Gilf!

art-is-trash-kimmel-windows

The windows of NYU’s Kimmel Center are now home to a wide range of street art and graffiti artworks. Presented in partnership with 3rd Culture Creative, a cutting-edge media development company, ART STREET 13 WINDOWS 1 WALL showcases the distinct aesthetic of 15 artists whose works have surfaced on our streets. I recently had the opportunity to speak to its principal curator Pamela Jean Tinnen — who for the past five years has curated New York University’s Kimmel Galleries.

gilf-cruz-cope-indie-graffiti-kimmel-windows

I’m always delighted when universities embrace street art. Can you tell us something about how this project came to be? What might have prompted it?

Yes! Awhile back I went on a street art tour of the Bushwick Collective, conducted by one of my colleagues, Izzy Church. I loved what I saw, and I soon began researching street art. An exhibit featuring street art became a passion project of mine, and the Kimmel Windows Gallery seemed like the ideal site to showcase public art, particularly during the summer months.

Ron-English-nyu-kimmel-windows

Exhibiting works by street artists and graffiti writers in a public space – that can be seen by everyone — is certainly a cool notion! Are there any other particular concepts underlying this exhibit?

Yes. Placing works of street art behind a glass wall also hints at the monetary value of the artworks by those street artists who have achieved mainstream success.

Cost-and-Enx-NYU windows

How did you and your co-curators — Izzy Church and Marten Kale —  decide which artists to include?

We reached out to our favorite artists, and several of the other artists reached out to us.

Did you encounter any unanticipated challenges in seeing it through?

The unconventional nature of the artworks demanded careful attention to their placement in this particular setting.

richard-hambleton-kimmel

I think it looks great! Each window is engaging. How has the response to it been?

The response has been wonderful. I’ve received so many positive messages, particularly from my colleagues.

Until when will it remain on view?

 It has been extended through September 12th.  And during these next few weeks, be prepared for some surprises as we make some changes in the windows! A closing event will be held on Saturday, September 10th from 7:30 – 10pm in the Grand Hall at NYU Global Center, 238 Thompson Street, 5th Floor. There will be art, music and a cash bar.

It all sounds great! 

Kimmel

Images

1. Francisco de Pájaro aka  Art Is Trash

2. Gilf!, Iena Cruz and Cope2 with Indie

3. Ron English

4. Cost and Enx

5. Richard Hambleton

Located on Laguardia and West 3rd St, Kimmel Windows also features: John Fekner, ASVP, Lady Pink, Jonathan “Meres” Cohen, Fumero, Raquel Echanique, Federico Massa a.k.a. Iena Cruz, B.D. White, Joe Iurato, Martian Code and Skewville.

Photo credits: 1-4 Lois Stavsky; 5 courtesy Woodward Gallery; interview by Lois Stavsky

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gilf-LMNOPi-mural-art-Henley-Vape-NYC

Busy last week in the lovely backyard garden of SoHo’s Henley Vaporium were Gilf! and LMNOPi — two Brooklyn-based activist artists — collaborating on a mural in tribute to Kalief Browder.  When we stopped by, I had the chance to speak to Gilf!

It’s wonderful to see the two of you working together. How did this collaboration come to be?

When Kimyon Huggins, the curator of the Secret Garden Series, hit me up to paint a mural, I immediately thought of LMNOPi.

Gilf-LMNOPI-at-work-Henley-NYC

Yes, it seems like such a natural collaboration. How did you decide on the subject of this mural?

My work has recently focused on the kinds of issues and injustices related to the case of Kalief Browder‬. And since LMNOPi is such a wonderful portrait painter with a strong social and political consciousness,  I thought we would work well together.

What — would you say — is the intent of your art?

The only reason I make art is to change the world.

gilf-lmnopi-Kalief Browder-mural-Henley-NYC

And what is it about Kalief Browder‘s story that has triggered your work?

What happened to Kalief is, sadly, not unique.  And it is outrageous. Yet, many people aren’t aware of these kinds of widespread injustices.  Kalief was incarcerated at ‪Rikers‬ Island at age 16 for three years for a crime he never committed. Two of those three years were spent in solitary confinement. Eventually his case was dismissed. This past June, Kalief Browder committed suicide by hanging himself.

What would you like people who see the mural that you have fashioned with LMNOPi walk away with?

I would like them to question what happened and demand justice.

LMNOP! and gilf

Yes, what happened to Kalief is such a blatant, horrific injustice. We certainly need to raise awareness of the need for radical change within our prison system.

Note:  The mural will be unveiled this Saturday, July 11, at Henley Vaporium‘s backyard garden at 23 Cleveland Place, between Spring and Kenmare Streets, in Soho. The event is free and open to the public — with a BBQ and DJs — from 2-10pm. There will be a Q+A with the artists and curator at 7:30 pm.

Interview with Gilf! conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky.

Photos: 1 & 3 Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2 & 4 Tara Murray 

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Here are a few of the works reflecting a range of political and social issues that have surfaced on NYC streets:

Bikismo in Williamsburg

Bikismo

Gilf! in NoLita

Gilf

#Dysturb in Manhattan

Dysturb

LMNOPI in Bushwick

LMNOP

Luis Rosenfeld at work in SoHo

"Luis Rosenfeld"

Sophia Dawson, lead artist, in the East Village

"Sophia Dawson"

Hunt Rodriguez in SoHo — in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack

"Hunt Rodriguez"

 Photo credits:  1, 3, 4 & 7 by Dani Reyes Mozeson; 2. Lois Stavsky; 5. Lenny Collado aka BKLenny & 6. Tara Murray

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This is the third in an occasional series featuring images of males who surface on NYC public spaces:

Stik across from Dorian Grey Gallery in the East Village

Stik

Blek le Rat at the Bushwick Collective

Blek le Rat

Icy and Sot and Gilf!, close-up from huge mural for First Street Green and Centre-fuge Public Art Project

icy and sot and gilf!

Gaia at Bushwick Collective

Gaia

LNYCost and Enx in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

LNY, Cost and Enx

Vexta in Bushwick

Vexta and Gilf!

Manny Vega in East Harlem

Manny Vega

Photos by Dani Mozeson, Tara Murray and Lois Stavsky

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While not conducting his post-doctoral research on Brain and Behavior at The Rockefeller University, Jerusalem native Yoav Litvin can be found on our city streets pursuing his passion for street art. We recently met up for a chat.

Dain

What spurred your interest in public art?

As a result of an injury, there wasn’t much I could do other than walk around.  So that’s what I did. And once I began to notice street art, I couldn’t stop taking photos of it. I also appreciate the risks artists take when putting up pieces; it’s a rush I can relate to. And I admire the artists’ generosity in taking these risks to share their vision with the public.

Alice Mizrachi and Cope2

What is it about street art that continues to so engage you?

I love its beauty and humor. I appreciate its aesthetic and the way it challenges convention. It is a beautiful, non-violent way to raise issues in the public sphere.  And as a political person, I am drawn to the confrontational nature of much of it.

Never Satisfied

What do you see as the role of the photographer in today’s street art movement?

Because of the transient nature of public art, I see it as essential. The image is important, but so is its context and appropriate accreditation to the artist.  And documentation of NYC’s street art trends is especially essential as this city is the world’s cultural Mecca.

gilf!

Tell us a bit about your current project.

I’ve been working for over a year now on a book that profiles 46 of the most prolific urban artists working in NYC.  It will feature images and interviews, along with some exciting supplements.

Jilly Ballistic

Have you any favorite artists whose works you’ve seen here in NYC?

There are too many to list. I love them all for different reasons.

Enzo and Nio

How do you keep up with the current scene?

In addition to documenting what I see and speaking to artists, I follow popular street art blogs such as StreetArtNYC, Brooklyn Street Art and Vandalog.  I also check Instagram daily for new images that surface not only on NYC streets, but across the globe. And I try to attend gallery openings as often as possible.

NDA and Elle Deadsex

We certainly look forward to reading your book.  Tell us more about its current progress. How close it is to publication?

I’ve finally completed the stage of collecting texts and images, and am currently working together with a first-rate designer. I am now seeking a publisher.

Yoav can be contacted at yoavlitvin@gmail.com

Featured photos are in the following sequence:

1) Dain. Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

2) Alice Mizrachi and Cope2. Boone Avenue, The Bronx.

3) Never Satisfied. Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

4) gilf! Grattan Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn.

5) Jilly Ballistic. Astor Place 6 Train station, Manhattan.

6) Enzo and Nio. Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

7) ND’A and Elle Deadsex. Jefferson Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn.

All photos by Yoav Litvin.

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Coordinated by Joe Ficalora and See One, the Winter Mural Project brought over ten artists together this past Saturday to Troutman and Wyckoff at Bushwick Five Points.  The spirited afternoon was a cause for celebration for both the talented artists and the enthusiastic spectators. Here are some images:

London-based Stik and veteran Bronx-born artist Zimad

Stik and Zimad street art

 Queens-based Alice Mizrachi aka AM

Alice Mizrachi

Alice Mizrachi

Col of the legendary Wallnuts  crew– to the left of AM

Col Wallnuts

Brooklyn-based Danielle Mastrion

Danielle Mastrion

Danielle Mastrion

Geobany Rodriguez aka Bowz at work; final image here

Bowz

Iranian artists Icy and Sot

icy and sot

Icy and Sot

Brooklyn-based Gilf! at work

Gilf!

 Brooklyn-based See One

See One

Brooklyn-based LNY at work

LNY

Photos by Lenny Collado and Tara Murray

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This is the sixth in a series of posts of images of girls — and women — who grace New York City’s public spaces:

Los Angeles native Tristan Eaton in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

"Tristan Eaton street art"

 Tokyo native Lady Aiko in Washington Heights, Manhattan

"Lady Aiko"

Brooklyn-based Gilf! at Bushwick Five Points

"Gilf! street art"

The legendary London-based Inkie at Bushwick Five Points

 Mexico City-based artist Paola Beck at Bushwick Five Points

"Paola Beck art"

Colombia native Lorenzo Masnah in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

"Lorenzo Masnah street art"

 Bronx-based artist Sien in Red Hook, Brooklyn

The wonderfully talented ND’A and OverUnder in the East Village

"ND'A and OverUnder street art"

Photos of Tristan Eaton, Gilf!, Paola Beck & Sien by Lois Stavsky; Lady Aiko, Lorenzo Masnah and OverUnder & ND’A by Lenny Collado; Inkie by Tara Murray

 

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"Gilf! street art in Brooklyn, NYC"

Brooklyn-based Gilf! has been busy this past year gracing NYC’s landscape with playful images that often expose our political and personal hypocrisies. Inspired by Morton Salt’s famed Umbrella Girl,  Gilf!’s most recent piece, When it Rains it Pours — featuring an eerily fashionable figure with Gucci bag in hand — suggests wastefulness and indulgence in a time of economic crisis.

Gilf! began painting on Friday —

"Gilf street art in Brooklyn, NYC"

And continued yesterday —

"Gilf! creates street art in Bushwick, Brooklyn"

"Gilf! street art in Bushwick, Brooklyn"

"Gilf! street art in Brooklyn, NYC"

Nearby, Bishop 203, one of Brooklyn’s most active street artists, began fashioning a variation of his signature character onto a parked trailer.

"Bishop 203 street art in Bushwick, Brooklyn"

"Bishop 203 street art character on Bushwick, Brooklyn trailer"

And on the opposite side of the trailer, Never got busy with his iconic owl.

"Never street art in Brooklyn"

"Never street art on Bushwick trailer"

Keep posted to our Facebook page for the completed images!

Photos by Lenny Collado and Tara Murray

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