All posts tagged: Shai Dahan

Fun Friday 09.21.12

September 21, 2012

Yo Yo what’s up all the Brooklyn peepuls and the New Yorkers and the LA’ers and the Chicago’ers and the Stavanger Norway buddies and shout out to Martha as she hangs in Johannesburg today and to everybody who’s brave enough to tap into the creative spirit. Today in Brooklyn it’s sunny and bright and there’s a bird singing on the chain link fence outside my house. As usual the place to be is where you’re at. Also, we’d be really happy to meet you tomorrow at our show in Red Hook if you can fly by.

1. Kit Kat Flex Dancer in Brooklyn (VIDEO)
2. GEOMETRICKS Opens Saturday (BKLYN)
3. Shai Dahan “Broken Window” (Sweden)
4. Fall Group Exhibition at C.A.V.E (LA)
5. Sydney curates a show on the Street (Australia)
6. “Luchadores” by El Hase is now open to the public at One Art Space in Manhattan.7. Ricky Powell is “Back in BK” and you can catch him tonight at Mishka in Brooklyn
7. PUBLIC WORKS PART I By Jason Wawro (VIDEO)
8. PUBLIC WORKS PART II By Jason Wawro (VIDEO)
9. Narcelio Grud: “Spiral”  Invention and Graffiti (VIDEO)
10. TEJN Has a lock on Street Art (VIDEO)
11. Don John in Copenhagen by Alexander Lee (VIDEO)

Let’s start Friday by getting inspired by KitKat – a Brooklyn flex dancer who knows her stuff. (VIDEO)

GEOMETRICKS Opens Saturday (BKLYN)

Of course we had to put this one first because we have 11 cool artists showing work that collectively illustrates one of the major new directions that Street Art and Graffiti are going in right now.

The Red Hook neighborhood is where the fun will be this Saturday as the opening of “GEOMETRICKS”, curated by Hellbent,  takes place at Gallery Brooklyn. With a FREE shuttle from the G/F Trains on Carroll St to the Gallery courtesy of local Brooklyn Crab restaurant, a Young Collectors Wall with dope pieces by the artists in the show all priced at $200 each (you must have valid student ID for these pieces), and music provided by Sleptember, you are going to see a slice of community we’ve all grown to love.

Support  the inaugural show of “Vandal or Visionaries” Series by BSA and enjoy the beautiful art works by: Augustine Kofie, Chor Boogie, Drew Tyndell, Feral Child, Hellbent, Jaye Moon, Maya Hayuk, MOMO, OLEK, OverUnder, See One. Then join us at Brooklyn Crab to hang after the show – and the restaurant will be offering a FREE shuttle back to the G/F Trains. So what’s there not to like? And we thank our local Red Hook based sponsor, SixPoint Brewery.

Detail of Drew Tyndell on the Foreground. “GEOMETRICKS” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

See more about GEOMETRICKS on Vandalog, Graffurism, Arrested Motion, NY Taco, Donut Chocula, ArtSlant, Premium Mints, 12 oz Prophet, – we thank you all for your support.

Shai Dahan “Broken Window” (Sweden)

A Gallery in Göteborg, Sweden is hosting American Street Artist Shai Dahan with his solo exhibition titled “Broken Window” opening on Saturday.

Shai Dahan ( Image © courtesy of the artist)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Fall Group Exhibition at C.A.V.E (LA)

C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice, Beach, CA invites you to their Fall Group Exhibition with an eclectic mix of fine and Street Artists including:

YOUNG CHUN * PAT PERRY * RADICAL! * BRANDON BOYD
MEAR ONE * CRAWW * MAX NEUTRA * J. SHEA
RESTITUTION PRESS * NOM KINNEAR KING * JOHN PARK
CHERRI WOOD * HANS HAVERON * KYLE HUGHES-ODGERS aka CREEPY
BAYO * SHAUNNA PETERSON * CODAK * L CROSKEY
KEN GARDUNO * SOPHIE BASTIEN * JoKa * RAFAEL DELGADO

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

For further information regarding this show click here.

Sydney curates a show on the Street (Australia)

It looks like the Australians’ love affair for Street Art continues strong. Ambush Gallery has teamed up with Darling Quartet, Sydney’s new precinct and public arts space to mount an outdoor exhibition opening to the public today. The works of art on view are by a handful of well known and respected Street Artists working today including: Anthony Lister (Bris/NY), Beastman (Syd), Shannon Crees (Syd) and Hiroyasu Tsuri/TWOONE (Melb). The exhibition is FREE, open 24/7 and it will be illuminated at night.

Anthony Lister working on his contribution for this show. (image © courtesy of Ambush Gallery)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Also happening this weekend:

“Luchadores” by El Hase is now open to the public at One Art Space in Manhattan. Click here for more details on this show.

Ricky Powell is “Back in BK” and you can catch him tonight at Mishka in Brooklyn. Click here for more details on this show.

PUBLIC WORKS PART I By Jason Wawro (VIDEO)

PUBLIC WORKS PART II By Jason Wawro (VIDEO)

To learn more about LALA Arts Public Works Project with the participation of Ron English and Shepard Fairey, as well as How & Nosm, Insa, Push, Revok, Risk, Seen, Trustocorp, WCA Crew, Uglar and Zes click here.

Narcelio Grud: “Spiral”  Invention and Graffiti (VIDEO)

TEJN Has a lock on Street Art (VIDEO)

Sculptor TEJN from Copenhagen broadens our conception of what street art and public art and sculpture are with his installations that he chains and locks and leaves. Basically, he’s just giving you his art, and if you really want it probably you will need a blow torch.

Don John in Copenhagen by Alexander Lee (VIDEO)

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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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A Gallery Presents: Shai Dahan “Broken Window” (Göteborg, Sweden)

September 19, 2012 , , , , , ,

Shai Dahan

 

Opening reception on September 22
12-16 in the presence of the artist.
The exhibition runs until October 13
A Gallery
Sofierogatan 3
412 51 Göteborg
info@agallery.se
www.agallery.se

A Gallery is pleased to welcome Shai Dahan to the Gallery with a new body of work that represents his distinctive aesthetic and continually evolving style. Please join us for a reception with the artist on Saturday, September 22nd, 2012.

Shai demonstrates aesthetic elements that encompass both contemporary and traditional techniques of urban art much like the way he performs his art outdoors. Each of Shai’s works is an explosion of layered graffiti text or heavy layers of painted drips or gestural brushstrokes. Working with acrylics, spray paint, and at times, watercolors, his works have an organized chaos that is both compelling and appealing.

Shai has been inspired by cultural motifs from around the world. From Swedish Dalahorses to Palestinian Beduins, Shai finds a way to create motifs that are a piece of the world he is surrounded by and the world of urban art. Even the extended violence throughout the world, with ever roaring emergence of riots, Shai finds a way to create playful and somewhat humorous body of work in a small collection of watercolor paintings depicting riot police and rioters interacting in playful activities.

In other works, Shai finds beauty in the destruction of luxury items. Creating large scale paintings of collectible automotive, Shai takes away the social standard of what is beautiful and replaces it with a new vision for beauty by creating graffiti tags among these luxurious pieces. This body of work documents Shai development as an artist, and the new ways in which he is approaching his subject. By reworking, combining, and appropriating tags from his own local neighborhood, Shai’s new works are intricately layered with fine art and urban substance and contain an unprecedented sense of beauty in ruins.

About the artist:
Shai lives in Boras, Sweden with his wife and two dogs and exhibits both nationally and internationally. His work has been shown in numerous shows around the United States including New York and Los Angeles, and in solo shows including Stockholm and Boras Konst Museum. His work has been published in several books and magazines. Shai will be speaking at TEDxGothenburg in October and will also be taking part of numerous projects, lectures and workshops throughout the remainder of 2012.

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New Piece on Palestine Wall by Shai Dahan

May 21, 2012

Getting up on a wall usually requires preparation of some sort. Getting up on the wall in Palestine requires nerves of steel.

 

Shai Dahan working on his 6 meter high piece in Palestine (photo © David Freid)

Street Artist and fine artist Shai Dahan just returned from a trip to what some call the Holy Land to place a large portrait of a Jordanian Bedouin on the wall on the Palestinian side. Despite the checkpoints and soldiers in towers and the general atmosphere of hostility and suspicion that seems ever present, a non-political piece was welcomed by people in this war torn region, and locals greeted Dahan and his friend with coffees and teas all day. Kids who were watching the progress with great interest also gave them the “thumbs up” sign of approval, so they knew they were cool.

Shai Dahan created his piece based on this photography by David Freid (photo © David Freid)

Over the last decade this wall has drawn the attention of many international Street Artists like Brooklyn’s Faile, London’s Banksy, Ireland’s Conor Harrington, Italy’s Blu, and Paris’ JR, among others.  Each has reported a sense of accomplishment after pulling this feat, and Dahan reports that many of those pieces still remain there. With his friend David Freid there to shoot a documentary and provide these photos, Dahan felt like it was a rare privilege and opportunity.

Shai Dahan “Miles to Go Before I Sleep” (photo © David Freid)

“The locals loved it and although the stress of entering an area full of conflict with zero security was great, it was a very special project and one of the highlights of my career. I got to enter a place filled with anger and frustration and paint there.”

Now back in Sweden, Shai is preparing for his show opening this Friday the 25th at the Modern Art Museum of Boras.

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Images of the Week 04.22.12

April 22, 2012 ,


Our weekly interview with the street takes us to Poland, LA, Sweden, Wall Street, and dirty old Brooklyn with pieces by Bishop 203, Dan Witz, Gilf!, Hellbent, Ludo, The Metropolitan Etiquette Authority, Olek, Screwtape, and Shai Dahan.

Ludo in Katowice, Poland. (photo © Ludo)

Ludo in Katowice, Poland. (photo © Ludo)

Olek in Katowice, Poland. (photo © Olek)

Olek in Katowice, Poland. (photo © Olek)

Metropolitan Etiquette Authority (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Screwtape (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shai Dahan in Stockholm (photo © Shai Dahan)

Hellbent in Venice Beach, CA (photo © Patrick Iaconis)

Gilf! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bishop 203 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dan Witz at LALA Gallery for LA Frewalls Project (photo © Dan Witz)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Olek and Ludo participated on the Katowice, Poland Street Art Festival. To learn more about this festival click here.

Dan Witz work is being featured at the inaugural show of LALA Gallery in Los Angeles. The gallery and the show are now opened to the public. Click here for more information.

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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 04.13.12

April 13, 2012

 

Uh-Oh, should I be wearing a necklace of garlic today? It might not be too cool to wear it indoors. Oh snap it’s only a movie. Happy Friday the 13th everybody!

1. “Vice & Virtue” Shai Dahan (Stockholm)
2. “It Felt Like a Kiss”, Alexandros Vasmoulakis at Gallery Nosco (London)
3. “The Birds & The Bees” with H. Veng Smith and Gigi Chen (BKLN)
4. Isaac Cordal Solo tonight in Barcelona
5. Hellbent at C.A.V.E. Saturday (LA)
6. Buff Monster at Corey Helford Saturday (LA)
7. Sowat and Lek present: “Mausolee”
8. Arabic Graffiti and Egyptian Street Art in Frankfurt
9. John Crash Matos’ “Study In Watercolors” at the Addict Galerie in Paris
10. ARMO and his world of color, shapes and textures. (VIDEO)
11. Ana Peru Peru Ana “meanwhile, in new york city (VII)” (VIDEO)

“Vice & Virtue” Shai Dahan (Stockholm)

Shai Dahan’s solo show  “Vice & Virtue” opened last night at the Scarlett Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden and is open today to the public.  Are your virtues bigger than your vices?

For further information regarding this show click here.

“It Felt Like a Kiss”, Alexandros Vasmoulakis at Gallery Nosco (London)

An exploration of the seductive kiss and the female power of attraction – sounds like a valiant pursuit, doesn’t it? Alexandros Vasmoulakis’s solo show is open to the general public at Gallery Nosco in London today.

For further information regarding this show click here.

“The Birds & The Bees” with H. Veng Smith and Gigi Chen (BKLN)

A perfect theme for a show right now as the temperatures rise and skirts rise and shirts come off on the grassy knolls in Prospect Park.  “The Birds & The Bees” H. Veng Smith show with Gigi Chen at the Mighty Tanaka Gallery opens today in Brooklyn as Spring time’s gallant breeze calls you hither to Dumbo.

Veng (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Isaac Cordal Solo tonight in Barcelona

Curated by Street Art author Maximiliano Ruiz, this solo show gives platform to Isaac Cordal, a small-scale sculptor who has thus far used the street as the only necessary stage. Mr. Cordal’s little cement characters at RAS Gallery will stop you in your tracks and reconsider your giant self.

Isaac Cordal (photo © Isaac Cordal)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Hellbent at C.A.V.E. Saturday (LA)

New York Street Artist and fine artist Hellbent shares the space at C.A.V.E Gallery in Venice Beach, California this weekend with his offering “A Quilted Life”.

Hellbent (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Buff Monster at Corey Helford Saturday (LA)

Buff Monster is back at his most mischievous at the Corey Helford Gallery this time all covered in delicious pink. His solo show “Legend of the Pink” opens tomorrow in Culver City as the monster celebrates 10 years of work on the street.

Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Also happening this weekend:

Maya Hayuk solo show “2012 Apocabliss” in Mexico City at Anonymous Gallery. Click here for more details on this show.

Sowat and Lek present: “Mausolee”. An art show and book release in Paris, France. Click here for more details on this show.

From Here to Fame Publishing Presents: Arabic Graffiti and Egyptian Street Art in Frankfurt, Germany. Click here for more details on this show.

John Crash Matos’ “Study In Watercolors” at the Addict Galerie in Paris, France. Click here for more details on this show.

ARMO and his world of color, shapes and textures. (VIDEO)

Armo (photo © Armo)

“meanwhile, in new york city (VII)” (VIDEO)

Peru Ana Ana Peru are Street Artists, jokesters, and film makers in New York. Here is their new mini-movie of unscripted New York scenes, sounds and soliloquies collected together for your amusement and befuddlement.

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The Scarlett Gallery Presents: Shai Dahan “Vice & Virtue” (Stockholm, Sweden)

April 10, 2012 , , , , ,

“Vice and Virtue”

The Scarlett Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Shai Dahan.

The former New Yorker, now residing in Sweden, will be presenting a body of new work in his first solo Stockholm show.

The artist is known for his iconic realistic rendition of the Swedish Dala Horses. Shai uses them as a metaphor for urban art to create a dialogue between the conformity and foundation of Royal history and the scorned graffiti culture that authoritative leaders have tried to prevent from advancement. VICE & VIRTUE is a symbolic alteration of Swedish Royal figures and sovereignty ripped apart by unbound graffiti impressions. In vivid forms of graffiti tags, Swedish Royal and monarch names dating back centuries, are placed in almost an architectural manner to decorate figures to poetically carry vandalism into art.

Shai’s work is captivating, thought provoking and yet emotionally positive. His gallery work is an expressive way of bringing this urban artistry into a more delicate environment while still maintaining its attractive elegance. Shai has been featured in magazines and books worldwide, and has taken part in multiple urban art projects around the world including New York, Los Angeles, Canada, Madrid and Sweden. He has exhibited internationally and has also painted murals across the U.S. and Europe

Currently, residing in Borås, Sweden with his wife and two dogs where he continues to paint and exhibit internationally.

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Shai Dahan, Ollio and Ekta in the Swedish Woods

March 31, 2012 , ,

Some artists are always on the lookout for abandoned construction projects or buildings that the owners leave empty after they can’t afford to live in them, pay for the maintenance, or taxes. Developers start projects and run out of funding because their backers pull out or the economy goes into the ditch. Sometimes the developer never had the intention of finishing the job, or their backers pull out, someone gets hurt on the project, or they cannot get the necessary permits, or are in jail. The spaces feel haunted, empty, full of echo; sometimes remaining features contain remnants of stories of people you imagine lived there or worked there. Other times the empty incomplete shells contain pieces of possibilities, grand dreams for the imagined future never realized.

Ekta (photo © Shai Dahan)

Shai Dahan spent some sweet time with his Swedish homies Ekta and Ollio painting and pasting and exploring one sunny recent afternoon at a secret hidden location deep in the woods of “Smorgasland’, as Shai calls it. This abandoned spot has some nice grey industrial concrete that will add to the character of the pieces as the structure decays, molds, rusts, rots, is overgrown and overtaken by the trees and moss. Here are some new shots of the finished pieces exclusively to BSA readers.

Ekta (photo © Shai Dahan)

Shai Dahan (photo © Shai Dahan)

Shai Dahan (photo © Shai Dahan)

Ollio (photo © Ollio)

Ollio (photo © Ollio)

Ollio (photo © Ollio)

 

 

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A-Gallery Presents: “Art Happening” A Group Show (Goteborg, Sweden)

February 13, 2012 , , , ,

Art Happening

 

Welcome to “ART HAPPENING” at A-Gallery
Thursday, February 16 at 17-21.
It will be a fantastic evening with wonderful art;
nice mingling and wine tasting with champagne
and Italian wines from the French company.

REBECCA LUNDH: abstract painting
LIU BOLIN: photography, “hiding in the city“
SHAI DAHAN: urban art
JÖRG DÖRING: contemporary pop art
JOHNNY BOY ERICSSON: urban art
VINCENT EDMOND LOUIS: photography, portraits
Jan Jörnmark: photography, urban art

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Mighty Tanaka Gallery Presents: Robots Will Kill & Friends. A Group Show (Brooklyn, NY)

November 28, 2011 , , , , ,

RWK

 

The upcoming show at Mighty Tanaka entitled “Robots Will Kill and Friends” brings together a collection of artists who have collaborated, shown, worked etc directly with the members of RWK. The show also marks the second anniversary for Mighty Tanaka. The show brings together a eclectic group artists, not just street artists and graffiti artists.

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Fun Friday 05.27.11

May 27, 2011

Fun-Friday

If you decide to stay in the city this holiday weekend you can incite your imagination and feed your intellectual curiosity by walking the streets for the great out door gallery, or go inside to see great new stuff.

1. Happy 70th Birthday Bob Dylan (a couple of days ago)
2. “Paint It Now” Tonight in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
3. Miss Van and Gaia Double Bill at Jonathan Levine
4. Shai Dahan Solo Show in Gothenburg, Sweden
5. Melrose & Fairfax Saturday “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles”
6. FAILE SAYZ: PLAY WITH YOUR ART! Release Puzzle Boxes
7. DJ Mayonaise Hands Insightful Review of ELIK at Brooklynite
8. Narcelio Grud
9. FEIK in Brazil by Sampa Graffiti

Happy 70th Birthday Bob Dylan (a couple of days ago)

“Paint It Now” Tonight in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Paint It Now makes its NYC debut in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood (just north of Williamsburg). The show’s curators, Thomas Buildmore and Scott Chasse partner with Fowler Arts Collective for this Brooklyn-centric show, although Philadelphia and Boston represent.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Paint-It-Now-Fowler-052711

FEATURED ARTISTS: Morgan Thomas Anderson, Royce Bannon, Thomas Buildmore, Scott Chasse, Darkclouds, Robert daVies, El Celso, Martin Esteves, Veronica Hanssens, Jessica Hess, Keely, Kenji Nakayama, Nineta, Nose Go,
Cense, Damion Silver, John Skibo, Ben Woodward

http://www.fowlerartsbrooklyn.org/paintitnow2011.html

Fowler Arts, 67 West Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11222.

Miss Van and Gaia Double Bill at Jonathan Levine

Miss Van “Bailarinas” and Gaia “Succession” opened last night at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea in Manhattan. Miss Van has been painting since her teenage years in France and in Europe and Gaia is celebrating his recent graduation from MICA in Baltimore. Congratulations GAIA!

brooklyn-street-art-gaia_and-miss-van-jonathan-levine-gallery

(images courtesy of the Gallery)

For more details on this show, times and address click on the link below”

http://jonathanlevinegallery.com/

Shai Dahan Solo Show in Gothenburg, Sweden

Shai Dahan moved to Sweden last year and, wasting no time, he set up to work on his new art  projects as soon as the plane touched ground. Today he invites all people that happen to be in Gothenburg , Sweden to come to the opening of his solo show “Things Come Undone” at the Artspace + Us Gallery.

brooklyn-street-art-Shai-Dahan-things-come-undone-052711-web

Shai Dahan “To catch a thief”. Detail (photo © Shai Dahan)

To read more details, time and location for this show go to:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=20986

Melrose & Fairfax Saturday “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles”

brooklyn-street-art-WEB-melrose-fairfax-maximillian-gallery-web-1

On Saturday the West Coast Street Art site Melrose&Fairfax invites you to attend the opening reception of their curatorial debut “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles” at the Maximillian Gallery in West Hollywood, CA.

brooklyn-street-art-desire-obtain-cherish-birdman

Desire Obtain Cherish (photo © Birdman). Desire Obtain Cherish collective is included in this show and they are based in Los Angeles, CA. This is their most recent billboard takeover.  Click on their name above to go their site for more information about this project.

Participating artists include: Alec Monopoly, Free Humanity, Smog City, Bankrupt Slut, DeeKay, Bod Bod, 2twenty, Snyder, Gregory Stiff, KH no. 7, Desire Obtain Cherish, CYRCLE. & DD$, Leba and Homo Riot.

For more details on this show, time and address click below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=21183

FAILE SAYZ: PLAY WITH YOUR ART! Release Puzzle Boxes

Brooklyn Street Art: You know I was just thinking about the blocks and interactivity. I wonder if you could make a piece where some of the blocks were free and the person who buys it could play with the blocks.

Patrick Miller: Hey, you’re really onto something!

Patrick McNeil: Let’s go upstairs.

Brooklyn Street Art: You’ve already thought of this!

(from FAILE Studio Visit on BSA last fall)

Street Art Collective Faile have released a set of six different Puzzleboxes to the public. When we visited their studio last year they were in the process of creating these fun, interactive fine art pieces and now they are available, with an app on Itunes to boot.

brooklyn-street-art-faile-puzzle-boxesbrooklyn-street-art-faile-puzzle-boxesFor information about the Puzzleboxes and to purchase go to:

http://failepuzzleboxes.com/

DJ Mayonaise Hands Insightful Review of ELIK at Brooklynite

Narcelio Grud

Brazilian artist Narcelio Grud was filmed getting up all day in Manhester, UK where the only thing that really got in his way was a flock of adorable baby geese crossing his path.

FEIK in Brazil by Sampa Graffiti

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Artspace + Us Gallery Presents: “Things Come Undone” Solo Exhibition by Shai Dahan (Gothenburg, Sweden)

May 15, 2011 , , , ,

Shai Dahan
brooklyn-street-art-art-space-gallery-us-shai-dahan

Artspace + Us Gallery @ Gothenburg, Sweden
Things Come Undone : Shai Dahan
May 27th – June 20
Opening Reception: May 27th @ 6-10 pm
Södra vägen 30
412 54 Göteborg

Artspace + Us Gallery is proud to present the first international solo exhibition by urban contemporary artist Shai Dahan in Gothenburg Sweden. The show will include new works by Shai including large scale canvas paintings, illustrations as well as mixed media installations.

With his recent relocation to Sweden from New York, Shai chose to combine both cultures into the work for this solo show. The work includes hybrids of urban landscapes and familiar Scandinavian wildlife. With his signature birdguns, Shai expanded his animal-gun series and also chose to utilize other means from their environment to express the conflict between animals and the humans who invade their habitat.

Earlier this year, Shai took part of the Madrid Street Ad Takeover and also exhibited in Philadelphia. In 2010, Shai took part of the New York City Underbelly project with a selected group of artists painting in an abandoned New York City subway rail station. In 2009, he took part of the New York Street Ad Takeover, joining other artists to paint over illegal advertising throughout the New York City neighborhoods.

Shai currently lives in Borås with his wife and two dogs where he continues to paint.

artspaceandus.se
thevacantwall.com

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Shai Dahan in Sweden, Naturally. Readying for New Solo Show.

May 3, 2011 ,

Shai Dahan misses New York Street Art. But he’s discovering new inspiration in Sweden, and finding an emotional component in his work he didn’t know before, and its’ exciting. As the Street Artist and fine artist prepares for his solo show May 27th at Artpace and Us Gallery in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, he is also bringing the natural world to the streets.

“Finding Street Art in Sweden is like trying to find a deer in Manhattan,” Shai remarks as he gets a little nostalgic for the layers of built up wheat pastes and posters that clump together in certain parts of New York’s streets. “I think that was a huge part of the inspiration as well – finding the torn wheat pastes and dripping dry stencils on the street. They really had my mind think about texture and color combinations.”brooklyn-street-art-Shai- Dahan-dala-horse-1-web

Shai Dahan “Dala Horse” (photo © Shai Dahan)

“It is a bit funny to me that in New York, with the exception of a short cab ride to Central Park, I had a lack of access to nature and animals, whereas here I miss the street art that I could find with the ease of taking a cab ride down to the Lower East Side.”

You can see the effect of Shai’s new home in his work; horses, deer, zebras, birds are featured through out. Can’t imagine that there are too many zebras wandering through his backyard. Thinking about that a little, maybe his animals are more symbolic than literal. “The natural elements, the green forest, it all has a huge inspirational affect on my work and me I think for me, the biggest transition was influence to inspiration,” he explains. “When I was in New York, the city, the art on the streets, the culture, all of it really had a big influence on me even if I didn’t think it did.  It all came out one way or another into my work.  Once I moved here, I really was more inspired than influenced.”

brooklyn-street-art-Shai- Dahan-deer-guns-web

Shai Dahan “Deer Guns” (photo © Shai Dahan)

Of course he has brought his guns from New York. His bird guns that is. And now deer guns too. A busy entrepreneur on the New York street art scene, his Bird Gun blog has given shine and opportunity to a number of street artists looking to stretch their wings.  His own design of the same name, an iconic merging of a New York pigeon with a revolver, is undergoing a reinterpretation in his new home, and taking on  additional meaning for him as he reflects on “man v. nature” mythology. “The animal/gun hybrid always expressed the never-ending need for animals to protect themselves or feel like they had a choice to fight back. We only hunt animals because we feel we know how to pick up a gun. The animals are just fighting adaptation. When humans kill animals, it is considered a sport but when any of these animals harm a human, it is a threat or savagery.”

brooklyn-street-art-Shai- Dahan-zebra-web

Shai Dahan (photo © Shai Dahan)

brooklyn-street-art-Shai- Dahan-2-web

Shai Dahan. Work in progress at the studio (photo © Shai Dahan)

You have heard people refer to living in New York as a rat race, and with good reason. For Dahan in his new environment, the inclusion of so much animal imagery in his new work has been a study of the relationship between humans and animals. “Those paintings really symbolize the “fight or flight” aspect of the natural world.  Animals can’t really fight back and we humans tend to feel very brave knowing we can have power over them. We hunt for fun; we set fires and cut trees down.  It makes us feel powerful.  It is a very strange dynamic.”

brooklyn-street-art-Shai- Dahan-State_of_Decay-web

Shai Dahan. Finish piece “Stay of Decay”  (photo © Shai Dahan)

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Shai Dahan. Detail of a work in progress in the studio  (photo © Shai Dahan)

It’s relevant to explore core assumptions about the world with regularity, especially during these times of continuous tumult. As an artist, change can be a strong motivational tool to re-examine work and open areas previously unexplored. It looks like Shai Dahan is on a journey and he’s sharing it with you.

Taking the broad view of the new work, Shai reflects on his growth, “I am very proud of the work for the solo show. I think I am most proud of the pieces because they are very emotional.  My paintings for this show really show the level of emotion and transition I endured when I moved.  I began working for this show only a month or so after I moved here and you can really see the different emotions I was going through.  It is expressed a lot by the colors, the movement in the brush strokes, the imagery itself…all of it really is what I went through as an artist moving from the Big Apple to…the small Smorgasbord.”

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Shai Dahan. Detail of a work in progress in the studio  (photo © Shai Dahan)

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Shai Dahan. Finish piece. “The Great Scape”  (photo © Shai Dahan)

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Shai Dahan. Detail of “To Catch a Thief” (photo © Shai Dahan)

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Shai Dahan. “To Catch a Thief” (photo © Shai Dahan)

To learn more about Shai’s art please visit his web site:

http://thevacantwall.blogspot.com/

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