2011

Erik Berglin: Unusual New Birds of Brooklyn

October 6, 2011 Artists, Brooklyn, NYC, On the Street

Swedish artist Erik Berglin has been installing photos of birds on the streets of Europe since 2006. This summer he was in Brooklyn to brighten the hood with an avian air not seen since the great escape of wild parrots from JFK in the 60s. In a typical New York immigration story, first the parrots began working as dishwashers and now they own most of the delis in some parts of Brooklyn. Just checking to see if you are paying attention. Seriously, those AWOL parrots first created a colony in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn and since then have expanded to other sections of Brooklyn and Queens, becoming the new natives.

Erik Berglin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

More of a hobby than a statement, Erik uses existing photos of birds scanned from books and downloaded from the web, wheat-pasting them in unusual yet appropriate locations that catch your attention. They remind some of Dan Witz’s oil painted hummingbirds and the saturated natural habitats of ShinShin and Wing, but Berglin thinks more about the adaptive qualities of birds and that parallel to city dwellers.

Erik Berglin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“From all the wild animals, birds have adapted best to living in urban conditions. Except maybe for rats – but it is birds we see and encounter in our daily life in the city,” observes Berglin. He talks about rats and birds as heroic overcomers in the urban environment, apparently not aware of our fabulous cockroaches.

Erik Berglin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With more plumage, attitude and strutting than the Spring 2012 fashion shows at Lincoln Center, this new collection speaks also of the regal self-assured quality of aviators, and the laser like focus needed for survival in the natural and manmade environment. “We view them as a natural part of urban life,” he explains, but he doesn’t limit himself to the varieties that are common here. “With birds there are an endless amount of different species to chose from. I never have to repeat myself,” says Berglin.

Erik Berglin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Post No Bills Present: Ron English “English 101” (Venice Beach, CA)

October 5, 2011 Artists, California, Events, Gallery, Opening, Venice Beach

Ron English
ENGLISH 101- the exciting new RON ENGLISH exhibition showing October 6th thru October 30th at Post No Bills in Venice Beach (owned by Jordan Bratman and Steve Lazarides). ENGLISH 101 will feature exclusive new limited-edition prints and hand-finished multiples (with prices ranging from $20 – $4000) by one of today’s most prolific artists, Ron English, who has bombed global landscape with unforgettable images including famed characters MC Supersized and Abraham Obama.

Post No Bills, an inventive print shop with a focus on handmade limited-edition multiples, is proud to kick off the show with an Opening Reception on October 6 from 7-10 PM at their Abbot Kinney-based shop. Ron English will be in attendance and available for signings. Please see invite and press release attached. We are also happy to provide you with images and any other information you may need. Let us know if you are interested in covering and/or coming by the Opening!

OUT DOOR Urban Art Festival ROME (Rome, Italy)

October 5, 2011 Artists, Events, On the Street, Opening, Rome, Street Art Festival, Urban Art Festival

Out Door

Kid Acne (photo courtesy of the festival)

Old Crow Tattoo Presents: Optimist “Man. Animals & The Machines” (Oakland, CA)

October 5, 2011 Artists, California, Gallery, Oakland, Opening

Optimist

“If you consider Graffiti as an art form reaching the widest audience it has in decades, I think it’s really important to promote active writer’s. The current norm is moreso based on promoting folks who are only painting commission murals, and /or are creating gallery and museum art from graffiti backgrounds. I think the current state of graffiti is being shaped by not only the street but also those who are moving from the street into the gallery. To be making gallery ready artwork with such a high amount of illegal graffiti running is amazing, dangerous and for some humbling. That being said, Optimist is a very well rounded and he personifies what it is to be a writer in this specific and changing time for Urban art” Terry OCT

Optimist (photo courtesy of Old Crow Tattoo)

Dan Witz at Nuart: Gets Googly With the Kids

October 5, 2011 Artists, Events, Norway, Nuart, On the Street, Stavanger

If you are not familiar with Street Artist Dan Witz’s work, it won’t exactly scream for your attention. Rather it will position itself as a chameleon in the metropolis; a rusted weather beaten fixture of the urban landscape, a piece of municipal signage, a barely porous dirt-caked mesh metal air vent. 9 times you’ll overlook it, or maybe 99. But the day you notice it you’ll be caught, trapped by its guile, puzzled and possibly unnerved. What’s in there? More to the point, who?

This week at Nuart Dan had the opportunity to put up his darkly tricky all-in-one pieces at strategic locations in Stavanger where they will be overlooked, then discovered.

Dan Witz “King Baby: Tou Scene.” (photo courtesy © Dan Witz)

Dan Witz “King Baby 5” (photo courtesy © Dan Witz)

And new for this Norwegian Street Art festival this year, a workshop for kids took place on Saturday, with Mr. Witz at the head of the class, passing out eyeballs and encouraging reimagining of the urban environment as personified. The simple addition of optical orbs entertained the youthful contingent and helped Dan spread his vision of public space as a playground of ideas.

Dan Witz (photo courtesy © Dan Witz)

Dan Witz (photo coourtesy © Dan Witz)

Joshua Liner Gallery Presents: “Art For Tibet” A Silent Auction (Manhattan, NY)

October 4, 2011 Artists, Events, Fundraising, Gallery, Manhattan, NYC, Opening

Art For Tibet

ARTISTS UNITE TO SUPPORT TIBETAN FREEDOM AT 3rd ANNUAL NEW YORK CITY ART SHOW & SILENT AUCTION FUNDRAISER
Contemporary US and International Artists Joined by Tibetan Peers

What:     Art for Tibet III     (www.artfortibet.com / Facebook: http://ow.ly/6IxHq)
Where:     Joshua Liner Gallery, 548 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor NY, NY 10001 http://joshualinergallery.com
When:     October 14, 2011: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

New York – More than 50 acclaimed artists will exhibit art works together in support of the Tibetan freedom struggle on October 14th at the Joshua Liner Gallery in Chelsea, New York City. The third-annual Art for Tibet show will feature top contemporary Tibetan and international artists, including Shepard Fairey, Pema Rinzin, Richard Gere, Ryan McGinness, Tenzing Rigdol, Swoon, Gonkar Gyatso, The Sucklord (star of Bravo Network’s “Work of Art” Season 2) and many more.

All artwork in the show will be sold via a silent auction on the evening of October 14th. The evening event will feature a live-painting demonstration, DJ sets by Spirit Bear, and a silent auction that will offer excellent works with low opening bids. Drinks will be generously provided by Beerlao. Pre-bidding will be available online at www.artfortibet.com beginning October 7th.

“Art for Tibet aims to expose the persecution Tibetan artists and intellectuals face under China’s occupation. At the same time, it is a celebration of their defiance and commitment to free expression in spite of the Chinese government’s severe repression and censorship,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet (SFT).

This event is made possible by the support of Honorary Committee members Shepard Fairey, Richard Gere and Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, as well as Benefit and Curatorial Committee members Simeon Lipman (The Art Hustle), Joshua Liner, Pema Rinzin, Tenzing Rigdol, Bruno Levy, Joseph Ian Henrikson (Anonymous Gallery), John Peet (Union Gallery), Andrew Lockhart (prō jekt′ : nyc), Jonathan Hulland, Makiko Onda, Lisa Shimamura (Colab Projects), Kurt Langer (Colab Projects), Zahra Sherzad, Stefanie Rogers and Tenzin Dorjee. Auction and event information and a full list of participating artists are available at www.artfortibet.com.

BACKGROUND ON TIBET: Since Chinese troops invaded Tibet in 1949, China has denied Tibetans their rights and freedom while systematically attempting to wipe out Tibetan culture and identity. In March 2008, just months before the Beijing Olympics, protests against Chinese rule swept across the Tibetan plateau. Chinese authorities responded with brutal force in a crackdown that continues to this day and has left thousands of Tibetans in prison, dead or disappeared.

In defiance of this repression, Tibetan artists, writers and intellectuals in Tibet and in exile are engaged in a Tibetan cultural renaissance, using new technology and mediums to create and share their work. In response, the Chinese government has escalated the crackdown on writers, artists and intellectuals. Dozens of Tibetan artists and writers have been arrested, tortured and imprisoned since 2008.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Students for a Free Tibet, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with international headquarters in New York. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, SFT campaigns for the Tibetan people’s fundamental right to freedom and independence: www.studentsforafreetibet.org.

Space 1026 Present: New Works by Amber Dubois, Steven Riddle and MOMO (Philadelphia, PA)

October 4, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, Opening, Philadelphia

MOMO

MOMO for FAME Festival (photo courtesy of the gallery)

Amber Dubois, Steven Riddle, MOMO.
October 7th – October 28th, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, October 7th, 7 – 10 pm

Space 1026 is excited to present an exhibition of new works by Amber Dubois, Steven Riddle and MOMO. The work of these three painters eschews figure – instead exploring traditional issues of abstraction. Through their use of color, shape and form – each in their own distinct but related mediums of painting, collage and sculpture respectively – these three young American artists bring their unique vision to this storied tradition. Please join us for an opening reception with the artists Friday, October 7th from 7:00 – 10:00 pm at 1026 Arch St. in Philadelphia.

Amber Dubois creates paintings that explore the confusing and violent act of creation. Using varied ways of applying paint, she builds layer upon layer of cacophonous and conflicting information to build mass, and an almost ‘figural’ presence in the paintings. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Amber Dubois received an MFA in Painting from the New York Studio School in 2007. She is now based out of Brooklyn, NY and most recently has exhibited at Vox Populi and AxD Gallery, Philadelphia.

Steven Riddle, born in 1982, makes collages using handmade source materials, made with screen printing, monotypes marker, acrylic, airbrush, spray paint and bleach. Studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Currently an MFA candidate at Towson University, he lives and works in Baltimore. Steven has shown his work at the Andy Warhol Museum, Current Gallery, Together gallery and at Nudashank. He dreams of one day living in a house with a kidney shaped swimming pool

MOMO is known for thoughtful post-graffiti: experiments include tagging his name a tag the width of Manhattan, over-sized outdoor collage, tide powered sculpture, a computer script which makes his art for him, and prints, paintings, and videos that rely on chance and context for fun and substance. Born in San Francisco, he has traveled most of his life, discounting six years New York. He joined a graffiti crew in 1999 while living in Spain, found his use of color while employed in the Caribbean, and fell for outside art while living outside: in a cave for a year, in a truck for a year, and in a tent for a year.

SPACE 1026
1026 Arch St. 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Known Gallery Presents: Daze “The Gray Scale” (Los Angeles, CA)

October 4, 2011 Artists, California, Events, Gallery, Los Angeles, Opening

DAZE

DAZE – The Grey Scale

October 15 – November 5, 2011

The Grey Scale Paintings
Walking along what seemed like an endless series of tracks my senses became accustomed to the dark labrythiniun tunnels that lay below. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and my ears acclimated to the endless series of subtle noises. Dripping water, the squeal of rats chasing each other, the release of train compressors, the clicking of the tracks as a train approached the next station, then, all at once, the roar of a passing train echoing through the tunnel, and then, silence.
This new series of works entitled “The Grey Scale” is an exploration into the context in which many of my subway works were created. Walls layered with years of tags and signatures, gravel floors covered in dust and debris, flickering lights, and the gleam of sharp steel tracks piercing the darkness are all portrayed in the context of subterranean tunnels that lead to nowhere. This is a world in which we are encouraged to stay away from the light at the end of the tunnel. These new works call to mind some of the layered complexity of Rauschenberg’s early black paintings or perhaps the subtlety of Cy Twombly’s blackboard paintings. Others yet clearly show references to the gritty urban landscapes of the New York ash can school: John Sloan, William Glackens, Robert Henri, and later most of all, Reginald Marsh. These artists chose, as I do, the streets as their primary source of inspiration. The paintings are a kind of hybrid that draws from the vocabulary of both the graffiti world and urban realism.

Known Gallery

441 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Hours during shows:
Wednesday thru Saturday: 12 – 7pm
Sunday: 12 – 6pm
+1.310.860.6263
info@knowngallery.com

Known Gallery Presents: How & Nosm “ACHTUNG!” (Los Angeles, CA)

October 4, 2011 Artists, California, Events, Gallery, Los Angeles, Opening

How and Nosm

HowNosm – ACHTUNG!

October 15 – November 5, 2011

The staid cleanliness of a single-colored surface is a disturbing testament to society’s uniformity and the pressure society places on one to conform.

Such a surface, standing alone and dull, cries out for attention.
Answering its call ‹ and recognizing its potential ‹ HOWNOSM bless the surface with confidence, courage, action, vitality and just a touch of the world’s inevitable darkness and death, transforming it into a truer reflection of both the world around it and their own varied lives.

ACHTUNG! is a collection of pieces that resemble broken mirrors, each filled with messages that are, by turns, sharp-edged, blurred and fast-changing. They serve as a reminder of the need to, and the dangers of failing to, walk alertly through this life.

Known Gallery

441 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Hours during shows:
Wednesday thru Saturday: 12 – 7pm
Sunday: 12 – 6pm
+1.310.860.6263
info@knowngallery.com

A New Tou Scene : Inside Installations at Nuart 2011

October 4, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, Norway, Nuart, On the Street, Stavanger

Herakut, Phelgm, Tellas, Escif, Hyuro, David Choe and The Mysterious DVS1

The Tou Scene is an important art center housed in a former brewery in Stavanger that dates back to the 1850s. The complex is now a setting for a number of site-specific installations by Street Artists involved in this years Nuart festival, where vignettes and full-blown scenes are conjured and lit to take visitors elsewhere for a moment. Indoor venues like this are great for many of these artists to have the luxury of time for exploration and the further development of their concepts. With a sense of intent, the support system in place at this festival is enabling a dimension of work that cannot be realized during the turbulence and urgency that is the nature of most Street Art. Here are some new spatial tableaus at the Tou Scene by Herakut, Phelgm, Tellas, Escif, Hyuro, David Choe and The Mysterious DVS1.

Thank you to photographer John Rodger who captured these beautiful images exclusively for BSA readers.

David Choe and The Mysterious DVS1 installation in their tunnel is illuminated with ultra violet light. (photo © John Rodger)

Escif and Hyuro collaborated on this installation with words by the late French theorist, writer, filmaker and Letterist Guy Debord, 1931-1994. (photo © John Rodger)

With special thanks to Ada Zielinska.

Black Book Gallery Presents: Skewville “Anti-Social Networking” (Denver, CO)

October 3, 2011 Artists, Colorado, Denver, Events, Gallery, Opening

Skewville

The work of twin artist duo and collective, Skewville from Queens, NY will be appearing at Black Book Gallery during the month of October. Skewville is at once a place and a term to denote a specific style of street art, originating from the pair and their early beginnings occupying a building given the same name.

Anti-Social Networking will be a commentary on social networking and how street art and art in general is not about who you know or who knows you, but who knows your work. The exhibit will be arranged so the artwork is connected to represent social networking. Part of the exhibit will also feature a very large and gritty piece from BAST.

Skewville in attendance
Free and open to the public

The People Speak: Jetsonorama New Project in Flagstaff, Arizona

October 3, 2011 Arizona, Artists, On the Street

“In Flagstaff, Az there is an effort on the part of the Navajo and Hopi tribes against using reclaimed waste water to make snow on a local ski resort, The Snowbowl. Thirteen surrounding tribes hold the San Francisco peaks, where the fake snow is to be made, a sacred mountain. the tribes believe that deities within their respective cosmologies reside there. To use reclaimed waste water is considered a desecration in a place where indigenous people go regularly to pray, collect herbs and to be in the presence of the holy ones” Jetsonorama

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