Chip Love

The Second Annual Troutman Rock has once again brought some of  NYC’s most intriguing writers together for a riveting first-rate production in Ridgewood, Queens. The image pictured above features the skills and visions of  FCEE, Nic1 and Curve. Several more murals follow:

French artist Seb Gorey, Homage, In Memory Of Kings

The legendary Greg Lamarche aka Sp.One

Queens-based style master Carlo Nieva aka Diego 127

The ever-ingenious Queens-based Chip Love aka Whisper

The amazingly skilled veteran graffiti writer Strider

Photos: Lois Stavsky

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Curated earlier this month by the infinitely creative Chip Love, the walls on Troutman and Seneca — on the Queens side of the Ridgewood-Bushwick border — seethe with style and swirl with rhythm. The image featured above was fashioned by the legendary Greg Lamarche. Several more recent walls designed for this project, labeled #troutmanrock, follow:

Veteran writer Bisuno

Queens-based Diego

Bro000ski does Snoopy vs the Red Baron

Veteran style writer Strider

The distinctly-talented Paris-born, NYC-based Seb Gorey

Graff masters Arbor and Dmote aka Shank

Veteran writer and graffiti historian Spar One 

Hence’s homage to Ridgewood

Photo credits: 1-3; 5, 6, 8 & 9 Lois Stavsky; 4 & 7 courtesy #troutmanrock curator Chip Love

Note: Chip Love is now at work curating a series of walls in Jamaica, Queens. ‘looking forward to seeing those!

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Painted collaboratively by Queens-based Diego 127, FCEE and Whisper aka Chip Love, a fantastical alphabet mural has made its way onto a huge wall on 78th Street adjacent to the Garden School in Jackson Heights. While visiting the site as the mural was near completion, I spoke to classic graffiti writer, Diego 127, who had secured the space.

What an ideal spot for such a striking mural! 

Yes! I’d been eyeing this wall since I moved into this neighborhood in 2004.

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And how did you go about securing it for this mural?

I eventually connected with Dudley Stewart, an active member of the local community and the president of the Jackson Heights Green Alliance. And he was able to get us the support that we needed to make this happen.

How did you come up with this concept — this amazing alphabet?

Lots of text messages between Chip and me! And we loved the idea of playing with the letters of the alphabet — as we so often do — on a big wall.

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Why did you choose to work with white, black and grey? I love the effect. The impact of this mural is tremendous.

As an illustrator, I often work in black and white. And Chip, in particular, loves black and white.

Did you guys work from an initial sketch or did it all happen on site?

We had developed a loose plan. But the mural, itself, evolved organically. We free-styled, continually revising it and adding to it.

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How long have you guys been working on this mural?

We started in May; so it’s been two months.

How have the kids responded to it?

They love it and they’ve loved watching the process.

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Congratulations on this! I’m so glad I got to see it!  What a fantastical alphabet!

Interview with Diego 127 by Lois Stavsky; all photos by Lois Stavsky; photo #1 features FCEE; seated in final photo are: Whisper aka Chip LoveFCEE & Diego 127.

Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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A huge industrial building at 61 Jefferson Street – a short walk from the JMZ Myrtle Avenue line – has become the backdrop for a wonderful mix of vibrant public art. I recently spoke to its curator, Whisper aka Chip Love.

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What an ideal space for this wonderfully diverse artwork! How did you come upon it?

My friend, Brian Sturm, introduced me to John Weiss, the president of Apple Restoration & Waterproofing. John was interested in beautifying the exterior of his business, and Brian thought I might be interested in curating such a project.

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Can you tell us a bit more about Apple Gate Project Bushwick’s mission?

Its mission is to beautify the property here at 61 Jefferson with public art and to aesthetically connect to the community.

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How many artists were engaged in the project?

By the time it was completed, 15 had been involved.

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The art here represents such a wonderful mix of cultures. In addition to many legendary NYC-based artists, participants include: Brazilian artist Binho; Australian artist John Kaye and French artist Gorey.  How did you manage to engage such an eclectic group of talented artists?

I called my friends who then called their friends.

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What particular challenges did you face in seeing the project to completion?

Challenges were limited. Because the property is a restoration company, we had everything we could possibly need at our disposal: lifts, scaffolding, ladders. John Weiss was wonderfully accommodating. And the entire exterior was power-washed before it was painted.

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How has the response been?

There hasn’t yet been much publicity, as we’ve kept it largely undercover while we were working on it. But the word is getting out, and the response that we’ve been getting is incredible. You can check out the hashtag #AppleGateProjectBushwick on Instagram.

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What’s ahead for you?

Continuing my art, connecting with like-minded people and building more projects like this one!

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Images: 1. Gorey 2. Greg Lamarche aka SP.ONE 3. Bis Uno & Diego 127 4. Whisper 5. Mast; bottom side gate Noxer 6. Quik 7. John Kaye & Spar 8. Noxer & Binho 9. Noxer with Whisper standing and John Weiss of Apple Restoration and Waterproofing seated to his right

Photo credits: 1-5, 7 & 9 Lois Stavsky; 6 & 8 Tara Murray

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