Artist Shepard Fairey has turned himself in in Detroit over the arrest warrant for his vandalism in the city. He is accused of over $9,000 in damages to properties. “Can’t talk about anything,” Fairey said in a short comment following his arrest in Los Angeles last week. (more…)
An arrest warrant for Artist Shepard Fairey has been issued in the city of Detroit, alleging that the artist has caused over $9,000 in damages from various tags and murals he left in the city. Fairey’s public recognition “does not take away the fact that he is also a vandal,” says Police Sgt. Rebecca McKay. (more…)
Keith Haring, Untitled (May 29, 1984) (1984), via Art Observed
Culling a minimal selection of works from Keith Haring’s immense output over the course of his life, Skarstedt Gallery is currently presenting Heaven and Hell a series of colorfully surreal compositions from 1984 and 1985, several years before the artist passed away in 1990. (more…)
Keith Haring, Moses and the Burning Bush (1985), via Art Observed
On view at Gladstone Gallery is an exhibition of large-scale works by Keith Haring, including canvases and tarps painted in the artist’s immediately recognizable style, which has since become part of a widely reproduced visual language of the late 20th century. The display will remain on view through June 14, 2014.
The Guardian has published an in-depth look at the early work of Thierry Noir, one of the first graffiti artists to paint on the Berlin Wall during the 1980’s. In the profile, Noir recounts his taunting of West German guards, his developing style, and his meeting with Keith Haring, who painted over one of Noir’s works. “I talked to Keith and he was embarrassed and apologized,” Noir writes. “He said: ‘In New York you can get killed for that’. He was invited over and the section of Wall had been pre-prepared for him. The yellow was very transparent so you could see my statues through it. I was angry, but it was not his fault.” (more…)
An article in the New York Times documents painter Martin Wong’s early contributions to the patronization and encouragement of New York Graffiti art, financially backing struggling artists and buying some of their works for his own personal collection. The story comes as the Museum of the City of New York prepares to open a show on the artist’s early collection of street art pieces. “He always thought those first pieces, in a fundamental way, were the legs of a major art movement,” artist Lee Quiñones said. (more…)
Street artist Swoon is currently working on a new piece at the corner of Houston and Bowery in downtown New York,part of the Groundswell Community Mural Project. Taking on the themes of destruction and renewal brought last year by Hurricane Sandy, the piece looks to feautre several swells of populist imagery, centered by a ghostly female figure. (more…)
Street artist Banksy has announced a monthlong exhibition on the streets of New York City, beginning this week. In a message posted on the artist’s website, Banksy revealed that his show Better Out Than In, would be spread across the city, with each work accompanied by a toll free phone number viewers can call to hear witty descriptions of the work. The first piece has already appeared at 18 Allen Street downtown. “Hello, and welcome to Lower Manhattan,” the recorded message says. “Before you, you will see a ‘spray art’ by the artist Ban-sky (sp). Or maybe not; it’s probably been painted over by now.” (more…)
Artist Kenny Scharf spent 20 hours behind bars last weekend, after being arrested for drawing a graffiti snake on the wall of a private property in Brooklyn. The artist took to his Facebook to recount his arrest by two officers who were already fans of the artist’s work. “The cops who arrested me were fans and wanted to talk about ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ and even liked the tag,” Scharf said. “At the first holding cell in Williamsburg (there were only 5 people in the cell) the police were googling me and asking about things like the Tunnel nightclub.” (more…)
After breaking auction records for the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat twice last year, Christie’s will look to set the bar even higher for the Brooklyn-born artist’s work. Basquiat’s Dustheads will be offered at the auction house’s May 15th Contemporary Sale in New York, with an asking price of $25 to $35 million. The artist’s current record is $26.4 million, and a buyer has reportedly already agreed to pay $25 million. “Collectors used to be snobbish about Basquiat since he started out painting on the streets,” Says Christie’s specialist Loic Gouzer. “But now his myth just seems to be getting fresher and more relevant with younger collectors.” (more…)
José Parlá, Broken Language (installation view) via Haunch of Venison
Haunch of Venison presents “Broken Language,” itsx first solo exhibition of work by New York-based artist José Parlá. Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Parlá’s works highlight the layered stories embedded in urban environments. His practice of combining of personal text, found objects and graffiti styles into large paintings and site-specific installations results in expressive works that relate to the legacies of calligraphy, modernism and abstract expressionism. The works on view include a selection of new paintings, works on paper, photographs, and sculpture spread throughout the gallery’s three spaces.
