

July 16, 2020

When I returned to Soho earlier this week, I was thrilled to discover several pieces — including a few collaborations — new to me. The image featured above, “Our Nation’s Claim to Justice,” was fashioned by Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo and Queens-native Jeff Rose. Several more artworks that have recently surfaced on Soho’s boarded-up stores follow:

Multidisciplinary artists Alice Mackay (center) and Marco Villard

The legendary NYC writer/artist Duel RIS

Venezuelan artist Alberto Barreto and multimedia artist AV

Ukrainian-born, NYC-based multidisciplinary artist Si Golraine at work

Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Konstance Patton

Amir Diop, Brendan T Mcnally and Light Noise collaborate on mural in memory of graffiti writer Michael Stewart who died at the hands of the NYPD in 1983

To be continued next week!

Photo credits: 1, 2, 4 – 7 Lois Stavsky; 3 Sara Ching Mozeson

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part V: Jerardo Calixto, Sofi Signs, Fabio Esteban, Brendan T Mcnally, Dr. Antic, Amir Diop, Matthew Mazur, Mitya Pisliak, Kamila Zmrzla Otcasek and Scott Woods

July 9, 2020

While many of the boards in Soho continue to be dismantled, the ones that remain continue to intrigue. And, happily, new ones surface — largely by artists who generally work in their studios — addressing a range of issues from systemic racism to transphobia. The socially-driven artworks featured above were fashioned a few weeks back by Brooklyn-based artist Jerardo Calixto in collaboration with Sofi ✍ Signs. Several more images captured earlier this week — several in progress — follow:

NYC-based Fabio Esteban with a message

NYC-based Brendan T Mcnally takes a brief break from “Break Free” in progress (check out Brendan’s Instagram to view the now completed mural and its moving backstory)

NYC-based, Moscow native Sofia Granovskaia aka Dr Antic to the right of artist/activist Amir Diop — with an important request and reproach re: his missing artwork

Multidisciplinary artist Matthew Mazur — dedicated to “our Black Trans Brothers and Sisters who were taken from us too soon.”

Native Belarus artist Mitya Pisliak at work

Brooklyn-based, Czechoslovak-born Kamila Zmrzla Otcasek

On racism — signed Scott Woods

To be continued next week!

Photo credits: 1, 3, 4, 6-8 Lois Stavsky; 2 & 5 Sara Ching Mozeson

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part IV: Gerry Vewer, Maeve Cahill, Middlemen Doc, Rochelle Leanne, Loren Crea Abbate, Beatriz Ramos, KOFFEE, Android Oi, MaryKathryn Medlock & UNLOK

July 2, 2020

Although dozens of boards that have served as canvases for a diverse range of artworks are no longer part of Soho’s visual landscape, the neighborhood remains my current favorite destination for street art. The image featured above was created by the talented, NYC-based writer and painter Gerry Vewer. Several more images — some discovered earlier this week and others captured within the last month — follow:

West Chester, PA-born, NYC-based Maeve Cahill’s homage to Black inventors, who’ve been largely “written out of history”

Documentarian Middlemen Doc and NY-based filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Rochelle Leanne to the left of the widely-posted “Black Lives Matter” image

Artist and self-described cosmic anthropologist Loren Crea Abbate to the left of multidisciplinary artist Beatriz Ramos

Multidisciplinary artist and designer K O FF EE

Visual artist and poet Android Oi in collaboration with Brooklyn-based MaryKathryn Medlock — to the right of NYC-based UNLOK

To be continued next week!

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part III: Tyler Ives, Calicho Arevalo, Loren Crea Abbate, Acool55, Erin Ko, Savior Elmundo, Lady JDay, Mike Rimbaud, Jeff Rose King, Vault49, Max Gibbons & More

June 25, 2020

A diverse range of artists — from self-taught to those with advanced degrees in Fine Art — have been busy these past few weeks in Soho, transforming the Lower Manhattan neighborhood into an open-air museum. Although dozens of artworks on boards have already vanished as stores begin to open, others continue to surface. The works above were fashioned by — from left to right — Tyler Ives, Calicho Arevalo, and Loren Crea Abbate. Several more images in this ongoing series follow:

Multimedia artist and environmentalist Luca Babini aka Acool55 to the left of Erin Ko‘s portrait of the late noted African-American writer James Baldwin

Savior Elmundo, “Enough Is Enough,” to the left of Lady JDay’s portrait of Breonna Taylor

Lower East Side-based multidisciplinary artist Michael Rimbaud does the late noted poet Gil Scott-Heron with a play on his famed poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

Queens-native Jeff Rose King in collaboration with Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo

Lower Manhattan-based creative agency Vault49

Brooklyn-based artist/calligrapher Max Gibbons

To be continued next week!

Photos: Lois Stavsky

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Back to Soho’s Open-Air Museum: Maeve Cahill, A V, Nick C. Kirk, Urban Russian Doll, Hektad, Lydia Venieri, Tiger Mackie, Beelzebaby & Goomba

June 18, 2020

From the playful to the political, the artworks surfacing daily on Soho’s boarded-up doors and windows delight and provoke. Featured above — in the second of our series documenting Soho’s open-air museum — is Maeve Cahill‘s tribute to the late African-American journalist Ida B. Wells, alongside alluring images by an artist identified as A V. Several more artworks captured earlier this week follow:

NYC-based Nick C. Kirk, stencil of civil rights activist and football quarterback, Colin Kaepernick

NYC-based Urban Russian Doll, Portrait of Breonna Taylor, the black emergency medical technician who had been shot to death in her Louisville, Kentucky home

NYC-based Hektad

Athens, Greece-born, NYC-based Lydia Venieri, “Say Their Names,” Portraits of African-Americans murdered by the police

NYC-based artists Tiger Mackie (L.) and Beelzebaby (R.)

Newark, NJ-based Goomba at work

Photo credits: 1-6 Lois Stavsky and 7 Ana Candelaria

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Artists Transform Soho’s Boarded-Up Windows and Doors into an Open-Air Museum: Dena Paige-Fischer, SacSix, Jo Shane, Kamila Zmrzla-Otcasek, Sara Lynne Leo, Denis Ouch, Optimo NYC & More

June 11, 2020

Soho’s boarded-up windows and doors now host a wide range of varied artworks. While combing the streets this past Monday, I came upon works by several artists new to me, as well as by those familiar to all of us street art aficionados. The image featured above is the work of Brooklyn-based Dena Paige-Fischer. A small sampling of more images that have transformed the blocks in the vicinity of Grand and Mercer Streets into an open-air museum follow:

Miami-native, NYC-based SacSix