political art

The Politically Driven “Shared Freedom” Mural Art Project at First Street Green Art Park, Part II: Calicho, Sacsix, Early Riser, Danny Minnick, Zimad and Heart1

October 29, 2020

Pictured above in Part II of our documentation of the politically-driven “Shared Freedom” mural art project — curated by Will Power at First Street Green Art Park — is Calicho Arevalo‘s playful mural, as captured by Ana Candelaria. A few more artworks follow — with even more to be featured on the StreetArtNYC Instagram page.

NYC-based Miami-native Sacsix, “Chokey on the Smokey”

NYC-based multimedia artist Early Riser

Painter, actor and professional skateboarder Danny Minnick in front of huge segment of his beguiling mural — as captured by Berky

Veteran Bronx-based graffiti writer and painter Zimad – as captured by Berky

And Zimad earlier at work — as captured by Berky

Painter and graff master Heart1

And Heart1 — with spray can in hand — as captured by Berky

While visiting the “Shared Freedom” mural art project, be sure to stop by the  POP UP GET OUT THE VOTE / RETAIL STORE that has been set up  adjacent to First Street Green Art Park — on 35 E 1st Street. And don’t forget to VOTE!

Photo credits: 1 Ana Candelaria; 2, 3 & 7 Lois Stavsky and 4, 5, 6 & 8 Berky

{ 0 comments }

Politically Conscious Art at First Street Green Art Park, Part I: Will Power, Albertus Joseph, Bianca Romero, Phetus88, La Femme Cheri & OG Millie

October 27, 2020

Under the curatorial direction of Will Power, over two dozen artists — representing a diverse range of cultures, backgrounds and aesthetic styles — have transformed First Street Green Art Park into a mecca of socially and politically conscious mural art.

The image featured above — depicting the late George Floyd — is the work of the hugely talented artist and curator Will Power. Several more images captured at First Street Green Art Park follow:

Painter and muralist Albertus Joseph depicts Sitting Bull

And Albertus Joseph with Will Power — captured by photogtapher Chris Vanberkim aka Berky

Brooklyn-based Bianca Romero pays tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

And Bianca Romero — captured at work by Berky

Phetus88 playfully brings a serious message to us all

La Femme Cheri and OG Millie — captured at work this past Sunday by photographer Ana Candelaria

The impetus behind this project, states Will, is to encourage people to get out there and vote. And in collaboration with Anthony Bowman (pictured below), a POP UP GET OUT THE VOTE / RETAIL STORE has been set up — adjacent to First Street Green Art Park — on 35 E 1st Street.

Photo credits: 1, 2, 4, 6  & 8 Lois Stavsky; 3 & 5 Berky and 7 Ana Candelaria

Note: Be sure to check out Part II of this post on Thursday.

{ 0 comments }

“Bringing Back Bowery: Public Art as Protest” at Howl! Happening and on the Streets on and off the Bowery

August 16, 2020

Following the murder of George Floyd, the spirit of resistance that once characterized Lower Manhattan once again permeated its streets, as the boarded-up stores became canvases for politically driven murals.  Several of these artworks no longer on the streets are on view in a splendid exhibition — curated by Sono Kuwayama, Bob Holman and Howl! Happening — at Howl! on 6 East 1st Street. Others remain on the streets. The image featured above, Black Trans Lives Matter,  was fashioned with acrylic and house paint on plywood by Maya Edelman, Scooter LaForge, and Sono Kuwayama.

Several more images follow — from both the Howl! exhibition and its neighboring blocks.

Multidisciplinary artist Lissa Baur, “Injustice Anywhere Is a Threat,” Acrylic on plywood, on view at Howl! 

Mrs. Skittles, Grace H. Gutekanst and Robert Blodgett, “Little Boy Blue,” Acrylic on plywood, on view at Howl! 

Colombian/American artist Felix Morelo, “GOOD LUCK SPOT,” Acrylic on plywood, on view at Howl! 

Michael Walling and DLA, as seen on East 4th Street

Irena Kenny & Sono Kuwayama, as seen on East 4th Street

The noted painter Izhar Patkin, as seen on Cooper Square

The exhibition continues at Howl! through Sunday, August 23, from 11 AM–6 PM,  Thursday–Sunday.

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part VIII: Adam Fu, Duel RIS, Nick C. Kirk, Hektad, Fabio Esteban and Ilina Mustafina 

August 2, 2020

When I visited Soho last Monday, it was hardly the rich wonderland it was several weeks ago. Yet, several new pieces greeted me, and I enjoyed revisiting some of my favorite murals that have, somehow, survived. The image featured above is the work of the delightfully talented artists Adam Fu and Duel RIS. Several more images — a few captured earlier —  follow:

The legendary Duel RIS

NYC-based multimedia artist Nick C. Kirk

The prolific NYC graffiti pioneer Hektad — captured 6.29

NYC-based multimedia artist Fabio Esteban 

NYC-based multidisciplinary artist Ilina Mustafina 

Photos by Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part VII: Sule, The Creator, Amir Diop, Eyes That Love Art, DVNNY, Ridikkuluz, LEXXX, Isabelle & Irena Kenny

July 23, 2020

While many of the original artworks that had surfaced on the boarded-up stores in Soho are no longer on view, others continue to emerge. Featured above are works by NYC-based politically-conscious artist Sule and Brooklyn-based artist Manuel Alejandro Pulla. What follows are several more artworks I came upon earlier this week, along with a few captured within the past month.

Also by Sule, “My Color Is Not a Crime”

Artist/activist Amir Diop in collaboration with Eyes That Love Art, “Take Me to a Place Where I Won’t Be Judged by My Weight, I Won’t Be Labeled as a Nerd– Where Black Lives Matter”

NYC-based multidisciplinary artist DVNNY,  “Let Us Live,” — a plea from the transgender community

Jordanian-American multidisciplinary artist Ridikkuluz pays homage to the 30–year-old Egyptian LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi — arrested and tortured in Cairo for raising the LGBT flag at a concert — who died last month by suicide while living in exile in Canada — to the left of LEXXX‘s plea to “Free the Ninos”

Isabelle with Vincent Van Gogh quote: “Art is to Console Those Who Are Broken by Life”

Brooklyn-based Czech artist Irena Kenny, “We are the change that we seek.”

To be continued next week!

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

{ 1 comment }

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

{ 0 comments }

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

{ 3 comments }

Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part IV: Gerry Vewer, Maeve Cahill, Middlemen Doc, Rochelle Leanne, Loren Crea Abbate, Beatriz Ramos, KOFFEE, Android Oi, MaryKathryn Medlock & UNLOK

July 2, 2020

Although dozens of boards that have served as canvases for a diverse range of artworks are no longer part of Soho’s visual landscape, the neighborhood remains my current favorite destination for street art. The image featured above was created by the talented, NYC-based writer and painter Gerry Vewer. Several more images — some discovered earlier this week and others captured within the last month — follow:

West Chester, PA-born, NYC-based Maeve Cahill’s homage to Black inventors, who’ve been largely “written out of history”

Documentarian Middlemen Doc and NY-based filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Rochelle Leanne to the left of the widely-posted “Black Lives Matter” image

Artist and self-described cosmic anthropologist Loren Crea Abbate to the left of multidisciplinary artist Beatriz Ramos

Multidisciplinary artist and designer K O FF EE

Visual artist and poet Android Oi in collaboration with Brooklyn-based MaryKathryn Medlock — to the right of  NYC-based UNLOK

To be continued next week!

Photos by Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

Soho’s Open-Air Museum, Part III: Tyler Ives, Calicho Arevalo, Loren Crea Abbate, Acool55, Erin Ko, Savior Elmundo, Lady JDay, Mike Rimbaud, Jeff Rose King, Vault49, Max Gibbons & More

June 25, 2020

A diverse range of artists — from self-taught to those with advanced degrees in Fine Art — have been busy these past few weeks in Soho, transforming the Lower Manhattan neighborhood into an open-air museum.  Although dozens of artworks on boards have already vanished as stores begin to open, others continue to surface. The works above were fashioned by — from left to right — Tyler Ives, Calicho Arevalo, and Loren Crea Abbate. Several more images in this ongoing series follow:

Multimedia artist and environmentalist Luca Babini aka Acool55 to the left of Erin Ko‘s portrait of  the late noted African-American writer James Baldwin

Savior Elmundo, “Enough Is Enough,” to the left of Lady JDay’s portrait of Breonna Taylor

Lower East Side-based multidisciplinary artist Michael Rimbaud does the late noted poet Gil Scott-Heron with a play on his famed poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

Queens-native Jeff Rose King in collaboration with Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo

Lower Manhattan-based creative agency Vault49

Brooklyn-based artist/calligrapher Max Gibbons

To be continued next week!

Photos: Lois Stavsky

{ 0 comments }

Back to Soho’s Open-Air Museum: Maeve Cahill, A V, Nick C. Kirk, Urban Russian Doll, Hektad, Lydia Venieri, Tiger Mackie, Beelzebaby & Goomba

June 18, 2020

From the playful to the political, the artworks surfacing daily on Soho’s boarded-up doors and windows delight and provoke. Featured above — in the second of our series documenting Soho’s open-air museum — is Maeve Cahill‘s tribute to the late African-American journalist Ida B. Wells, alongside alluring images by an artist identified as A V.  Several more artworks captured earlier this week follow:

NYC-based Nick C. Kirk, stencil of civil rights activist and football quarterback, Colin Kaepernick 

NYC-based Urban Russian Doll, Portrait of Breonna Taylor, the black emergency medical technician who had been shot to death in her Louisville, Kentucky home

 NYC-based Hektad

 Athens, Greece-born, NYC-based Lydia Venieri, “Say Their Names,” Portraits of African-Americans murdered by the police

NYC-based artists Tiger Mackie (L.) and Beelzebaby (R.)

Newark, NJ-based Goomba at work

Photo credits: 1-6 Lois Stavsky and 7 Ana Candelaria 

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →