New York City is a vibrant and dense city, full of life, colors, and forms. A city known for its love of art in all expressions and ways. Artists and creators find in New York City an open space to showcase their talent, that openness and invitation to create are what makes New York City a reference in the world and a destination for many artists and visitors who want to experience and see the world through the eyes of those who have a story to tell.

A beautiful and special place is Central Park, right in the middle of Manhattan, a space that has allowed New Yorkers and guests to experience nature in the middle of this concrete jungle. Central Park is there to offer all its visitor a space to breath, to walk and to decompress from the intensity that this city can embody. Central Park is also an open space and an open canvas for many artists to present their work to the world.

The Horses is a remarkable art installation located in the Doris C. Fredman Plaza in Central park, curated by Public Art Fund and the curator Daniel S. Palmer. The Horses is an impressive artwork of three aluminum horses, created by the well-known and respected French artist Jean-Marie Appriou. The massive sculptures raging from 16 feet tall to 16 feet long are outstanding installations that evoke those whimsical and poetic figures that can be found in magical stories.

Appriou was inspired by the horses-drawn carriages that are one of the many attractions found in Central Park and by August Saint-Gaudens’s gilded monument of William Tacumseh Sherman on horseback, located in the area. The Horses are magnificent sculptures, carved in clay and foam models, cast in aluminum and full of textures emulating muscles, metal plates and in some places like fabric. One horse is seated, the two others are standing but their location it’s made to create a feel of a scene or scenario.

Public Art Fund curator said about the artist in the public art fund press release, “Jean-Marie Appriou’s unconventional approach to sculpture is almost alchemical, His craftsmanship is informed by a deep knowledge of the historical lineage of sculptors that have preceded him. At the same time, Appriou’s equine sculptures are otherworldly, evoking the silent majesty of horses with nuanced sculptural details that flicker between narrative and poetry.” 

The Horses are sculptures of a mix of human and horse form, giving the viewers the experience of being in front of mystical creatures, encouraging the visitors to see beyond what their eyes see and into what their imagination see. The Horses installation is also an active experience, where people can walk under the standing horse, or around the others to see all of their details and touch their textures, an activity that creates a distinctive experience.

The installation is a beautiful artwork that invites all visitors to use their imagination and to find the magic in the creation and is a suitable art piece that asks everyone to experience the charmed that Central Park offers. Art could be a special way to see the world, with curious eyes and with an open and creative mind, and that is the perfect attitude to go to Central Park and see and discover all its beauty, secrets, and artistic elements.

The world is living in a new reality, where social distancing, face mask and proper hygiene are part of the vocabulary, a new reality in which parks and open spaces are now the perfect and safest places to visit and to spend time. For New Yorkers and tourist now days Central Park has become not only an essential point in an itinerary but also a must visit to fulfill the artistic need, to calm the anxious mind and to enter for a moment in a new and simple reality full of nature and art. The Horses and this type of art exhibits give people the chance to practice art in a safe and fun way.

Public art is a great way to enjoy and satisfy that artistic necessity in any day, but most important during this time when people are not only facing isolation and health concern but also economical concerns. Now creativity is a key not only to create art or to find it but also a way to enjoy time, families, and friends. New York is a place that offers many forms of public and accessible art to its residents and guests. The Horses installation is an example of that artistic vain that is part of the essence of this city.

The Horses will be on display at Doris C. Freedman Plaza, 5^th Avenue at 60^th Street, until August 2020.

Jean-Marie Appriou, The Horses, 2019, Cast aluminum, courtesy of the artist and CLEARING, New York/Brussels; Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich/New York
Presented by Public Art Fund, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, Sep 11, 2019 – Aug 30, 2020

The post The Horses: Whimsical Art at Central Park appeared first on Artiholics.

New York City is a city that breathes art in most of its corners, and it is known as the city that never sleeps and where dreams come true. New York City is where art cannot only be found in its famous museums, but also in its streets. Walking through the city could lead you to multiple and diverse forms of art, from installations, murals, paintings to monuments, you name it and probably you can find it in the well-known and appreciated street art in the mist and heart of the city.

A city that is full of attractions but also it is in itself a massive attraction to many visitors and locals. Walking through New York City has become in many cases a free for all access pass to a giant and singular urban museum of architectural wonders, music and other cultural experiences. New York City is a clean and open canvas for many artists, performers, and creators to display and share their talent with everyone willing to pay attention. Street art is mostly for everyone, and is an accessible way to convey art, to provide an experience to all visitors and viewers, and a spectacular way of doing art.

Banksy is the famous British street artist, known for his mysterious and anonymous identity, and for his popular graffiti paintings around many countries in the world. His urban street art and interventions in the art community have gained him recognition, his style is a signature that he has developed over the years with each of his pieces and displays. Banksy has attracted an interest in his street art and in the meaning of it, making it an experience for his followers, admires and critics. The inclusion of his fans in his way of doing art, and the chase to discover his latest creation or intervention is what has made him a symbol of the rise of street art. The use of cultural, urban and mundane objects and spaces as part his artwork, the graffiti form of painting and the inappropriate feel of it has gained him an audience that appreciates his irreverent style and his mysterious message sometimes implicit and at other times difficult to identify.

The Hammer Boy, located on 79^th Street and Broadway in Manhattan on the wall of the DSW store, is one of many Banksy’s street art pieces left during October 2013, when the artist created a few art pieces around New York City, in over a 31-day period. Some of those pieces were removed, but the Hammer Boy was preserved by the local business, owner of the store, where it was found it. Now covered with Plexiglas to protect the art over time and from other forms of damages, Hammer Boy has become a point of reference for tourist, visitor and Banksy fans.

The simplicity and the use of his surroundings are signs of the artist’s work found in the Hammer Boy. A simple black silhouette of a child holding a hammer painted in a stencil, imitating for many the popular carnival game, where a person uses a hammer to hit a level, the contrast with the brick beige wall and the black color of the silhouette makes it stand up to the viewer. The use of the hydrant, the pipe and the signs on the wall are a demonstration of Banksy’s style of using artless and ordinary objects.

Graffiti and the definition of it as a form of street art, art or  just simple vandalism is a topic of discussion and evaluation, but what is not up for discussion for many is the inspiration and appreciation street art provides to those looking to transform mundane objects, spaces and lives into better and more artistic expressions. Street art challenges the artist and everyone that admires it to see the world with a different and more artistic eye.

New Yorkers are coming out of a difficult quarantine due to a virus that has impacted the city in unimaginable ways but has strengthened its spirit and determination. The love of their city is ingrained in what it represents and provides not only to its local population but to the world. Art is subjective but also is encouraging, inspiring and healing, having these options accessible by a simple walk or a simple train ride, for many is what helps and keeps this city alive. Discovering and re-discovering these little gems throughout the city is a way to get back into a new normal that people are still trying to discern and grapple with. Soon Museums will open again and inside door activities will be available, but for now and for all those who value seeing and finding art in the monotonous and daily life, street art is a way to enjoy art and life in these difficult times.

The Hammer Boy is a simple, very accessible piece of art that is not only a representation of its creator, but also a fit in a city that love, speaks and inhale art. You can find Banksy’s Hammer Boy art piece on 79^th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, on the wall of the DSW store. It is worth a visit.

The post Banksy: Hammer Boy – NYC Street Art appeared first on Artiholics.

Have you ever been on a journey to a far away destination with your loved ones and you want that particular journey to make one of the most defining moments in your life but the potholes on the roads just won’t let you? You hope to have a good and smooth ride all along and spend lesser time to get to your destination but it ends up being the opposite because of the potholes. Potholes are with no doubt super annoying; they make the journey tiresome and slower than it should be to the point that the driver and passengers don’t get to enjoy their ride; if anything all they want to do is just get to their destination. Citizens end up pointing fingers on the leadership and the transportation departments for failing to notice such annoying factors on the roads.

Everybody hates potholes but Jim Bachor, a Chicago based artist in the United States decided to provide a “solution” to the potholes by filling them with mosaics of rats, cockroaches and pigeons. Jim has made the potholes a work of art. He filled five city potholes with a series he called “Vermin of New York” which includes a dead cockroach on Bleecker Street, a dead pigeon on Pacific Street and a cheeky portrait of President Trump’s face in East Village . It seems quite weird and portrays a whole new creativity level but Jim did it anyway because that is what being an artist means; doing the odd, thinking deeply and creatively and getting away from “the norm.” Yes!!Welcome to NYC where art on the roads has taken over.

Was Jim allowed to do so? Were there any cops or city officers who probably supervised the whole process of installing the artworks? Jim didn’t get any permission from city officials for his art, he and his team wore neon vests as they cemented in the glass and marble works he had made from his Wind City studio. Actually they never saw any cops the whole time they were working like city workers.

The City Real Department of Transportation says it isn’t a fan of Bachor’s work and it will pave over them when it finds them. The department actually looks at the art in a very unique way because it says the artwork can pose safety hazards should drivers become distracted by the art. Are you a driver? Is it possible to get distracted by the art? Do you think it should not be allowed?

New Yorkers on the other hand who appreciate art are okay with Jim’s work and they hope that the Department of Transportation will come to appreciate it too. Jim  feels that it is no crime to do what he did; he has filled potholes back in Chicago in 2013 and never got any complains, as a matter of fact, the patch-ups have become celebrated local icons.

Despite the reactions of the transport department, we cannot deny the fact that art has so much power, and Jim used that power to fill up potholes in the roads. New Yorkers can now “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate their journey” just like one Barbara Hoffman said.

The post Walk on Art appeared first on Artiholics.

If you are a street art fan, or even more accurately stated “a fan of graffiti” the tagging duo of Mint&Serf have shed their street vandalism tagging ways for one show to collaborate indoors, tagging canvases.  Because you can sell that.

The show titled Support, Therapy, and Instability just ended it’s run at Bleeker Street Arts Club.  If you are a Mint&Serf fanatic and missed their social media alerts that this show was on, enjoy these pictures.

If you aren’t a fan of graffiti, this show will take an open mind.  If you can blur your eyes beyond the words, abstract artwork might begin to form.  You know you are in for an interesting show when in their own press release they have to mention:

“Layered with paint, markers, and paper, the canvas is a never-ending sea of abstractly expressed thoughts and gestures. The dizzying result, described as anguished, dark, and criminal, can evoke conflicted reactions in the viewer.”

Multicolored tags on the traditional square / rectangle shape canvases, hanging in a gallery, in New York City.  That is how you know it’s art, not graffiti.

See, it’s fine art now.  Because, why not?

According to their press release:

“Working within the parameters of contemporary painting, the duo has used their history with street art and graffiti-writing to build a new portal of painting, a new surface, space and vision, that has not yet been explored,” says Laura Bloom, Director of Sandra Gering, Inc.”

It is mostly themselves getting wasted with their friends and tagging the words “Serf” and “Mint” in various colors, thicknesses, and mediums, and overlapping them, as well as some other words.

It is interesting to see how abstract words can become when they are overlapped to the point of illegibility.  It just becomes colors and shapes.

Which does make for an interesting thing to look at.  So who is to say this isn’t another way of making an abstract painting.  Words are just colored lines after all.

And now for the technical art-speak explanation of what they did:

For their show at Bleecker Street Arts Club, Mint&Serf have taken their graffiti practice inside the studio and applied the same gestural expression that they wildly employ out in the streets directly to canvases.  The result is a lush and crude composition, chaotic and thrilling.  Cat Marnell wrote, “What Mint&Serf … have accomplished with these pieces…so layered after months and months of tag upon tag upon tag…is to confine the unconfined: the spirit of vandalism, the energy and electricity of New York City graffiti.”

Mint&Serf have been featured in The New York Post, Interview Magazine, Huffington Post, Dossier Journal, Daily Mail, VICE, Paper, Gothamist and Blackbook.  Their book “Support, Therapy, and Instability” was published in 2013 with essays by Carlo McCormick and Cat Marnell.

Support, Therapy, and Instability by Mint&Serf ran from January 16 –  February 22, 2014 at Bleeker Street Arts Club 305 Bleecker St. NYC 10014

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Mint & Serf Indoor Graffiti @ Bleeker Street Arts Club appeared first on Artiholics.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Tuesday, February 11, 2014

“Street Night Art” is the brainchild of Maria Constancia Urriutia, dedicated to bringing people from all walks of the art spectrum to share and create art. When asked where the need for such an event arose from she explained:

“Every time I would visit my friend in Al Quoz I would get lost among the ugly industrial buildings, it seemed so desolate and bland that I thought that this would be a great space to create real –live art.” – Maria Constancia Urriutia

Her observation lead to the creation of the Street Art Night Project, a vision that came to life in Dubai’s Al Quoz district on the January 24th, 2013.

STREET ART DXB YT from Hyku Desesto on Vimeo.

The hugely successful event drew thousands of visitors from Dubai’s diverse melting pot and invited spectators to view art in motion. Far away from the pristine Dubai malls, art enthusiasts were invited to a more humble setting. From mural artists to ‘street artists’ the event catered to the rustic painter, the developing artist and the more established artisan.

Artist: Moones
Approximately 50 artists participated. This “real time” experience offered spectators an insight into the journey of creating art, watching the story unfold before your eyes and to witness the fruition of the symbiotic relationship between the artists themselves.

Artist: Say One

Artist: Fathima Mohiuddin
One artist said ‘The emotive response from the audience helped to further guide the art-piece along it’s journey, it’s something that I have never experienced before, it was truly inspirational.”

Alongside the art creation, visitors were able to see Arabtec’s buses which had been painted by graffiti artist Gary Young and with the help of over 50 children from Start World Academy in Dubai. The electrifying atmosphere was overseen by performances from DJ Lobito, Dubai Drums and Beatbox Ray, the renowned local performer who joined Nina Plapp’s cello performance. Children were able to express themselves on canvas throughout the evening whist taking advantage of the refreshments.

The interest piqued from this event has cemented the need to recognize artists from all walks of life and to share in the experience of creation. The art scene in Dubai may be in its developmental stages  but it seems that tastes and styles seem to be growing at an exponential rate and events such as this will develop the spirit of community and bringing art to the street.

Visitor posing

Artist: Justin Mcmahon

Artist: Olga Gonzalez

Artist: Saleh Al Shukairi

With the DAF team of Artists

Written and photgraphed by Qinza Najm

The post Dubai’s First Street Night Art appeared first on Artiholics.

   Large drawings, some over one kilometer in length take shape under Sam’s rake.They can take the form of geometrical patterns, figurative work, or sentences.

“I try to integrate my work in the nature as well as the nature in my work. It’s all natural and disappears in a few hours.”

“I take photos of my drawings before the tide erases them.”

“Then I try to tell another story.”

He has brought his rake and his camera with him to beaches in France, Spain, Morocco, England, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and Bermuda. The best photos are printed in a limited series on brushed aluminum for the grain and light.

But this is just the beginning for him, there are more beaches in distant lands to rake.

Basically every sandy coastline on Earth has the potential for being one of Sam’s canvases, it’s brilliant really.  It’s like an impermanent series of Nazca lines…Now that I’m writing about this I am already dreading the thought of hipsters getting inspired by these pictures, and wanting  to co-opt this concept and invade Rockaway Beach with rakes this Summer.  Please, please, please, if you are reading this and had that thought yourself.  NO…We are on to you.  Be a fucking original.

Learn More on Sam’s Website www.sam-dougados.com and like him on Facebook

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post French Artist Creates Mile Wide Beach Graffiti in The Sand appeared first on Artiholics.

A friend and I had planned to fly from LAX to Miami for Art Basel 2012.  The tickets were bought, and the plans were in place.  Last minute my friend had to cancel due to work in New York he couldn’t get out of.

So I changed my ticket to NY and decided to join him in the Big Apple for the Christmas Holidays.  After I rescheduled my flight, my friend’s NY trip got cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy clean up.  Since I wasn’t going to Miami and had the tickets I was now determined to go to NY.

I called Jef (whom I had met and photographed previously in LA) and told him about my situation and he insisted without hesitation I stay at his place for the two weeks,  since he was going to Miami in a few days for Basel himself. 

I arrived at JFK… from the airport I went directly to his place around midnight.  That is where the journey of these photographs begin.

I arrived at the studio late at night.  It was only a few days before his drive to Miami and he was hustling hard and was beyond exhausted.

He was still preparing pieces, stopping only to get me settled in, until he finally knocked out for the night.

He was up early at 6am doing errands and didn’t come back till early afternoon. We then took off to get a rental van while he showed me the fire station, and introduced me to his local friends at the coffee shop. He then took me to his other space on the ground floor and that’s when I started shooting.

He was on it! Making his art so freely without thinking too hard… it was like it just flowed right out perfectly. Carrying on a conversation, laughing, talking about art and texting all at the same time.

You could tell he took a lot of pride in his message.. and was anxious to give it away and spread his words

For the next  three days and nights I watched him as he was creating, getting on the computer to post pictures to his FB, instagram, sending emails, etc.

The photos in the dark setting were from inside his loft – tons of stuff!  There were lots of last minute things he wanted to take.

When he would finally allow himself a few hours of sleep, I could hear him cough at night, and in the mornings…he explained it was from the aftermath of 9/11.

On the afternoon of the third day we packed up the van we had rented, making sure to leave space for someone else’s work he was going to pick up, and room for two other guys that were going to be traveling along.

At 10pm he hit the road for the long trip to Miami.  I stayed in his loft alone for the remainder of the two weeks.  We texted while he was on the road and while he was in Florida. He extended his stay, and I unfortunately had to go back to LA.  We missed each other by two days.

Jef was a great man with strong influence, extremely kind, motivational, inspirational, and full of humanity. I surely will miss his perseverance to keep your mind focused and believe anything can be done.  – Jennifer

(NYC Photos were taken 11-28-12 to 11-30-12 and are previously unpublished  Written 1-19-14 for Artiholics)

Photojeninc Jennifer Jaimes is a Hollywood based photographer and documentarian of street art and street art culture.  Her current ongoing project www.unstoppableart.com is a portrait project which captures street artists with their work.  The portrait she took of Jef at the top of this article was taken in LA at her studio – He was her first subject.  You can view her work or contact her through her website at www.photojeninc.com

The post Remembering Jef Campion – Two Weeks In The Studio of Army Of One appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Art Opening Tonight 6-8pm- View The Facebook Invite.

Galerie Protégé is pleased to present Beyond Literacy, an examination of emerging street art with works by Artiholics own Joseph Meloy, as well as artists Enrico Oyama, Chris RWK, and Herb Smith.

In the 1980’s, murals would speed by on passing trains in subway stations. Break-dance culture and hip-hop entered the mainstream in New York City in ways that would change the fabric of global society. Still, there remained a lingering stigma connected to the visual manifestation of the streets.

A masterpiece was thrown up on a wall that was once masked over by a fresh coat of paint by those that were considered “vandals”. If only the work had been brought forth by a provincial member of the art community, the work would have been permitted to exist. Keith Haring’s Crack is Wack mural on the east side of Harlem is one fast example.

Otherness became sexy and the notion of the “outsider” was embraced by the art world as the quest for a new fetish reared its head. Anonymity was a necessity and the tag was a proxy name for the artist. Collectors who would frequent galleries now looked to the streets.

Works by street artists are now being sold at auction for six figures, yet myths of a pseudo-criminal distinctiveness exists as validation. Beyond Literacy highlights four artists who use both the language of the streets and art in their practice. The works in the exhibition are a reminder of how a work by the likes of Richard Serra is never questioned — whether housed a public space or shown at a gallery. Now that the historic 5 Pointz has been painted over, alarm bells are ringing as street art’s contribution to the contemporary sentiment should no longer be considered defacement, but rather, a celebrated piece of art history.

Please join us for our opening reception on Wednesday January 8th, 2014 from 6pm-8pm.

On view from January 8th – February 1st, 2014

The post Beyond Literacy An Examination Of Emerging Street Art appeared first on Artiholics.

Bushwick, Brooklyn is becoming known for it’s amazing murals by world famous mural painters, and this one I find specifically awesome.  I had seen pictures of it online, but the other day I was down on Bogart Street on my bike and got to grab a few shots of this myself.

It’s an Orca which is presented in exploded view by artist Nychos.  On the side Tutu’s, it runs the length of the building, it is eye catching as fuck.  Just on the corner of Bogart and Varet Streets.

It’s amazing because it looks so super sharp, but when you get close you see that it’s all spray paint.  That is some crazy can control.  There is an article on Bedford & Bowery.com which has some more details, as well as pictures of the artist painting it in steps.  Cool shit.

Written and Photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Nychos’ Exploded Orca Mural in Bushwick is Intense appeared first on Artiholics.

The new issue of Time Out New York arrived in the mail yesterday and I was hit in the face with Popeye throwing fists, from the Houston Street Mural by John “Crash” Matos, I highly recommend picking up this issue if you are curious about public art, and street art in NYC. I knew this would be an interesting issue just from that cover, so I had to open it up and start breaking it down.

Inside the magazine the first story is about all the new outdoor art in the city like Studio Klimoski Chang Architects, Head in the Clouds, an installation piece constructed with 53,000 recycled milk jugs and water bottles filled with colored water (Curious how much you would get if you recycled them? $2,650 – just did the math).   Alexandre Arrechea’s No Limits and French artist JR’s Inside Out New York City which is a massive portrait as pavement project in Times Square.

The next article is about Iconic Public works, featuring famous pieces by Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, and Tony Rosenthal.  Followed by an article Top Spots For Street Art which mentions a bunch of venues including The Bushwick Collective, Centre-fuge Public Art Project  with a good plug for artist and friend of ours Danielle Mastrion and of course 5 Pointz.

The next two page spread has Chris Stain and Billy Mode break down their process of mural making.  Followed by descriptions of the various street art styles, Stickers represented by a photo and description of a piece by our friend Fumero.

There is an article about the various street-art friendly galleries and spaces, including a few of my regular haunts Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Mighty Tanaka with shouts to artist Chris RWK, VengRWK (which I assume they meant H.Veng Smith), and Alice Mizrachi.   Le Salon d’Art is written up with a shout out to friend and fellow artist Joseph Meloy, the Vandal Expressionist himself.

Pick it up on newsstands this week around the city, and if you aren’t into spinach eating sailors there is also an alternate cover with a giant metal circle – because that is also “an art.”

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

[TimeOutNY]

The post Time Out New York Cover Story Gives NYC Street Artists Big Ups appeared first on Artiholics.