News
Mike Maxwell has interviewed Alex Pardee, Mel Kadel and Mike Giant to name a few, and his newest interview features Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez. You can listen to the interview here.
In Valencia, Spain, SAN and Escif. We are going to see more from these two in San Francisco (a duo show at FIFTY24SF) and California in June of 2011.
NOISE POP/CULTURE CLUB with FIFTY24SF present:
FUTURE SOUNDS
MONICA CANILAO & JASON JAWORSKI Future Sounds is a collaboration between artists Monica Canilao and Jason Jaworski, consisting of an on-site installation created by Monica Canilao and a performance within the space by Jason Jaworski. Culled from found objects, ephemera and other bits of houses long fallen, Canilao’s shack installation activates the dreams of all who look upon it; the roof bleeds colors of every possible outcome a path will take you once you step out of these four walls. In a performance within the installation, Jason Jaworski, dressed in a costume spilling out of the entrance, will be delivering fortunes and the prose of a person's future on a typewriter to any who enter and inquire.
The David Choe documentary, “Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe” will close out the Juxtapoz film series at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC tonight. If that is not Valentine’s Day date night material, we don’t know what is.
Upper Playground and FIFTY24SF Gallery are releasing new San Francisco special edition prints by INSA in conjunction with his ongoing exhibition at FIFTY24SF Gallery entitled ‘MORE’.
The prints are new takes by INSA on the now classic ‘Heel’ image that began to enter his work in 2004. In the beginning, the image was simply an attempt to depart from the traditional macho driven culture that dominated graffiti – but has since become one of the defining images of INSA’s career and has been seen on countless walls in cities across the world.
The San Francisco editions of the prints come in six neon color ways and variations, to coincide with the neon murals that INSA accomplished throughout San Francisco over the last couple weeks. Each print is executed as two colour silkscreens made using solvent based inks on Fabriano 5 300gsm paperstock. The prints measure 20″ x 28″ and are signed, blind-stamped and numbered by INSA. Each color is limited to an edition of 15 and priced at $150 per print. Check them all out here.
INSA at FIFTY24SF from AK on Vimeo.
INSA at FIFTY24SF: Believe in this Shit!
Just a friendly reminder that we are opening a new exhibition in San Francisco tonight, for London-based artist INSA. That gif up there? That is a special piece for this show. You saw some of the murals, so come see much MORE tonight. FIFTY24SF Gallery in Association with Upper Playground presents: “MORE” – A collection of new work by INSA SAN FRANCISCO, CA [1.28.11] – Upper Playground and FIFTY24SF Gallery are pleased to announce London-based graffiti, conceptual, and fine artist INSA’s first solo exhibition in San Francisco opening on February 3rd, 2011. The exhibition is appropriately titled, MORE. Within the new body of work in MORE, INSA explores themes of aspiration and expectation, wants versus needs, and happiness versus success in his most comprehensive study to date. Using exaggerated symbols of sexuality representing the commodification of both everyday life and underground subcultures, INSA examines the illusions of seduction while employing his own iconic brand of aesthetic allure to draw the audience in. INSA’s new work revels in lurid excess, embracing the insatiability of consumerism and highlighting the duplicity of morality and enjoyment. Followers of the artist will be familiar with some of the themes displayed in MORE. INSA, constantly involved in interesting new projects, recently gained worldwide attention for his piece “Anything Goes When It Comes To (S)hoes,” (more commonly referred to as his “Elephant Dung Heels”) which were exhibited at Tate Britain in London. He has also been a pioneer in the world of graffiti on the Internet with his visually stunning, labor intensive “Gifitti.” This is all in addition to INSA”s continuing insatiable need to cover any surface with his signature “Graffiti Fetish” pattern. MORE will feature 9 new provocative works, with INSA utilizing media such as sculpture and lights adding to the “glamour” of his work. The exhibition will also feature an exclusive SF edition of INSA’s classic “Heel” print and a selection of photographic prints. MORE will run at FIFTY24SF Gallery from February 3rd, 2011 – February 28th, 2011
Noise Pop x FIFTY24sf present PEZ “Louder Than Bombs”. The title “Louder Than Bombs” is in direct reference to The Smiths compilation album released in 1987, the band, and Morrissey, being a personal favorite of the artist. As a long time Bay Area staple PEZ’s hand style and graffiti has been seen most places you’ve looked—but his record covers and limited edition zines have reached cult status over the last few years and this exhibition reveals what makes the underground music, art and culture of the Bay Area so special.
About the Artist: PEZ is widely recognized around the world as one of the earliest sticker taggers in the history of graffiti, following in the footsteps of the legendary and infamous graffiti artists, Cost and Revs. He documented his experiences in with his Nikon FM2 35mm camera, and continued to post his stickers and other printed work around NYC. Today, Pez continues to make stickers and publish photography zines. Pez has exhibited in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Tokyo.
FIFTY24SF Gallery in Association with Upper Playground presents: "MORE" - A collection of new work by INSA
SAN FRANCISCO, CA [1.28.11] -- Upper Playground and FIFTY24SF Gallery are pleased to announce London-based graffiti, conceptual, and fine artist INSA’s first solo exhibition in San Francisco opening on February 3rd, 2011. The exhibition is appropriately titled, MORE.
Within the new body of work in MORE, INSA explores themes of aspiration and expectation, wants versus needs, and happiness versus success in his most comprehensive study to date. Using exaggerated symbols of sexuality representing the commodification of both everyday life and underground subcultures, INSA examines the illusions of seduction while employing his own iconic brand of aesthetic allure to draw the audience in. INSA’s new work revels in lurid excess, embracing the insatiability of consumerism and highlighting the duplicity of morality and enjoyment.
Followers of the artist will be familiar with some of the themes displayed in MORE. INSA, constantly involved in interesting new projects, recently gained worldwide attention for his piece “Anything Goes When It Comes To (S)hoes,” (more commonly referred to as his “Elephant Dung Heels”) which were exhibited at Tate Britain in London. He has also been a pioneer in the world of graffiti on the Internet with his visually stunning, labor intensive “Gifitti.” This is all in addition to INSA”s continuing insatiable need to cover any surface with his signature “Graffiti Fetish” pattern.
MORE will feature 9 new provocative works, with INSA utilizing media such as sculpture and lights adding to the “glamour” of his work. The exhibition will also feature an exclusive SF edition of INSA’s classic “Heel” print and a selection of photographic prints.
MORE will run at FIFTY24SF Gallery from February 3rd, 2011 - February 28th, 2011
Before heading back up to San Francisco INSA painted a 70 foot wall in downtown L.A. His request was for the dirtiest wall in L.A. so they gave him The Play Pen . . .
Read the rest at Jet-Set Graffiti
Jeremy Fish just put the finishing touches on his mural at the entryway to the Lower Haight mural. The mural includes the work from Ericailcane, Doze Green, Mars-1, and David Choong Lee. And now, you will see a Silly Pink Bunny sculpture.
Photos by Aaron Durand.
Opening Feb. 2nd at the Noise Pop Up Gallery
Rico Deniro’s month long ‘Native Expatriots’ show at FIFTY24SF Gallery will be opening tomorrow (Saturday) at noon. For the show, Rico has presented people that live outside of technologically based civilizations in the rural villages of Mexico with images of first-world pop culture icons and employed them with one task: to interpret those icons in a traditional Mexican wooden mask. The craftsmen of these masks have no reference point to these images, no sense of importance tied to the celebrities that they were given, no inundation of cultural significance by media sources – and instead translate the images into form at a completely superficial and innocent level.
The resulting masks show these idols at a level which we rarely see them: exposed. Not in the way that the news media ‘exposes’ celebrities, because in that case there’s a symbiotic dependency – but in the way that these idols are exposed for their lack of substance other than the media and marketing that convinces us of their substance.
The masks created in Mexico will be on display at FIFTY24SF Gallery at 218 Fillmore Street, San Francisco from January 6th, 2011 – January 26th, 2011.
(Photo taken by Estevan Oriol)
INSA just arrived in the U.S. but is heading down to L.A. to this week to do some painting before he returns to S.F. for his February show.
