Brendan T Mcnally

Soho Renaissance Factory x CocoRedoux Exhibition Continues at ChaShaMa in Union Square Through June 28

June 24, 2022

During the first wave of the pandemic, several artists — largely working separately as they painted images onto plywood — joined forces to form the Soho Renaissance Factory. A diverse selection of these original works were salvaged and are on view through Tuesday, June 28 at ChaShaMa in Union Square. The exhibition, Beautiful Barriers: Street Art Beyond Walls, also features varied customized products including apparel, accessories, and skateboards in partnership with CocoRedoux. And joining the members of the Soho Renaissance Factory are guest artists Eyeantic, OPTIMONYC, Vanessa Kreytak, and 0H10M1ke.

The image pictured above was fashioned by the indigenous American multidisciplinary artist, Konstance Patton. Several more images captured while visiting the exhibition earlier this month follow:

Contemporary painter Brendan T. McNally

Brooklyn-based African American self-taught artist Amir Diop

Brooklyn-based muralist Manuel Alejandro aka The Creator

NYC-born, Jersey City-based Sule

 The legendary OPTIMONYC, guest artist

Hand-painted apparel, a small sample

A Closing Reception will be held on June 28, 6-9pm. You can register here:

Note:

Artist Talk 
June 26, 2022 3:00pm-4:00pm
Moderated by T.K Mills, Editor-in-chief of UP Magazine
Featured artists: OPTIMONYC, Vanessa Kreytak, Eyeantic, Calicho, and Ohio Mike

Photos: Lois Stavsky

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From the Streets of Soho to the Stately National Arts Club: Brendan T McNally, Amir Diop, Light Noise, Sulé, Konstance Patton & The Creator

December 30, 2020

On view at the prestigious National Arts Club through January 27, 2021 is Voices of the Soho Renaissance, an exhibition showcasing several artworks that had first surfaced on the plywood used to board up stores in Soho earlier this year. For those of us who first saw these works in their original sites, it is a delight to view them in such a stately setting. And if you missed seeing them earlier on, this is your chance!

The image featured above, The River Unconscious, is the work of the immensely talented Brooklyn-based artist Brendan T McNally. Additional images of artworks by members of the The Soho Renaissance Factory (SRF) on view follow:

Politically conscious African-American, Brooklyn-bred Amir Diop, “Samson and the 400 Years of Bondage”

Lebanese-American glass and light artist Trevor Croop AKA Light Noise in collaboration with Amir Diop, “We Are Used in Your Wars Even Though We Can Be Gone in a Flash”

Trevor Croop AKA Light Noise, “Change”

Native New Yorker Sulé whose masked characters don timely political slogans, “My Execution Might Be Televised”

Indigenous American multimedia artist Konstance Patton, “Godezz Mildred of Peace and Comforter of the Inner Child”

Brooklyn-based  Manuel Alejandro Pulla aka The Creator, “Brooklyn Bridge March for Justice”

Along with these artworks on exhibit are more than two dozen photographs documenting these extraordinary times — when protests were sweeping our streets daily — by acclaimed photographer Graham Macindoe.

Located at 15 Gramercy Park South, the galleries at the National Arts Club are open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission is free, and you can make a reservation by filling out this form.

Photos: Lois Stavsky

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From Soho to Harlem, Part II: Konstance Patton, Sule, The Creator, Brendan T McNally & Amir Diop

October 7, 2020

Several artists — whose artworks I had first discovered several months ago on plywood in Soho — have continued to share their visions and talents in Harlem…this time on kiosks. Featured above is the work of Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist  Konstance Patton aka KonArtStudio. What follows are some more public artworks I recently came upon while walking west on 125th Street:

Also by Konstance Patton aka KonArtStudio

Multimedia artist Sule Marquez-Monsanto 

Brooklyn-based artist Manuel Alejandro Pulla aka The Creator

The hugely talented visual artist Brendan T Mcnally in collaboration with artist/activist Amir Diop

And some words of wisdom–

Note: Konstance Patton, Sule, Brendan T McNally and Amir Diop — all members of the Soho Renaissance Factory — have been busy at work inside a huge studio space in Soho.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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From Soho to Harlem: Brendan T McNally, Amir Diop, Light Noise, Sule, Konstance Patton & More

August 9, 2020

Several artists — whose works I had discovered on plywood in Soho — recently shared their visions and talents in Harlem, as they painted portraits inspired by the wondrous photography of Barron Claiborne

The image featured above — a portrait of the photographer  — was fashioned by the wonderfully talented Brendan T Mcnally. Additional images follow from several artists, who collectively identify as the Soho Renaissance Factory.

Artist/activist Amir Diop 

Glass & light artist Light Noise 

Multimedia artist Sule 

And joining the artists representing the Soho Renaissance Factory — producer and DJ Xtassy Beats

Konstance Patton aka KonArtStudio

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part VI: Calicho Arevalo, Jeff Rose, Alice Mackay, Marco Villard, Duel RIS, Alberto Barreto, AV, Si Golraine, Konstance Patton, Amir Diop, Brendan T Mcnally and Light Noise

July 16, 2020

When I returned to Soho earlier this week, I was thrilled to discover several pieces — including a few collaborations — new to me. The image featured above, “Our Nation’s Claim to Justice,” was fashioned by Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo and Queens-native Jeff Rose. Several more artworks that have recently surfaced on Soho’s boarded-up stores follow:

Multidisciplinary artists Alice Mackay (center) and Marco Villard 

The legendary NYC writer/artist Duel RIS 

Venezuelan artist Alberto Barreto and multimedia artist AV

Ukrainian-born, NYC-based multidisciplinary artist Si Golraine at work

Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Konstance Patton

Amir Diop, Brendan T Mcnally and Light Noise collaborate on mural in memory of graffiti writer Michael Stewart who died at the hands of the NYPD in  1983

To be continued next week!

Photo credits: 1, 2, 4 – 7 Lois Stavsky; 3 Sara Ching Mozeson

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Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part V: Jerardo Calixto, Sofi Signs, Fabio Esteban, Brendan T Mcnally, Dr. Antic, Amir Diop, Matthew Mazur, Mitya Pisliak, Kamila Zmrzla Otcasek and Scott Woods

July 9, 2020

While many of the boards in Soho continue to be dismantled, the ones that remain continue to intrigue. And, happily, new ones surface — largely by artists who generally work in their studios — addressing a range of issues from systemic racism to transphobia. The socially-driven artworks featured above were fashioned  a few weeks back by Brooklyn-based artist Jerardo Calixto in collaboration with Sofi ✍ Signs. Several more images captured earlier this week — several in progress — follow:

NYC-based Fabio Esteban with a message

NYC-based Brendan T Mcnally takes a brief break from “Break Free” in progress (check out Brendan’s Instagram to view the now completed mural and its moving backstory)

NYC-based, Moscow native Sofia Granovskaia aka Dr Antic to the right of artist/activist Amir Diop — with an important request and reproach re: his missing artwork

Multidisciplinary artist Matthew Mazur — dedicated to “our Black Trans Brothers and Sisters who were taken from us too soon.”

Native Belarus artist Mitya Pisliak at work

Brooklyn-based, Czechoslovak-born Kamila Zmrzla Otcasek

On racism — signed Scott Woods 

To be continued next week!

Photo credits: 1, 3, 4, 6-8 Lois Stavsky; 2 & 5 Sara Ching Mozeson

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