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      Vibrant Murals by ‘Bicicleta Sem Freio’ Burst with Pop Culture and Cartoon Characters

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      Art

      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

      October 4, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Jerusalem. All images © Bicicleta Sam Freio, shared with permission
      Brazilian artists Douglas de Castro and Renato Reno (previously) are the duo behind Bicicleta Sem Freio, who paint large-scale murals that surround their subjects with a chaotic mix of cartoon characters, squiggly splashes, and brightly colored plants and animals. Their streetside pieces, which can be found in cities like New Dehli, Jerusalem, and Fortaleza, Brazil, balance local culture and references to popular imagery and tropical landscapes. “Our work is influenced by the ‘80s and ‘90s global and Brazilian pop culture,” they tell Colossal. “We both enjoyed watching cartoons and television shows when we were younger, and we are also deeply inspired by nature. ”
      Rendered in vibrant blocks of color, Bicicleta Sem Freio’s murals depict a range of subject matter from the native plants of New Dehli to a project honoring people with disabilities in La Solana, Spain. Prior to working on a piece, the pair immerse themselves in the contemporary and historical aspects of the community to draw in mainstream and unconventional references. “We also engage with the locals and ask them about the type of music they listen to and what are the typical animals from the region. This information is crucial for us and ultimately informs our final design… It’s a weird and fun mix,” they share.
      De Castro and Reno are currently in São Paulo working on a piece for NaLata Festival before heading to the U.S. next month. You can find limited-edition prints on JustKids, and follow the artists’ upcoming projects on Instagram.

      La Solana, Spain
      Gôiania, Brazil
      Portugal
      Goiania, Brazil
      Fortaleza, Brazil
      New Dehli

      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

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      An Eerie, Fairytale Forest and Silhouette Creatures Sprawl Across a Three-Story Mural by David de la Mano

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      Art

      #animals
      #forest
      #murals
      #narrative
      #night
      #silhouettes

      September 30, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images by Sol Paperán, Nicolás Pezzino and David de la Mano, courtesy of David de la Mano
      Set against a forest in shades of blue and white, a dark, twisted fairytale lines the entrance hall of the Catholic University of Uruguay. The three-story mural by David de la Mano is titled “Cosmos” and uses the Spanish artist’s signature silhouette figures and thin, branch-like lines to create a sinister narrative consumed by mystery and disorder: hybrid creatures escape down a stairwell, an army marches along the balcony, and myriad characters twist and flail in chaotic clusters.
      Completed with the assistance of artist Andrés Cocco, the large-scale piece is derived from the shared etymological root of “university” and “universe,” which means a totality or everything that exists. “Cosmos” evokes Fernando Gallego’s 15th-Century painting of constellations and the zodiac that once cloaked a vaulted ceiling at the University of Salamanca library in de la Mano’s hometown, although this new iteration is devoid of stars. “It is a work full of mystery… There is my own iconography. There is the idea of ​​migration, a constant in my work from years ago,” the artist says in a statement. “The stars were replaced by two forests. There is a dark forest that does not let you see, and there is a clear forest in which the light comes.”
      After spending years in Uruguay, de la Mano is back in Salamanca, and you can follow his works on Instagram.

      #animals
      #forest
      #murals
      #narrative
      #night
      #silhouettes

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      A Public Art Project Linking Environmental Concerns and Social Justice Brings Eight Murals to Essex

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      Art

      #climate crisis
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

      September 7, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Aches. All images by Doug Gillen and courtesy of Re:FRAMED, shared with permission
      A spate of public art is flooding the streets of Basildon in Essex, England as part of a new initiative that falls at the intersection of social and environmental justice. Throughout the summer, curators Doug Gillen and Charlotte Pyatt, who are operating together as Re:FRAMED, tasked eight artists with creating large-scale murals and smaller painted works as part of Our Towns: Climate. The resulting pieces reconsider some of today’s most pressing issues through the lens of local art and include a glitched technicolor horse by Aches, INSA’s floral windows, and Michele Curtis’s bright message of support.
      Established by the government to house relocated Londoners following World War II, Basildon is marked by its Brutalist architecture and a lengthy history of braving devastation. “This sentiment forms the heart of the Our Towns programme, engaging culture to consider new solutions to old problems in addressing our relationship with public space and each other,” a statement says.
      Our Towns will kick off in-person programming on September 11 with workshops, tours, and live artmaking, and you can follow its progress on Re:FRAMED’s Instagram.

      Insa
      Gabriel Pitcher
      Franco Fasoli
      Erin Holly
      Marina Capdevila
      Michele Curtis
      Erin Holly

      #climate crisis
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

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      Launched in Detroit This Summer, A Black-Led Mural Festival Wants to Revitalize Neighborhoods with Public Art

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      Art

      #Detroit
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

      September 1, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Max Sansing. All images courtesy of BLKOUT Walls, shared with permission
      Murals have long been associated with placemaking because of their unparalleled ability to transform underutilized corridors and city stretches into spaces primed for cultural gatherings, tourism, and subsequently, economic growth. This revitalizing potential is what drives a biannual festival that launched in Detroit earlier this summer as it dramatically altered the urban landscape of the city’s central North End neighborhood.
      Back in July, BLKOUT Walls saw the work of 19 muralists produced across the area, which was once regarded as an entertainment hub that produced famed Motown talents like including Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, the Four Tops, and Aretha Franklin. Participating were visiting artists like Sentrock (previously) and Detroit natives like Tylonn J. Sawyer, Bakpak Durden, and Sydney James, who co-founded the festival with Chicago’s Max Sansing (previously) and Thomas Evans, aka Detour 303.
      The resulting works span a range of themes and styles from Sansing’s sprawling technicolor creations to Tony Whgln’s whimsical botanicals to James’s contemporary twist on “Girl with the Pearl Earring,” which turns the iconic Vermeer into a subversive portrait of artist Halima Cassells. Swapping the white gem for a large “D” and cloaking her garment in patches, James’s revision is an homage to Detroit and its people.

      Sentrock. Image courtesy of the artist
      Whereas other festivals don’t always prioritize racial diversity or pay their artists, organizers wanted to bake those tenets into BLKOUT Walls’s mission. The Black-led event prioritizes artists of color with the idea of “mirroring the demographics of the city of Detroit and thereby creating a cohort of artists representing equity and inclusion,” a statement says. Beyond representation, though, organizers also recognize the necessity of monetary support as key to lasting change, which James explains:
      As an artist, I understand the importance of being paid for my experience and ability, especially as artists are often treated like we are supposed to work for free. What we do as public artists brings economic value to the area as economic development tends to follow, so it is imperative that we be compensated for not only the work we do but also the impact we have on the community and economy.
      In addition to rejuvenating the area, BLKOUT Walls was designed for public engagement, with the weeklong festival schedule packed with live painting sessions, talks, walking tours, and a block party to celebrate its close. On the final day alone, it attracted more than 8,000 visitors, a testament to its power to draw patrons to nearby establishments and have a reverberating impact on the local economy.

      Rick Williams
      Now having completed the inaugural event, co-organizer Che Anderson tells Colossal that the team envisions BLKOUT Walls traveling to cities like Chicago, Oakland, Memphis, Boston, Atlanta, and Charleston. “Our intent is to have a biannual festival in Detroit like a family reunion. In between those events, we’d like to host a festival somewhere else in the world to engage other Black communities,” he says.
      If you’re in Detroit, check out the BLKOUT Walls map to tour the completed works, and follow the festival on Instagram to find out where it’s headed next. (via Hyperallergic)

      Tony Whgln
      Bakpak Durden
      Zoë Boston
      Just

      #Detroit
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

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      Geometric Shapes and Three-Dimensional Illusions Disrupt Existing Architecture in Peeta’s Anamorphic Murals

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      Art

      #murals
      #optical illusion
      #public art
      #street art

      August 30, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Milan (2021). All images © Peeta, shared with permission
      Italian artist Peeta (previously) uses the interplay between shadow and light to turn flat, monochromatic planes into deceptive three-dimensional murals. His large-scale works sever residences and public buildings with curved ribbons, angular shapes, and geometric blocks of color that appear to jump out from or be built directly into the existing architecture. Spanning locations across Europe, the spray-painted works shown here are some of the most recent additions to Peeta’s extensive archive of abstracted illusions, which shift in perspective depending on the viewer’s positions.
      In September, the prolific artist will travel to Fidenza Village in Fidenza, Italy, for his next project, and you can follow progress on that piece on Instagram. Until then, check out his shop for prints, posters, and the sprawling fragmented sculptures that inform his murals.

      Neuekirchen, Germany (2020)
      Inforooms Padova, Italy (2021)
      University of Padua, Italy (2021)
      Grenobles, France (2021)
      Dan Helder, The Netherlands (2020)
      Florence (2020)
      Left and right: Florence (2020)
      Florence (2020)
      Florence (2020)

      #murals
      #optical illusion
      #public art
      #street art

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      Phlegm’s Monochromatic Comic Book Characters Explode Onto Walls Across Europe

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      Art
      Illustration

      #comics
      #murals
      #street art

      August 19, 2021
      Christopher Jobson

      All images © Phlegm, shared with permission
      If there’s one theme that ties the epic stories unfolding in works by Sheffield-based Phlegm (previously), it’s a sense of action, toil, and perseverance. The otherworldly characters that appear in the Welsh artist’s murals, prints, paintings, and comic books are often unceasingly busy and cause mischief or wage battles using unusual crafts and weaponry. Each piece is a brilliant balance between his crisp monochromatic painting style born from the pages of his earlier comic books and the folk-ish narratives that often draw from historical artworks, leaving every piece open to interpretation by the viewer. Each piece can seem comical or tragic all at once.
      Phlegm recently completed a mural in Sweden and contributed to a sprawling collaboration with artists Sweet Toof, Teddy Baden, Run, and Mighty Mo on a single wall in London’s Hackney Wick neighborhood. You can follow more of his work on Instagram.

      Across the U

      #comics
      #murals
      #street art

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      ‘A Great British Spraycation’: New Works by Banksy Cheekily Interpret Summer Vacation

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      Art

      #humor
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

      August 16, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images courtesy of Banksy
      In what’s dubbed A Great British Spraycation, ten new artworks by Banksy (previously) recently popped up across coastal towns in England in witty interpretations of quintessential summertime fun. A short film posted to Instagram shows the anonymous artist driving around Norfolk and Suffolk in an aging camper as he paints his signature stenciled murals of children imagining an adventure at sea, the metal claw of an arcade game descending over a bench, and a couple dancing atop of a bus stop.
      A Great British Spraycation satirizes the idea of “staycations,” a necessary alternative to traditional holidays in the wake of COVID-19 and restrictions placed on international travel following Brexit. Coincidentally or perhaps intentionally, three of the cities the artist worked in—Great Yarmouth, Gorleston, and Lowestoft—are competing to become the next UK City of Culture in 2025.
      This glimpse into Banksy’s process follows a wave of similarly revealing footage from the artist, who’s increasingly documented his works-in-progress, like in  “Create Escape” or in another video of his trademark rats causing havoc on the London Underground.

      #humor
      #murals
      #public art
      #street art

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      Flying Ospreys, Herons, and Terns Comprise a 35-Meter Water Tower Mural by Taquen

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      Art

      #birds
      #murals
      #public art

      July 20, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Eau de Loire” (2021), Gien, France. All images courtesy of Taquen, by Fabe Collage
      A 35-meter tower looming over Gien, France, is the site of a new mural by Taquen that celebrates the inherent life-giving properties of water. Set against a deep blue backdrop, the massive artwork titled “Eau de Loire” features a flock of ospreys, herons, and common terns, which often are spotted near the banks of the Loire River that runs through the area, as they fly around the tank in an endless loop. “Water has always been synonymous with life,” the Madrid-based artist says, noting that the source is as vital to the city’s inhabitants as it is the region’s wildlife.
      Broadly focused on change, Taquen’s works explore the complex relationships species have with each other and the larger environment, a recurring theme that manifests in this recent project through the birds’ perpetual motion. “For me, movement is a basic form of knowledge, to get to know myself and my environment and learn to respect it,” he says. “Birds are great symbols of freedom, animals that migrate thousands of kilometers each year with no one who can stop them.”
      Taquen just completed a piece in Vigo, Galicia and is headed to Camprovin, La Rioja, Spain next. In September, he’ll be at Mostar Street Art Festival in Bosnia and Eternelles Crapules at Briançon, France, before heading to a residency in Saint Palais and later to Bayona. Follow along his travels on Instagram. (via Street Art News)

      #birds
      #murals
      #public art

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