All posts tagged: Sten & Lex

“Money & Followers” Heralds the Thinking Artists on the Street in Turin

“Money & Followers” Heralds the Thinking Artists on the Street in Turin

Turin, Italy remains a hotbed for free thought and experimental art in public spaces. Despite so many inroads toward capitalizing on the radical movement of street art in recent years, this part of Italy has been fertile soil for the ornery, complicated, political, and eclectic artistic impulses that first drew us to this scene. A summer show of street art veterans and more recent talents at the newly germinated NISBA Studio may be staking positions that have gotten lost in a scene sometimes awash with commercial brands and self-dealers. The studio calls itself an “observatory on contemporary society, a strategic place,” and says it is a venue and platform “within which connections are born between enthusiasts, visitors, collectors, companies, public and private administrators.”

Turin’s historical significance as a vital hub for Italian, European, and Egyptian art, including the influential Piedmontese Baroque art movement and its vibrant urban art scene, adds prestige to the city and perhaps gravitas to its opinion on the evolution of the street art scene. Its position in the development of the “urban art” scene across Europe has also had an impact, with names like Blu, Ericailcane, Alice Pasquini, Ozmo, and Lucamaleonte coming to mind.

ELFO. Money and Followers. Nisba Studio. Torino, Italy. (photo courtesy of Nisba Studio)

Using an ironic phrase that is a currency in the pinched views of a social media world, the exhibition “Money and Followers” is mounted in an inclusive space with no political affiliation, say organizers, welcoming all. The show features new works by Sten Lex, the renowned Roman duo who pioneered an innovative “halftone” stencil art. At the same time, Sam3 captivates with visually striking, black anthropomorphic figures that convey a fantastical vision. Elfo, representing an Italian avant-garde in graffiti and urban art, presents his on-point technically low-fi cultural lambast. Gec explores participatory public art and societal themes through web-based production, while BR1’s impactful posters delve into tackle themes of integration, identity, migration, and globalization.

BR1. Money and Followers. Nisba Studio. Torino, Italy. (photo courtesy of Nisba Studio)
SAM3. Money and Followers. Nisba Studio. Torino, Italy. (photo courtesy of Nisba Studio)

SABATO 10 e DOMENICA 11 GIUGNO 2023
DALLE ORE 14 ALLE 20
NISBA STUDIO
Via Po 25 (interno cortile)
Torino

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Street Artists At Munich Museum Present the Portrait, “IMAGO” Curated by Elisabetta Pajer

Street Artists At Munich Museum Present the Portrait, “IMAGO” Curated by Elisabetta Pajer

From cave carvings in Angoulême in western France 27,000 years ago to your daily, perhaps hourly selfie on a cell phone today, our desire to depict the figure is as much a reflection of the artist and their times as it’s sitter.

A new show at MUCA Munich (Museum of Urban Contemporary Art) opening today invites 30 primarily Street Artists to choose a significant reference portrait of any historical time, country of origin, or artistic movement and interpret their inspirations into a portrait.

Whether drawing influences from Vermeer, Courbet, or Lucien Freud, each artist ultimately represents their own life experiences in their choice of subject and the technique of portrayal. Perhaps that is why curator Elisabetta Pajer has asked each of the artists to give us a statement with their work to help put it into context. Pajer tells us that she looks at the collection of works and the statements create a ‘harmonic mosaic’ of these figurative and written testimonies.

“These artists have sought out inspiration from many mediums that portraiture finds itself interpreted within,” says Pajer. “Taking their themes and inspiration from classical paintings, sculpture, film, theater, photographer, interactions, culture, religion, and science. Exhibiting a great understanding of the complexity of self-reflection with art as the catalyst.”

We’re pleased to be able to present some of the artists and their own words here.


Andreas Englund

Andreas Englund. Tripping. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

TRIPPING
Media: Oil on canvas
Size: 116 x 90 cm
 
-Statement
“I chose to tribute my artwork to the ‘‘Portrait of a smoking man’’ by Anders Zorn 1860-1920 – Swedens most internationally acclaimed artist. Born in my home region and very inspirational when it comes to his sketchy technique. By doing my own version of this masterpiece with my superhero, I have learned more about ‘‘the great Zorn’’ and his technique.”

Martha Cooper

Martha Cooper. Futura 1983. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

FUTURA 1983
Media: Archival pigment print
Size: 50,8 x 76,20 cm

 
-Statement
“This is a 1983 photo of Futura, a legendary New York City graffiti writer, with a classic can of Krylon spray paint. Thirty-five years later, Futura is still spray painting and I am still taking photos of graffiti writers.”

Icy + Sot

Icy & Sot. Under The Water Light. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artists)

UNDER THE WATER LIGHT
Media: Stencil spray paint on canvas
Size: 91,5 x 123 cm
 
-Statement
“This portrait is part a series we created reflecting on the relationship between human and nature. Nature plays a big role in human lifespan, but nowadays people have distanced from nature. With this work, we want to show humans closer to nature and pay a tribute to it.”

Swoon

Swoon. Thalassa. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

THALASSA
Media: Screenprint on paper with coffee stain and hand painting with collage mounted on board
Size: 123 × 138 cm
 
-Statement
“The name Thalassa is Greek word for ‘‘ocean’’, a primordial incarnation of the sea that is not often personified. Thalassa is said to have given birth to all tribes of fish in the sea. She is the pull of the sea that comes from inside the salt water in our blood. ‘Thalassa was originally created for New Orleans. It was the months after the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf in 2010, and this body of water that I’d loved since I was a child was in peril. As I drew Thalassa surging up from the water I felt her rising like a wake up call, one reminds us of our inseparability from the sea. When I stand in front of the ocean, the word that always appears first in my mind is “mother”. For me there is no mistaking the sense that the sea is our first mother.’ ”

Borondo

Gonzalo Borondo & Diego Lopez Bueno. Selfie Elvis II. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo © Blind Eye Factory)

GONZALO BORONDO & DIEGO LOPEZ BUENO
SELFIE ELVIS II
Media: Acrylic and plaster on wood – Plasma TV 50’’- Video on loop – 16:9 Digital – Color
Size: 7 panels each – 120 x 70 x 1 cm + 1 TV
 
-Statement
“Inspired by several passport photos found within the Marseilles “Marché aux Puches” (FR), Borondo and Lopez Bueno have designed an installation project with the title “Selfie Elvis II”. Imagination is the basis of the multimedia work with self-portraits of a man recalling the contemporary “selfie”. There are dozens of frames describing human aspects and obsessions. They have been digitally elaborated and assembled in a video by López Bueno. Borondo portrayed Elvis with acrylic on wood and applying gypsum, then scratched with sharp instruments. Faces appeared by subtraction, the absence tells about an ancestral and intangible dimension, wondering about its existence. Is Elvis looking at himself or us in that picture? And what about our images, do they look like us or they are just our dreams? Elvis is not there, Elvis is still there.”

Addison Karl

Addison Karl. Kamassa. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

KAMASSA
Media: Bronze, edition 1 of 10
Size: 30,48 x 20,32 x 15,24 cm
 
 
-Statement
“Portraiture in context to sculpture and form – referencing the masterpieces from both European Classical and Neoclassical time periods. From a culture l mirror of taking inspiration from Gods and Goddess of the ancient world, my sculpture’s subject is focused on a contemporary Chickasaw Elder. Using portraiture as a means of Cultural Preservation but equally re-appropriating classic sensibilities of art history to a Native Cultural narrative. “

 


Various & Gould

Various & Gould. Trigger (Rokhaya Diallo). IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artists)

TRIGGER (ROKHAYA DIALLO)
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 200 x 140 cm
-Statement
“Our portrait of Rokhaya Diallo refers to an iconic work by Nikide Saint Phalle: The artistically revised film still “Daddy” shows the artist pointing a gun directly at the viewer. Even almost 50 years later, her eye and the muzzle of her rifle leave no doubt that she is serious about it. Anyone who sees the work feels immediately like coming into the firing line.
In our painting, the French journalist and film maker Rokhaya Diallo takes the place and – freely recreated – also the pose of Niki de Saint Phalle. Thus, an early feministic, vigorous artist of the twentieth century is followed by a modern, committed internet feminist with no less strong verve than her predecessor. Both women are even the same age at the time of the illustration. Only instead of the rifle, Rokhaya Diallo relies on her very own “weapon”, the hashtag. At first glance, it may seem more harmless than a rifle, but in times of #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo it can be an even more powerful tool.”

 


Fintan Magee

Fintan Magee The Removalist. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

THE REMOVALIST
Media: Canvas and acrylic on wall installation
 
-Statement
“The portrait has been ripped off the canvas and dragged across the ground and projected onto the wall. The artist has destroyed the canvas and made the portrait ephemeral, rendering it worthless and unsellable. The work comments on the commodification of artwork and the uneasy and paradoxical relationship between artist and the financier of his artworks. With street art becoming increasingly commoditized and contributing to gentrification this work doesn’t aim to make any grand statements on how art should or shouldn’t be produced, only highlight the illusionary, absurdist and contradictory image the art industry presents of itself.”

VHILS

VHILS. Matta. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

MATTA
Media: Bas-relief carving on plasterboard mounted on metal structure
Size: 181 x 120,5 x 34 cm
 
-Statement

“Resorting to a bas-relief carving technique, applied here to a free-standing structure of plasterboard, this piece is a homage to the work of Gordon Matta-Clark, which became a major influence on me after I first saw it at an exhibition in Portugal, in 2002. Matta-Clark was one of the first artists to look at the urban space as a space of creation and reflection on the human condition in the contemporary times we live in. Those are the considerations I try to translate in my own work too, reflecting about the human condition in the contemporary times we live in.”


Andrea Wan

Andrea Wan. Being Of Light. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

BEING OF LIGHT
Media: Ink on paper
Size: 50 x 70 cm
 
-Statement

“Fascinated by the lively and dynamic landscape in the paintings of native Canadian Artist Emily Carr, I chose one of her most renown works, Indian Church (1929) as the subject of reinterpretation. Seemingly more accurate than a realistic approach, Carr’s abstraction of nature elements not only communicated to me that nature is vast and subliminal but also ever-changing in form and expression. The white church which stands calmly in the midst of the mystical environment inspired me to personify the subject as a being who is in tune with all that’s around her.”


DALeast

DALeast. FIII. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

FIII
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 100 x 80 cm
 
-Statement
“A still moment of Fiii standing in the windy land, which is existing inside the transitory gathering of the particles of the magical net.”

IMAGO: A History of Portraits opens today at MUCA Museum of Urban And Contemporary Art. Munich. Curated by Elisabetta Pajer the show runs until November 2018.

IMAGO is a show dedicated to the history of portrait: over 30 artists from five different continents are invited to pay homage and interpret a portrait in their medium of their choice. IMAGO aims to lead visitors through different artistic eras, helping discover the international history and evolution of the portrait.

Artists include:

Jef Aerosol
ASKEW ONE
Borondo
Vesod Brero
Martha Cooper
DALeast
Paola Delfin
Anna Piera Di Silvestre
Andreas Englund
Evoca 1
Ricky Lee Gordon
Hubertus Hamm
Handiedan
Icy&Sot
Addison Karl
Know Hope
Klone Yourself
Fintan Magee
Mario Mankey
Marco Mazzoni
Antony Micallef
Miss Van
Nychos
Sepe
David Shillinglaw
Søren Solkær
Sten Lex
SWOON
TelmoMiel
TWOONE

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“The Art Of The Mural: Volume 01” Captures a Moment

“The Art Of The Mural: Volume 01” Captures a Moment

Murals hold their own place onstage in public space today for a variety of reasons that we discuss regularly on BSA. From grassroots and public, to private and corporate, we have watched the genre professionalize as Street Art festivals and other initiatives are often coupling artists with brands and are selling canvasses through the organizers galleries. Today we have the first of a promised four-part book series by Art Whino gallerist and organizer of the Richmond Mural Project in Virginia, Shane Pomajambo, that features many artists he has worked with in the brand new “The Art of the Mural”.

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Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

Featuring more than fifty current graffiti/Street Artists, the survey pays special attention to the show-stopping eye candy that commands attention for these nomadic painters who are developing their craft before an ever larger and more appreciative international audience.

Culture critic and curator Carlo McCormick, who writes the introduction to the Schiffer published hardcover, notes that this mural renaissance is quite unlike the US government funded New Deal era mural programs that produced “hundreds of thousands of murals for schools, hospitals, post offices, housing projects, and various government facilities”. And he’s right, these are emanating from a different place entirely.

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Antony Lister. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

The world-traveling media-soaked artists, of which this collection is subset, have had vastly more exposure to corporations and branding perhaps than, say, arts institutions, and a sophisticated self-handling is often on display with artists ever more savvy in their choices of style and content.

A greater percentage are now entering into private collections, galleries, and museums thanks to unprecedented platforms for huge exposure on the Internet, and their public works are adding rich character and dialogue to our neighborhoods and public spaces.

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Curiot. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

With academia, art critics, and auction houses all grappling with the rightful place of these artists in contemporary art and society at large it will be instructive to know the history and their lineage, content, context, and patronage. One has to agree when McCormick says that all of these “are helpful for us to consider in looking at and understanding the artists’ walls of today.”

This collection of talent is strong, with many of the mid-large names that are at play in this generation of painters whom are primarily born in the 1970s and 80s. In their work is a cultural appreciation for modern graffiti history as they now channel it along with formal training, art history, advertising, and a multitude of media. With few exceptions, it’s a tight list of artists, the images are riveting (though uncredited to their photographers), and the brief introductions by Pomajambo contain just enough biographical information and artist’ quotes to ground the story and give it context.

“As with everything I do,” says the Queens, New York native Pomajambo, “I always question and observe, and as we reach critical mass with murals I felt compelled to create this project and capture a moment in time.”

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Evoca 1. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

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Fintan Magee. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

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Miss Van. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

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MOMO. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

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Onur & Wes 21. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

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Telmo & Miel. Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

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Tone (Robert Proch). Shane Pomajambo The Art of The Mural Volume 01 Foreword by Carlo McCormick. Schiffer Publishing. 2016

 

All photos of the spreads by Jaime Rojo

 

The Art of The Mural: Contemporary International Urban Art. Volume 01 by Shaen Pomajambo. Schiffer Publishing. Atglen, PA. USA.

Participating Artists
Amose, Arraiano, Augustine Kofie, Axel Void, Bezt (Etam Crew), Chazme 718, Chor boogie, Clog Two, Curiot, Cyrcle, DALeast, Decertor, Dface, ETNIK, Faith47, Fintan Magee, Hense, INTI, Jade, Jaz, JR, Kenor, Lister, Logan Hicks, Low Bros, Meggs, Miss Van, Momo, Mr Thoms, Muro, Natalia Rak, Nosego, Onur, Pener, Reka, Robert “Tone” Proch,Ron English, Rone, Sainer (Etam Crew), SATONE, SEACREATIVE, Sepe, Smithone, Sten Lex, Stormie Mills, Telmo Miel, Tristan Eaton, TWOONE HIROYASU, Vhils, Wes21 and Zed 1

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BSA Film Friday 07.17.15

BSA Film Friday 07.17.15

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Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. Roma Street Art Tribes as Captured by Dioniso Punk

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BSA Special Feature: Roma Street Art Tribes as Captured by Dioniso Punk

Gwen Stacy Parts I and II

Disorderly, discordant, and richly chaotic, these two videos are centered around the Italian street art paintings and artists whom you will recognize from our earlier postings on community/gallery organized urban art programming – but within the context of historical art publicly displayed, peoples movements, patronage, fascism, the classics.

Dioniso Punk allows everyone to talk – neighbors, artists, organizers, curators, public philosophers, elected officials, psychologists, sociologists, entrepreneurs, posers, professors, historians, students, an opera singer, the petite bourgeoisie, international visitors and hapless puzzled opinionated locals.

Discussions at panels cut into impassioned discussions by senior women in the courtyard or didactic examinations in the street – some for illustration, others for whimsy, none to be ignored. More of a fact finding mission than cogent analysis, you may find it difficult to follow the narrative and so it is better to let go and allow yourself be battered by the insights and observations delivered with the jumpy cuts and uncompleted thoughts and discussions, preferring instead to sink into the tribe of the humans, here selectively displayed for your pleasure and hopefully, edification.

(turn on the CC (closed captioning) if you do not speak Italian)

 

Featuring interviews with Solo, Gaia, Diamond 0707, Maupal, Best Ever, Bol23, Jerico, Guerrilla Spam Sen One, Sabrina, Dan, Stefano Antonelli (999 Contemporary,) Marta Ugolini (Galleria Ca’ D’Oro), Agathe Jaubourg (Pasolini Pigneto), Alìn Costache (YUT!), Edoardo Martino (Villaggio Globale), and Eleonora Zaccagnino (Acid Drop).

Special Guests: Mp5, Alice Pasquini, Mr. Thoms, Jessica Stewart, Sandro Fiorentini (La Bottega del Marmoraro).

Murals by Blu, Roa, Borondo, Etam Cru, Space Invaders, C215, Hogre, Herbert Baglione, Sten & Lex, JB Rock, Ernest, Pignon-Ernest, Etnik, Axel, Avoid, Sbagliato, Jim Avignon, Fin DAC, Jef Aerosol, Seth, Zed1, Ericailcane, Clemens Behr, Caratoes, Momo, Derek, Bruno, Kid Acne, Mto, Alexey Luka, Tellas, Moby Dick, Philippe Baudelocque, Mr. Klevra, Lucamaleonte, Diavù Kocore, Agostino Iacurci, Danilo Bucchi, Jaz, Desx, Reka, Lek & Sowat, Hopnn, Matteo, Basilé Alberonero, Ex Voto, Andreco, Moneyless, Nicola, Verlato, Ludo, L’Atlas, Escif, and Pepsy Zerocalcare.

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Sten & Lex in Rome for “Matrici Distrutte”

Sten & Lex in Rome for “Matrici Distrutte”

Delving into the esoteric, nearly conceptual milieu of Street Art, Sten Lex (previous Sten & Lex) are best known for their systemically/randomly destroyed enormous black and white photographic portraits. Using a stencil technique we are pretty sure they pioneered, they have used the physicality of the discarded pieces of stencil for years, partially pealed and left to hang and blow in the breeze, still attached to the “finished” piece.

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Sten Lex. Rome, Italy. (photo © Giorgio Coen Cagli)

In one further experimentation with technique along the journey to a final work, the Italian duo open a new show at Wunderkammern tonight in Rome entitled Matrici Distrutte (Destroyed Matrices).  To prepare they have done a few installations in the city that may or may not be recognizable on the street as deliberate pieces of art, further burrowing their process into pattern, texture. In this case, the matrix of their stencil is destroyed, as is your expectation of simple representational imagery. To further understand the direction these new works are going, we are looking forward to reading the critical essay for the show, written by Samantha Longhi of Graffiti Art magazine.

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Sten Lex. Rome, Italy. (photo © Giorgio Coen Cagli)

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Sten Lex. Rome, Italy. (photo © Giorgio Coen Cagli)

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Sten Lex. Rome, Italy. (photo © Giorgio Coen Cagli)

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Sten Lex. Rome, Italy. (photo © Giorgio Coen Cagli)

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Sten Lex. Rome, Italy. (photo © Giorgio Coen Cagli)

 

Sten Lex exhibition “Matrici Distrutte” opens today at Wunderkammern Gallery in Rome. Click HERE for details.

 

 

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BSA Film Friday: 01.16.15

BSA Film Friday: 01.16.15

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Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. Paulo Ito and a Neighborhood Mural in Brazil
2. Sesame Street X Hot Tea
3. Sten & Lex: Shanghai 2014
4. The London Police: Miami Art Basel 2014
5. Pow Wow! Hawaii – Martha Cooper

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BSA Special Feature: Paulo Ito and a Neighborhood Mural in Brazil

“It’s about the early sexualization of children in the culture today,” says muralist Paulo Ito as he tells you about his new mural on this small neighborhood wall. Sampa Graffiti helps to lay the groundwork for this artist to tell his story, and we get to accompany him on this very personal mission. It is the simple storytelling that allows you to understand the evolution of an artists practice from youth to middle age, the moment when you find your style and are no longer in doubt about where your voice is.

From an art-making perspective, we learn so much from watching his method of illustration with the cans, how he handles the caps, how he renders in a style and technique that one may quickly associate with a Brazilian aesthetic.  Make sure you watch the version with the translation!

 

Sesame Street X Hot Tea

Well, you knew it was going to happen sooner or later didn’t you?

Don’t be so bitter – that’s your homeboy Grover helping out with the yarnbomb! And Hot Tea gives him a hug when he gets all tied up.

SUUUUUUUNNY DAYS! Everythings AAAAAAYYY OOOOOKAAAY!

 

Sten & Lex: Shanghai 2014

And just to get that sweetness out of your mouth….and just to perplex you further but in the opposite monochromatic psychedelic geometric way, Sten and Lex just went to Shanghai and ripped a new giant wall that will leave you scratching your head. But they like it that way.

The London Police: Miami Art Basel 2014

Here’s a nice commercial gig the LP chaps got in Miami at Villa Bagatelle last month. This one was actually in South Beach, but unlike the description in the video, it wasn’t the first. So crisp, so nice, so fresh nonetheless.

Pow Wow! Hawaii – Martha Cooper

What can we say about Martha besides we love her. This video captures her in her natural state without the hype.

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“From Street To Art” (Italy to New York) & Hitnes on a BKLN Roof

“From Street To Art” (Italy to New York) & Hitnes on a BKLN Roof

New Gallery Show Opens at Italian Cultural Institute of New York

Ever the melting pot, New Yorkers take it almost for granted that we are going to hear 10 different accents just in the course of our day walking through streets, getting a cab, shopping in a store, going to the theater, attending an art opening. We’re always in a midst of a cultural exchange. We often may not realize that the art on our street walls, legal and otherwise, may be the work of a cultural emissary as well, created by artists who hail from almost every country in the world. Such is the magnetic power of this international cultural center that even our graffiti tour guides sometimes need to be interpreters.

One of the countries where BSA has a large and loyal following is Italy and we’re excited to be a part of a cultural exchange that opens this evening with Italian graffiti and Street Artists exhibiting for the first time together in a formal gallery show. “From Street to Art”, opening today at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, is a survey of this moment in the twenty-teens from the streets of Italy that adds to the voices of cultural exchange in this city that sparked so much of the worldwide graffiti and street art movements over the last fifty years or so.

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Using flat color and simplistic stereotypes demarked by clothing styles and associated characteristics of social types, the work of BR1 can evoke emotions and strong opinions on the street and in the gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Organized by Public and Urban Art curator Simone Pallotta, “From Street to Art” continues the thread of sanctioned/unsanctioned artwork and continues his personal and professional route of drawing connections between contemporary art and the dozens of interventions he has overseen in his native country.

“From Street to Art” presents a good caliber of this “contemporary” scene, a collection of artists that reflects the variety one will experience on the street as well. Agostino Iacurci, Aris, BR1, Cyop&Kaf, Dem, Eron, Hitnes, Sten&Lex, Ufo5, and 2501 have each established a voice of their own during this first wave of the new global Street Art explosion.

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DEM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA is honored to partner with the organizers and curator to get the word out about the nascent Italian street scene not only for its energy and talent today, but for the historical roots of a painting tradition from the middle ages to the Renaissance to contemporary times; revered for stunning and expansive installations of art upon walls inside and al fresco, private and per il pubblico.

One of the original organizers of the Festival “Memorie Urbane” in Gaeta, curator Pallotta has worked with names you are familiar with from his home country: Blu, Sten & Lex, Escif, Aryz, Agostino Iucurci. While a few of those names are represented in this show, Pallotta hopes to go a  step beyond the sizzling “Street Art” zeitgeist of this moment to re-consider the urban context of public work as interpreted by a new generation of artists whose practice is likely to develop into the future, authoring the evolving definition of public art.

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DEM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

By choosing a selection of conceptualists, muralists, illustrators, even social commentators, he presents a good cross section of experimentation and execution in a quiet gallery setting that may indicate where this art form is headed.

As you would expect, the gallery show (shown being unpacked here) is complimented by work out of doors as well and we had the opportunity to see HITNES on a roof in Brooklyn this week.

We also spoke with curator Simone Pallotta, artist BR1, and artist HITNES while he knocked out a wall on a roof in Bushwick .

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Agostino Iacursi (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA speaks with curator of “From Street To Art”, Simone Pallotta:

Brooklyn Street Art: What initially drew your attention to Street Art?
Simone Pallotta: In the 90s I was a graffiti artist and later on I went to university for 8 years to study Art History. I began to pay more attention to what was going on the streets and one day in 2004 I discovered the art of Italian Street Artist BLU. It made such an impression on me that at that moment I made the decision to focus my time and energies in supporting Street Artists and helping them get more exposure.

In the university I had learned about institutional Contemporary Art – and my experience seeing Street Art in situ helped me understand that the real Contemporary Art was happening before my eyes on the streets. This was a Contemporary Art that was not being taught in the classroom at the university.

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ERON (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What is the attitude of the City of Rome towards Street Art?
Simone Pallotta:If by the City of Rome we mean the city as an institution, dealing with it in all matters of Street Art has become very hard to work with. Because the government changes so often there isn’t a state policy in place regarding Street Art so then we are left to work with single individuals in governmental departments that are receptive to Street Art. During the 90s many graffiti artists from all over the world came to Rome to write due to the lack of law enforcement.

From the late 90s to the early 2000s Rome didn’t have much Street Art so the laws remained as they were and weren’t enforced. In Rome it is relatively easy for Street Artists to put illegal work up but ironically, due to the intense bureaucracy, it is very hard to convince the people in power to authorize legal walls for Street Artists to put art on. Recently however the government has been more open to working with independent cultural organizations and foundations to promote art on legal walls.

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Cyop & Kaf (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What would you like to communicate to viewers with this exhibition?
Simone Pallotta:I have been involved with Street Art for ten years now and when the opportunity to curate this exhibition was presented to me I wanted to select 10 artists with a strong urban background and attitude. With this exhibition I want to re-direct the focus solely on the merits of the art; the content, the style and the techniques employed to create it, without focusing too much on the street provenance.

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2501 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

BSA speaks with Street Artist BR1:

brooklyn-street-art-br1-jaime-rojo-06-2014-webBrooklyn Street Art: You address a number of religious themes on your work.  Can you talk about the importance of your perspective on religion in your pieces?
BR1: I’m drawn to religious themes mainly by the people who practice religion. It always interest me the lifestyle of people as a direct link with religious dogma. Institutional religions impose many demands on people – from the way they should dress to how they should behave in private and in public. The more that people associate themselves with a specific religion and become a part of that community, they may have little desire to explore life outside their religious bubble.

First I observe the people to be able to understand what are the things in their culture and life that have become religious symbols. In this case the burka is a dress but it is also a symbol. If the practice of an artist is purely social, more than political, it is important to show ideas in one’s work. With my work I would like  to question the viewer. I don’t want to create problems but I’d want to further the discussion to see if people are able to go outside their drawn lines and to engage positively and constructively with the other side.

Brooklyn Street Art: Would you call yourself a feminist?
BR1: Yes. In fact I have been invited by some feminists groups to come and talk about my work.

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BR1 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Why is it important to you to create work with issues that affect women in our society?
BR1: It is a hard question because when I began drawing I often drew women. In Italy and in many other countries women are not treated equally as men. They are discriminated against in the workplace and in society at large and I want to draw attention to this with my work. Also my work is about helping people understand that they have choices in life.

Brooklyn Street Art: Why are you attracted to put your work on the streets without permission?
BR1: The experience of Street Art is free and that’s what I liked about it. When I began doing Street Art I wanted to preserve the free spirit of it. When I first visited NYC I saw a lot of wheat pastes and some stencil work on the streets that were not legally installed. Now the trend is to go big on legal walls. For me placement is very important; art on the streets has to be in context with the surroundings.

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

During a hot day this week, BSA also got to speak with participating Street Artist HITNES as he completed a wall on a roof in Brooklyn in conjunction with the show “From Street to Art”:

Brooklyn Street Art: How do animals inspire your work?
HITNES: Animals are known forms of nature and like the alphabet you can work with them in any which way you want. I come from a family of biologists (and artists) and since an early age I was inspired by the books that were around me when I was growing up.

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: You started as a graffiti artist. Why did you switch to Street Art?
HITNES: I switched from letters to animals because it was quicker for me to do them.

Brooklyn Street Art: You obviously love color – where does your palette derive from?
HITNES: I was exposed to color with comics and cartoons and I liked them. For me the use of color is very important, it is as important as the form. But at the same time you need to be prepared to work with what you have and to be flexible.

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hitnes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This wall was made possible with the assistance of NYstGallery

“From Street To Art” is a group exhibition of contemporary Italian Street Artists including Agostino Iacursi, Aris, BR1, Cyop & Kaf, Dem, Eron, Hitnes, Sten & Lex, UFO5 and 2501. Curated by Simone Pallotta opening today at the Italian Cultural Institute. Click HERE for further details.

 

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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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“Hecho En Oaxaca” Indoors and On The Street

“Made in Oaxaca” Shifts Street Art Eyes to Historic Mexican City

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Oaxaca (MACO) Show Features Pedro Alonzo and Friends

Already a cultural capital of a quarter million, the city of Oaxaca itself is a World Heritage Site and sits six miles east of Monte Albán, the Zapotecs city that is traced back to 500 BC. For MACO to invite curator Pedro Alonzo to create a show inside and outside on the streets is a stroke of inspiration and the quality of the selection of artists for the exhibition only confirms the inspiration.

Swoon. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Today on BSA Roberto Shimizu, who owns and oparates MUJAM (Antique Toy Museum of Mexico), shares with us the images he took while checking out the installations last month on the street and in the museum. Roberto has invited a number of Street Artists to Mexico City in the past to create works and to participate in community-building projects so he was very excited to learn about this pretty remarkable event happening so near to him.

“We heard that great Street Artists from around the world were having an exhibition only two days before the opening so I made the six hour trip from Mexico City with my girlfriend and two other friends the following day. Some of the best artists in the world from México, Brazil, Germany, Italy, USA and the magical Oaxaca itself gathered in the streets of this beautiful colonial town to leave striking pieces of public art,” he says.

The list includes Date Farmers, Dr. Lakra, How & Nosm, Lapiztola, MOMO, Nunca, Retna, Saner, StenLex, Swoon, Vhils, and Yescka and represents a nice blend of local and international.  “To see the How & Nosm twins painting those perfect lines and then turn your head and look into Santo Domingo´s Cathedral is something that made this adventure worth it,” Roberto tells us. “Seeing Swoon posting over top some RETNA calligraphy was also an “historic” moment.”

Swoon. Installation in Progress. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Installation in progress. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Installation in progress in collaboration with RETNA. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

RETNA at work on his wall. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

How & Nosm. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Saner at work on his wall. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Dr. Lakra at work on his wall. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

MUSEUM INSTALLATIONS

La Piztola. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

La Piztola. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Date Farmers. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Dr. Lakra. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

RETNA. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

NUNCA. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

How & Nosm. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Sten & Lex. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Yescka. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

Swoon. Detail. Hecho En Oaxaca. Oaxaca, Mexico. July 2013. (photo @ Roberto Shimizu)

For further information regarding this exhibition click HERE.

With much gratitude with Roberto Shimizu, Director of Museo Del Juguete Antiguo De Mexico, MUJAM for his photos.

 

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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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On The Road With Nanook, Ever, Sten & Lex Through Italy and France

What did you do this summer? We’re starting off the week with a colorful and detailed travelog  from Rosanna Bach, who really gives BSA readers a sense of the experience for Street Artists who go to distant places to create their art on walls for fun and festivals. Thanks to Rosanna as photographer and contributor, here you have an opportunity to spend some time in Italy traveling with Ever, Nanook, Sten & Lex as they go from Rome to Foligno, Italy. She documents their participation for the second edition of Attack Festival and captures the artists working under the scorching sun and in intimate, quiet settings. In this BSA exclusive Rosanna also put in words her summer experiences as she leaves Foligno for Paris where she documented EVER as he participated in Le Mur.

Roma to Foligno. We de-board the train and are about to exit the station when Ever waves me back. Sten is scuttling back and forth in the train like a trapped hamster. We thought he was stuck in there looking for an open door so we wave him over to the open door but he does not get out. He is struck with confusion as different orders fly from different directions. Meanwhile, the passengers are hanging over the windows to see what all the fuss is about.

Mission accomplished; Laptop is retrieved.

Barely begun, this trip already seems promising.

Ever. Roma to Foligno. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Foligno, Italy. This was once called the “Centre of the World” because the Pope had supposedly kept his treasury here in the 15th century. It is certainly a beautiful place, although considerably more modest than its name implies. This is where we would spend the next five days and would be introduced to the “Hurdi Gurdi”. It is also a place where it seems that the solution to every problem was, “Lets go have a coffee”.

Sten & Lex, Nanook, and Ever had been painting together at the Open Walls Festival in Baltimore just a few months back. Three very different artists, from three corners of the world, were here meeting again in the “Centre of the World” for the second ever “Attack Festival”.  Upon arrival we learn that we have arrived early. Two months early!

In September Foligno’s Attack Festival will be graced by the likes of; 108, Andrea Abbatangelo, Achille, Airone,  Bol 23,  Danilo Bucchi, Stefano Canto,  Mario Consiglio, Diamond TTS, Alberto Di Fabio, Ericailcane, Hitnes, Hogre,  JB Rock, Kindergarten,Lucamaleonte, Martina Merlini&Tellas, Roman Minin, Moneyless, Ozmo, Alice Pasquini, Cristiano Petrucci, David Pompili, David Eron Salvadei, Ale Senso, Sten&Lex.

Main Square, Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Nanook, Ever and Sten & Lex check out their new walls. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Sten & Lex. The two Italians have been working together for more then 10 years and are considered kind of the “Mama and Papa of stencil” in Italy where their current style consists of “stencil posters”; large scale wheat pasted portraits that they hand-cut intricate patterns onto. They usually use portraits of strangers, however this piece was of a friend’s brother who had taken his own life.  They will return in September for round two.

Sten & Lex, Foligno, Italy. (photo © Federica Tega)

Sten & Lex, Foligno, Italy. (photo © Federica Tega)

Nanook.  Fairly new to the street art scene (painting large scale for a year or so), he has left his studio that he used to share with “Gaia” back in Baltimore for new adventures in the old-world. He has been recording on paper his plan as he goes (from Berlin to Budapest and now Italy) “I feel so privileged to even be able to paint in this town, with all this history and the beautiful buildings”, he writes.

A calm and humble figure, he is constantly knocking out new sketches, whether using black ink or espresso in his black notebook, leaving no time for siestas. His hunger to learn is energizing; “I would just love to work and learn from an old master like they have here in Italy”.

As his style evolves playing by with realism, abstract lines and shapes, it will be very interesting to see how this young artist grows. In this piece he incorporated the shape of Umbria, the region in which Foligno lies. Now he is a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires. Lets see what happens…

Nanook “Siesta Time”. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Nanook. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Argentine artist Ever creates the most political work out of the three.

It must be a challenge to try and explain yourself in a foreign language that; you are not actually a devoted worshipper of Mao Tse Tung but that you are in fact talking about human contradiction, how in times of crisis people always seem to be convinced that the opposite is the solution. For example, as a result of the current decline of the capitalist system, many are swaying towards the left side of the political spectrum. “We are looking outward into one room. But why don’t we go to another room to find new solutions?” asks Ever.

Ever. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Ever. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Paint bucket. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Nanook, Ever. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

As passers stopped to comment, Nanook looks frazzled and Ever lets them ramble on for minutes without a clue what they are talking about. “Si si bene bene grazie, bon journi!” he’d reply to them and they’d be on their way.

The language barrier doesn’t seem to faze this one character though. He is here to stay with his beloved Hurdi Gurdi. “We make artistic exchange!” he cries.

The Hurdi Gurdi. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Nanook, Ever. Foligno, Italy. (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Once the 3 x 5 meter mural was finished I was expecting some sort of a scream of joy or something like that, but Ever just said: “I am always dissatisfied with a wall when I finish it. I never like it at first.”

We go from a scorching roadside in Foligno to “Le Mur” beside a trendy café in Montmartre, Paris. One of the few legal walls in Paris – it is a billboard-style space that a new artist is invited to paint every two weeks. “It is really hard to paint here in Paris, especially big walls,” Ever explains.

Paris. The place where Ever has spent the last 2 months, and where he lived for a while back in 2010. Paris was the turning point for him; he began to inject politics into his art. “Paris is a political place for me”.

Ever. Le Mur. Paris (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Ever. “Free Tibet” Detail. Le Mur. Paris (photo © Rosanna Bach)

After just one night the wall was tagged and “Free Tibet” stickers had been stuck on the soldiers’ suits. “No, no this is good, this is France, it’s a good thing when the people react. We leave them on. This is like a conversation with the people.”

Ever. “Free Tibet”. Le Mur. Paris (photo © Rosanna Bach)

A lady who must have been about 80 years old appeared on day one, and whipped out a huge DSLR camera from her purse. She returned there everyday since. She even brought photographs she had taken of the process and took the time to hand write the date and place on each photograph.

Ever. “Free Tibet” Le Mur. Paris (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Ever. “Free Tibet” Le Mur. Paris (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Why are you guys doing this?!” An agitated pedestrian asked me hastily. Once I explained that concept to him he replied, reassured; “Oh I see, it’s meant to be provocative.”

Ever. “Free Tibet”. Le Mur. Paris (photo © Rosanna Bach)

From what I understand, after listening to countless conversations about street art, these artists are really looking for long term investors for their work, not just fast money. They’re resisting becoming a passing phase only to be dropped like a hot potato after this street art wave dies down. Fame seems to be irrelevant – but if it is a by-product then so be it. “I don’t like business, I just want to paint”, Ever says.

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Many thanks to Rosanna Bach for her diligence, passion and her talents.

http://rosannabach.tumblr.com/

http://openwallsbaltimore.com/

http://associazioneattack.wordpress.com/

http://eversiempre.com/

http://stenlex.net/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanookart

http://lemur.asso.fr/

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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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Sten & Lex in Paris For Le M.U.R.

Sten & Lex in Paris For Le M.U.R.

Le M.U.R. is a Parisian program of liberating billboards that since 2003 has been formally inviting artists to takeover spaces that would normally be filled with advertisements. So far this year they’ve had artists including Kid Acne and Vhils, with Ever and Astro coming up shortly. This month the Italian Street Art duo Sten & Lex were invited to install one of their distinctive sideways anonymous “stencil posters” in Paris for the Le M.U.R. program. As is true with much of their work, you may not recognize that this is a portrait of a woman unless you stand a back at a distance and change the perspective you are viewing it with.

Today we are pleased to introduce Victor Hugo Celaya, the man behind ARTO (Art Beyond Museums) and a resident of Mexico City, who was on hand to interview Sten & Lex about their piece. With Victor acting as our correspondent, our posting today is an exclusive collaborative feature just for you from ARTO and BSA.

Interview with Sten & Lex

Victor Hugo Celaya: What does creating work for such iconic program as Le M.U.R. mean to you?
Sten & Lex:
 Le M.U.R. was a very interesting project for us from the beginning because we had heard of it since 2003. In Paris it is almost an institution and also it’s the first time Italians intervene Le M.U.R.

Sten & Lex (photo © Victor Hugo Celaya)

Victor Hugo Celaya: The piece that you selected for Le M.U.R. — the image of a woman — does it have any special meaning?
Sten & Lex:
 No it doesn’t, it’s just an anonymous portrait of a woman. The portraits we usually do are of strangers. We usually chose the portrait of someone who looks like the people from the country where we do the work. On this occasion, this woman looks French but she isn’t. It’s an anonymous portrait of a serious person, which is in line with all the work we’ve been doing in the last few years.

Victor Hugo Celaya: Do you have a specific message you want to communicate through these anonymous portraits?
Sten & Lex:
 No, it’s a counter proposal to urban art that has taken on a more social and political nature lately. Hence, we prefer to do something on the side. We’ve never enjoyed doing pieces with specific messages; our work is the portraits. They don’t have any message, people see the portraits and they can have their own ideas about them and people have very different ideas.

Sten & Lex (photo © Victor Hugo Celaya)

 

Victor Hugo Celaya: You mentioned something important about the way artists use street art to convey social messages. Why do you not use it for that purpose? In general, how do you see urban art today and where is it going?
Sten & Lex:
 What interests me about urban art now is this contamination with contemporary art; our work has always been involved with art in general. There are no common messages in street art and there are no common techniques… Stencil is very common in street art but the way that we work is very different, it’s a technical study. In street art, we like not only the artists who work thinking about urban art as a stencil with a political message, but also as an installation or something figurative, abstract art. I find a lot of sense in street art at the moment.

Victor Hugo Celaya: Is there someone in the movement you admire?
Sten & Lex:
 Yes, for example, our work is greatly influenced by the way JR uses posters, the way he covers entire architectural pieces. This aspect of JR’s work has influenced us a lot. There are many things that have influenced us but not necessarily in the realm of street art. Our work is very subjective, the fact that we destroy the stencils and paste the posters is unique — that’s why we call it stencil poster. We paste a paper poster on the wall and then cut it. This was a subjective study we did together.

Sten & Lex (photo © Victor Hugo Celaya)

 

Victor Hugo Celaya: Okay, lastly, urban art by nature is on the streets. We specifically think of it as giving art back to the people. Is there anything of that sentiment in your work? What do you think of the statement “art to the people”? Do you think it’s something that goes along with your job?
Sten & Lex:
It is a reality that street art belongs to the people, but I don’t think it’s easy to understand what people really like. That’s why we don’t really care what people think of our work.

In urban art there are two important aspects: the first one is that anyone can see your work and the second one is that it is closely related to institutional art, that’s the point of view of art critics, since in street art they don’t really exist. However, what does exist is an audience that decides who the best artists of the moment are. Nowadays, this critique is generated over the Internet, in the most important blogs that manage to create great media attention.

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To learn more about the ARTO mission and philosophy click here.

To learn more about L’association Le M.U.R. click here

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Fun Friday 05.25.12

1.    Male Massage Poster from Manny Castro
2.    Reed Projects Now Open with “The Re-Jects” (Norway)
3.    “Vues sur murs” in Brussels
4.    “Vari-Okey” with Everman (Atlanta)
5.    A Classic from The Beastie Boys Gets a Tribute Remix – SABOTAGE! (VIDEO)
6.    Yue Minjun, Mark Jenkins and Aakash Nihalani (LA)
7.    Augustine Kofie’s Angle in LA
8.    (Re)-Print at Hendershot Gallery in The Bowery
9.    “Keep Wild Life In The Wild” At ThinkSpace
10.    “At Home I’m A Tourist” – Selim Varol at Me Collectors Room
11.    Cyrcle Daydreaming with James Lavelle (VIDEO)
12.  CELEBRATE BOB Moog : Moog Factory Mural Time Lapse (VIDEO)

Dear BSA Reader: Finding yourself at the end of another long hard week? Why don’t we all just go get a massage and release all that pent up anxiety and pressure? Thanks to Manny Castro for taking the photo of this ad and reminding us about the power of therapeutic touch.

Photo © Manny Castro

Reed Projects Now Open with “The Re-Jects” (Norway)

If you happen to call the port of Stavanger, Norway this weekend we recommend that as soon as you get off of your cruise head straight to Reed Projects where one of Street Art’s greatest rejects has mounted an art show to inaugurate his brand new gallery. The show “The Re-Jects” is now open to the public and the artists include: Dolk, Evol, Roa, Brad Downey, Escif, Dan Witz & Vhils.

Dolk in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Vues sur murs” in Brussels

The Centre de la Gravure new show “Vues sur murs” In opens today and includes C215, Denis Meyers, Doctor H, Jef Aerosol, Evol, Ludo, Muga, Obetre, Sten & Lex, Invader and Swoon.

Jef Aerosol in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

 

“Vari-Okey” with Everman (Atlanta)

Living Walls The City Speaks Atlanta 2012 continues to bring world talented artists for all ya’ll. This Saturday Living Walls Concepts invites the public to be an active participant in the the festival with artist Everman. If you are interested in participating you must first stop by AM1690’s “Vari-Okey” event this Saturday, May 26 at the Goat Farm and sign up for Evereman’s workshop through ARTWORKS, the new digital platform that will transform your involvement in the Atlanta arts scene. Promise.

Everman (photo courtesy of Living Walls 2012)

For further information regarding this event click here.

A Classic from The Beastie Boys Gets a Tribute Remix – SABOTAGE! (VIDEO)

 

Yue Minjun, Mark Jenkins and Aakash Nihalani (LA)

The Carmichael Gallery in Culver City, CA has invited artists Yue Minjun, Mark Jenkins and Aakash Nihalani for the new show opening tomorrow.

Aakash Nihalani in Manhattan (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Augustine Kofie’s Angle in LA

I’m truly honored to have the chance to share a lot of these more dense collage works with my LA peoples,” says Augustine Kofie about his new show “Working an Angle” which opens Saturday at the Known Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.

Augustine Kofie in Los Angeles for LA Freewalls Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Click here to read an interview on BSA with Augustine Kofie

For further information regarding this show click here.

Also Happening this Weekend:

(Re)-Print at Hendershot Gallery in The Bowery in NYC. A mostly prints show showcasing some of your most beloved Street Artist. Click here for more details regarding this show.

“Keep Wild Life In The Wild” At ThinkSpace Gallery in Culver City, CA. This is an art exhibition with some of the proceeds form the sale benefiting Born Free with the participation of more than 100 artists from all over the world. It should be fun. Click here for more details regarding this show.

“At Home I’m A Tourist” An Exhibition showcasing works of art and toys from the vast collection of Selim Varol at Me Collectors Room in Berlin Germany. Click here for more details regarding this show.

Cyrcle Daydreaming with James Lavelle (VIDEO)

 

CELEBRATE BOB: Moog Factory Mural Time Lapse (VIDEO)

Dude, Wednesday was Bob Moogs’ 78th birthday. Cool right? Awesome. Here’s a brand new portrait on the side of the Moog factory in Asheville, North Caroline by artist local artist Dustin Spagnola.

 

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Le Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image Imprimée Presents: “Vues Sur Murs” A Group Exhibition (Bruxelles, Belgique)

Vues Sus Murs

Vues sur murs dans le cadre de La Louvière métropole culturelle 2012 du 26 mai au 2 septembre 2012

Depuis plus de 30 ans, des artistes investissent les murs des villes, leurs moyens de transport, leur mobilier sous couvert d’anonymat. Depuis ces inscriptions, plus connues sous le nom de graffitis, ce mouvement a pris aujourd’hui des formes multiples, rassemblées sous le nom d’art urbain ou street art.  Les artistes varient leurs supports et leurs modes d’expression, offrant au passant des réalisations aux propos politiques, ludiques dans des emplacements parfois surprenants.
L’image en série, imprimée est également de la partie, sous la forme de pochoirs, d’affiches détournées ou d’autocollants.
Une dizaine d’artistes belges et internationaux ayant choisi l’espace urbain comme terrain d’expérimentation investiront les salles du musée et le centre ville de La Louvière par leurs créations éphémères, installations,… Gravures et affiches provenant de collections privées, pochoirs peints sur les murs des salles d’expo, installations créées pour l’occasion, telles seront les interventions visibles au Centre de la Gravure cet été.

C215, Denis Meyers, Doctor H, Evol, Jef Aérosol, Ludo, Muga, Obêtre, Sten & Lex, Invader, Swoon sont les artistes invités à l’occasion de cette manifestation. Des interventions dans le centre ville (collage, pochoirs, mosaïque) constituent la deuxième partie de l’exposition, pour une déambulation urbaine.

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