Giulia BlocalThis selection of street art news and handpicked links is a recurring segment of Blocal’s monthly newsletter. If you want to receive them straight to your inbox every first of the month, along with more surprises, subscribe here.
New mural by Pener in Olsztyn, Poland
Graffiti writers have often pushed their alphabet forward until the letters of their name turn into abstract figures. This is known as ‘Graffuturism,’ and one of the genre’s most iconic artists is the Polish Pener, who has just completed an energizing mural in his hometown of Olsztyn.
The title -“Kaleidoscope“- made me think of my favorite toy as a child and the perpetual movement of the coloured objects tumbling inside it, which recalls the kinetic energy coming from Pener’s graffiti years.
New piece by Peeta in Pescara, Italy
In July, Peeta realized an impressive Anamorphic Art piece in Pescara (Italy), but I was waiting for this making-of video by B4flight to write about it. Besides Peeta’s repeated shapes and unexpected perspectives, this short video shows the artist’s tools of the trade, such as the bubble level -a detail that had stuck into my mind since when I documented the day-by-day of his previous mural in Pescara in 2018, alongside the numeric codes he scribbles on paint cans ;)
Check out my article “Graffiti artist Peeta’s three-dimensional abstract shapes create a new rhythm in Montesilvano” to find out more about this fantastic artist.
Shepard Fairey x Visionary Fam in Gainesville, Florida, USA
Visionary Fam, a team of local artists from Gainesville, Florida, recreated Shepard Fairey’s popular anti-war design to raise funds for Ukraine. The “Can Art Help Fight a War” project was founded by the Ukrainian-American curator Irina Kanishcheva. I’m sharing this because I believe it’s essential to keep the conversation going -the war isn’t ended yet, and Ukrainians still need our help.
The Shepard Fairey exhibition in Seoul
Speaking of Shepard Fairey, you have until November to visit the retrospective show “Eyes open – Minds open” at Lotte Museum in Seoul. (and if you go, send me a pic!)
- Read also: Shepard Fairey, the art and story of OBEY
New mural by Os Gemeos in Ishinomaki, Japan
One more from the East: the Brazilian twins Os Gemeos painted in Ishinomaki City, Japan, as part of the excellent program of the Reborn Art Festival, an event born to bring new life to the area devastated by the 2011 Earthquake.
Ps. loving the Miyazaki reference next to the left ear of the main character ;)
New mural by Milu Correch in Stornara, Italy
The Argentinian mural artist Milu Correch is back in Italy. She has just kicked off her summer tournée with a mural for Stramurales festival in Puglia.
Speaking of Milu Correch, I documented her creative process at the Appartengo festival in Stigliano (Italy) last year. Read the article on the blog -if you haven’t yet- to learn more about this incredible artist. (also, you might want to check out how do I look in a mural ;) )
New mural by Phlegm in Stigliano, Italy
Let’s stay in Stigliano, where this year’s Appartengo festival welcomed the English street artist Phlegm and his surreal characters. On Instagram, the artist wrote that here, for the first time in his career, he managed to move away from aerosol.
“All line work here is just brush and black paint. From now on, I plan to paint like this every time.”
Phlegm
Check out the other murals at Appartengo Festival in Italy.
The Blek Le Rat exhibition in New York City
One more exhibition you should be sending me pictures from: street art pioneer Blek Le Rat’s latest works are on show at the West Chelsea Contemporary gallery in New York City. Blek Le Rat is one of the first street artists ever: he began hitting the streets of Paris with his stencils in 1981, inspiring thousands of street artists ever since -Banksy included.
In fact, the Black Le Rat VS Banksy diatribe has been going on for years, and Black Le Rat himself has shown two opposite opinions, going from this:
“People say he copies me, but I don’t think so. I’m the old man, he’s the new kid, and if I’m an inspiration to an artist that good, I love it. I feel what he is doing in London is similar to the rock movement in the Sixties.”
Blek Le Rat
To this:
“When I see Banksy making a man with a child or Banksy making rats, of course I see immediately where he takes the idea. I do feel angry. When you’re an artist you use your own techniques. It’s difficult to find a technique and style in art so when you have a style and you see someone else is taking it and reproducing it, you don’t like that. I’m not sure about his integrity. Maybe he has to show his face now and show what kind of guy he is.”
Blek Le Rat, from the documentary Graffiti Wars.
New piece by Blek Le Rat in New York City
But let’s step away from this controversy and focus on the power of art. To celebrate his new exhibition, Blek Le Rat left a new piece in the streets of New York:
Street Art Podcast recommendation: Street Art Unearthed
I’ve just discovered a great street art podcast made of long-form, in-depth interviews (really, I’m wondering why I hadn’t stumbled upon it before!) It’s called Street Art Unearthed, check it out:
The story of typefaces
Getting into graffiti means stepping into the magic world of typefaces. Graffiti writers deconstruct the alphabet and create it anew through the styled letters of their personal tag. This is why I believe you would like this youtube video on the history of typefaces as much as I did (and btw, struthless is one of my favorite creators)
Urban Creativity Conference (Lisbon, July 2022)
The last link is one for the nerd ;) You can now find online all the conferences of the “Urban Creativity” symposium, which took place in Lisbon last July. All videos are saved on their facebook page, check it out.
