public art

Barcelona Street Artists Protest the Jailing of Rapper Pablo Hásel: Cinta Vidal, Galleta Maria, Kader One, El Edu, Antón G. Seoane, Zosen & More

March 3, 2021

Charged with glorifying terrorism and insulting the monarchy in his songs, Spanish rapper Pablo Hásel was arrested and imprisoned last month. For the past several weeks since his arrest, demonstrations have erupted almost daily, and dozens of murals have surfaced advocating “freedom of expression.” While the demonstrations have, on occasion, turned violent, the street art has been a peaceful diversion.

The image above, painted by the talented Barcelona-based Catalan artist Cinta Vidal, features the rapper as he is being painted over — or obliterated — by the king.  Several more of the ephemeral murals follow:

Barcelona-based Galleta Maria depicts a double-headed snake that is preventing a woman from speaking

Graffiti writer Kader One at work painting the rapper hanging while grasping a keychain featuring a crown

Spanish artist El Edu, at work on “La Llibertat (h)a mort,” mourning the death of freedom

Graffiti writer Antón G. Seoane aka SlimROK, “Freedom or Fire”

Barcelona-based Argentine artist Zosen, “Libertad Expresion,” a call for the “freedom of expression”

All photos by Fernando Alcalá Losa; courtesy, Audrey García

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Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival, 2020: Aches & Maser, Dan Leo, Vanessa Power, Magda Karol, Garreth Joyce, Shane O’Driscoll, Niall O’Lochlainn & Caoilfhionn Hanton

January 8, 2021

The Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival celebrated its 6th year in 2020. But it was a year like no other. Instead of taking place over a long weekend in August, it lasted for over 45 days, as artists from throughout Ireland arrived one at a time to paint their murals in accordance with social distancing guidelines. With live interviews and videos online, the festival successfully transformed urban spaces while, also, engaging the public.

The image featured above was created collaboratively by the noted Irish artists Aches and Maser. Several more images that surfaced in the 2020 The Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival follow:

London-born Ireland-based muralist and illustrator Dan Leo 

Dublin-based sign painter and lettering artist Vanessa Power

Waterford-based Polish artist Magda Karol

Dublin-based muralist and graphic artist Garreth Joyce

Irish printmaker and muralist Shane O’Driscoll

Dublin-based Niall O’Lochlainn and Waterford-based Caoilfhionn Hanton

All photos courtesy Waterford Walls; special thanks to Houda Lazrak for making the connection

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On the Streets of Dublin, Ireland: Valdis & Tilf, Aches, Subset, Vanessa Power, Joe Caslin, Canvaz and Jor

January 5, 2021

The following guest post is by Street Art NYC contributor Houda Lazrak

One week before Dublin went into its second lockdown in October, I visited the city and snapped a few shots of old and new street art pieces. The image featured above is the work of  two Italian artists, Valdis & Tilf.  They painted the piece in 2013 in Smithfield Square as part of the MURO Street Art Festival in Dublin.

Below is a selection of several more artworks from the neighborhoods of Smithfield, City Center and Portobello, crafted mainly by local Irish artists:

Dublin native graffiti artist, muralist and graphic designer Aches

Hand painted portrait by the socially-conscious Dublin-based collective Subset

Dublin-based sign painter and lettering artist Vanessa Power

Irish artist and educator Joe Caslin “I will find a way through this / I am not alone / I will hold on / Look after yourself,” — part of the Look After Yourself campaign by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy 

Galway, Ireland native Canvaz to the left of veteran Irish artist Jor

Canvaz, closer-up

Photos by Houda Lazrak

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“Art on the Ave NYC” Intrigues and Provokes: Lance Johnson, A.J. Stetson, Kevin Kinner, Audrey Anastasi, Steve Derrick and Jon Barwick

January 1, 2021

Featuring a wide range of artworks in varied media and styles by a diverse group of artists, Art on the Ave has enlivened the visual landscape of Columbus Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Both vacant and retail storefronts have been showcasing artworks — many fashioned by underrepresented artists — that speak to our immediate times. Conceived this past June by three NYC teachers, the project has a strong educational component, as well.

The image featured above, We the People, is the work of mixed-media African-American artist and arts educator Lance Johnson. Several more images from Art on the Ave — spanning 67th to 77th Street on Columbus Avenue — follow:

From A.J. Stetson’s remarkable photography project Masked NYC: Witness to Our Time 

And dozens more installed on the fence of PS 334 at West 77th Street 

Fine art photographer Kevin Kinner, Close-up from huge installation of silhouette profiles

Feminist artist and gallerist Audrey Anastasi, Touch, Charcoal and mixed media collage on paper

Artist and game developer Steve Derrick, Alissa Hammer RN, NYU Langone Hospital NYC — from his series of portraits of frontline workers

The hugely imaginative Jon Barwick, Facet, Acrylic on canvas

Serving as creative consultant for Art on the Ave — that continues through January 31 — is Lisa DuBois, director of X Gallery in Harlem. For further information on this project, check here.

Photo credits:

1 Lance Johnson; 2, 4-7 Lois Stavsky

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Back to Soho: Pure Genius, The Creator, Eyes That Love Art, Konstance Patton, Amir Diop, Sule, One Rad Latina, Calicho & Jeff Rose King

December 25, 2020

When the plywood returned to the streets of Soho shortly before the November presidential election, the artists got busy again. What a treat for us street art lovers! The image pictured above is the work of the increasingly prolific NYC-based Pure Genius. A small sampling of what’s been happening on the streets of Soho follows:

Brooklyn-based Manuel Alejandro Pulla aka The Creator with a call to support small businesses

Eyes that Love Art brings his mixed-media aesthetic to Grand Street plywood

Konstance Patton‘s signature lady with Amir Diop‘s political art to her right

Konstance Patton with a message; Sule on the door to her right and Light Noise above them both

Two short-lived works by One Rad Latina in her signature style

One of several collaborative works by Calicho and Jeff Rose King

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

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Carlos Pinto and John Sear Fashion Elegant Mosaic Mural of Endangered Swan for “The Audubon Mural Project” in Uptown Manhattan

December 17, 2020

163rd Street off Broadway was the place to be last week.  Multidisciplinary artists Carlos Pinto and John Sear brought their wondrous skills to The Audubon Mural Project, adding two elegant trumpeter swans to the approximately 100 uptown murals featuring endangered birds. The Audubon Project’s first mosaic mural fashioned entirely with recycled objects — from shards of glass to shattered plates  — garnered a huge welcome from the neighborhood, with volunteers eager to assist in the process.

Featured above is the completed mural that was captured this past Monday. The images that follow were taken last week as the mural was still in progress:

Carlos Pinto at work

And from another angle

John Sear at work

The artists take a brief break

Local folks assist Carlos Pinto and John Sear 

John Sear speaks to Audubon Mural Project director and curator Avi Gitler, who is standing next to Totem TC5‘s memorial to his son, Chris — a special, welcome addition to the mural

Photo credits: 1, 2 & 7 Lois Stavsky;  3-6 City-as-School student Jasper Shepard 

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At Philly’s New Magical Sharktown Walls With: Alloyius Mcilwaine, Sean Lugo, Greta Maletsky, Seven, Leon Rainbow, Naythan Anthony, CAV, Seip, Kyle Boich, Busta, Seper and John Zerbe

December 4, 2020

When visiting North Philly’s graffiti mecca over at 5th and Cecil B Moore last month, its curator, Tameartz, suggested that I continue walking along Cecil B. Moore Avenue until I reach Hancock Street. And I’m so glad that I did, as near completion was a treasure trove of adjoining magical murals. Featured above is multimedia artist, designer and Sharktown Walls curator Alloyius Mcilwaine. at work. Several more images captured that evening follow:

Sean Lugo in collaboration with Alloyius Mcilwaine

Greta Maletsky, “Mahākāla,” to the left of Seven aka The Love Renegade, “Love Yourself”

Leon Rainbow of Trenton’s Jersey Fresh Jam fame

Large segment of huge collaborative wall fashioned by Naythan Anthony, CAV aka Raw Sol, Seip, & Kyle Boich

Collaborative mural painted by Busta, Seper and John Zerbe

Sharktown Walls was produced in partnership with Prism Studio and Colorspace Labs.

Photos by Lois Stavsky

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Netherlands-Based Karski and Tia Maria Collaborate to Launch CONTRAST with: Karski and Beyond, Sipros, Daze, SatOne & More

November 20, 2020

When the talented Netherlands-based artist Karski teamed up with the brand Tia Maria, not only was a splendid abstract design – with one-of-a-kind colors – launched for a new drink, but an elegant book, CONTRAST, was produced, as well. With its splendid selection of images by first-rate international artists and its informative, engaging text, CONTRAST — by Karski and friends — is a cause for celebration.

A small sampling of images from CONTRAST follows:

 Karski, Untitled, Mixed media, Amsterdam, 2019

Karski and Netherlands-based Beyond — who have been working as a duo since 2012 — Untitled, PowWow Festival, Rotterdam, 2019

Karski and Beyond, Untitled, Bjelovar, Croatia, 2017

Karski and Beyond. The Holy Stork, The Hauge, 2019

Brazilian artist Sipros — whom Karski first met in 2013 when he had traveled to São Paulo to paint at the MuBE, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture and Ecology — Four faces, Big ears, Wynwood Arts District, Miami, 2019

The legendary NYC-based Chris “Daze” Ellis — one of Karski’s early inspirations — Untitled, NYC, 2016

Venezuela-born, Munich-based SatOne, Counterbalance, Frankston, Australia, 2019

In addition to the captivating artworks, among the many items of interest in CONTRAST is the fascinating chronology of Karski’s life as an artist — from the moment he picked up a spray can at age 10 to his recent experimentation with abstract work. And wonderfully intriguing, too, are the artists’ intimate impressions of one another.

Also featured in CONTRAST are: the Netherlands-based duo TelmoMeil; Amsterdam-born, Buenos Aires-based Nasepop; Rotterdam-based duo Bier En Brood; Amsterdam-based Stefan Nikolai Ormeling; Colombian native Zurikt; the late Spanish artist Treze and London-based Bonzai.

A paean to contemporary street art and to the notion of bringing together opposites in a world of contrasts, the limited-edition CONTRAST delights!

Images courtesy Karski and Tia Maria

Photo 6 of Sipros: Karin du Maire

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“What’s Your Sign?” at Underhill Walls: Jeff Beler, BLJ, Calicho, Savior Elmundo, Nassar, Megan Watters, Justin Winslow & Subway Doodle

November 12, 2020

Celebrating five years of Underhill Walls — the model community art project spearheaded and curated by Jeff Beler — “What’s Your Sign?” recently surfaced at the corner of Underhill Avenue and Saint Johns Place.  Featured above is Jeff Beler — standing to the left of his mural, adjacent to BLJ ‘s . Several more images from “What’s Your Sign?” follow:

North Carolina / NYC-based BLJ creates a passionate, assertive Aries, the ram — the first astrological sign in the Zodiac

Colombian artist Calicho Arevalo‘s Sagittarius and Savior Elmundo‘s Scorpio

Paulie Nassar designs an alluring Gemini

Visual artist and producer Megan Watters honors Ruth Bader Ginsburg with an elegantly balanced Libra

Brooklyn-based Justin Winslow fashions a mesmerizingly playful Aquarius

And Brooklyn-based Subway Doodle adds a bit of playful sarcasm

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

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Brazilian Artist Alexandre Keto Brings His Soulful, Impassioned Aesthetic to Midtown Manhattan in “Alive with Us /Viva com Nós”

November 5, 2020

A stirring pubic art exhibition has recently made its way to 6th Avenue and 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Brazilian artist Alexandre Keto imagines the future lives of Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Agatha Felix had they not become “victims of deadly brutality.”

The image featured above depicts Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old African American woman who was found hanged in a Texas jail cell three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop in July, 2015. Several more images from Alive with Us /Viva com Nós follow:

17-year-old Florida-based African-American high school student Trayvon Martin, murdered in 2012 by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, to the left of 18 -year-old Michael Brown who was fatally shot in 2014 by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo

Alexandre Keto — captured at work in the final stages of the mural’s production

Michael Brown, closer-up

Brazilian 8-year-old Agatha Felix, shot in the back in a Rio de Janeiro favela in 2019

And, again, Agatha Felix

Produced by Art Bridge and presented in partnership with Arts Brookfield, “Alive with Us /Viva com Nós” is part of City Canvas, an initiative of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

Photo credits: 1-5 Lois Stavsky 6 Sara C Mozeson

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