Street Art

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Street Art

      ‘Banksy of Borovsk,’ a Russian Muralist, Wages His Own War

      by

      An 84-year-old artist, defying Moscow’s crackdown on dissent, wants his country to acknowledge misdeeds both past and present.An 84-year-old artist was standing in front of one of the many murals he has painted in his provincial hometown one recent day when a group of young women passed by. They had traveled some 60 miles from Moscow just to see his latest work, and they tittered at the encounter.“This is so cool,” said one. “You are the main attraction of town.”The artist, Vladimir A. Ovchinnikov, has long covered the walls of the town with pastoral scenes, portraits of poets and daily life, in the process earning himself a reputation as the “Banksy of Borovsk.” But it is his political art that is now attracting attention. At a time when dissent is being crushed across Russia, Mr. Ovchinnikov has been painting murals protesting the invasion of Ukraine.It is a comparison he does not appreciate. Unlike the mysterious British-based street artist, Mr. Ovchinnikov works for all to see. And where a politically charged new Banksy offering may be cause for sensation, Mr. Ovchinnikov’s murals are not always welcomed — at least, not by the authorities.“I draw doves, they paint over them,” he said.Mr. Ovchinnikov is a rare dissident in Russia, where public criticism of the war can land people in jail or exile. He said his age and his family history offered a modicum of protection, even though he has been fined, questioned by the authorities and pelted with snowballs.“I am different from the majority of people: I’m almost 85 years old, and I’ve got nothing to lose,” he said. “If you are of working age, you can lose your job, and they will pick you up faster. I, an old man, seem to be treated differently.”Borovsk, Russia, where Mr. Ovchinnikov lives.Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesMr. Ovchinnikov repairing an old painting of a couple reading.Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesHe also said his own history — he did not meet his father until age 11 because his father had spent 10 years in a gulag, and his grandfather and uncle were killed by the state — drove him to denounce violence and war. Upon his retirement as an engineer in Moscow, he settled in his father’s house in Borovsk. His father had chosen the town because as a former political prisoner, he was forced to live at least 60 miles away from the capital.For his service as the town’s public conscience, Mr. Ovchinnikov has repeatedly clashed with local officials. Amid the domestic crackdown that has accompanied the war, he has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities. Many of Mr. Ovchinnikov’s murals are covered over within days or weeks.Across from the town’s voenkomat, or military commissariat, the cream-colored walls on Lenin Street are smeared haphazardly with gobs of white paint. Underneath, Mr. Ovchinnikov said, is his painting of a girl wearing the blue and yellow of Ukraine as three missiles fly overhead. Underneath, in large, bold letters: “Stop this!!!”The State of the WarAid for Ukraine: In the latest attempt to buoy Ukraine through a brutal winter, international leaders have announced around 1 billion euros to repair the country’s infrastructure.Avoiding Questions: President Vladimir V. Putin will not hold his annual December news conference. The move comes as Russia’s economy falters and follows a series of military setbacks in Ukraine.Splintered Loyalties: The town of Sviatohirsk, in Ukraine’s east, is divided by where people’s allegiances lie: with Moscow or Kyiv.Brittney Griner’s Release: By detaining the athlete, the Kremlin weaponized pain and got the United States to turn over a convicted arms dealer. Can the same tactic work in the war?After painting over the graffiti, the authorities turned their attention to Mr. Ovchinnikov, fining him 35,000 rubles, about $560, and accusing him of “discrediting the Russian armed forces.”“A fine for the fact that I want peace,” Mr. Ovchinnikov said. “I’m discrediting our military. How disgraceful.”His supporters sent donations to help him cover the fine.Nearby, in the town’s small central park, Mr. Ovchinnikov pointed to a statue of Lenin. It is not unlike those standing in practically every Russian town to this day. “That’s our leader,” he said sarcastically. The statue, he noted with a wry smile, is pointing straight at the voenkomat.In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and fomented separatist movements in eastern Ukraine, Mr. Ovchinnikov drew a Ukrainian flag on the statue’s pedestal. “I didn’t have time to write ‘Glory to Ukraine,’” he said. “They came and picked me up right away.”A World War II memorial in Borovsk. On its back, Mr. Ovchinnikov erected his own memorial dedicated to the repressed.Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesAn antiwar painting by Mr. Ovchinnikov that had been vandalized.Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesRussia under Vladimir V. Putin has sought to airbrush its history.It prefers, for example, to portray Joseph Stalin as the leader who led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II, and minimize the scale of the crimes the state under his rule committed against its own people. Memorial, a human rights organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize this year for its work chronicling political repression, has been dismantled.In Borovsk, where he moved after retiring from his career as an engineer, Mr. Ovchinnikov is fighting a lonely battle to keep the memory alive.Tucked behind Lenin in the park is a vandalized black stone, a monument to the those who were repressed during the Stalin era. Mr. Ovchinnikov had campaigned for it — but he is the one who vandalized it. He had wanted the memorial to include the names of all those from Borovsk who had been repressed.“I wrote ‘trampled and forgotten,’ and higher on the rock, ‘return their names,’” he said, referring to the idea that he was restoring dignity to the victims, who are currently a nameless and uncounted mass.That, too, was covered up with paint.Nearby, at the center of the park, stands a memorial to those who defended the Soviet Union during World War II. On its large back wall in 2019, Mr. Ovchinnikov erected his own memorial, one dedicated to the repressed. He painted a huge banner with portraits of people who had been shot. “Executed Future,” he called it.“I wrote down the names of only those shot,” he said. “There are 186 of them. But those who met their end in the camps — I should have added them.”As he walked to the front of the memorial, he paused to examine the list of names of the soldiers who died during the war.“For every 100 people who died on the battlefields, 170 were shot by our authorities,” Mr. Ovchinnikov said. “Yes, they have something to hide. But I think that the only reason they don’t want people to know about the scale is that they don’t want people to know what our government is capable of doing.”Farther down the street, he took a piece of charcoal from his pocket and traced four numbers faintly visible under a fresh coat of paint: 1937, the year that Stalin’s repression peaked. “The fact we’re trying to forget our tragedy, our repression, is one of the reasons for what is happening in Ukraine now,” he said.Mr. Ovchinnikov with one of his antiwar paintings that was covered over by the authorities.Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesMr. Ovchinnikov painted a dove underneath signs near a store entrance.Nanna Heitmann for The New York TimesMany people feel uncomfortable when confronted with the painful history — and present — and do not welcome Mr. Ovchinnikov’s art.In the town’s central market, an older man pulling a cart stopped in front of a mural of his that was commissioned by the local butcher. It showed an artist holding a large goblet in front of a still life with meat.“If I had my wall defaced like this, I would paint over it,” the man told Mr. Ovchinnikov gruffly.Other residents who appreciate his apolitical art but back the war are rankled by his support for Ukraine.“It was not right to draw that,” said Aleksei, 32, pointing to a mural with sunflowers and another one next to it called “Nostalgia,” which featured a Russian woman and a Ukrainian woman holding hands. “Nostalgia” had been vandalized: The Ukrainian woman’s eyes had been gouged out.“Ukraine is not on our side but against us, and we don’t need Ukraine to exist,” said Aleksei, who declined to give his surname. “They started the war. We didn’t start the war.”Last month, Mr. Ovchinnikov was pelted with snowballs when he was updating some antiwar graffiti by the main road.“First I wrote ‘Z: madness,’” he said, referring to the letter that has become a symbol of support for the invasion. “They painted over it. Then I wrote ‘Z: Shame.’ They painted over it. Then I wrote ‘Z: Fiasco.’”That was in November. Soon after, a major from the intelligence services came to his home to question him.“With the inscription, I had the goal of conveying to the population and guests of the city of Borovsk that the special military operation is a failure and that it must be stopped,” he wrote in his official statement, using the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war.“I do not repent for what I have done. I do not feel my guilt. I had to do what I did.”“I draw doves, they paint over them,” Mr. Ovchinnikov said about the authorities.Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times More

    • 200 Shares169 Views

      in Street Art

      “Under the Skin” art by David de la Mano in the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium

      by

      David de la Mano was born in Salamanca in 1975, where he graduated in Fine Arts before focussing on Public Art for his PhD at the University of Valencia. From 1993 onward, De La Mano has worked extensively in urban public space, and developed his trademark style during numerous international projects. Relying predominantly on harsh contrasts of black and white, his reductive and increasingly emblematic paintings centre around narrative and symbolic figuration. David de la Mano is a contemporary artist known for his meticulous brushwork, his knack for large scale, almost systematic use of black and white, and his minimalist human silhouettes. With his original training in sculpture, he has focused his interest on public art, to which he has naturally and immediately integrated urban art, becoming one of the most important artists in this discipline.His work is made up of characters taken from great poetry that do not leave anyone indifferent. Through each piece, he works to transcribe his vision of the world around him, in the most personal and symbolic way possible. Between shadow and light, playing with shapes, contours and contrasts, David de la Mano gives birth to a world of perfect balance, where human beings and nature, always intrinsically linked, merge and then stand out, in perpetual motion. In addition, it stands out for its exploration of new spaces, supports and materials such as open or invisible spaces, permanent and ephemeral supports, and diverse materials such as urban furniture, or elements of nature.The Spanish artist with a very unique universe has nothing more to demonstrate of his virtuosity, and each of his frescoes around the world confirms it. For Mehdi Ben Cheikh, director of Galerie Itinerrance, “David de la Mano’s work is as relevant on the street as it is in galleries, and it retains all its power from one place to another”. The artist has developed numerous projects in Spain, Norway, Italy, Taiwan, the United States, Poland, England, France, Finland, Tunisia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Portugal, Holland, Germany, etc … and exhibits his works in private homes or in art galleries around the world. David de la Mano’s painting focuses primarily on the importance of social ties, primarily through the representation of human figures evolving in groups, often facing an obstacle or threat. Take advantage of the evocative power of silhouettes to stimulate the imagination of your viewers.The project “Under the Skin” was finished painting and mounting on December 5 on the third floor of the European Parliament in Brussels, created with MDF and assembled from different parts that generate scars in each of its limits.The work shows a growing sequence of confrontation and I accompany its presence with this poem by Miguel Hernández:“…For freedom I detach myself with bulletsof those who have rolled his statue through the mud.And I break free from my feet, from my arms,of my house, of everything.Because where some empty sockets dawn,she will put two stones of future lookand she will make new arms and new legs growin the cut meat.They will sprout winged sap without autumnrelics of my body that I lose in each wound.Because I am like the felled tree, what a sprout:because I still have life.”“Man Lurks” 1937-1939Miguel HernandezTake a look at more images below and check back with us soon for more updates. More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Street Art

      John Fekner – Detective Show – Bio Editions Book Release

      by

      The latest release from UK publishing house Bio Editions is a photography book from John Fekner, entitled ‘Detective Show’. Featuring a foreword by legendary art critic, Carlo McCormick, the title explores the formative steps of street-art-as-installation, transporting readers back to 1970s Queens, New York, and shining a light on an era of authentic, artistic freedom.Detective Show maps the conception and creation of a strikingly unique outdoor urban art event organised in 1978, spanning the breadth of an unloved park in Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC. Contributors included Fekner himself, Don Leicht, and numerous acclaimed artists, including Richard Artschwager and Gordon Matta-Clark.Fekner ultimately decided to invite those he shared studio space with in the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center to join him in hiding works across the park, including Richard Artschwager, Gordon Matta-Clark, Len Bellinger, Don Leicht, Frances Hynes, Claudia DeMonte and Karen Shaw among others.Envisioned as a ‘beyond the visible’ hide-and-seek art game of sorts, with visitors given clues and urged to seek out the works strewn across the concrete expanses or even hidden among the trees, Fekner’s objective was simply to create thoughtful interaction with surroundings through art, to the benefit of the public, young and old alike. The end result, he hoped, would provide what he thought of as ‘the magic of discovery by happenstance’.Careful to ensure that the painted and sculpted contributions worked in harmony with the space, Fekner notes he “had to place some restrictions on the artists – no monumental stuff that might disturb the park.”Interspersed between photographs documenting the scope and joy of the show, artists fondly recall a period of artistic freedom that felt unencumbered by the trappings of commercial art.“It’s hard to remember what an exciting and different time 1978 was in the art world. It was pre-PR machines, hype, mega-money, business plans,” notes DeMonte.“For a few weeks in the spring of 1978, about two hundred kids were exposed to original artwork in their own backyard, by some of the most renowned artists of the day,” adds Dave Santaniello, “and that experience changed their perception of their environment forever.”Fekner himself was particularly pleased by the low-key nature of the show’s impact: “The Detective Show was quite unlike current street art festivals with their spectacular large murals, bright colours and street fair atmosphere.“The show was quiet and removed; distanced from the usual New York art world locations and audiences. Extremely low key, it was a temporary art installation about subtlety, nuance, and the magic of discovery by happenstance.”Many of the artists involved in the show have since gone on to become revered names within the contemporary art world, some were renowned before they took part, and others went on to teach, or lead ‘ordinary’ lives. This only serves to further act as tribute to a show that was created with solely the art and those who would experience it in mind, a great unifying cause for creators that urged others to look for beauty in hidden places.In notable contrast to today’s large scale mural-style street art festivals, this 84-page book charts an ideologically-pure reinvention of the urban landscape for the benefit of all, made without corporate sponsorship or underlying motives.Like the show itself, the book – which includes numerous lovingly-printed photographs documenting the event, flyers, newspaper clippings & other ephemera, and written recollections by many of the artists themselves – is a love letter to the innovation of art within public spaces.Two editions of the book, including those featuring limited-edition prints, will be available from 5pm on 1st December 2022.In addition to the first Edition of 450, Bio will also release a special edition of 78, signed by John Fekner. These are sold along with a limited edition gicleé print with silkscreen varnish, signed and numbered by the artist.Detective Show will be available to order via Bio Editions’ website. Photography courtesy John Fekner / Bio Editionswww.bioeditions.com More

    • 88 Shares129 Views

      in Street Art

      BACKW12DS – 12 Year Anniversary Group Exhibition

      by

      Melbourne’s premier urban contemporary art gallery Backwoods welcomes you to celebrate the end of their 12th year in Collingwood, with a group exhibition featuring over 40 Australian and International artists, across multiple mediums of painting, drawing and sculpture.DAVID ‘MEGGS’ HOOKE
      Over the past 12 years, Backwoods has fostered bold and recognisable voices in contemporary graphic art.BACKW12DS presents artists from the gallery’s formation, present and future.AL STARKFeaturing: Taj Alexander, Charlotte Alldis, Simon Beuve, Robert Bowers, Evie Cahir, Morgana Celeste, Gabriel Cole, Dave Court, David Cragg, Noni Cragg, James Dodd, Rachael Edwards, Broken Fingaz, Matthew Fortrose, Lotte Frances, Helen Gory, Ellie Hannon, Ileigh Hellier, Georgia Hill, Jesse Hogan, David ‘Meggs’ Hooke, Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Jill Kempson, Adam Kinninmont, Tommy Lhomme, Leili, Fintan Magee, Jasmine Mansbridge, Brendan  Monroe, Daniel O’Toole, Mic Porter, Resio, Josh Robbins, Elliott Routledge, Liam Seear-Budd, STABS, Al Stark, Jacqui Stockdale, Masatomo Toi, Ben Totty, Hiroyasu Tsuri & Jason Woodside.KYLE HUGHES-ODGERSThe exhibition runs from November 25 – December 18ELLIOT ROUTLEDGE25 Easey Street, Collingwood, VIC, AUSTRALIAJAMES DODD More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Street Art

      “Melody of the Soul” by Natalia Rak in Rome, Italy

      by

      Natalia Rak has created large-scale paintings since 2011, in the form of beautiful murals, commissioned from around the world. She has been focusing on female-centric imagery while using a rich and glowing palette, giving a breath of fresh air to the street art scene she is part of.In 2012 she received a degree from the Academy of Fine Arts of Łódz, where she further explored Art through its history, as well as discovering the work of classic and modern illustrators. In studying Natalia’s work you can recognize the influences from folklore tradition and fairy tales. The colours highlight the spiritual strength of these tales, giving them a surreal touch.Her art has been exhibited throughout Europe in cities such as Dusseldorf (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), and Strasbourg (France). Also, she has been featured in many group shows from all over the world and has participated in some of the most prestigious street art events, such as POW! WOW! (USA), Art Scape (Sweden), Mural Festival in Montreal (Canada), Blink(USA), Memorie Urbane (Italy). Her standout work for the Folk on the Street festival in Bialystok “Legend of the Giants” was included in the series “Sztuka Ulicy – Street Art” issued by the Polish Post.Natalia excels in a variety of media, from paper and canvas to brick and concrete, building a vast body of work filled with complex symbolism, different sort of allegories and profound love for Nature, that helps the observer to evade reality.A mural was made between the alleys of Rome, for the Street Art For Rights festival. The inspiration came from Agenda 2030-collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. Rak’s artwork was inspired by the 15th one- “Life of land”. Focusing on managing forests sustainably, successfully fighting desertification and stopping biodiversity loss and driven by the extreme necessity for human beings to re-establish a deep connection with Nature.Take a look at more images below and check back with us soon for more updates. More

    • 100 Shares179 Views

      in Street Art

      A Mural by Reka in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

      by

      James Reka is a young contemporary Australian artist based in Berlin, Germany. His origins lie in the alleyways and train lines of Melbourne’s inner suburbs where he spent over a decade refining his now-emblematic aesthetic. His figurative work has come to represent the beginnings of a new style of street art: clean, unique and not necessarily on the street (much to his mother’s joy).Surrealist, abstracted creatures emerge from the depths of Reka’s mind, communicating through strong lines, dynamic movement and bold colours. These figures haunt the laneways over four continents, clambering up brick walls and giving the urban environment a literal fresh coat of paint. Their personalities mirror those of their often-decrepit metropolitan context, opening a dialogue between the viewer and their surroundings.The wall was made in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.See more images below and check back with us soon for more updates. More

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Street Art

      La güerita, 2022 by Ana Barriga in Plasencia, Spain

      by

      Ana Barriga is a Spanish artist. She lives and works in Madrid. Her works attempt to balance reason and emotion, capturing the energy that arises from their intersection. Barriga tries to focus on the shared environment between artists and children, using elements such as children’s toys, colourful decorative objects and other items used in everyday life. Her approach to her subjects is filled with irony, humour and playfulness from which unpredictable and new situations that don’t fit the rules emerge.The eighteen meters high wall was painted in Plasencia, Spain.The project collaborated with Invasion Street Art Festival, Misterpiro and Jaime Urdiales.See more images below and check back with us soon for more updates.Invasion Street Art Festival. Foto: Andy Solé More

    • 213 Shares199 Views

      in Street Art

      “A Famous Milanese Renaissance Girl, with Red Brushstrokes, Pixel and a Pointer” by Ozmo in Milan, Italy.

      by

      Born in Pontedera, Italy Ozmo made his first steps in the comics world, but since early 90s he soon moved his focus on writing and painting. In short time his tag would have become one of the most famous and respected ones in the Italian graffiti scene. A special reportage dedicated to Ozmo on ‘Aelle’ – the most famous urban culture underground mag in Italy – will consacrate him as one of the leading figure in the national underground writing scene.Ozmo is now based in Paris. He returns to Milan, the adopted city that has welcomed him in the most decisive years of his artistic career, and he does so symbolically bringing home a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance art: The Lady with the Ermine of Leonardo da Vinci which has been in Poland for two centuries.To dominate the view of the Milanese architecture of Corso XXII Marzo, ready to attract and direct the gaze of passers-by, from now on there will be, in fact, A famous Milanese Renaissance girl, with red brushstrokes, pixel and a pointer, a monumental reinterpretation and recontextualization of the Leonardesca Lady, unchanged in its beauty and elegance of the fifteenth century, but enriched by the journey that, through the centuries, led her to be reborn under the gaze of an artist of today, to relive in the homage that Ozmo makes to the city and its history.It is precisely in Milan, in fact, that Leonardo da Vinci creates some of his most famous masterpieces, capable of changing Italian portraiture. In this context of research and innovation, of artistic and cultural ferment, his Lady with Ermine was born.The project continues the conceptual and aesthetic path undertaken many years ago, which holds together the link between the artist and the historical, historical-artistic and cultural Italian tradition, and his ever-living desire to actualize it.  A famous Milanese Renaissance girl, with red brushstrokes, pixels and a pointer, is enriched with new artistic elements and new points of reflection.With tools typical of the computer world, such as pixels and pointers, but made with brush and spraypaint, Ozmo conceals, highlights or changes elements of the original work, bringing it into contact with the current era and the languages recognized by today’s society. With a red sign that runs along the surface, Ozmo consolidates the link between the pictorial intervention and the architectural context, and harmoniously binds all the artistic elements, giving the city a new public work.The mural  has been realized with the support of the association Street is Culture and the social cooperative of EST – Enosteria sociale , which, in a public housing in the center of Milan, recovers people from difficult contexts, and  it does so by integrating itself in the environment through the art and work. It’s precisely his mission, to bring art where it is not usable, to give life to the collaboration with Ozmo. The realization of the work was curated by Annalisa Ferraro, with the collaboration of RiparTIAMO ApsTake a look at more images below and check back with us soon for more updates. More