Walls, Diaries, and Paintings

As many of you know, I have a love affair with graffiti. I recently saw an exhibition in NYC that really spoke to me and took the art of graffiti to a new level. Walls, Diaries, and Paintings, currently running through April 16th at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, is the work of Miami-born, Brooklyn-based artist Jose Parla. Parla has created 15 new, mixed-media works that document urban life in such diverse cities as New York, Istanbul, Havana, and Tokyo.

Using a combination of free-form, calligraphic markings and urban graffiti, Parla has recreated the sense of excitement, danger, and vibrancy inherent in city living. He has managed to capture both a sense of history and a feeling of modern edge at the same time.  

I always love when galleries are transformed and for this exhibition, the main hallway was used for a site specific installation that perfectly ushered you into the main room.

The pay phone was the perfect, authentic touch.

He has captured the essence of so many international cities and many of his pieces feel as though they could have been torn off the walls of a building.

Others pieces are more abstract in nature and make use of swirling and curling calligraphic markings.



The dimensionality and layers of city life are captured in wonderful, highly textured detail.

See additional images from this exhibition and read my brief review of the show on NearSay.

Weekend Update

Airan Kang @ Bruce Wolkowitz Gallery

Wish you could spend some time wandering through the art galleries in NYC? Let me be your guide. I have recently been reviewing a number of the art exhibitions from the new season on NearSay and will continue to do so for the next few weeks. This new website covers the daily happenings in NYC and is written by locals for New Yorkers, visitors, and the just plain curious. Click here to see my posts and to sign up for daily newsletters.

Any time you need a New York fix, just click on the NearSay icon on my sidebar.

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Four new survey questions are now on my sidebar. Head on over to vote.

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DisCo never dies. The Disintegration Collaboration keeps on keeping on.

The May/June 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors included a feature article and an updated readers challenge recreating the original collaborative project. Click here to see the newest additions to the DisCo family.

Kris Henderson's Erosion Bundle Project, also based on DisCo, is in its last stages. You can see the artwork that the participants created with their decayed bundles here.

Janice Zroback and Alexandra Felgate sponsored a DisCo project on redbubble and you can read more about their project here.

Laura Lein-Svencner introduced DisCo to her class at the LaGrange Art League in Illinois and ultimately the class' artwork were exhibited. See the whole project from start to finish here.

Gary Reef's Lovin Mixed Media site on the NING network sponsored an art bundling challenge based on DisCo. I believe that you need to be a member of his site, however, to see the results.

Theresa Martin, a participant in the original collaboration on The Altered Page, just had her DisCo project published in the Autumn 2010  issue of  Somerset Apprentice. You can see Theresa's creation on her blog here.

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Thanks to everybody who shared their thoughts about The Copy Zone. The comments included some fascinating discussion. Leslie Avon Miller went right to the heart of the matter when she said..."Why would anyone try to speak in some else's voice? Nurturing my own unique creative voice is my priority." To that I say...we should all spend the weekend nurturing our own creativity!

See everybody on Sunday for a new edition of StudioScapes.

Say What??

This past month I started to write for a NYC website start-up called NearSay. It breaks NYC down by neighborhood and will eventually cover all of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Right now it is highlighting downtown Manhattan but other neighborhoods will be rolled out soon. It focuses on six categories: restaurants, nightlife, shopping, real estate, arts & culture, and family.

What makes this site unique is that the content is written by locals who really know the ins and outs of the city. And many of the writers are bloggers who have their fingers on the pulse. The site is quite user friendly and it is so easy to find just what you are looking for. For example, want to see the must-see gallery show opening in the Lower East Side? One click away.

This site is great for New Yorkers, for people coming to visit NYC, or simply for people from afar who want to know what is happening in the city. And once you find a writer you like on the site, you can follow them to get all their posts. And you can sign up for neighborhood newsletters by email too.

The images on this post are all from my contributions to NearSay and document some of the places I have recently visited in NYC. Most of what I post on NearSay will not be posted on The Altered Page. Head on over to their home page and check it out. Click this link to see the articles that I have already written and sign up to follow me if you like.