News

Shepard Fairey Boston Court Case and OBEY Experiment Redux

Posted on by Mike

For anyone who has been following Shepard Fairey’s court case in Boston, we’re pleased to learn that a resolution has finally been reached. Shepard was originally facing 34 felony charges with a maximum penalty of 87 years in jail, but his attorney negotiated a plea deal for him to plead guilty to three misdemeanors and get two years probation and a fine in exchange for all the other charges being dropped.

The artist said, "Considering the tremendous waste of time and money so far, this solution seemed the most productive to end a process which could have dragged on considerably and potentially resulted in jail time if things did not go well for me. I’m glad to put this behind me so I can focus on making art and the other positive things in my life. I have no negative feelings toward Boston, my ICA show has been an incredible success with over 100,000 people attending. I’d like to thank the ICA staff who have been great to work with, and also all the Boston property owners who invited me to display my work on their properties."

To read a more in depth account of information on the Boston case and to hear a radio interview with the artist on WBUR, please click here.

Shepard will be back in Boston on July 31 for Obey Experiment REDUX. Tickets are already sold-out for this special event which will be a closing party celebrating the success of the artist’s first museum exhibition. Joined by friends Z-Trip and special guest Chuck D (of Public Enemy fame), Shepard will finally get to DJ at the ICA, as he was scheduled to on the night of his arrest. For further info, please visit the ICA Boston website.

After the exhibition closes on 8/16 in Boston, the 20 year survey of Shepard Fairey’s work will then be traveling to the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. More details to come, stay tuned!…

WK Interact Q&A – full version

Posted on by Mike

Here is the full version video footage shot by George Koroneos of the exclusive speaking engagement with WK during his book signing event on 7/1/2009. In a rare Q&A session, the artist answered questions from guests in attendance about his current solo exhibition Motion Portrait here at the gallery, as well as his experience as a street artist living in New York for the past 16 years.

With so much interesting and insightful information to cover, including his process, influences, locations and subject matter, the entire clip runs about 23 minutes long. So, grab a seat and check it out!:

 

Re-cap of WK book launch with Q&A

Posted on by Mike

Check out our event photos of the book launch and artist talk with Q&A for currently exhibiting artist, WK Interact which took place on Wednesday 7/1/2009, presented by Drago and sponsored by Inocente Tequila.

**Check out the link at the bottom of this entry to view the video footage!…

The artist signed copies of both of his titles : WK Interact 2.5 New York Street Life published by Drago, as well as his 2005 monograph WK Interact: Exterior – Interior Act 2 published by Gestalten (now quite the rare collector’s item as a sold-out edition, difficult to find elsewhere but a number of copies are available through Jonathan LeVine Gallery)!

The signing was enhanced by WK’s custom logo ink stamp, as well as the artist’s own thumbprint.

Fans lined up to get their copies personalized.

For those who didn’t make it to the show’s opening reception, this event was a special second-chance opportunity to meet the artist while viewing his new body of work.

And one by one, he signed them all…

The crowd continued to pile in, as the evening went on.

The artist’s three new limited edition prints were also on display for guests in attendance that evening.

This lucky fan got his t-shirt signed and stamped, hope he doesn’t put it in the wash!

Ivory Serra, fellow artist and photographer, also has a book published by Drago in the series. The two chatted over an Inocente Tequila cocktail.

Once the line died down, the artist began his special presentation.

The crowd gathered around to hear WK discuss his process, influence, and many more interesting subjects relating to his gallery and street work.

After his talk, the floor was opened up for a unique opportunity, audience Q&A with WK.

Overall it was a very informative and insightful event!

We will have video footage soon, stay tuned!…

Many thanks to everyone who joined us and made this a very special speaking engagement.

Also a big thank you to Drago and Inocente Tequila for generously providing delicious beverages for the evening.

**Check out the video footage of WK’s presentation and audience Q&A, here!

Invader piece in Sony Bravia Ad

Posted on by Mike

Remember that cool Sony Bravia ad, shot in NYC back in 2007, with all the play-doh bunnies hopping around the city?… Well, one of Invader’s street pieces appears in that ad!

Space Invader number 5 (out of the current count of 120 on the streets of NY) was placed during the first invasion of New York back in 2000, making it one of the oldest original pieces in NY still intact! We have the alias of this piece on view in the artist’s current exhibition, TOP IO.

Check out the original piece on Bond street and Lafayette, which can be seen for a few seconds between 0:15—0:17 of the commercial, here:

Drago presents WK book launch on Wed 7/1/09

Posted on by Mike

To celebrate the release of their new title WK Interact 2.5 New York Street Life, available for the first time in the US, DRAGO Publishing presents a special event at Jonathan LeVine Gallery on Wednesday, July 1st, from 6—8pm sponsored by Inocente Tequila.

The book launch will feature an artist talk followed by Q&A session. WK will be in attendance for this speaking engagement with an exclusive presentation about his new exhibition of work—Motion Portrait, on view in the gallery—and available to sign copies of the book for guests. Copies of WK’s previously published sold-out monograph Exterior/Interior Act 2 will be available, as well.

We hope you will join us for this insightful, informative event!

      

Mark Dean Veca review in THE Mag

Posted on by Mike

REVIEW:
Mark Dean Veca
Painting, Wall Drawings, and Collaborations
University Art Gallery, UCSD

By: Lara Bullock

Amidst Web 2.0 information overload, Mark Dean Veca’s phantasmagorical constructions are especially relevant, bubbling over with references to the likes of Popeye, the Doors, and Tinkerbell, while citing art-historical bigwigs such as Jeff Koons, R. Crumb, and Hokusai. The result is a cultural mash-up approximating a trippy Hanna-Barbera cartoon disco. Painting, Wall Drawings, and Collaborations, the first comprehensive overview of Veca’s work, is a particularly apt title for an exhibition containing ovular, cameo-like canvases, bedspreads, wallpaper, ceramics, Snowboarding Boots and Jackets For Nike (2009), and studies for site-specific installations, including a mural on the exterior walls of the gallery.

Veca’s art defies categorical constraints. Merging a graffiti ethos with that of illustration, infused with skater sensibility, L.A. custom culture, and Bay Area Underground comics, he frequently encompasses these tropes and pop-cultural icons within an ornate toile de Jouy aesthetic, giving them an incongruously aged patina. The toile de Jouy, an eighteenth-century design often featured on fabric, has been demoted to the wallpaper of choice for suburban homes across America and can thus be read as a metonym for the pop-cultural characters in Veca’s work.

At first glance the result is a visually pleasing and vibrant homogenization of Blues Brothers and Dr. Seuss in a world of flying phalli and labia. Yet — especially as the works’ terse titles fall short of their didactic function, and thereby provoke closer examination — these seemingly light-hearted subjects urge deeper reading. On closer inspection, menacing cloud-like figures (which Veca calls Grovelers) emerge from the work, suggesting that, despite the disorienting sex and whimsy, there are more serious underlying messages in the offing.

http://themagla.com/cgi-bin/artmagla/review.cgi?ReviewID=245