Category Archives: streets

Shepard Fairey – New Clear Power in Munich

April 4, 2023 butterfly

New Clear Power, Shepard Fairey’s first solo exhibition in Germany addresses systems, forms, and notions of power in at the newly opened AMuseum , dedicated to the street art movement. The Amuseum was initiated by the artistic group Positive Propaganda, led by Sebastian Pohl and Overrated Art Inc.

For this exhibition Shepard Fairey decided to use a wide range of mediums (from mixed-media paintings on canvas, stencils, collage, illustrations, and prints) and juxtaposes colours with images, patterns and text, and feature icons like Keith Haring, Greta Thunberg and Edward Snowden to convey clear messages and raise questions as well as voice concerns about various notions of power.

The concepts of power represented in the subject matter of New Clear Power include abuse of power, power concentrated under capitalism, renewable power, political power, the power of creativity, power over information, and the power of controlling narrative. A primary focus of the work is a critique of fossil fuel industries and their contribution to climate change and environmental decline.

In parallel to the exhibition Shepard Fairey and his team with the help of Positive Propaganda, painted a 115 meters wide mural along a stretch of Munich’s city highway, featuring images relating to the oil industry and the urgency of transitioning to renewable sources of power.

Until 30 April 2023

AMUSEUM of Contemporary Art, Schellingstrasse 3, 80799 München

More info on www.a-museum.org and positive-propaganda.org

streets, Ukraine

Banksy in Ukraine

November 7, 2022 butterfly

As the war in Ukraine continues, a new stencil has appeared in Kyiv in a special location: Independence Square. It bears all the hallmarks of elusive artist Banksy: one layer stencil featuring a boy and girl adapting to war playing seesaw with an anti-tank obstacle. It was left unfinished, as it seems that the grey paint was a first layer to avoid rust on the anti-tank obstacle.

Photo credit: Max Ganz

Update 9 November

Banksy continues his trip through Ukraine. This time in a residential district of Borodyanka, a town located north west from Kyiv that was partially destroyed at the start of the conflict.

This time the multilayered stencil features a child throwing a man on the floor like a judo match.

For info Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was a black belt in Judo, was removed from his position of honorary president of the international Judo Federation (IJF) in May.

Photos credit Ed Ram / Getty Images

Banksy has now confirmed the artworks on his website. Despite the chaos, the gymnast is still standing

Festival, France, streets

Lek and Sowat Sandcastle for the LaBel Valette Festival

August 8, 2022 butterfly

Marking the fifth anniversary of the LaBel Valette Festival in France, artists Lek and Sowat have given a new identity to this 19th century castle, by painting all its surfaces and transforming it into a monumental sandcastle.

Located in Pressigny-les-Pins, around one hour from Paris by train, Château de la Valette sits on just under 100 acres of wooded land and is comprised of the castle, a chapel, and two three-storey dormitory buildings. After the colourful works of Okuda (2018), 3ttman (2019), the giant calligraphy of L’Atlas (2020) and the optical illusions of Astro (2021), this mythical duo open the LaBel Valette festival that will take place on August 26 and 27, 2022.

The LaBel Valette Festival, organised by UAC (Urban Art Crew) and U2A (Urban Art Agency), will take place on August 26 and 27, 2022 at La Valette estate in Pressigny-les-Pins.
The two days programme includes graffiti battles, a musical production competition, live painting, workshops as well as a series of music concerts. Full programme here

Check pictures of the work in progress below:

Lek and Sowat were struck by the intense history of the ‘Domaine de La Valette’. Firstly belonging to the estate of a Count and a Countess, it then became property of Franco, followed by the Spanish republicans. It was later transformed into a college, then fell into abandonment. And was bought by an individual. The castle holds eventually a strong position of Street Art in France thanks to the LaBel Valette Festival project.

The artistic duo decided to work around the image of the sandcastle, which refers to the ephemeral nature of Street Art, and pixels, which evoke the aesthetics of the 80s.
Using bright blue and neon colours, they painted 10 000 square meters to transform the castle entirely.
Lek and Sowat ’s Sandcastle illustrates this year’s theme of the festival “Believe in your dreams”: A sandcastle can be erased by the rising tide but is rebuilt thanks to the venue of a new artist. A sandcastle is fragile, requires attention and commitment. It is imagined, hoped for, then built.

London, Street, streets

Yoko Ono – Imagine Peace

March 6, 2022 butterfly

Fifty-three years after Bed-In, Yoko Ono is staging a global intervention by pausing commercial advertisements on the world’s most prominent digital screens to share a message of peace with the global community. An invitation for the world to unite, Ono is broadcasting her powerful, universal mantra IMAGINE PEACE every evening at 20:22.

The public art installation presented by CIRCA in collaboration with Serpentine, will feature local translations of Yoko Ono’s message to the world. Launching 3 March on London’s Piccadilly Lights and screening across the CIRCA network in Los Angeles, Milan, Melbourne, New York, and Seoul every evening throughout March 2022.

IMAGINE PEACE by Yoko Ono

To coincide with this commission, Yoko Ono has created a new time-limited edition silkscreen print, available to purchase for one month only, with 100% of print proceeds to be donated to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Available exclusively on CIRCA.ART from 1 – 31 March 2022.

Street, streets

New Banksy artworks in Lowestoft, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth and Cromer

August 7, 2021 butterfly

Elusive artist Banksy seems to be enjoying a staycation on the British seaside this summer. Several stencilled artworks have popped up in Suffolk, in Lowestoft, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth and Cromer. With a careful selection of locations, the artworks play with their surroundings: a child is building a sand castle on the pavement, reminiscent of the 1968 French student’s uprising ‘ Sous les paves la plage’ ( beneath the pavement, the beach). Another artwork features three children who seem to empty buckets of water and stare at the horizon while a message reads ‘ We all in the same boat’.

An elderly couple are dancing away on a bus shelter while a guy is playing accordeon.

A giant seagull is about to pick up what looks like ‘chips’ from a dip, while on the beach a rat is laying on a sun-chair sipping a martini glass, and crabs approach a sign ‘Luxury rentals’ to become hermit crabs.

Photos PA and @leandajaineillustrations

Enjoy the English Summer!

Update 8.8.2021

A new model of a miniature stable, which appears to have been signed by the artist, was found at Merrivale Model Village in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on Sunday morning. On the side of the miniature stable a cheeky message states ‘Go big or go home’ with his signature rat character.