Fusing his masterful fine art skills with his stylish street art sensibility, Jersey City-based DISTORT recently fashioned a huge mural in neighboring Hoboken. Highlighting three women — referred to by Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla as some of Hoboken’s favorite daughters — it is a visual paean to the city’s past, present and future.
Featured above is an image of the mural in progress — as photographed by Greg Pallante. Dorothy McNeil, a prominent presence at Hoboken’s Club Zanzibar that showcased performances by popular African-American entertainers throughout the 1960s and 1970’s, is portrayed on the far left. With camera in hand is the noted documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, who was born in Hoboken in 1895. And pitching a bat is Hoboken native Maria Pepe, the first girl to play Little League baseball, whose legacy is ending the ban on girls in Little League baseball. Several more images follow:
And some more action — with Zera to the right of Shiro
Also featured was an art gallery photography exhibition by Gloria Zapata that continues through Saturday, November 17. Here is one of Gloria’s photos featuring her original work:
Photos 1-7 by Houda Lazrak; final photo Gloria Zapata
Introducing the general public to an eclectic range of outstanding street artists from across the globe while boosting the development of the local street art scene, the third Russian biennale Artmossphere is now near completion. A particular highlight of this year’s Artmossphere was Shepard Fairey’s huge outdoor mural, Tunnel Vision, inspired by the bold aesthetics of Russian Constructivism. Several more images — representative of the wonderfully diverse artwork that made its way into Artmossphere 2018 — follow:
Shepard Fairey at work earlier on with a little help from his friends
Amsterdam-based Adele Renault at work on one of her signature birds with the legendary Martha Cooper capturing it all
Brooklyn-based assemblage artist Hyland Mather at work as he repurposes discarded materials into an intriguing installation
Swedish graphic designer Finsta’s completed installation
POW! WOW!, the international art movement that celebrates culture, music and art in cities throughout the globe, continues this week to enhance the city of San Jose. The image featured above was painted by Ivan Gonzalez. Several more works — many in progress and all captured by travel and street photographer Karin du Maire aka Street Art Nomad — follow:
Local artist Drew Flores at work — on ladder — with a little help from his friend
Dragon 76 and Woes — along with local students — posing in front of their mural
Iranian brothers, Icy and Sot at work on “Ladders to Nowhere,” a metaphor for the inhumane US prison system, which makes it almost impossible for a released prisoner to move up in society
Founded and directed by Jasper Wong, POW! WOW! is an international art movement that celebrates culture, music and art in cities throughout the globe, as it engages the broader community.
In 2017 — its inaugural festival in San Jose, California — it added 20 murals to the city’s landscape It is back again this week with new public murals, musical gatherings, educational programming and a range of diverse activities. Featured above is a close-up of a huge mural in progress by the extraordinarily talented twin brothers How and Nosm. Several more images from earlier this week — all captured by travel and street photographer Karin du Maire aka Street Art Nomad — follow:
The Audubon Mural Project, a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and Gitler & ____ Gallery, continues to enhance Hamilton Heights — the late John James Audubon’s upper Manhattan neighborhood — with a range of public artworks featuring images of of climate-endangered birds. Since I’d last documented this project, dozens of new murals have surfaced. The image pictured above features a pinyon jay, painted by Vermont native Mary Lacy. Several more follow:
If you are an artist and you would like to participate in this project, you can e-mail amp@gitlerand.com. And to find out how to help sponsor a mural, check here.
Self-described as a “NYC-based visually impaired Street-Pop artist with a vintage flair,” the lovely OG Millie primarily fashions infectious portraits of iconic international figures. Ranging from the Buddha to Biggie, they are customarily painted with brilliant hues onto vintage decorative mirrors, exuding a distinctly enchanting aura.
A wonderfully diverse sampling of the artist’s portraits were exhibited this past Wednesday at a reception held at Long Island City’s magical Paper Factory Hotel, celebrating the Queens launch of LG USA Mobile‘s impressive, new five-camera LGV40 ThinQ. Pictured above is OG Millie‘s rendition of the Buddha. Several more images follow:
If you missed Shepard Fairey’s massive, hugely significant, exhibition Damaged in late 2017, it is still possible to experience it. West Coast-based VRt Ventures – in its mission to make provocative exhibitions accessible to all – has created the experience for us in virtual reality with a mobile app that enables us to move around the entire gallery, tap on all artworks and listen to two hours of outstanding narration by the artist.
Experiencing Damaged now couldn’t be more timely, as Shepard Fairey focuses on those Americans most affected by current policies and social issues in our increasingly troubling political climate. Among the issues tacked are: xenophobia, racial bias, Wall Street corruption, economic inequality and sexism.
“I definitely think that art can be part of the solution because it can inspire people to look at an issue they might otherwise ignore or reject,” commented the artist. Damaged is an honest diagnosis, but diagnosis is the first step to recognizing and solving problems.
Officially launched earlier this week in collaboration with Juxtapoz, the app that will make it possible for you to experience Damaged can be downloaded for $4.99 via the iOS App Store and the Google Play store for Android, and on Oculus, HTC and Steam. You can also check it out at the Damaged pop-up open to the public through Sunday, October 21, at 136 Bowery.
