All posts tagged: Guy Denning

URVANITY 2018: 3 Days in Madrid

URVANITY 2018: 3 Days in Madrid

March 12, 2018

Today we go to the Urvanity New Contemporary Art Fair in Madrid to see some art inside and outside the fair and to hear about some of the programming happening there, courtesy of Fernando Alcalá Losa.

URVANITY New Contemporary Art Fair 2018

Or, “How we spent the whole weekend in Madrid enjoying art, friends and talks while censorship from the central Spanish government is choking the liberty of expression.”

The 2nd edition of Urvanity New Contemporary International Art Fair was our main focus of interest. With an exciting program including some of the most interesting galleries and artists from all over the world, 4 walls being produced in different areas of the Spanish capital and a more than attractive set of talks and lectures, we knew that we were going to make our weekend. But, of course, there was going to be more, much more…

Cranio. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

DAY ONE: Galleries

After sleeping a few hours, I started my little marathon outside the new Urvanity headquarters in the beautiful ME Madrid María Victoria Hotel for attending a round table about ‘Women in the cultural industry beyond feminist clichés’. With Alberto Aguilar from Urvanity moderating, I was excited to see what journalist Belén Palanco, gallerist Consuelo Durán and artist and friend Anna Taratiel had to say about all this arty world ‘dominated’ by men in these times when initiatives like La Caja de Pandora are rebelling against sexual abuse and the heteropatriarchy hegemony in the art world and fighting for visibility, justice and equality in working conditions and salaries.

Jan Kaláb. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Artists like Nuria Mora and Animalitoland, Sergio Bang, from Swinton & Grant Gallery, and Diana Prieto from MadridStreetArtProject were in the audience. Issues like education, quotes, discrimination, the toughness of being a female street artist, being out or inside the system, some critics to the female clichés and personal experiences were brought into the table. Being a heterosexual cis male, I don’t know if I’m the right person to say this, but I missed a more radical speech about the whole scenario and the role of women about making the necessary changes for reaching the place and conditions that they deserve.

Apart from this, Juncal Roig, Urvanity’s communication manager, had prepared a little gift with fellow artist Antonyo Marest. Last year, Marest had painted 4 walls in a nice courtyard inside the Hotel, so we did a small private shooting with the artist. It was fun, because we had to access the place through a window in one of the rooms. As Antonio said, imagine how ‘easy’ it was to move 6-floor wall scaffolding through that small ‘hole’. Watch out for Marest USA tour coming soon in the next months.

 

Jana & JS. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

‘The Impact of Urban Creativity in Cities’, a talk, as I said before, by Contorno Urbano founders, was next. Ninoska’s and Esteban’s explanations about some of their most important projects and about how to work with students, neighbors, the local authorities and the artists themselves really got my attention, although I was already aware about the details of their work. The never ending growing 12+1 project and, of course, the soon to come ‘Mural Salut Wall’ by Escif were some of the top hits of the lecture, including the announce of the International Tortilla Competition held this last weekend at Sant Feliu de Llobregat’s La Salut square as a part of Escif art residence in the city. Hyper fun 3rd grade by the artist that caused lots of laughs between the audience. Looking forward to see what Escif will create in the next months here.

 

Long but full of experiences day. Beer time and back to our place where a bunch of young adults were waiting for us celebrating Miriam’s (our host) birthday, singing songs with ukuleles at 2am and drinking bourbon. Fuck me: I’m getting old…

Jana & JS. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

DAY TWO: The day of Walls.

Good morning Vietnam! Slept 4 hours, dizzy head (if you can’t fight the enemy, join him) and García in groundhog mode on. I was starting to feel kind of nervous, as I hadn’t seen a wall yet, so I had a mission going on. Being lucky enough to know one of the best hosts that you can find in Madrid, I met Guillermo, from Madridstreetartproject ‘MSAP’, had some quick breakfast and began walking by. Guille was one of the people taking care of the production duties of the Urvanity walls. A veteran actor in the local scene, his way of seeing and understanding the urban landscape is outstanding.

Cranio. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Guillermo de la Madrid)

I had to leave Cranio’s wall for Sunday due to ‘logistic’ reasons. But, I was so glad to have the chance to shoot with Alexey Luka, as I had seen some photos about the WIP of his mural and I was loving it. After a small talk with the artist and the ‘formal’ presentations, I began shooting from the ground while Guille was struggling with drivers trying to not have them parking besides the crane.

Alexey Luka. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Then a little magical episode took place when Javier, a neighbor living in the building opposite to Luka’s wall, offered himself to give us access to the rooftop. Nicest human being ever, Javier told me that he was a military pilot and a great photography aficionado. It’s always surprising to me how people that don’t know you at all trust in you and open their houses to strangers like us, offering all the possible help because they are liking the project and/or the artists’ work.

Alexey’s wall was being a tough one to deal with. Guille, Rocío and the rest of the production team had to treat the wall twice with some special products because dust and sand were getting out from it. They lost 2 days because of this, but when I arrived there, everything had been solved and the artist was working hard. After dealing with a couple of issues, we head to the next wall… Before, I would love to say some words about Rocío here. We have just met maybe twice during all these years.

Alexey Luka. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Working and collaborating with MSAP, Mula Fest and Asalto among others, it’s always interesting to listen to her clever thoughts and knowledge about the whole scene, how she approaches the tours that she guides in Madrid and get to know a little bit more about the kind of person that everyone would love to have in their teams. You can check Rocio’s blog here.

Maybe Jan Kaláb’s wall was the most popular one during the whole weekend. Pedestrians were loving the mix of nice colors and soft shapes – so selfies, stories and boomerangs were spreading as flu. I just tried to include some human traffic in the photo. Maybe I have a thing with old ladies… Just maybe…

Alexey Luka. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Guillermo de la Madrid)

Xavier Eltono’s talk was one of my top moments of the whole trip. Although I follow his career since years ago, I hadn’t got any deep thoughts about his work. After I heard what he had to say about his art and about how he connect his studio work with the skin of the cities where he had intervened, I understood a lot of things regarding his philosophy and the way he interacts with the city.

Another thing that got my attention during his lecture was the fact of how many respected artists were attending the talk. Names like Zosen, Mina Hamada, Aryz, Rocblackblock, Daniel Muñoz SAN, Kenor, Anna Taratiel, Suso33, Aleix Gordo, Vermibus…were there showing respect for Eltono’s art and explanations. The academic world was also represented nicely with awesome Fernando Figueroa and Elena Gayo.

Xavier Eltono. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Xavier told me by email that this talk had been very important for him, so I asked him why: ‘I’m used to give talks, I do a couple every year and I actually really enjoy it. Doing it in Madrid though was a very different exercise. Even if I’m not Spanish, I became an artist in Madrid, this is the city where everything started for me. Talking about my work in this city was very challenging to me because I knew a lot of friends and a lot of artists I admire would be listening to me. It’s very easy to talk about your work in front of an anonymous crowd but in front of people you know and you care about is totally different! I was very nervous, but, according to the feedback I received after the talk, it looks like no one noticed it!!!’

Tina Ziegler of Moniker Art. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Then, the main dish of the menu took place. ‘The Art Conference, by Urvanity’, hosted by Doug Gillen, from Fifth Wall TV and featuring some of the most important managers/curators/creative directors/promoters in the biz was meant to be the grand finale of Urvanity’s Saturday program. Tina Ziegler, Director of Moniker Art fair, Yasha Young, Creative Director of Urban Nation Museum, and Anna Dimitrova, Director of Montana Gallery, were adding some more girl power to the place.

Yasha Young of Urban Nation Berlin. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

FER: One of the most interesting things about the fair this year was the Talks Program. I couldn’t go to all of them because I would need to clone myself for attending everything, but was it intentional for you to enhance this side of the event? Do you think that these talks and lectures are useful for attracting a potential audience or are they more focused on an indoor point of view for people inside the art world? Why the 2 talks were the role and presence of women was more significant were moderated by a guy with a penis?

Sergio Sancho: For us the talk program it is a fundamental base within the fair. It is something that we want to keep on and give more importance and visibility. We think that the best way to understand this movement it’s from inside, giving voice and visibility to the main characters. About the moderator you are talking we think the gender its irrelevant. This year we wanted to give more visibility to women in a world where there is such an inequality and it has been casual that in the case of The Art Conference the moderator that Tina used it’s always a man and in the case of the talks opening program it has been Alberto the leader and we think it was the suitable person to do so.

 

Esteban Marin and Ninoska of Contorno Urbano Foundation. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

An impressive example of power, clear minds, commitment and, above all, tough work during several years in a penis based industry, these 3 forces of nature explained to us the main points of their careers, their way of working, their ethics, spoke about good practices and loyalty, some episodes about dealing with male chauvinism attitudes and how to get through all this without stepping forward.

Antonyo Marest. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

After personally meeting Ampparito and chatting a little bit with Octavi Serra and some other guys from Cúmul we ended the day talking and drinking beer in a relaxed atmosphere at some ‘Manolo’ bar in Madrid. Time to breathe, smile and relax.

DAY THREE: The art fair day.

And Sunday arrived. Keeping the military discipline of the whole weekend, woke up early, had some bad coffee while planning the morning and started my 3kms walk to check Cranio´s wall out. Sunday is ‘rastro’ day in Madrid, so some streets and squares of the area were flood with people that you had to avoid while trying not to kill yourself watching the screen of your mobile phone as it was compulsory for me to check the map and my old time friend Kini González was helping me out getting some invitations for colleagues.

Once of the few times that I was moving my head up, I almost crashed with some familiar guy. Rafa appeared suddenly in front of me with his eternal smile in the face. A friend from Barcelona, it had been years since we had seen each other, so it was a funny and nice coincidence to meet by chance 624kms away from our hometown. We continue our walk together speaking about life, anarchy, music and veganism and, at the same time, Guille was telling me the last news about Cranio´s work as we were all pendant of the keys of the crane for the final shot.

Jan Kaláb. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

As I was seeing that this wasn’t happening in the next few hours, I changed my plans and went to Luka’s wall as I wanted to take some photos from the crane. There it goes… Say bye to Rafa, put my stuff together and we went up for capturing some details.

As we were saying in Madrid, there’s a poker of photos that you should take while capturing, if possible, the whole process of painting a big mural: shots from the ground, shots from other buildings and rooftops, shots from the crane and the final shot. If you get decent photos from all these angles, you will come back home with a smile on your face… I missed Luka’s final photo, by the way, as he finished his work on Monday.

Alexey Luka. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Once we had arrived to Urvanity’s headquarters I started to check all the artwork that galleries like Montana, SC, Ink and Movement, Stolen Space, Fousion, Plastic Murs, Swinton & Grant, Station 16, Ruarts or Pretty Portal were exhibiting. I liked to see some personal faves like Enric Sant, Isaac Cordal, Sixe, SAN, Herakut, Deih, Hyuro, She One, Dilka Bear, Kofie, Jaune, L’Atlas, Stikki Peaches, Anna Taratiel or Guy Denning, having in mind that you don’t always have the chance to admire all these people’s work in one place at the same time. I also enjoyed to discover other great artists that were kind of new for me like Gregory Watin, Marc C. Woehr, Solomostry, Spazuk, Jaime Molina or Morik Marat.

I also spoke with some of the gallerists who were quite happy about the sales and the whole experience in general. Okuda almost did a sold out, Taratiel sold her bigger piece for Durán gallery, veteran Henry Chalfant and Enric Sant were also selling for Adda & Taxie. Vicente, from Plastic Murs, was much happier with the sales this year than he was in 2017 after seeing how Deih and, above all, Vinz had been successful during the fair. Dilka Bear for Fousion gallery also saw how some of her works were going to some collector’s homes.

Jana & JS. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

It was also interesting for me to know that Kofie ‘papers’ in Swinton & Grant had been sold even before than the fair officially started. Classic names of the scene like Gripface, Stikki Peaches, GR170 or Belin also sold in this year edition. On the opposite hand, Olivier, from Vroom & Varossieau, which exhibited one of the most powerful group of artists in the fair, told me that his sales had been better last year, maybe because of his high prices. As we say in Spain: ‘nunca llueve a gusto de todos’ (something like: not everyone likes when it rains).

I spent my last minutes at COAM trying to find Sergio, Juncal and Victoria from Urvanity’s team without success, as I wanted to say bye and thank them for the treat that they gave to us during the whole weekend. I really like when you get the chance of meeting personally people that you have spoken with by email and that you have interacted with on the social media, as it happened this time with Sergio and Victoria.

Okuda. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

So, this was it. We couldn’t leave Madrid without having a couple (a couple…yeah, right…) of vermouths with some old time friends and colleagues, feeling sad because of the ones that we missed and thinking about all the great moments and experiences that we had lived during the weekend.

Thanks A LOT to all of you who we spent some time with during those 3 crazy days, specially to Sergio, Juncal and Victoria, Miriam for sharing her home with us, Guille, Diana & Rocío for being there as always, Lara, Soledad and Rebekah, at Espacio SOLO, for being such great hosts and, of course, Audrey García for breathing and existing. ‘til next time Madrid…

Laurence Valliéres. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Laurence Valliéres. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Jaune. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Daniel Muñoz AKA SAN. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Guy Denning. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Augustin Kofie. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Herakut. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Hyuro. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Spok. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Henry Chalfant. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Isaac Cordal. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

JAZ. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Stikki Peaches. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Deih. Urvanity Art 2018. Madrid, Spain. February 2018. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

URVANITY ART MADRID 2018

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Tour Paris 13 : Fluorescent & Towering Show Book

Tour Paris 13 : Fluorescent & Towering Show Book

December 13, 2014

Another book to tell you about today! Remember when BSA took you to Paris that time and we skipped the line and went into all the floors of this soon to be demolished building?

“The numbers are astounding; 105 artists, 9 floors, 36 apartments, 30,000 visitors.

One hour.

That is how much time Street Art enthusiast Spencer Elzey had to himself inside the largest gallery of Street Artists and graffiti artists ever assembled specifically to transform a building for a public show. As he looked out a window to see the snaking lines of Parisians and tourists restlessly waiting to get in, he couldn’t believe his luck to be able to walk through the exhibit by himself and get off some clear shots before the throng hit.”

That is how we described it in November 2013 when Spencer took us on a whirlwind tour of TOUR 13.

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Tour Paris 13 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Published last month this towering book with the page edges sprayed neon orange was released by Mehdi Ben Cheikh in French and English to commemorate the event, and seeing the installations this way is going to make you wish the place wasn’t destroyed. 500 new photos previously unpublished allows you to see the show as you travel from the cellar to the top floors.

You may wish you had more background on the artists and the context and clearly not all of the artistry is of similar quality but you will be satiated by the images and thankful that they were recorded during their brief duration. Published by Editions Albin Michel, in partnership with the Itinerrance Gallery, this show will continue to soar long after the dust has settled.

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Entes . Tour Paris 13 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Inti . Tour Paris 13 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ethos .Tour Paris 13 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Seth .Tour Paris 13 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Moneyless .Tour Paris 13 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artists included in the Tour Paris 13 project:

108, 2MIL FAMILIA, A1ONE, ADD FUEL, AGL, AGOSTINO IACURCI, AMINE, ALEXÖNE, ARRAIANO, AWER, AZOOZ, BOM.K, BTOY, C215, CEKIS, CELESTE JAVA, CLET, COPE2, CORLEONE, DABRO, DADO, DAN23, DAVID WALKER, DEYAA, EIME, eL SEED, ENTES, ETHOS, ETNIK, FENX, FLIP, GAËL, GILBERT, GUY DENNING, HERBERT BAGLIONE, HOGRE, HOPNN, INDIE, INTI ANSA, INTI CASTRO, JAZ, JB ROCK, JÉRÔME GULON, JIMMY C, JOYS, JULIEN COLOMBIER, KAN, KATRE, KEITH HARING, KRUELLA, LEGZ, LEK, LE CYKLOP, LILIWENN, LOIOLA, LUDO, MAIS MENOS, MAR, MÁRIO BELÉM, MARKO, MARYAM, MATÉO GARCIA, MAZ, MONEYLESS, MOSKO, MP5, MYRE, NANO, NEBAY, NEMI “UHU”, NILKO, ORTICANOODLES, PANTÓNIO, PEETA, PHILIPPE BAUDELOCQUE, RAPTO, REA ONE, RODOLPHE CINTORINO, ROTI, SAILE, SAMBRE, SAMINA, SEAN HART, SÉBASTIEN PRESCHOUX, SENSO, SETH, SHAKA, SHOOF, SHUCK 2, SOWAT, SPAZM, SPETO, STeW, STINKFISH, SWOON, TELLA’S, TINHO, TORE, UNO, URIGINAL, VEXTA, VHILS, and WISIGN

 

Click HERE to read BSA’s coverage of this project before the building was demolished.

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Eye on London Street Art : Spencer Elzey in Europe

Eye on London Street Art : Spencer Elzey in Europe

November 23, 2013

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For the first week-long “residency” on BSA, Spencer Elzey has been sharing his experiences and Street Art photos from his recent trip to Europe. Today we finish with London, a polished and presentable collection of some of the current scene from the streets.

The city has long played host to a rolling panoply of urban art and artists and is a prime example of the professionalization of the practice featuring a greater absorption into the culture and economy at large with galleries, museums, shops, and paid tour guides all joining in. The upshot is you will see some of the best examples of talent and it may at times seem all quite combed over and generally safe for a general audience.  Not that there isn’t dynamism and risk taking, and you will still find unsanctioned work to be seen inside and outside of the tourist hotspots.

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Sweet Toof and Roa (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Hosting the Olympics last year brought a self cleansing of much of the organically grown graffiti and Street Art, and the chilling effect of living in an electronically surveilled society with cameras nearly everywhere will undoubtedly be sited to when historians look at the nature of art on the streets from this era.

“London had a lot of Street Art but it felt more corporate and organized for the masses,” says Elzey of his time walking through Shoreditch, Brick Lane, Hackney, Bethnal Green, and Camden. “In the week that I was there I walked by around five Street Art tours.”

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Sweet Toof (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“Most of London’s street art is confined to these places – The other areas that I explored around London all seemed pretty clean. This may have been due to the fact that there are security cameras everywhere,” he says. An international first world city, London usually is a destination for the international “circuit” of Street Artists whose names tend to reappear on lists of the various street/graffiti/urban art festivals that now pop up in global cities from Lima to Łódź and Living Walls to Nuart to Upfest and the recently ended FAME.

As with any art form that begins as transgressive and underground and evolves to be adopted by the dominant culture, at times the whole scene begins to resemble the commercial and institutional interests it once mocked or attempted to subvert. “London is great but felt more catered to the bigger players and had the most street art in commissioned form (by the various Street Art organizations), which is good to see some amazing work but cheapens the art a little,” he says.

In the images he shares with BSA readers today you can see the really strong work that is throughout those neighborhoods as many of the artists consider strongly what they will do – and it results in some quite striking pieces. As always, you want to keep an eye on London. Surely it will keep an eye on you.

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Miss Van and B. Schu (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Otto Schade (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Otto Schade (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Otto Schade (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Otto Schade (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Shok 1 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Gnasher (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Alexis Diaz (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Ben Eine (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cranio (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cranio (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cranio (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cranio (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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For The Love Of Dog (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Banksy (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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A sculptural installation by D*Face (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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ROA (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Swoon (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Guy Denning (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Urban Solid (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Sokaruno (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Vinie and Reaone (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Anthony Lister (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Finabarr DAC (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Phlegm (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Faith 47 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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El Mac (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Conor Harrington (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Conor Harrington (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Klone (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Dal East (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Dscreete (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Insa (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Martin Ron (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Jana & JS (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Christian Nagel (photo © Spencer Elzey)

 

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Towering Gallery Full of Art to Be Demolished : “La Tour Paris 13”

Towering Gallery Full of Art to Be Demolished : “La Tour Paris 13”

November 20, 2013

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The numbers are astounding; 105 artists, 9 floors, 36 apartments, 30,000 visitors.

One hour.

That is how much time Street Art enthusiast Spencer Elzey had to himself inside the largest gallery of Street Artists and graffiti artists ever assembled specifically to transform a building for a public show. As he looked out a window to see the snaking lines of Parisians and tourists restlessly waiting to get in, he couldn’t believe his luck to be able to walk through the exhibit by himself and get off some clear shots before the throng hit.

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El Seed. La Tour Paris 13.  Exterior of the tower. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“The La Tour Paris 13 experience was something that I’ll never forget,” Elzey recounts as he thinks of himself nearly running from apartment to apartment with camera in hand, each room a new discovery, many of them inspiring awe.

“I was on an adrenaline rush while I was inside since I only had an hour by myself before it opened to the public. It wasn’t until later in the morning when I looked back at all of my pictures that I was able to fully understand exactly how much art I just witnessed,” he says.

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Kan. La Tour Paris 13. Come in. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Mehdi Ben Cheikh from Galerie Itinerrance, who curated the project La Tour Paris 13 gave permission to Elzey to get these shots for BSA before the crowds arrived and now he was snapping as many as possible.

Over the course of the year artists have devised specific paintings, sculptures, and installations inside the housing tower knowing that it would be exhibited for a month before being demolished. “The number of artists and the amount of space dedicated to this one exhibit is something that I don’t think will ever again be replicated,” he says.

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a1ONE. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

While touring former living rooms, bathrooms, and kitchens Elzey quickly discovered that aerosol and markers were not the only materials used by this global pool of street/graffiti/urban artists who came from far places like Brazil, Iran, US, Tunisia, and even Saudi Arabia in addition to many European countries.

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a1ONE. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Some artists had staged new perspectives and environments by combining sculptural elements that married into their wall pieces, others like C215 cut into the floorboards to create a relief, still others worked in and around the decaying, partially destroyed infrastructure to create venues that slid into the fantasies of subconscious. “It was a free-for-all in a sense that once inside the apartment the artist had free reign to transform it however they wanted,” he says.

“What isn’t apparent in the pictures is how dark a lot of the rooms were. There were at least three rooms that were essentially dark with the exception of a little black light, while others were dimly lit by a solo lamp or fluorescent bulb. Sometimes you had to walk through holes in the walls to access further rooms.”

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Seth. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

In his images here you can see the variety of styles and influences that the artists brought to the game, each accepting that it was a one-time-only installation. Maybe this group wasn’t so hard to convince, since the very nature of art on the streets is ephemeral.

“Street Art on the street has an expiration date, but the exact amount of time in which it will stay up isn’t known,” says Elzey, “It can either be covered up by graffiti or another wheat-paste, it can be removed by the building owner, or it can just wither away from being exposed to the elements.”

La Tour Paris 13 brings to mind the multitude of urban explorers who regularly trek into abandoned and neglected places all over the world and leave their mark, activating previously moribund spaces with art, but no one has ever launched a show like this with such genuine quality or with this scope.

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Uriginal. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“The closest thing that I can compare it to is 5 Pointz,” Elzey says of the grouping of buildings in New Yorks’ Long Island City that provided what was perhaps the original group show venue for urban art from the 1990s until yesterday.  In an ironic mirroring of events, 5 Pointz and its multitude of external paintings underwent “the buff” the night before last after running an every-changing show for about three decades.

The 5 Pointz factory buildings themselves are also slated for demolition and will make way for new condos. “We all knew that its days were extremely numbered,” he says sadly of what had become a New York cultural heritage icon to some and a holy place for graffiti writers and Street Artists and fans from around the world.

 

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Tellas. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

The true impact from the La Tour Paris 13 project and 5 Pointz may happen in the mind and heart of the artist and the art fan; perhaps the beauty of this exercise, however short lived, is that the public is being encouraged to re-imagine old buildings for new uses, to consider what else we can do with private and public space.

When that conversation takes place we often realize how the limits of creativity are determined in no small part by imagination.

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Sambre. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

While we keep tracking the routes and machinations of this first global people’s art movement that has evolved into  Street Art, we fully expect that we will continue to be surprised and inspired by the creative spirit and by artists.

For Spencer, this Tour was a lot more personal. “Having experienced something like this on such an immense scale and with a definitive end date made me feel like I was part of something special.”

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Stew. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Shoof. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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David Walker. Detail. Jimmy C in the background room. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Guy Denning. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Katre. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Rea1. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Pantonio. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Jaz. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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C215. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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C215. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Belem. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Add Fuel. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Dado. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Bom K . Liliwenn. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Agostino Iacurci. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Entes. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Inti. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Dan 23. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Maz. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Hopnn. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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JB Rock. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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el Seed. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cekis. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Nebay. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Ethos. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Mar. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Loiola. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Mosko. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cope and Indi 184. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Ludo on the exterior with a view of the line to get in. Detail. La Tour Paris 13.  (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Visit La Tour Paris 13 site for a full set of photographs, details and a full experience of the project.

This article is also published on The Huffington Post.

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Artists participating include: 108 ( Italy) – 2mil (Brazil) – Add Fuel ( Portugal) – AGL ( France ) – Lacurci Agostino (Italy) – Alexone ( France ) – A1one (Iran) – Amin ( France ) – Aous (Saudi Arabia) – awer (Italy) – Azooz (Saudi Arabia) – Belem (Portugal) – BOM.K ( France ) – Btoy (Spain) – C215 ( France ) – Celeste Java ( France ) – Cope2 (USA) – Corleone (Portugal ) – Dabro (Tunisia) – Dado (Italy) – Dan23 ( France ) – David Walker (UK) – Eime (Portugal) – eL Seed ( Tunisia) – Ethos (Brazil) – Etnik (Italy) – Fenx ( France ) – Flip (Brazil) – Gael ( France ) – Gilbert ( France ) – Guy Denning (UK) – Herbert Baglione (Brazil) – Hogre (Italy) – Hopnn (Italy) – Indie 184 (USA) – Inti Ansa ( France ) – Inti Castro (Chile) – Jaz (Argentina) – JB Rock ( Italy) – Jimmy C ( Australia) – Samina Joao (Portugal) – Jonone (USA) – Joys (Italy) – Julien Colombier ( France ) – Kan ( France ) – Katre ( France ) – Kruella (Portugal) – Legz ( France ) – Lek ( France ) – Liliwenn ( France ) – Loyola (Brazil) – Ludo ( France ) – Mrs. Sanbor ( France ) – March (Portugal) – Marko93 ( France ) , Mario Belem (Portugal) – Maryam (Saudi Arabia) – Mateo Garcia Leon ( France ) – Maz (Saudi Arabia) – moneyless (Italy) – Mosko ( France ) – Mp5 (Italy) – Myra ( France ) – Nano (Chile) – Nebay ( France ) – Nemi Uhu ( France ) – Nilko ( France ) – Orticanoodles (Italy) – PANTONIO (Portugal) – Paulo Arraiano (Portugal) – Peeta (Italy) – Philippe Baudelocque ( France ) – Rapto (Brazil) – Rea 1 ( France ) – Rodolphe Cintorino ( France ) – Roti ( France ) – Sambre ( France ) – Sean Hart ( France ) – Sebastien Preschoux ( France ) – Senso (Italy) – Seth ( France ) – Shaka ( France ) – Shoof (Tunisia) – Shuck2 ( France ) – Sowat ( France ) – Spazm ( France ) – Speto (Brazil) – Stew ( France ) – Stinkfish (Mexico) – Sumo (Luxembourg) – Tellas (Italy) – Tinho (Brazil) – Tore ( France ) -Uno ( France ) – Uriginal (Spain) – Vexta (Australia) – Vhils (Portugal) – / Maismenos (Portugal).

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
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Street Art in Vitry-sur-Seine (France) : Spencer Elzey in Europe

Street Art in Vitry-sur-Seine (France) : Spencer Elzey in Europe

November 18, 2013

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BSA is lucky to be a clearinghouse for many people who participate in and celebrate the Street Art scene – artists, curators, designers, collectors, galleries, museums, researchers, academics, historians and fans. Because we have never taken advertising readers tend to trust our platform and people in the community give us great behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn and share freely with others about the creative process and the culture on the street. It also gives us the freedom to do whatever we want when planning editorial or content.

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Claire Pinatel (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Recently we had this idea about giving our site out to artists or art-lovers a week at a time so they could also fully share their personal experiences of the Street Art/public art/graffiti/ scene. So this week before Thanksgiving we’re giving the whole week to one person as a “residency”, our way of sharing this valuable platform and inviting you to have a greater voice in this conversation.

Spencer Elzey loves art in general and is an avid Street Art fan in particular and he likes to take trips that include shooting images on the street in whatever city he visits. He also supports artists by buying their art, regularly attending art exhibitions, reading and studying about them and following their evolution. Over the last couple of years we have seen that he is also a dedicated Street Art hunter with camera in hand on the streets of New York City when he isn’t at his regular job – and he loves to share what he finds with others on social media and as an occasional contributor to BSA.

When we heard that Spencer was planning a trip to Europe this fall we proposed to him the idea of him keeping a photo journal to be shared exclusively with BSA readers and we offered to help connect him with some friendly guides on his trip so he could get some splendid and exclusive photos. He enthusiastically accepted the offer and here is the first day of Spencer’s one-week residency on BSA, an edited treasure trove of images and insights from the guy himself.  We know you’re going to dig it.

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STeW (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Here’s this weeks schedule:

  • Monday is Vitry-sur-Seine Street Art.
  • Tuesday will be Paris Street Art.
  • Wednesday will be a special collection of the installations from the Le Tour Paris 13 project.
  • Thursday will be his adventures in Berlin.
  • BSA Film Friday will feature a selection of videos reflecting the cities he toured.
  • Saturday will be Spencer’s London showcase.

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ROA (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Of all four cities Spencer visited over a two week trip, this one seemed to really embrace the value of street art to the culture, he says. “In terms of which city was the most welcoming of street art I’d have to say Vitry-sur-Seine was because this is really a grassroots campaign kickstarted by C215,” he says of this city of 83,000 that is called a commune and lies on the outskirts of Paris.

It’s not hard to believe that the scene is attributed in large part to the influence of the well-regarded stencil artist C215 as this is a guy who considers his work to be community service and who regularly features people from the city he is in as subjects of his portraits. That’s why he was the perfect guide for Spencer, who says he learned a huge amount of information in a short time.

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“I have to say that C215 is one of the more interesting, opinionated and knowledgeable artists that I have come across. We started the morning at his local café with a coffee. I explored around a little by myself while he was attending to some prior engagements with his gallery and then he caught up with me out on the streets. We eventually had lunch and then went back to his house. Topics ranged from his opinion on the scene in general, on other artists, on galleries and it even touched on street art websites and documenters.

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“I hadn’t realized that he has only been doing stenciling for seven years but it was easy to see how far his pieces have come from the few monochrome stencils that still remain around Williamsburg (Brooklyn) from around 2008,” remarks Elzey.

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“What C215 has done in Vitry-sur-Seine is much bigger than I expected it to be, both in terms of quantity of work in the area as well as the impact on the community. The first piece that he put up there was about five year ago and within that time there have appeared at least 150 different pieces from him and other artists throughout the area,” says Spencer.

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Naturally, Elzey was shooting whatever odd or curious or thrilling piece he found on his travels through this city that celebrates artists, in addition to the work done by his host. “I was definitely surprised with how much Street Art there was in Vitry-sur-Seine. I took around 200 pictures of different pieces while there and I’m still seeing pictures on Instagram of things that I had missed,” he says.

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

One piece in particular by C215 impressed him a lot – because of it’s impact visually and its perfectly contextual placement. Additionally, Elzey felt that it illustrated the regard that the residents have for the artists work and the fact that people didn’t appear to think of it as illegal or vandalism, per se. “While I was exploring and taking pictures, various residents pointed with excitement about pieces just around the corner that I should go look at,” he says.

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“There was one older gentleman, probably in his 70s, who just simply said “La porte” and smiled while pointing in a certain direction. I rounded the corner to see a stencil of the Virgin Mary on the back door of the main church,” he says of one of the few religious themed pieces that the artist has created. “C215 had indicated that this was one of his favorite pieces in the area and it was nice to see that residents appreciated it as well. Had it not been for this project there really would be no other reason for me to have travelled down to Vitry-sur-Seine but it was definitely worth it.”

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Jorge Rodriguez Gerarda (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Yuri Romagnoli (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Finabarr DAC to the left with Guy Denning to the right. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Finabarr DAC (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Ripo (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Nychos (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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EmileOne (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Amour (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cristian Sonda (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cristian Sonda (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Kashink (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Cope (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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MP5 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Nunca (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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David Walker (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Etnik (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Indigo (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Gaia (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Alice Pasquini (photo © Spencer Elzey)

 

We hope you enjoy this one week residency on Brooklyn Street Art and we congratulate Spencer for his dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm.

Our sincere thanks also go to those who offered their hospitality and agreed to give Spencer a tour on our behalf; to the stencil artist C215, who graciously took him around Vitry and who shared with him a history and background on the scene there, to Maroune and Mehdi at Itinerrance Gallery for providing Spencer with special solo access to Le Tour Paris 13 while hundreds were queing outside, and to the dynamic German duo Various & Gould who welcomed him into their studio and showed Spencer some really cool spots around Berlin. This open and generous community spirit really makes the work that we do feel so inspiring to us, and we thank each of you for playing host to Spencer and for sharing your knowledge with the BSA family.

 
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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
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Fun Friday 10.05.12

October 5, 2012

Happy Friday Everybody

Our Fun Friday Stories This Week

1. Mitt Hunts Big Bird for Thanksgiving Dinner #defendthearts
2. Stormie Mills in Melbourne
3. Ambush Group Show (Sydney)
4. TrustoCorp at Outsiders (Newcastle, UK)
5. Guy Denning Solo at Signal (London)
6. Goons Go Inside (Chicago)
7. Graffitimundo Needs Your Help to Finish Documentary (VIDEO)

Today is going to be 80 degrees in New York so we’ll be outside checking out some new stuff on the street – ya’ll hear that MOMO is in town? We’re still reeling a bit from the debate Wednesday night where Mittens threatened to have Big Bird for Thanksgiving dinner and that makes us think of Saber’s skywriting campaign to #DefendTheArts.

Image courtesy VH1

Stormie Mills in Melbourne

Stormie Mills has a solo show “Peoples and Places 2012” at the Metro Gallery in Melbourne, Australia that’s open to everybody and Mr. Mills will delight you with his funny, industrious little characters done mostly in monochrome palette. Also, it was snowing at the opening Wednesday. Kind of stormy.

Stormie Mills entry on this summer’s Welling Court. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Ambush Group Show (Sydney)

The Australians are putting in a good game it seems as the Ambush Gallery in Sydney has an interesting line up of dozens of Aussies for their group show “Living In A Glass House”. This exhibition is now open to the general public. Also interesting because all the profits go directly to the artists.

For further information regarding this show click here.

TrustoCorp at Outsiders (Newcastle, UK)

The Outsiders Gallery has invited American Street and Fine Artist TrustoCorp to come and mint wads of money, honey. Currency is power and with this show titled “The International Bank of TrustoCorp” you’ll find plenty of both. Opening today.

TrustoCorp on the streets of Brooklyn always has a variety of subversive messages posted on official looking signs. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Guy Denning Solo at Signal (London)

Guy Denning’s solo show “Paradiso” at the Signal Gallery in London, UK is now open to the.  This show is the last of a trilogy inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Go and be tempted.

Guy Denning. (image courtesy of the gallery)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Goons Go Inside (Chicago)

Goons, the Chicago based Street Artists are exhibiting at the Maxwell Colette Gallery in Chicago with a solo exhibition titled “Welcome to Goonswood”. This show opens today.

Goons on the streets of Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Graffitimundo Needs Your Help to Finish Documentary (VIDEO)

Graffitimundo in Argentina is working on documentary “White Walls Say Nothing” to capture the art and activism on the streets of Buenos Aires. Take a look at the trailer for the film and please help them to raise the funds needed to complete their film by clicking on the link to their Kickstarter campaign.

“White Walls Say Nothing” link to their kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/whitewallsdoc/white-walls-say-nothing-buenos-aires-street-art-an

 

 

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Signal Gallery Presents: Guy Denning “Paradiso” (London, UK)

September 26, 2012 , , , , , ,

Guy Denning

We are delighted to announce that we are showing the work of the much loved and respected Bristol artist, Guy Denning in his first London solo show for two years. It’s the final part of his trilogy of exhibitions interpreting Dante’s The Divine Comedy; PARADISO. Inferno and Purgatorio, which were shown in Bologna and New York, were a tremendous success and we think that the final part of the cycle will be equally so.

In PARADISO Denning has created a series of works that use highly individual visual imagery to depict the ecstatic route to a place of resolution and rest (for Dante the route to heaven). He is intrigued by how the moral ambiguities of the world we live in; with it’s emphasis on glorifying the here and now, finds resonances with the unshakeable medieval belief in the existence of life after death. Like Dante, Denning draws on contemporary political concerns to illustrate his vision.

Part of the exhibition is inspired by Beatrice, Dante’s long dead love, who is the central figure in the poem and who symbolises feminine purity and vulnerability. To represent this aspect of PARADISO Denning has painted a series of delicate portraits of famous women from the recent past, who died young and who have found immortality in their enduring youth.

Denning has been an artist all his adult life and in 2007, he moved from Bristol to rural Brittany to concentrate fulltime on his painting. The artistic freedom this move has given him has contributed greatly to the intense and consistently beautiful work that he has produced in this period; quite simply it has raised his art to a whole new level.

His belief in the importance of drawing skills is the foundation of all his work. He uses traditional painting methods of building up work from underlying sketches, mostly from life and often using his friends as models. Guy’s painting, mainly oil on canvas, is approached with an intellectual rigour, which is always directed towards a truthful interpretation of the world as he sees it.  He is a unique artist in his technique, manner and choice of subject matter and this is at its best in his modern representation of Dante’s 14th century world.

The private view is on the 4th October and the show runs until the 27th October. Please let us know if you need any further information or images. Here is a link to a preview video that we think captures the very essence of PARADISO

Signal Gallery · 32 Paul Street · London, Eng EC2A 4LB

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Fun Friday 09.09.11

September 9, 2011

Fun-Friday

1. Freedia Video Exhortation
2. Guy Denning at Brooklynite Gallery Pop Up
3. LUDO in a Solo Show tonight “Metamorphosis” at High Roller Society (London)
4. YOUNITY is YOU! See the Goddesses Saturday in Yonkers (NYC)
5. Pandemic Says Goodbye to Summer with “Heat Beaten” Group Show
6. Australian Street Artists in San Francisco’s 941 Geary
7. “His Wife & Her Lover” at Primary Projects (Miami)

Okay everybody GET UP! Before we get cookin’ on too many projects today let’s everybody get up and do a dance to Friday and to life and the creative spirit that’s running through every person right now! This ain’t no rehearsal peepul. Miss Freedia gonna show us how to work it.

Guy Denning at Brooklynite Gallery Pop Up

Opening last night in a smoke filled ripped up storefront below Canal and above City Hall was this shrine filled show of meditations on 9/11, and the places we go amidst the memories and the rubble. Rae from Brooklynite spoke about the balance you try to strike when presenting a show like this, and they have probably hit it. Mixing headlines, languages, and the metaphor of purgatory with the anguish, longing, celebration and poetry that somehow coexist, Denning does a tender justice to us all.

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For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23974

LUDO in a Solo Show tonight “Metamorphosis” at High Roller Society (London)

LUDO’s been working in the laboratory, and tonight you are allowed to enter it.

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LUDO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23927

YOUNITY is YOU! See the Goddesses Saturday in Yonkers (NYC)

The YOUNITY Art Collective group show “Goddess Hood” opens on Saturday  at the Yonkers Public Libray and boasts a really impressive line up of contemporary female artists working today in NYC. Some say that the female energy is what is going to lead us through the times ahead, and if so, these artists with rock solid connection to the street have lanterns in hand: Lichiban, Swoon, Sofia Maldonado, Krista Franklin, Marthalicia, Diana McClure, Faith 47, lmnop, Lady Alezia, and Alice Mizrachi

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LMNOP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=24291

Pandemic Says Goodbye to Summer with “Heat Beaten” Group Show

Williamsburgs Southside hub of authentic street culture and a charming Joie de Smartass brings you another fun event and show – “Heat Beaten”.

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Sofia Maldonado (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23982

Australian Street Artists in San Francisco’s 941 Geary

In San Francisco the Australians have staged an ART invasion both on the streets and with a show at the 941 Geary Gallery. If you were wondering why the Australians are at the forefront of Street Art please turn your electronic gadgets off and get up and go see some hot art with: Anthony Lister, Kid Zoom, Dabs & Myla, DMote, New2, Ben Frost, Meggs, Ha Ha, Reka, Rone, Sofles and Vexta.

brooklyn-street-art-anthony-lister-jaime-rojo-street-art-los-angeles-08-11-webAnthony Lister (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=24112

“His Wife & Her Lover” at Primary Projects (Miami)

In Miami things get heated at Primary Projects group show : “His Wife & Her Lover”.  To find what happens to either the wife, the lover or the husband put your high heeled boots on, comb your hair, spray some cologne on and wish for the best.

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Mark Jenkins (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23938

Check out Primary Flight teaser video art directed by Primary Flight c0-founder Chris Oh and shoot by Peter Vahan. “Good Night and Farewell”

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Brooklynite Gallery and FB Gallery Present: Guy Denning “Purgatorio” (Manhattan, NY)

August 31, 2011 , , , , ,

Purgatorio
brooklyn-street-art-guy-denning-brooklynite-galleryGuy Denning
“Purgatorio”
September 8 – 25
Opening Night: Sept. 8th, 6-9PM
*New York City ‘Pop-Up’ Location*

Brooklynite & FB Gallery
368 Broadway, Tribeca, NYC
BrooklyniteGallery.com
FBGallery.net
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On the heels of his highly successful “Inferno” exhibition in Italy earlier this year, Guy Denning presents the second of his three part series of oil paintings on Dante’s Commedia in New York City for the aptly titled exhibition, “Purgatorio”.

Originally drawing inspiration from Dante’s writings, Guy’s intention has not been to recreate the poem in a visual or literal sense, but instead let it act as a framework for his own personal interpretation. As with the writing of Shakespeare, Guy finds a perpetual relevance in Dante’s work where the specifics of name, situation and place are easily adapted to the modern world; as if time moves on but the problems of humanity remain essentially the same.

The events of September 11th and the emotional toll it took on the American individual is final and critical element to this body of work. Guy suggests that the suffering of America is too often defined by the media in terms of the political rather than the personal, leaving the individual voice of ordinary people sometimes unspoken in the narrative of history. His work sets out to make a small and personal amendment to that omission. Poignantly enough, this exhibition will be held in a NYC ‘Pop-Up’ location just blocks from Ground Zero and on the 10 Year Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The work, though tied to Dante’s writing will also feature elements of images found on the internet, particularly of people in New York City on that terrible day. Significant press images are also used as reference for Guy’s work in hopes that they will be scrutinized that much more intensely than the photos we glance at far too quickly in newsprint. He has also constructed one large landscape painting, in the fashion of the traditional ‘history’ genre, made from connected canvas panels. This oil painting, derived from studying still frame images from amateur video footage, aims to create an assumed and complete narrative of the major elements of the day from a New York perspective.

Guy states that this is a collection of work recognizing the suffering of the American people on September 11th and immediately thereafter – when the United States had the sympathy of the world. He wants it to be viewed as nothing short of respectful to the memories of all those that died and suffered as a result – both in New York and beyond. Guy quotes another English artist William Blake who wrote “Can I see another’s woe, and not be in sorrow, too? Can I see another’s grief, and not seek for kind relief?” Despite the many cultural differences of the peoples of the world we are all essentially united by our humanity; our common desires, hopes and despairs. It is the ordinary people’s common humanity that will take us forward and not politically inspired violence.

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Fun Friday 01.07.11

January 7, 2011

Fun-Friday

Tonight in Brooklyn: “Wholetrain” Screening at Closing Party for H. Veng Smith

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Tonight at Pandemic they’ll be screening the film “Wholetrain” to close the “Identifiable Reality” show by H. Veng Smith.

“Florian Gaag manages to recount a tale colored by tension and aggression. The result is a many-sided portrait of characters whose world has never been documented in this way before. Their subculture remains authentic and realistic. Edgy editing and grandiloquent camerawork, a pulsating soundtrack and an excellent ensemble of actors, make WHOLETRAIN a film experience not to be missed.” – Wholetrain Website

SCREENING BEGINS AT 8:00 PM.
brooklyn-street-art-wholetrain-florian-gaag-pandemic-gallery

PANDEMIC gallery
37 Broadway btwn Kent and Wythe
Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.pandemicgallery.com

Walk All Over Shepard Fairey If You Like

On the streets of Milan, Italy five artists (Shepard Fairey, Invader, The London Police, Flying Fortress and Rendo) has been invited to create about 20 manhole covers.

more at The Street Art Blog

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West Coast Holla! – Here’s Three;

Carmichael Gallery “After the Rain”

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Carmichael’s first show of the year “After the Rain” featuring new work by Boogie, Guy Denning, Aakash Nihalani, and Pascual Sisto.

5795 Washington Blvd Culver City, CA 90232
January 8 – February 5, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 8, 2011, 6-8pm

Whoops, “There It Is” at ThinkSpace

“There it Is” at ThinkSpace

brooklyn-street-art-think-space-gallery
‘There It Is’
Featuring new works from three Oakland CA artists:
Brett Amory / Adam Caldwell / Seth Armstrong
(Main Gallery)
Paul Barnes
‘Happy Valley’
(Project Room)
Both exhibits on view: January 8th – January 29th
Opening Reception: Sat, January 8th 7-10PM

Thinkspace Art Gallery
6009 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 558-3375 | Open Wed. – Sat.
1pm-6pm
or by appointment
contact@thinkspacegallery.com

“Street Degrees of Street” – Abztract Collective

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Abztract-Boards-6-degrees-Jan2011

Abztract Collective and Crewest Gallery group show “Street Degrees of Separation”

Opening Reception Jan 2008

CREWEST GALLERY

110 Winston Street

Los Angeles, CA

213 627 8272

BOXI and BANKSY TAKE No. 1 Spots

Here are the Final Results of the Year End 2010 BSA Polls

It was a blast to watch the images jumping positions like a horse race for the last weeks of the year as two BSA Polls were up on the Huffington Post.  Thousands of people participated in the voting and we got lots of funny emails, and some varying opinions – and here are the results;

As voted by readers on Huffing Post Arts page , here are the top 10 Brooklyn Street Art images from 2010.

1. Boxi

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2. ROA, “Ibis”

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-2 ibis

3. ROA, “Squirrel”

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-3-roasquirrell

4. Retna & El Mac

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6. Os Gemeos and Futura

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-6-os-gemeos

7. Jef Soto

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-7-jef-soto

8. El Mac

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-8-El Mac

9. Gaia

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-9-Gaia

10. Gaia

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-10-Gaia

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And in our highly subjective and fun compilation of 10 Best Street Art Moments of the Decade, here are the results of the votes – The Top Five

1.     “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, Banksy

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-DECADE 1 BANKSY

Image promotional still from movie.

2.     Tate Modern hosts “Street Art”

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© Tate Photography

3.     Nuart Festival Established by Martyn Reed

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© CF Salicath

4.     Shepard Fairey’s Obama Posters

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Jaime-Rojo-DECADE 4 Fairey

© Jaime Rojo

5.     Swoon’s Swimming City Arrives at Venice Biennale

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Tod-Seelie-DECADE 5 Swoon

© Tod Seelie

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Carmichael Gallery Presents “After The Rain” A Group Show With Works By Boogie, Guy Denning, Aakash Nihalani, Pascual Sisto (Culver City, CA)

January 6, 2011 , , , , ,

Carmichael Gallery
brooklyn-street-art-carmichael-gallery train_rider

Carmichael Gallery Invites You To Attend
our first exhibition of the new year!

After The Rain

Boogie, Guy Denning, Aakash Nihalani, Pascual Sisto
5795 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

January 8 – February 5, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 8, 2011, 6-8pm

please RSVP by email rsvp at carmichaelgallery dot com

Carmichael Gallery is pleased to present After The Rain, a group exhibition featuring Boogie, Guy Denning, Aakash Nihalani and Pascual Sisto. After The Rain merges and contrasts the palettes of four artists who work in a range of media. The precise neon color sculptures and abstract mixed media canvases of Aakash Nihalani highlight the raw, candid nature of Boogie’s black and white photographs, while Guy Denning’s dark portraits, built with indulgent layers of oil paint, situate Pascual Sisto’s video and sculptural works in a new contextual light.

There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on Saturday, January 8 from 6 to 8pm with Pascual Sisto in attendance. The exhibition will run through February 5, 2011.

Boogie (b. 1969 Belgrade, Serbia)
As a photographer, Boogie is singular in his ability to remove his presence as the mediator between the subjects of his work and those viewing them from without. His illumination of the complexity of the human condition without the imposition of his own ego or ideologies presents a more compelling foundation for the contemplation of his weighty subject matter and the socio-economic, philosophical and emotional currents that press from beneath. He will present a series of black and white photographs.

Recent solo and group shows include Hell’s Half-Acre, Lazarides Gallery at The Old Vic Tunnels (2010) and The Uncovering, Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles (2010). He lives and works in Belgrade.

Guy Denning (b. 1965 Bristol, England)
Guy Denning’s enigmatic portraits of androgynous figures possess a strange and often ethereal beauty, blending the smoothness of classical form with a blunt contemporary perspective. Sexual and temporal politics, objectification, and isolation are illuminated through carefully honed contrasts of shape and shade. His will present a series of oils on canvas.

Recent solo and group shows include Behemoth, St Martin in the Fields, London (2010), Surface Tension, Brooklynite Gallery, Brooklyn (2010), Represent, Blackall Studios, London (2010) and Celebrity Will Eat Itself, Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles (2009). He lives and works in Finistère.

Aakash Nihalani (b. 1986 New York, USA)
Aakash Nihalani has fashioned a visual language all his own. The neon in his work highlights details that might otherwise go unnoticed, while his minimalist patterns form self-contained pockets which encourage examination both within the isolated space and of the world at large. His work often engages the public by creating three-dimensional environments that can be physically entered, transforming passersby or gallery visitors into participants and offering them a momentary escape from daily life. He will present new sculptural works from his Optiprism series, as well as new works on canvas.

Recent solo and group shows include Overlap, Bose Pacia, New York (2010), Re-Creation II, Carmichael Gallery at Ogilvy & Mather (2010), Off & On (Often On), Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles (2010), Tape and Mirrors, Eastern District Gallery, Brooklyn (2009) and Paraphrase, Arario Gallery, New York (2009). 2009 and 2010 also saw him complete ephemeral, site-specific tape installations (both commissioned and otherwise) throughout the US and in India, Austria and France. He lives and works in Brooklyn.

Pascual Sisto (b. 1975 Ferrol, Spain)
Pascual Sisto’s works, which include neon, video, photography and text-based series, reassess and recontextualize a range of historical dialogues that have been instrumental in shaping both contemporary society and his own artistic practice. He will present a video installation, amongst other works, in one of the gallery’s project rooms.

Recent solo and group shows include Please Remember Everything, Actual Size, Los Angeles (2010), Looped, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City (2010), Get Wet, UGM / Maribor Art Gallery, Maribor (2010), Instant LA Summer, Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles (2010) and Absolutely Not, Fifty Thirty Three, Los Angeles (2010). He lives and works in Los Angeles.

About Carmichael Gallery:

Founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Seth and Elisa Carmichael, Carmichael Gallery focuses on a select group of artists breaking ground in painting, mixed media, photography and sculpture. Their annual program consists of a series of solo and group exhibitions that document the progress of these artists.

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