BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
Always good to get to Berlin to see what waves of text and pattern and outrage and snark and myriad metaphor are more-or-less relentlessly rippling across buildings and empty lots. The rippling effect was swelled by 4 days of rain, which makes windows streak with rivlets and wheat-pastes peel from the top, leaning forward and down and toward their demise, often sticking to themselves, halved and horrid in the process.
Nonetheless we got a lot of work done, seeing artists, urban gallerists, and of course the labyrinthine interior of the ‘secret’ project that is no secret any longer, the five floor Berlin HAUS, a former bank building in a well trafficked part of the city that is swarmed every day and nearly every night with graffiti writers, professional painters, Street Artists, illustrators, and the like – mainly, if not entirely, Germany based artists doing elaborate installations throughout.
Also checked out the new Project M show opening this week at Urban Nation “RADIUS” curated by Boris Niehaus (JUST), Christian Hundertmark (C100 and Art of Rebellion books) & Rudolf David Klöckner (URBANSHIT). The show runs for 6 weeks and again is exclusively German in its roster including names like Case Maclaim, Dave the Chimp, Flying Förtress, Formula 76, Low Bros, MadC, Moses & Taps, Nomad, Patrick Hartl & C100, Rocco and his brothers, SatOne, Sweetuno, Various & Gould, Zelle Asphaltkultur, XOOOOX, and Hatch Sticker Museum.
Across the street in the under-construction UN museum space the scene was a “secret dinner” for 100 thrown by Director Yasha Young to stir up the buzz for the inaugural exhibit in September as well as take stock of the hundreds of artist locally and internationally who have been part of the UN before the doors even open. In attendance were artists, graffiti writers, arts writers, photographers, academics, cultural organizers, supporters, elected officials, a spare ambassador or two, all lined up to hear of few speeches, a video or two about programming – and eat off plates designed by 100 or so artists.
But the real story of course was the stuff we found on the streets – legal and illegal, a bit of dashed text and time intensive murals. Berlin doesn’t stop surprising you, and regardless of rain that completely drenched us, we didn’t care frankly.
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring: 1Up, Alaniz, Berlin Kidz, BoxiTrixi, C215, Crisp, Damien Mitchell, Dave the Chimp, Don John, Eins92, Fink 22, Gilf!, Icy & Sot, K, Missing Girls, Priznu, Rinth-WLNY, Sozl35, Telmo & Miel, and Various & Gould.
Top image: Telmo & Miel. Detail. In collaboration with The Haus. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Telmo & Miel. In collaboration with The Haus. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Telmo & Miel. Detail. In collaboration with The Haus. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Various & Gould. In collaboration with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dave The Chimp. In collaboration with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dave The Chimp. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
C215. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
C215. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Alaniz and friends. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Damien Mitchell (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sozl35. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gilf! (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Priznu. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#missinggirls. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Eins92. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Don John. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Berlin Kidz. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Berlin Kidz. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Berlin Kidz. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Fink 22. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Rinth_WLNY. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BoxiTrixi. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
K. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
We liked the composition between this Icy & Sot stencil and the Korn sticker. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Crisp. Berlin. February 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
