Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Rose B. Simpson in “Everday Icons”
2. Jan Kaláb – Via Designboom
3. ENESS – Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness
BSA Special Feature: Rose B. Simpson in “Everday Icons”
Meet Rose B. Simpson, a fearless badass artist from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She delves into the intricate history of her homeland and the United States, examining how to empower and stay resilient while honoring past traditions. Rose pioneers innovative approaches using various artistic mediums to bridge the gap between past and present, express her personal experiences and identity, and contemplate the concepts of freedom and strength.
“On a rare snowy day in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, artist Rose B. Simpson assembles a maquette for a new public sculpture. The three small figures are models for the 12 concrete sculptures that stand nearly 11 feet tall at the Field Farm meadow in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Gazing forward with soft expressions and eyes that are hollowed through the back of their heads, the sculptures embody ancestors watching over the landscape. Simpson’s work stems from these moments of observation and connections to the past, emphasizing the processes of making and becoming in which we discover new ways of being and of healing.”
“I’m trying to reveal our deep truth,” says Simpson, “and that deep truth is process.”
Rose B. Simpson in “Everday Icons” – Art in the Twenty-First Century. Via ART21
Jan Kaláb – Via Designboom
ENESS – Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness. Via ENESS
Amidst the aesthetic avalanche that is Spring Art Week in New York, you will also find many artists have shows in galleries in Manhattan that are timed to catch the wayward art buyer or tastemaker who is in NYC just for another minute. It is an excellent way to expose the artist to a potentially new audience, to re-invite collectors who already have their work but who are in town this week anyway, to give a fully expressed exhibition of their work that may be more closely aligned with their work than a 12’ x 12’ art fair booth.
Ron English. Alien LSD 1, 2023. NOW YOU SEE IT. Allouche Gallery NYC. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
The world-renowned pop culture hybrid artist temps those who stray from the path with “Now You See It” at Allouche Gallery NYC with a new solo exhibition featuring a twisted and tasty series of oil paintings that invite visitors into English’s immersive world that blends pop culture references, art history, politics, and a bit of biting social commentary.
Ron English. Action Classicism in Delusionville, 2023, 2023. NOW YOU SEE IT. Allouche Gallery NYC. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
English has been widely recognized as a street artist, toy designer, and pop culture provocateur, but his oeuvre extends beyond the labels; His work spans a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, illustration, and installation. His set building is on full display at Allouche with intricate 3D-printed and hand-sculpted elements that conjure an imaginative universe, populated as they are with a range of unique characters, including three-eyed rabbits, grinning skulls, and anthropomorphic mascots from American corporate culture.
As is his talent, you’ll find that English reappropriates classic masterpieces with his cast of characters or icons of late-century pop culture, extracting new meanings from beloved art while displacing and weaving in his own slick and sticky brand of cultural critique.
Ron English. Expressionism, 2023. NOW YOU SEE IT. Allouche Gallery NYC. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
Unofficial TOP 10 (of about 30) Art Fairs on offer this week and weekend:
Allouche Gallery is pleased to announce an upcoming solo show entitled “Now You See It” by world-renowned artist Ron English at Allouche Gallery NYC (77 Mercer Street New York New York 10012).
Opening reception of “Now You See It” by Ron English on Saturday May 20th from 6-9 pm at Allouche Gallery NYC
Back in April, we wrote about Saman & Sasan Oskouei’s new hardcover, self-published book Object / Subject here on BSA. Today we are happy to announce the dates of the book launch this weekend.
OBJECT / SUBJECT Saman and Sasan Oskouei’s latest book featuring almost a decade of their work with an essay by Carlo McCormick
Object / Subject Saman & Sasan Oskouei Book Launch IRL Gallery 15 Monroe St New York, NY 10002 Opening Reception: Friday May 12 6-8pm Saturday May 13 2-6pm
OBJECT / SUBJECT
191 color pages, Hard cover 30 x 23 cm Edition of 1000 Printed on 12 different dead stock papers Designed by Daniel Kyn ISBN 978-87995820-9-9 Text in English May 2023
As the spring weather warms here in Vienna, Austria, the artist Penner (Bartek Pener Swiatecki) has been working again outside on new projects. One has led him to the stylish Weissgerberviertel neighborhood along the Danube Canal, where there are two buildings designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser: the Hundertwasserhaus, a quirky apartment building with colorful, rounded facades, and Kunst Haus Wien art museum.
Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Here we have the backside wall of a hip summer city beach where people sit in folding chairs in the sand and sip cold beers and look out at the river. The Strandbar Herrmann is a little hip right now and legions will be here all summer. Better still, visiters will have a fresh mural called Fire and Ice by Pener to enjoy.
A fine artist and muralist from Poland, Pener is known for his bold and colorful style, which often incorporates geometric shapes and abstract forms. He has also completed murals and exhibitions in several locations around the world. He has been featured in many top publications, including Widewalls, Juxtapoz Magazine, Hi-Fructose Magazine, and here on BSA.
Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)Bartek Pener Swiatecki. Fire and Ice / 2023 / Austria / Vienna. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Fire And Ice / Strandbar Herrmann / Wienna / curated by IOnArt. Vienna / Austria
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. That’s very important for you to know.
Whether or not one suffers from mental health issues, knowing that one doesn’t walk alone on a scabrous path is comforting. Feeling supported, especially in times of crisis, brings assurance and healing to our anxieties and despairs.
We’re now being traumatized almost daily by news reports of mass shootings, vigilante shootings, and murder. Sometimes we simply feel that we are not safe anymore. When we talk about mental health, we should broaden the discussion to include all of us, not just those with acute symptoms but all of us who are affected by what we experience, see, and read. Our mental health is affected directly by the violence being perpetrated upon others.
The collective YOU ARE NOT ALONE MURALS has been very active in bringing the issue of mental health and its importance to the forefront of the conversations with large murals on the streets of NYC. Here they produced ten murals created by a diverse group of artists, all using the same color palette while addressing the importance of community, belonging, and support with a single and simple phrase: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
If you are in any need or are in crisis emotionally or psychologically, or you simply would like to speak to someone, please call the numbers below. You can do it! You can do it, sis. You got this, bro. We love ya!
New York City: The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene provides a 24/7 Mental Health Hotline for New Yorkers who need immediate help. The hotline can be reached at 1-888-NYC-WELL (1-888-692-9355).
United States: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24/7 across the United States. The lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).
International: The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is a global organization dedicated to preventing suicidal behavior, alleviating its effects, and providing a forum for academics, mental health professionals, crisis workers, volunteers, and suicide survivors. The IASP website offers a directory of crisis centers and helplines around the world. The directory can be accessed at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/.
Style Wars! A new interpretation of it is blazoned across the Houston Wall thanks to Optimo NYC, who is rather owning it recently. This free-wheeling ever changing magnet for attention in a very gentrified Manhattan cheers the fans of true graffiti almost daily right now, buffeted by the roar of traffic and the occasional rock band playing in front of it.
The many flavors of New York street art and graffiti are everywhere – in community murals speaking about mental health, aerosol tags in doorways, in wheatpasted poems on subway columns, in soldiered sculptures on the sides of parking signs. New Yorkers love to be expressive, and in general, indulge one another’s imperfect ways of doing it. There is usually someone who is crowing about the golden age of New York, and who can deny one person’s perspective. Ever the optimists, we see the changes, the losses, the gains, and the free-wheeling spirit alive on the streets, and we think New York is having a golden age right now.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: EVOL, Cey Adams, Giani NYC, No Sleep, Mort Art, JDL, Optimo NYC, Chris RWK, SEIMR, RUTHE, Scott McDonald, Sawr, Tymon De Laat, Amill Onair, Sherwin Banfield, and David H. Wagner.
Yosh, the French street artist and muralist, has recently completed a colorful new mural in Paris with the Art Azoi organization. The artwork is painted on a long one-story wall and showcases Yosh’s signature style, which is characterized by vibrant and often surreal images in a cartoon-graffiti style, with a focus on animals and marine life.
Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)
Yosh’s history as a street artist and illustration techniques has evolved since beginning as a teen graffiti writer influenced by US hip-hop culture. In recent years he has participated in various street art festivals and events, exhibited his work in galleries and art spaces in Paris and has created murals and public art installations in various locations, including Paris, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Additionally, Yosh has collaborated with various high profile sportswear and cosmetic brands and created custom artwork and designs for music and art festivals. Yosh’s creative inspiration comes from his passion for nature and animals and his travels and experiences, which he often draws upon to create on the street.
Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)Yosh in collaboration with Art Azoï. Karcher Square, Paris. (photo courtesy of Art Azoï)
Production of the artist YOSH @yoshlepoisson on the wall of Karcher Square, 163 Pyrenees Street. Paris, France. Produced by @art_azoi Curated by @cristo_liquide & @eliseherszkowicz In collaboration with @mairiedu20
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Kukeri/ A Bulgarian Dance Tradition at Everyday Icons
2. Merch Alien Graffiti Via Superchief Gallery
3. Indecency Is Turning Love Into Hate. Via Indecline
BSA Special Feature: Kukeri/ A Bulgarian Dance Tradition at Everyday Icons
And you thought it all came from Nick Cave, didn’t you? Here we are, confronted with the form. This piece reveals the sublimely surreal essence of humans and magicians and the spirit of creativity versus the evil spirits.
“Once a year, the Bulgarian tradition of Kukeri unites a small village as residents wear intricate masks and costumes and dance at night. Killian Lassablière chronicles the practice in his short documentary.”
Merch Alien Graffiti Via Superchief Gallery
Aliens don’t get enough props in the graff game. A little preview of a work in progress with MERCH and Coolinternetdude.
Indecency Is Turning Love Into Hate. Via Indecline
Here’s InDecline giving Nashville the business with a billboard takeover that stands up for something. It’s a pleasure to see street artists using their power of activism to draw attention to topics they care about and that impact people – rather than simply selling a product or their latest print or exhibition.
Since the 1960s, with the Nouveau Réalisme art group, people like Jacques Villeglé became one of the first street artists to rip and lacerate posters wheat-pasted atop one another in thick layers. Each rip was revelatory, literally, and his process of collage through destruction captured the imagination of everyone from the American street artist duo Faile to the Portuguese titan Vhils. We have even seen a collaged canvas by New York OG abstract graffiti king Futura made entirely of shredded remnants from the street artfully arranged as a collage.
But no one has achieved this effect in kiln-fired tiles, until today.
Another Portuguese artist well-known in the street art/mural world, ADD FUEL, is doing exactly that, laying his design and “resituated” iconography across his signature tile arrangements. There are endless iterations to explore, which may be why he retained the root of that word to give a title to his new show at Galerie Itinerrance in Paris.
“‘ITER’ is built on a collection of distinctive tile patterns inspired by various cultures, combined in the expected celebration of blue, but also an unexpectedly harmoniously integrated with several intrepid colors that aim to explore the journey through the unexplored rainbow path,” says the exhibition description. “Each of these color accents adds a layer of depth and vibrancy to the intricate patterns on display, accentuating the blue palette and taking viewers on a journey of discovery, whilst inviting them to explore the nuances and beauty of each tile design.”
At the root of his practice is his inexhaustible fascination with the tile craft as well as his determined effort to explore within such a medium – one that will give permanence to his work in a way that many street artists wouldn’t dare wish. When you preview this show, you understand why the press release says it is a “stunning exhibition that showcases his remarkable skill and creativity while also drawing attention to the cultural significance of tile design.”
ITER Latin Noun · a journey · a course · a path.
SHOW INFORMATION Opening reception with the artist on May 12 from 6pm to 10pm On view from May 12 to June 17 Free admission
Galerie Itinerrance 24b Bd du Général d’Armée Jean Simon 75013 Paris, France
Chase Contemporary is announcing an upcoming solo exhibition for renowned graffiti artist Angel Ortiz, also known as LA II/ LA2. Titled “ODE 2 NYC,” the show will feature 30 new canvas works in Ortiz’s vibrant and playful geometric style, which evokes the atmosphere of early 1980s New York.
Silver on Blue (H&T), 2022 Acrylic & Silver marker on canvas 60 x 72 in
Ortiz, a New York City-based, self-taught artist of Puerto Rican descent, is known for his early citywide graffiti projects with his crew TNS (The Non-Stoppers) and for his collaborations with Keith Haring, which took them around the world to participate in numerous gallery installations, fashion shows, and museum exhibitions. Ortiz’s signature style combines contemporary geometric, abstract symbols with influences attributed to hieroglyphics and calligraphy.
Teflon Don, 2023 Acrylic and marker on canvas 36h x 36w in
His signature motif is his street tag LAII/LA2, completed in a dense, nearly overlapping pattern he refers to as “High & Tight”. He weaves it with geometric patterns and animated characters that he created, such as the TV and Spray Can characters.
Ortiz’s contributions to the art world are said to have been overlooked for a long time after Haring’s death, and there has been an effort from some of those closest to him to rewrite his contributions back into the history books. The new exhibition will give him a new platform – a solo exhibition in New York. Word has it that a full-length documentary may be in the works for release next year.
Purrfect, 2023 Acrylic and marker on canvas 24h x 24w inHudson, 2023 Acrylic and marker on canvas 24h x 24w in
“Substratum” is the latest exhibition by Spanish artist Gonzalo Borondo on the occasion of the Fotografia Europea Festival. Borondo, a renowned street artist, is set to unveil his latest project, taking a measured look at the complex themes of cultural heritage and its conservation. Through analog and digital photography, Borondo challenges viewers to think about the past and its relationship with the present, using semitransparent materials to create a diorama-like effect that gives the artwork a spatial and temporal diffusion.
Borondo’s latest installation departs and adheres to the spirits enlivened in his previous street artwork; he focuses on a personal and collective archive to create a small imaginative Pantheon that highlights humankind’s ancestral need to believe in something. The exhibition, gently aflame in the gallery space, is a thoughtful and provocative exploration of cultural heritage, which Borondo navigates with awareness and authenticity.
As a European artist trained more on the street than in academies, Borondo brings a unique perspective to the conversation involving cultural heritage, inclusion and exclusion, ownership, and relevance. Through his work and his proposals of new ways of looking at the past and examining our relationship with the present, Gonzalo may well be encouraging visitors to consider how we can construct a multicultural and multiethnic society open to all of our stories.
Cato knows that immigrants (documented and undocumented) greatly benefit the country economically because they base their exhaustive study on data collected by the US Government, which also annually makes meticulous studies of the benefits of having immigrant labor to keep an economy alive and growing. But it is not only think tanks and governments who keep this meticulously detailed data proving the net financial benefits of keeping workers employed who are not granted equal pay, rights, or protections; so do all the banks and corporations across the globe.
Shepard Fairey Workers’ Rights Canvas : Mixed Media Painting Mixed Media 44 inches by 60 inches 2016
Imagine how you would benefit if you could hire workers in your business who live in fear of getting arrested or being separated from family members. You could pay them lower wages and offer no sick days, vacation days, pensions, insurance, medical care, or even safe working conditions. These business owners know that these lowered costs and repressed wages make them more significant profit. It has always been true and, for many, a temptation too great to resist.
So why don’t we see this on the news or hear it from the political class? We rarely, if ever, do.
Today on International Workers Day, celebrated in much of the world, we’ll be regaled instead by stories of frightful “illegals” at the border and the Biden administration’s plans to lift Title 42 restrictions, and how we’ll soon be flooded by arriving Mexicans, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. If the past is prologue, and it usually is, the US and its captains of industry will continue to profit from the labor of new arrivals as it has for centuries, despite any heated rhetoric from your TV news host of choice.
Shepard Fairey. Immigration Reform Now! Offset Print 24 x 35 inches Edition of Open
Street artist and fine artist Shepard Fairey has kept our collective eye on socio-political matters through his posters, advocacy, and donations of work and time to causes of the worker over the last three decades or so, and today we feature some of his work to celebrate May 1st. He also offers a few words to BSA readers as we think about the contributions of immigrants to the economic and cultural wealth of the US and how all workers deserve fundamental basic rights no matter who they are.
I’m an immigrant rights activist because I believe in the promise of opportunity this country was founded on. The U.S. is a country built on immigration by people leaving their homes to build a better life. That concept should not be something only open to white Europeans from decades and centuries past, but for all those seeking work and asylum. Only a short while ago whites were the immigrants to this land seeking a better life, so let’s not allow short memory and racism to diminish our compassion for those who want to work hard for a good life in the U.S. now!”
Elfo is a graffiti writer and social commentator whose work intentionally sidesteps traditional notions of style or technical lettering. This …Read More »
In her latest mural, Faring Purth delivers a powerful reflection on connection, continuity, and the complexity of evolving relationships—a true …Read More »
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