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May 19, 2007
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Supertouch Blog: Street Currency
Street Currency
May 15, 2007
We always knew SHEPARD FAIREY was only in it for the money, and now he’s even printing his own: Recently spotted in crumpled piles on the streets of NYC and LA are these newly designed OBEY dolla-dolla-bills, meticulously created from scratch with all the detail of real currency by none other than the master counterfeiter himself. Street walkers keep your eyes peeled for these incredibly realistic notes floating around the nation at sneaker level leading up to the opening of Shep’s forthcoming gallery show “E Pluribus Venom” at JONATHAN LEVINE FINE ARTS Jun 23 thru Jul 21. You’ve been warned… (Read full article)
Afterparty: Vitche, AJ Fosik, Matt Haber and Andy Kehoe
To celebrate the opening of Vitche’s Equilibrium, AJ Fosik’s At the Edge of Town and Matt Haber and Andy Kehoe’s Trouble Pass Me By, Jonathan LeVine Gallery staff, artists and friends made the trek to Barcade in Williamsburg.
Enough Said.
Brandi Pomfret, AJ Fosik and Emily McKellar display a bounty of drink tickets.
Video Game Heaven.
From left: Ben Kehoe, Stacey Kehoe, Andy Kehoe and AJ Fosik.
By far the most popular game there, Donkey Kong drew a continuous crowd.
Photos: Vitche, Fosik, Haber and Kehoe
Photos: Vitche, Fosik, Haber + Kehoe
By, George Koroneos
May 12, 2007
NYC correspondent George Koroneos brings us photos from the press preview of everything showing at Jonathan LeVine Gallery this weekend: Vitche’s Equilibrium, AJ Fosik’s At the Edge of Town, and Andy Kehoe and Matt Haber’s two-person exhibit Trouble, Pass Me By. All three shows open tonight, May 12th, and run through June 9th, 2007. From giant bears to creepy wooden children toys, Jonathan LeVine hosted one of the most eclectic shows to grace his New York gallery space. The event featured Vitche, AJ Fosik, Andy Kehoe, and Matt Haber—four artists with a distinct style and platform. Vitche got a huge space to exhibit his awe-inspiring wooden toys and statues. When asked if the figures really worked, he gleefully picked up one of the uber-expensive pieces and began squeezing it while the top half spun around and around. AJ Fosik spent the preview night schmoozing with the underground art elite while showing off his recently purchased Rutt’s Hut shirt (a mecca for Jersey hot dogs). His fearsome wooden sculptures loomed around the main gallery as art fans stared with the most fascinated and curious looks on their faces. Andy Kehoe and Matt Haber were featured in "Trouble Pass Me By," a two-man show featuring Kehoe’s landscapes and cartoonish beasts, and Haber’s painted, glass bottles. Haber explained that the canvases in his portion of the show featured scenes of lovers, relationships, and struggle plastered against pastel-colored backgrounds. The show will run from May 12, 2007 through June 9, 2007 with an opening reception on Saturday, May 12, from 7pm-9pm. (Read full article)
Tragic Kingdom: The Art of Camille Rose Garcia
TRAGIC KINGDOM: THE ART OF CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA
Saturday, May 12, 2007 through Sunday, September 23, 2007
The San Jose Museum of Art presents the first major museum exhibition outside of Los Angeles of Camille Rose Garcia, an artist emerging from the Los Angeles underground scene, whose narrative-based works express an acute political consciousness. The artist’s seemingly light-hearted paintings and drawings of charming cartoon-like characters actually depict dark tales of violence, corruption and greed, and seek to comment on the turmoil of contemporary society. Her first museum solo exhibition surveys her work with an emphasis on her most recent creations, showcasing paintings, drawings, sketchbooks, prints, sculpture, and site-specific installations, and is complemented by a book-length catalogue.
Garcia’s work stems from growing up in the suburbs of Orange County and making frequent visits to Disneyland, “the happiest place on earth.” The artist quickly grew to recognize its artifice and contradictions, and she witnessed the realities of privileged suburban life – adolescent alienation and social marginalization. Her precious glittered compositions are infused with a sense of discontent, yielding works that are simultaneously disturbing and attractive.
Garcia is a notable member of a Los Angeles underground contemporary art movement known as the “Pop Surrealists” or “Lowbrow” artists, who combine dark surrealism with an eclectic array of pop culture sources, including comics, animation, and 1950s television. Garcia is particularly influenced by Walt Disney, punk bands like the Dead Kennedys, and sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. In addition, she draws upon diverse artistic and cultural sources, such as the work of her former teacher Paul McCarthy, illustrations by nineteenth-century artist Aubrey Beardsley, myths and fairy tales, and Japanese art, specifically traditional woodblock prints and the anime inspired work of Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami. From these references, she has crafted both a style that is unique and content that is a good deal more political than the work of her contemporaries.
Garcia has produced over ten distinct series, each with unique themes that stem from world affairs, such as the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami, or from personal experiences, like the death of her twelve-year old dog. For example, Retreat Syndrome was produced immediately after 9-11 and addresses how people cope with the aftermath a traumatic occurrence. Garcia’s epic tales are inhabited by a cast of characters, who reckon with violently destructive forces, exposing the horrors of the world around us.
Only Two More Chances to See Bomb It
Last week, the gallery staff went to check out Bomb It, a documentary tracing the roots of graffiti from Philadelphia and New York to Barcelona, Tokyo, Paris , Hamburg and Sao Paulo. Director Jon Reiss packs the film with interviews from dozens of artists, including the gallery’s own Zezao, Shepard Fairey and Ron English. With only two more chances to see it in New York, Bomb It is definitely not to be missed!
Offical Website- bombit-themovie.com
Screenings:
Friday, May 4th, 10:30pm
Regal Cinemas Theater 4
Door Sales
Sunday, May 6th, 5:30pm
AMC Village VII Theater 2
Door Sales
Zezão : sewer slideshow on Lost Art
Our recently exhibited artist, Zezão, takes Ignacio Aronovich from Lost Art down into the sewer systems of São Paulo where he often chooses to paint. There, he talks about his fascination with creating work that lives in contrast with the trash filled underground.http://www.lost.art.br/zezao_slideshow.htm
David Choe Paints Facebook.com Offices
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Andrew from Outer Edge Studio posted some great photos of David Choe’s work at the FaceBook offices on thegiant.org. Click here to check out the entry.
WhiteHot Magazine: Ruas de São Paulo
Ruas de Sao Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art
By Chris Maceira
In a progressive leap, the Jonathan LeVine Gallery has bravely offered their “white cube” as a blank canvas to Boleto, Fefe, Highraff, Kboco, Onesto, Speto, Titi Freak, and Zezao, eight young street artists from Sao Paulo. The space has been divided in such a way as to provide each artist space to display their own signature style of graffiti on a variety of surfaces, including the walls and ceiling. Instead of the strict demarcation from one artist to the next, that one might expect to result from such an arrangement, what emerges is an uninterrupted flow, and the manifestation of a street vernacular that can best be described as purely Brazilian. (Read full article)
Pictures of the Abrons Art Center opening!
Last night was the opening of the "Visual Slang" exhibit at the Abrons Art Center in New York.
We took a few pictures of Onesto and Fefe’s work in the show for those of you who could’t see the pieces in person.
Fefe’s work "Cavadao" hanging next to a Phil Frost!
Book with feature about Onesto hanging with his painting!
About the exhibit:
Visual Slang: The Modern Urban Imagination
April 17 – June 12, 2007
Opening Reception: Tuesday, April 17, 6-8pm
The Abrons Arts Center is delighted to present Visual Slang: The Modern Urban Imagination, an exhibit of innovative artwork and global graffiti by a dynamic mix of over thirty artists crossing cultures, traditions and genres.
Working with spray paints, markers, ballpoint pens, acrylics, oils and recycled objects on a variety of surfaces, the featured artists combine creative energy with cautious control.
Their work ranges from the sensuously spiritual to the scathingly satirical as they reflect the contemporary social and political order.
Representing a broad spectrum of cultural heritages, some hail from the Mid-West; others from remote villages in Central America. Some hold Masters of Fine Arts Degrees; others were schooled on the streets. Some report daily to their midtown offices; others seldom leave their studios.
But they are all here together celebrating the modern urban imagination with their bold images, blazing colors and visual rhythms.
Featured artists include: Nir Aharon, Kim Beury, Karl Bielik, Cern, Crystal Clarity, Chris Cortes, Daze, Jack De Martino, Ronnie Dukes, Fefê,Phil Frost, Lorenzo Gomez, Jayra, Nicholai Khan, Karski, Kove, Lisa Lebofsky, Mike Lee, Meres, Dani Reyes Mozeson, Kenji Nakayama, Khashayar Naimanan, Native, Ninerevolutions, Onesto, Michael Poncé, Jasky Raju, Raodee, Rekloos, Nelson Rivas, Julio Rölle, Amitai Sandy, Rajan Sedalia, Michelle Sheyon, Sixten, John Smalls, Space, Spaze Crafte One, Stinkfish, Jack Tsai, Toofly, Dana Woulfe and ZenTwo.
Curated by Lois Stavsky with Michael Poncé, Visual Slang: The Modern Urban Imagination openson April 17 and continues through June 12. A reception for the artists will be held on Tuesday April 17 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.
The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Special thanks to Fuse Gallery and the Jonathan LeVine Gallery.
For further information contact Lois Stavsky @ 917.562.8468.
MTV Magazine Features Ruas de São Paulo
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Adam Wallacavage: Pheelin’ It In Philly
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Pheelin’ It In Philly: A Whirlwind Tour of Philadelphia’s Bustling Art Scene
By Ialexis Swerdloff
April 17, 2007
On a recent, particularly freezing weekend, I headed southwestard to see what was happening in alleged Sixth Borough, Philadelphia. As is rumored, Philly really is like one huge amalgamation of Park Slope and the Lower East Side, but cheaper — for the price of a basement apartment below a Taco Bell in East Flatbush, you can get a palatial duplex with exposed brick in a Williamsburg-like section of Philly. The real reason for my trip was to scope out the Philly art scene. Just far enough away from New York (a little under two hours) to escape its looming shadow, and close enough to absorb some of its overflow, the Philadelphia art scene is booming. Everyone I met was in some sort of art collective (or two) and wearing cool, over-sized plastic glasses. Every artist/gallery person I met seemed unironically excited about making really cool and interesting art. There were hardly any jaded eye-rolls, and not a lot of too-cool-for-school-ness that I associate with the New York art scene. Everyone seemed to be rooting for everyone else. It was very heartening. But also kind of daunting. Which is why we had the kind Move to Philly founders Kendra Gaeta and Laris Kreslins show us around. It turns out that they know everything about the Philadelphia art world. And then some. Here is how the weekend went down. (Read full article)