Fresh off his first solo show in NYC, 'THIS CITY WILL EAT ME ALIVE', this Australian transplant and aerosol wizard, Kid Zoom, answers a few our questions to get a lil' better perspective on how this young talent ticks.
Ron English called him Rembrandt with a Spray Can... He's damn talented.
How has the transition to NYC from Australia been so far? How long have you been in the States?
I moved over in May. The transition has been amazing, the winter is taking a little adjusting, but it's been a great experience, I feel really at home in New York.
Why are Australians so cool?
We have a culturally ingrained system of ego destruction called tall poppy syndrome, which basically cuts anyone who's head rises above the crowd off at the knees. It helps keep us all pretty down to earth, but it's a blessing and a curse, especially when you're in a creative field.
How do you feel about Ron English giving you such a glowing recommendation? That's got to feel pretty good.
Ron has been someone I've looked up to for a long time and to have him be so supportive of my move to New York and of my work has been amazing and very surreal.
What celebrity's vagina would you like to photograph posed with one of your sculptures?
Very good question!! But somehow I can’t find an answer to this, strange isn't it? It might be the reason that I don't search I just find.
Where's the best surfing spot you've encountered?
For me it is the north coast of Spain, between France and Portugal.
The irregular coastline gives many different kinds of beaches. Every evening I decide the best beach for the next day by looking at the wind and wave forecast. I drive to this beach with my van and the first thing in the morning after waking up is surf. Spain is the only south European country where it is legal to sleep at the beach in your car. I never go to Mundaka though…
How do you convince beautiful women to pose naked?
I don't believe in convincing. I just work with women that like and enjoy to be naked. I’m also interested in wired, non-fashion, non-porn and politically incorrect photos.
LUDO emailed these photos from a fresh work he finished in middle of the Champs-Elysees, Paris. Love the billboard modifications... Click here to see a lot more.
Basically it's called "co-branding" and it's about invading bus shelters spaces with my stuff and brand them to fit in the commercial world. It started with a DelMonte custom can and still going on...
Update from Tomo: It's been a while, I've been lying low and roaming the frontier for the last several months. Anyhow I thought I'd come out of hiding and inform y'all of my new artwork and website update.
New photo's, drawings, screen prints and other stuff all on there for your viewing pleasure. That's (the highly acclaimed): quangowangism.com if you're not already in the know.
Also as I am well known for my high degree of generosity and just want to give screen prints to people all the time, here is your chance to win a Tomo original of your very own. This is how my latest competition goes...
Part 1. You must write a story (bearing in mind part 2) which contains all of the following elements: 'Old fashioned cups of tea' 'An area of natural beauty' 'An ex Foreign Legion asylum seeker' 'A local street corner' 'Nino Nardini' 'A potential emergency' 'And five grown men stroking an enormous Irish Wolfhound' Interpret as you wish.
Part 2. Post your story to your local MP / politician / city council with the aim of eliciting a response.
The winner and runners up will look forward to receiving my new screen prints via post. Being successful in getting a response will increase your chances of winning but nonetheless all good stories will be considered and maybe even published on my website.
Manuel visits the Brooklyn studio of street artist (also w/ intense oil painting skills) Dan Witz whose show, WTF, just opened on Saturday @White Walls here in SF. ~CHECK IT.
Street artist and Brooklyn based Dan Witz opens his show What The %$#@? Saturday at White Walls. Be on the look out around San Francisco as Dan's been going to town leaving his work round the streets of our grand city --> PHOTOS.
White Walls is pleased to present What The %$#@? (WTF), an exhibition by prolific Brooklyn-based artist, Dan Witz. The WTF exhibition will be showcasing the artist’s Dark Doings series, both inside the gallery as well as on the streets of San Francisco. Witz is known for using his mastery of the visual deception of trompe-l'oeil and photorealistic painting techniques to create conceptual visual pranks, producing a definitive and unparalleled street art practice. The artist’s debut San Francisco solo show will be comprised of approximately 30 mixed and digital media works in custom framing hand-created by the artist. The opening reception for What The %$#@? (WTF) will be held at White Walls on January 08, 2010 from 7-11 PM. The exhibit will be on display through February 05, 2011 and is free and open to the public.
Some recent San Francisco activity. Click the image or here to view more.
Anthony Lister emailed over this photo of this huge painting/ mural he did last Sunday. Looking great as always.
Ludo in Paris Tuesday, 21 December 2010 /// Written by Trippe
Ludo emailed over a recent Paris "co-branding" where he's changing up some bus ads. More here.
Paris is under some big snow right now but there is still some time to do something...
"Greed is the new color."
Just wanted to share some pics of a little series I'm doing right now. Basically it's called "co-branding" and it's about invading bus shelters spaces with my stuff and brand them to fit in the commercial world. It started with a DelMonte custom can and still going on... ~more here || http://www.thisisludo.com/
Group Show "Broken Meter Zine Release & Art Reception"
December 9th
@White Walls
December 9th was the premiere release party and art reception for “Broken Meter”, a new zine celebrating texture and decay in the urban environment. I was honored to be invited to show some of my pigeon works alongside the works of Hugh Leeman, Dave Warnke, Skinner, Brett Amory, Chris Brennan, Dan Plasma, NART, Eddie Colla, D Young V, Jessica Hess, and Aaron Bo Heimlich. Of course, I also brought back a few photos from the event! -Megan Wolfe
Everytime we get an email from Sten & Lex is a treat. Here's some recent work done in Rome... Check the video below to fully appreciate their work. Fecal Face love.
The Don Gallery in Milan, Italy has a rad "street art" project they devloped with the city council of Milan. They invited 5 artists to design 20 manhole covers (forged in iron) through Montenapoleone, Milan. Artists are Shepard Fairey, Space Invader, the London Police, Flying Fortress and Rendo... Cool project.
Hip Hop Shark!! Wednesday, 17 November 2010 /// Written by Trippe
Added Hip Hop Shark to the SF Street Art Map thingy. Ride past this radical dude every morning, and he makes my day. He's not just a shark. He's a shark with a record collection and a pair of shell toe Adidas!
SF STREET ART MAP <-- We posted some photos of the Lower Haight murals going up yesterday, and to help people find the location we created a little map which got us thinking... How about we leave it open for people to edit so they can add recent murals, street art, etc seen around town?
Check it out and add locations, text and photos with great street art you've come across in San Francisco. This is going to be good to watch grow.
Our understanding is that someone in charge of the property contacted Lower Haters about getting some artists together to cover these walls since it doesn't look like the building will be rented anytime soon. Let's beautify the neighborhood.
As a major contributor to an increasingly progressive and elaborate street art and mural movement occurring in Europe over the past 5 years, Erica il Cane (translating to “Eric the Dog”) gained international recognition for his anthropomorphic building-sized animal murals throughout Italy and the continent. With fellow contemporaries Blu, Sam3, Escif, and San, Erica’s large-scale murals have been viewed as fine art done within the public’s view. We Were Living in the Woods will feature works on paper and on-site installations.
Last Tuesday was the world premiere of Love Letter. Director Joey Garfield and the Ghost Robot production company creates a film that mixes elements of documentary and narrative film to tell the story of the Love Letter mural project — a series of 50 rooftop murals from 45th to 63rd Streets along the Market Street corridor in West Philadelphia. ~read on
This day may have been inevitable, but now it's finally here. In its attempt to take over the world - or at least everything that can be bought and sold in the world, Amazon is launching an art gallery.
This summer Amazon is planning to launch a Fine Art Gallery where customers will be able to purchase original artwork offered by a select group of invited galleries via Amazon.com. ~continue reading
A new HBO documentary looks at the work of street artist JR, whose giant portraits force people in troubled areas to confront the humanity that's all around them... On the day JR found out he'd won the $100,000 TED Prize, the French pasteup artist found himself in China being questioned by police for doing his thing on the streets of Shanghai. ~continue reading
Street artist JR HBO documentary premiered yesterday, May 20th
Art lovers, collectors and gallerists will gather on Thursday for Hong Kong's inaugural edition of Art Basel, sealing the city's status as an international art hub and Asia's leading art destination... Hong Kong has surged to third place in the global art auction market behind New York and London and Western galleries are falling over each other to open franchises in the former British colony. ~continue reading
Our buddy Ferris Plock opens a small show of drawings at Benny Gold on 3169 16th St this Friday, May 24th (7-10pm) featuring 31 drawings priced at 75-140 bucks.
Ferris also released the video Fingered! he produced with animator Jim Dirschberger. View it
Wowzas, there's a lot of art happenings this weekend, and while you're making the rounds, be sure to stop at SFAI's MFA show Currency opening Friday, May 17th at the beautiful old SF Mint Building (88 5th Street).
SFAI's 2013 MFA graduates—working in painting, photography, printmaking, film, sculpture, installation, digital media, performance, and across media—will present work that embraces the Institute's signature spirit of experimentation and conceptual risk-taking.
Opening reception: Friday, May 17, 7–9 pm & running through Sunday 11-6pm daily. -- complete details
London based Pedro Matos opens the solo show Building Castles Made of Sand this Friday in Los Angeles at the Martha Otero Gallery featuring a new series of oil paintings on canvas and azulejo panels - a traditional Portuguese medium of hand-painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work.
San Francisco -- CCA opens their 2013 MFA Thesis Exhibition this Thursday, May 16th at their SF campus. Every year another graduating class produces steller work. One of the best SF art events worth getting to, but be sure to get there early as there's always a long line. ~details
The Book and Job Gallery (San Francisco) really stepped it up with the opening of Daniel Chen's loveBlast on May 4th. Complete with a doorman, piano player, old fashioneds, and some really nice paintings, I could hardly believe I was at the Book and Job. The paintings varied in size, and the show was balanced nicely between them, the spray-can work on the walls, and the smaller drawings displayed throughout. The kind notes Chen wrote on the walls are certain to brighten your day, and the rest of the work is definitely worth a look. It was a very classy evening and I hope they continue to intersperse shows like these into their schedule in the future
FFDG opened up the group show featuring original works by the artists of the world famous Skull & Sword tattoo last Friday here in San Francisco. Thanks to the huge crowd who turned out to support these four incredibly talented artists. Here is a taste of the show, and be sure to swing in to view in person. The show runs through June 8th.
Gary Baseman's retrospective "The Door is Always Open" at the Skirball in LA opened recently to massive crowds in a huge celebratory opening party. The exhibition is so complex and personal, delving into Baseman's background, family history, and all the layers of prolific work that he has done over the years. After the opening festivities winded down, I caught up with Baseman for an interview. We discussed the underlying meaning to some of the components of the show and how it felt for him, coming from such an honest personal perspective in putting this massive show together.
Fertile Menace, a new show of Mark Mulroney's (NY) work opened at Ever Gold on May 4th and it's not one to be missed. It is intelligently hilarious, with jokes riffing off sex, Foucault, and the body, and while it makes you laugh it's also going to make you think.
Our buddies Jay Howell, Andreas Trolf, and Jim Dirschberger are hyped as their show, which they've been working on for like 2 years, premieres on Nickelodeon Saturday. From the trailers we've seen so far and from what Jay has told us about, the show is going to be pretty epic. Congrats to those radical fellas.
Here's a little taste of work by the artists of the world famous The Skull and Sword tattoo shop who open their show at San Francisco's FFDG on Friday, May 17th (7-10pm).
Following his solo exhibition "The Collected" at Gallery Wendi Norris, painter Amir H. Fallah is in the throes of developing more new works for upcoming international exhibits. We spent some time in his studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles recently, discussing his process and inspiration.
We were first introduced to the photography of Spanish born NYC based Bubi Canal when he emailed us his great video Trust in Me a couple years ago. His solo show Special Moment recently ran at NYC's Munch Gallery in February, and he recently released his newest video Chrystelle below.
Although I missed the opening of Northern-California photographer Michael Garlington's newest show, Constructed Realities, I was fortunate enough to see the work still up during the Metaphysical fundraiser a couple weeks back at 111 Minna. Metaphysical fundraiser, an auction to benefit Wayne Ernzer. --- The ghoulish photographs in their heavy, hand-made frames are reminiscent of photos from the old west, and the glass crucifixes, complete with fetuses and guns, emphasize the accumulated time within the works themselves. Whether you're looking at the frames, the photos, or both, this show deserves a visit, and a walk through the golden archway Garlington constructed around the front door.
Fecal Face contributor Rachel Ralph (rachel(at)fecalface.com) has been profiling this Oakland based painter as he travels about Japan. In this segment, we feature some photos as he prepared for this show and residency at Spes-LaB in Tokyo which opened last weekend. Arnold will be featured in SFMoMA's Minna Street windows on June 8th.
Last Saturday, here in SF's Mission district, Guerrero Gallery opened two new shows with Philly based Alex Lukas and SF based Richard Colman respectively. Colman's work occupied the project space while Lukas' work and foliage was presented in the main space. Worth getting to if you haven't already.
Just got back to SF after a little trip south to Sayulita, Mexico. After 10 years without a vacation, me and the Mrs. headed south for some mental time off sitting in the sun, swimming and enjoying the watery Mexican beer. Here are some photos as we get back into the swing of things again.
Athens, Greece based designer, architect and artist Dimitris Polychroniadis emailed over more of his work which consists of mixed media, pop-humorous diorama sculptures that make a comment on the harsh realities my country and much of the world is facing at the moment.
FFDG will open a group show with the artists from the famed Skull & Sword Tattoo on Friday, May 17th (6-9pm). Artists: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango. Below are a series of videos on Grime for Vice's Tattoo Age produced in 2011. Fascinating look at one of the greatest tattoo artists alive today.
ARYZ (Spain) opened his newest gallery show at Fifty24SF last Friday and, if you live in the Bay Area, you need to go. This dude can obviously paint, and he doesn't need an entire building to show his impecable skill. The show has lots of small works on paper which contrast his highly-defined line work to his hard-edged painted objects. The contrast between the hard and soft was the most striking thing to me about his work, since I had never seen it in person before, and the washes blend with the thick paint seamlessly. The show also contains a larger work on canvas, a huge head suspended in the back of the room, and a big wood sculpture of a wolf figure. This diversity in such a small space was impressive, and those of us that went to the opening even got to meet the man in person. If you didn't make it out this weekend, check it out before May 31st when it closes and these works will be off to some very happy new homes.
Water McBeer is please to announce its latest exhibition "Precious" a solo exhibition by David Bayus (April 6 - May 4, 2013) -- David Bayus born 1982 holds his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. David lives and works in San Francisco and is a founding member of the basement collective. This will be his first exhibition with the world renown Water McBeer Gallery highlighting his most recent achievements with paint and digital media. David Bayus will be exhibiting 5 relatively large-scale mixed media works along with a collaborative object featuring Hungarian sculptor H.R KOONS.
The Shooting Gallery handed over the reins to the Red Truck Gallery (a New Orleans based gallery) which curated their new show, Hard Time Mini Mall and opened the it on Saturday night. This is my favorite show (so far) in the Shooting Gallery's new space and was packed full of art, a mini bar, and cowhide rugs. The Red Truck Gallery chose works with clear craftsmanship and it was easy to see in Ian Berry's denim assemblages and Chris Roberts-Antieau's awesome quilts. The space was completely packed, making it hard to see each piece individually, but this show deserves a second trip anyway. I look forward to spending more time with the chandeliers, automatons, and paintings before the show comes down on May 4th.
Toronto based photographer Nathan Cyprys emailed to let us know about his newest series "Neighbour State", and we were about to post it when we spotted this series on his site entitled "Ayre (of Distances)" and had to post this one instead. After you view this one, view "Neighbour State" on his site. Both are visually enjoyable.
Working from found photographs, Lyle's paintings are created through a reductive painting process where each piece is rendered using only black paint and turpentine. Lyle begins this process by priming a panel with white gesso. He then paints a thin, rich, oily black veneer over the primed panel, slowly and systematically developing his images by removing some of the black paint with a cloth. In doing so, Lyle renders layer upon layer of various values of black paint resulting in his signature-style of luminescent works.
London based David Shillinglaw who's blogged it up for Fecal Face in the past recently completed this mural in London as he prepares for his solo show at Stolen Space opening on April 26th.
Our buddy Henrik Haven, who brings us some goodies from his native Copenhagen, has been shooting some of his city's graffiti and street art. Last week we brought you part one of his camera's explorations.
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