INVURT

Sometimes when you’re travelling you are just in the right place at the right time – luckily
for me thats happened during my visit here to NYC.

Amongst that fortune was being able to catch up with The Yok and Sheryo last week in the lead up to their opening, and, of course, being able to attend that very same opening tonight at Krause Gallery down near the Bowery.

The calibre of work in display was second to none – having seen them labour over the work whilst I was visiting possibly gave me a greater appreciation of the whole thing, but seeing work in progress and then the finished products all up on the walls and installed is something else. On the surface, many off the images seem quite simple in their iconography – that simplicity, however, is only on a casual glance, in each piece there is a complex play of ideas and head-nods to a whole swath of cultural foibles and fancies.

From beautifully rendered porcelain pots to the firehouse white on blue plates, there is a measure of immaculate detail hidden within each of this duos works. Messages both written and placed upon paper or ceramic surface as near hieroglyphic entreats – and though some of these can be obviously translated, you also get the sense that there are some distinctly playful in-jokes between the two artists scrawled across their work.

The upstairs section of the show was formal in its presentation – that aforementioned white and blue sprayed across the room. The bars and plates, though made of fragile material had a strengthened presence that belied their canvases.

Downstairs however, was a loose assortment of painted walls and printed materials documenting the couples journeys across SE Asia, Mexico and here in NYC, their adopted home.

I loved this section – you don’t always get such a complimentary display in an exhibition of some of the more intimate processes and plans behind the finished product. Playful scrawlings on found pages and plans for walls painted and finished abounded in ramshackle manner – a perfect juxtaposition to the room above.

Often when artists collaborate, the seams between styles are in some evidence, instead of a perfunctory presence – yet of all the times I looked upon this work, I often found it difficult to discern, happily, where the Yok ended and Sheryo began – or visa versa.

For me, this is the essence of collaboration – that wavering grey area where two talents are able to combine into a distinct entity – something that the viewer, and even the artists themselves, have never seen before – and which would never have eventuates without such a close working relationship. Though this show was billed as two artists, it could have easily been one – such was the ease by which their merger of styles was both demonstrated and substantiated.

As I sit here, tapping into my phone and writing this over tea and post-show congee, I cant help bit think that this might be what NYC is really all about. Not the glitz and glamour and "oh New York is so fkn coool" and all the "art scene" bullshit, but about individuals, artists, having the opportunity and ability to present new shit in such a broad, dynamic environment – and being embrace for it. Not only did I see some amazing work tonight, but I also saw the "Pipe Dreams" of two artists literally manifested upon the walls of this grand old metropolis.

I love this city, and I love its artists, new and old, and I loved this fucking show.

Check out more of the photos from the show below – apologies for not being the best, I had to resort to my point and shoot after my dslr craped out … but I hope you enjoy them!

There is a huge swath of talent amongst Melbournes independent comic book artists, and you can always be sure that the works that they produce are cutting edge litanies. From the daily to the macabre, the fantastical to the conspiratorial, these artists take on all the challenges of communicating the foibles and fallacies of  our times.

Fleshtonez, the next upcoming group show at Paradise Hills, follows in this vein perfectly – though, not exactly in the way expected. Erotica is a definitive genre in our modern day, a ubiquitous element amongst the creative realm – and though not all artists focus on the genre solely, they will, surely, touch upon it at some stage in their creative journeys.

"FLESHTONEZ is an opportunity for eleven cutting-edge, Melbourne-based comic book artists to explore the erotic side of their practice. Free from the presumption that strong sexual content can demean the work, each artist can create their own unique take on erotica in contemporary graphic art.

Whether the result be playful, profound or disturbing, by doing so the artist has at once tapped into a rich vein of personal material and contributed to a broader discussion on sexuality, a more crucial facet than ever of the current zeitgeist."

By taking such artists as M P Fikaris, Katie Parrish, Michael Hawkins and the rest of the comic luminaries in Fleshtonez, and letting them run unfettered though their erotically charged imaginations curator Michael Hawkins may have just created a … okay, okay, I’ll avoid the bad puns, really grand show show – we’re really looking forward to seeing what work is up on the walls on the night!

I really made an effort to not mention my hopes for at least some suggestion of tentacle pr0n in this writeup. Ah. Shit.

Too late.

Who: Michael P Fikaris, Simon Hanselmann, Emily Hasselhoof, Michael Hawkins, HTML Flowers, Jnr Blue, Katie Parrish, Lee Lai, Elliot Lamb, David Mahler, Marc Pearson, Josephine Waite
What: Fleshtonez group show
Where: Paradise Hills, 8 Doonside St, Richmond, Melbourne VIC
When: Show opens Friday 31st May from pm til 10pm and runs for two weeks.

Check out the facebook event page as well as the Paradise Hills website for more info!

Admittedly, this is the first time we have heard of Skount – for which I am actually slightly dismayed – because his work both in the gallery, as well as out on the streets, is fucking rad.

That bastion of brand spanking cool in Sydney, The Tate, will be playing host to this Spanish artist tomorrow night for his first Australian show – "Fragments Of Mythological Dreams", and it looks like an amazing show.

“Dreams are not just messages (coded messages, at that), but are also an aesthetic activity, a game of the imagination that has its own value. Dreams are proof that fantasies – emotional immersion in the visualization of events that have never and may never occur – are one of the profoundest necessities for human life. The characters that come from my imagination are my own possibilities, those that never came to bear, or those still on my horizon.” – Skount

Inspired by the classical Spanish theatre of his hometown, Skount’s oneiric masked characters beckon the viewer from the urban environment into their mysterious and playful dreamscapes. The great playwrights of Skount’s youth formed a lasting impression, where he regards life as a wonderful play, in which everyone has a role. Driven by the fundamental desire to free his own mind, Skount’s creativity knows no bounds. With a background in graffiti, his artistic expression spans paint, paper, music and performance, to video art, sculpture, and installation. Skount’s irrepressible curiosity for other cultures has inspired him to travel and study different forms of creativity and traditions around the world. Currently based in Amsterdam, Skount has worked and exhibited throughout Spain, Europe, China, Mexico, Israel and the United States.

Now for the first time in Australia, The Hours presents ‘Fragments of Mythological Dreams’, an exhibition of new paintings and installation by Skount. In this exhibition, inspired by Ancient Greek myths and legends, Skount presents a reality, drawing a relatively cohesive oneiric spectrum with mythology. Recounting a pictorial discourse by which we enter into a world of dreams, created to explain the universe, the origin of the world, natural phenomena and anything for which there is no simple explanation. Through this new body of work on canvas and paper, Skount investigates this complex philosophical world full of arguments about the nature, properties, causes and effects of natural things, especially the human being and the universe."

Skounts work edges across bizarre dreamscapes, theatrical nuances and unrelenting facets of carnivalesque brilliance – if you want to see something unique and beautifuically produced, head down to the Tate in Sydney tomorrow night for his show.

Who: Skount
What: Fragments Of Mythological Dreams
Where: The Tate, 345 Glebe Pt Rd, Glebe, Sydney
When: Show opens Wednesday 15th May from 6pm til 9pm

Check out Skount as well as The Tate for more info.

It’s no secret that we are some of aMBUSH Gallerys biggest fans – the amount of grand shit that they have done for artists over the years is priceless in its worthiness. One thing that we have always loved about aMBUSH is the fact that they play no favourites, and promote art and artists from the sheer love of it – there is no commercial gain behind it all, they’re a truly altruistic bunch of people.

In line with that, aMBUSH also grant exposure and the use of their space to both established artists, and the up and comers amongst the fold  – and their next group show, Visions From The Aether, promises a great glimpse of fresh faces and new directions.

"In Greek mythology, the god Aether represented the highest plane of heaven and the purest, lightest form of air that only Zeus could breathe. Throughout the development of early philosophical and scientific discourse, the concept of Aether was used metaphorically as an alternative and preferable explanation for the apparent ‘nothingness’ that filled vacant spaces. Aether represented a fifth element alongside those four that were tangible – Fire, Water, Earth and Air – and served as the foundation for scientific exploration of the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through space.

Today, as well as its use in scientists’ vernacular, the word ether refers to an imagined place beyond the earth’s atmosphere; elastic, intangible and comprising infinite potential for other-worldly manifestations. It is this – the allure of possibility in a realm unbound by the laws of physics – that the artists of Visions from the Ether explore in the multidisciplinary exhibition.

Comprising the work of Aaron Noakes, Dakota Gordon, David Crystalface, Jack Hammond, Mez, Nick Matthews, Oliver, Ox, Sebastian Grant, Slug and Tom Groves, Visions from the Ether is a collection of photographs, street art, digital works and pieces from other fine art media. The exhibition, which opens on Friday 17 May from 6 – 9pm, is spread across the two expansive spaces of aMBUSH Gallery and will launch with Oliver’s live jazz/hip hop production.  Complimentary ice cold Little Creatures Pale Ale beer will be served on the night.

Visions from the Ether is proudly presented by aMBUSH Gallery and launches on Friday 17 May 6 – 9pm and continues Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May 12 – 4pm."

Head down to aMBUSH Gallery and check it all out for yourself this Friday night!

Who: Aaron Noakes, Dakota Gordon, David Crystalface, Jack Hammond, Mez, Nick Matthews, Oliver, Ox, Sebastian Grant, Slug and Tom Groves
What: Visions From The Ether solo show
Where: aMBUSH Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo (Sydney)
When: Friday 17 May, 6pm-9pm

Check out aMBUSH Gallery for more details on the show, as well as the facebook event page!

Amongst my travels over the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with a whole bunch of artists. Last week I had the chance to catch up with two favourites, The Yok and Sheryo in their Brooklyn studio as they prepare for their upcoming exhibition "Pipe Dreams" (we posted a whole bunch of photos from their Mexico adventures not too long ago also).

Not only was I able to get a great interview with the pair of them (for the next issue of Damnit! Magazine), but I was also able to get an awesome preview of the show in the works …

"Krause Gallery is pleased to present the highly anticipated exhibition of recent works by Brooklyn-based duo Sheryo and the Yok. While previously seen in group exhibitions, Pipe Dreams marks their first solo show in the United States since establishing the city as their primary residence last year.

Working with varying painting techniques, the artists have culled together collaborative pieces that represent their shared life together. From their nomadic travels the past year to in-jokes with their friends in New York, the Yok and Sheryo seamlessly combine their adventures into every detail of their work.

For example, their hand painted vases combine eastern & western elements to portray the values of ideology, devotion, relationships, dharma and karma, depicting a narrative from the rich tales of their journey.

From their fun filled art renderings with Chinese dragons, pipes, and geishas intermixing with the New York culture, Sheryo and the Yok put their own illustrative styles on imagery as they re-interpret the traditional folklore and fables of old Chinese times while injecting their own personal stories with their iconic styles.

Their most recent body of work for their upcoming show at Krause Gallery is full of adventure and intrigue as they departed the United States for countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. By traveling to their native countries as well as a few places in between, Sheryo and the Yok characterize their formative life experiences with the memories that are being made together. Another example of this can be seen in their newest body of work; after returning from warm Mexico to the rain and snow of New York they used their cartoons to reflect on the sunnier days behind them; beer, Spanish icons and surf boards began to be a part of each piece.

For their solo show at the gallery they will also be creating hand painted ceramic plates, vases, painted pieces on paper and canvases, a surprise installation downstairs along with Limited Edition one color 25” x 19” high quality screen prints. Pipe Dreams is a must see for any street art enthusiast or talent seeker of any kind."

Also check out the rad video that they’ve put out with some of the plate and vase action in it all …

Here is all the details for the show – and check out the gallery down below for a great preview of the show and a bunch of shots from around their studio! Also, check out the catalogue of all the work in the show – amazing.

Who: The Yok & Sheryo
What: Pipe Dreams
Where: Krause Gallery, 149 Orchard St, New York City
When: Show opens Thursday 16th May from 7pm til 9pm and runs for a month.

More pics from the studio visit below ….

Something special for you today that I really wanted to share! After two and a half months travel in Central America (expect a whole bundle of Sojourn articles coming up from all across Mexico and Guatemala!) I arrived this week in NYC. As luck would have it, dynamos José Parlá and JR were having an opening tonight at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in Chelsea! Read on for the media release, to give you an idea of what it was all about …

"The Wrinkles of the City was started by JR in Cartagena, Spain and has been reprised in Shanghai, Los Angeles, and most recently, Havana. In 2012, JR and Parlá photographed and interviewed dozens of senior citizens who lived through the Cuban revolution, flyposting colossal black-and-white portraits of their subjects on the walls of city buildings. Parlá, who is of Cuban descent, interlaces the images with palimpsestic, calligraphic writings and color. In a city devoid of commercial imagery, JR and Parlá’s enormous yet intimate portraits offer a stunningly humane contrast to the endless repetition of political icons.

This exhibition will consist of twelve large portraits from the Havana iteration of The Wrinkles of the City project along with a site-specific installation."

Although it was mighty packed inside, there was some really great work on display – most of it imagery from the many walls they’d worked on – but there was one piece, was that "site specific installation", that I fucking loved …

Check out the pics from the opening below (excuse the not so grand shots, I’m not the worlds greatest photographer!) to give you an idea of how it all was – and check out all the pics of the work in the show here.

Before I left Melbourne, I had been an avid reader of Ha-Has "The Unreal Adventures Of HaHa" blog – in which he was documenting his travels overseas. Always hilarious, always thought provoking and conspiritorially cool. After a lengthy stay overseas, painting and showing across the eurozone and asia, HaHA has now returned to Australia – and he’s about to have another solo show

"Metamorphosis is an exploration into the archetype’s of the human psyche. As humans, we create the archetypes that exist amongst us as individuals, and as a part of a couple, a family, a tribe or a nation.

Here HAHA investigates these archetypes by means of stencil: fusing portraits of people together to find a link or connection between couples, or by fusing man with machine and beast.

The viewer is presented and faced with questions about the archetype within relationships, transhumanism & the beast man.

HAHA (Regan Tamanui) is one of Australia’s most notorious and prolific stencil artists. He called the Blender Studios home for many years before extending his art practice with an extended, overseas trip.

Now he is back, and is having his first solo show since returning to Melbourne at Blender Studios’ gallery Dark Horse Experiment."

Wish I could be in Melbourne to check this all out – its going to be ahell of a show, and its been way too long since I’ve seen one from HaHa! Ah well, you guys enjoy the shit out of this one for me!

Who: Regan Tamanui
What: Metamorphosis solo show
Where: Dark Horse Experiment, 110 Franklin St, Melbourne
When: Show opens Friday 10th May from 6pm til 9pm and runs til 1st June

Check out the facebook event page, and of course, Regans website for more info!

We love Metro Gallerys oingoing live painting days – we’ve been to quite a few of them in the past!

This weekend sees Melbourne street art Maestros DVATE, Shida and Matt Adnate get together to paint a bunch of panels in the gallery – you all probably know how these guys are, but if not then rest assured they are some of Australias finest – we’re sure they’ll paint up a storm!

Head down to Metro Gallery this Saturday and see it all for yourself!

Who: Matt Adnate, Shida, DVATE
What: Live Paint Day @ Metro Gallery
Where: 1214 High St, Armadale, Melbourne
When: Event runs 12pm til 5pm Saturday 4th May, 2013

Check out the Metro Gallery website for more information

Aucklands K Road is infamous for its street art, and this group show, gathering together some of NZs coolest and finest, looks like it’ll be a great showcase of work – live!

As part of the running First Thursdays events, Alfresco will be a “rad street art festival up and down K’Rd, 10+ walls being painted by 10+ street artists from all around the country. Come watch these artists do what they do best LIVE in person and watch K’Road be transformed with colour across our walls”

“Karangahape Road is a long time home to art and cultural activity that doesn’t fit amongst the typical mainstream vernacular. It abounds with mythical figures and local legend from across multiple generations.

It is an area of Auckland that is fighting to retain all that is good about grit and grime, to celebrate the eccentric and erroneous. All the while ensuring that it remains a relevant and vital creative community that is recognised for its value as a rich depository of cultural artefact and activity.

All Fresco is both a response to the traditions of Krd, and to the paucity of street art in the Krd district. The character of a community is reflected in many things including the evidence of an engaged and ongoing public dialogue. And in an area noted for it’s character, a distinct lack of sites hosting relevant and revolving street art is something to be addressed.

The value of this event isn’t just in the opportunity it provides to artists, or even
the spectacle and experience it offers spectators. It’s in reestablishing and re-affirming the qualities of a part of our city that makes it the most well know, most notorious and fabled strip in the country.”

Thats a lot of wall space to be painted up on one single night, K’Rd is going to look mad!The week before his solo show, even HaHA will also be in Auckland on the night doing some live art for the opening!

There will also be an exhibition on the 2nd May at Method & Manners studios. Head down and see it if you’re anywhere near the North Island!

Check out the full press release here.
 

Who: BMD, Eno, Erin Forsyth, Deus, Dagar, Mica Still, Wert159, Xoe Hall, HaHa,
What: Alfresco street art festival (First Thursdays event)
Where: Up and down K Road and Method and Manners studios, 6 Upper Queen Street, Auckland
When: Exhibition opens at 6pm til 9pm on 2nd May, and the paiting goes on from the 3rd, 4th and 5th.

Check out the Alfresco and First Thursdays website for more info!

Way back in October, we brought you news of a new project that I’ve been working on with Jo Jette, a brand spanking new print magazine by the name of Damn It! Well, it’s done, printed and all ready to go – and we’re having a party to celebrate!!

Designer and Publisher Jo Jette has been working on the amazing Nothing To Nobody for a few years now, which, sadly, has just released its awesome final issue (Jo will be working on Damn It! from here on out!) This dynamo of a lady has crafted what I think is a stunning, collectable piece of visual beauty, and written a slew of grand articles. For myself, well, I’ve edited my ass off on this one, and if you’ve been reading Invurt for a while then you can expect a whole bunch of full feature articles from yours truly on artists from across the globe!

We’ve already released the magazine for purchase over the internet (go grab yourself a copy!), so now its time to invite you all to the launch!!

"Tired of the same old same old? Want to feel like you’re doing something positive when you shell out your hard earned cold cash for a magazine? Want value for money in a convenient bag size read? Then say hello to our little friend – DAMN IT!

DAMN IT! is a brand spankin’ new, biannual, 96 page, limited edition magazine run by Publisher & Designer Jo Jette (of Nothing to Nobody magazine), and Editor in Chief Fletcher Andersen (aka Facter, of online art webzine, Invurt). We put every cent we have into the publication, so that each issue will kick the can of the previous one.

Each issue we feature juicy articles on super talented peeps – illustrators, photographers, typographers, painters, writers, and other creative types as well as reporting on the more serious side of things from around the world.

We also shine a Bat-signal on some of the amazingly selfless work done by caring peeps setting up and running not-for-profits all round the world. We’re not afraid to put our money where our damn big mouths are, and we pledge to donate $0.50 from each copy of DAMN IT! sold to the not-for-profit we feature in that issue, which in our first ever issue is Skateistan, a not-for-profit set up to teach kids to skate in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Pakistan. Skatistan also teach journalism and art to their students, 40% of whom are girls.
Plus we’ve adopted a Polar Bear for our first issue to accompany our article on Polar Bears and Arctic conservation, but just wait ‘til you see what we are sponsoring for issue 2!!

Launching officially on 2 May at the Just Another Project Space in 153 Greville St, Prahran (Melbourne) from 6-9pm, and we’ll be giving away a Hamburger YoYo to everyone who attends. Yes, you heard us right – so join us for a drink!"

It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing that the mag is being launched, and my not being able to actually attend the launch party! Lamentations aside, both Jo and I are stoked at how the mag has turned out, and we’re sure that you’ll all love this first issue (we hope!) – its been a long process and a lot of hard work, trial and trepidation, but its something we’re pretty proud of.

So, we’d love for you to al head on down to the launch party next Thursday – grab a mag, enjoy a read and let us know what you think!!! Massive thanks to the team at Just Another for letting us use their awesome Just Another Project Space for the launch, we couldn’t be happier with the venue!!

Don’t forget, that if you can’t make the launch, we have released the magazine for purchase over the internet here! We’re already deep into planning Issue #2 also, so your feedback is more than welcome – we also have extremely affordable advertising space available for full page ads in the next issue and beyond.

Massive thanks to everyone for all of their support, especially the artists and advertisers who are featured in the first issue!

Who: The first issue of Damn It! Magazine features articles on artists and creatives such as Lee Romao, Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins, Ken Taylor, Chris Peters, Poise, Adam Oehlers, Ink & Clog, Skateistan, Polar Bears of the Arctic, Naoto Hattori, Tom Hussey, and Hit+Run and some special artwork from Chris Hancock and Eleven, photography from Nicole Reed and much more.
What: Damn It! Magazine Launch Party
Where: Just Another Project Space, 153 Greville St, Prahran, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
When: Opening will be one night only, Thursday 2nd May 2013 from 6pm til 9pm!

Check out the facebook event page for ore info as well as the Damn It! Magazine website!

When Sean Morris put together the remarkable group show "Lets Go, Magic Weirdos" at Paper Mountain in Perth, we had no idea that it would have a sequel – but it does, and this time it will be held in London!

Lets Go, Magic Weirdos is succeeded by the brilliantly curated Magic Weirdos Never Die – which once again sees Sean gathering together a diverse array of talent that has the magical underpinnings of weirdosity as its theme.

"As Scawfell street officially opens for business we are thrilled to present “Magic Weirdos Never Die” – a group exhibition featuring 11 contemporary artists from 4 different countries, curated by Sean Morris. Following on from the successful group show "Let’s Go Magic Weirdos", held last year in his hometown of Perth, Western Australia, the ridiculously talented Sean Morris is at it again. This time he’s bringing his work and bunch of impressive, magical weirdos to London.

The line-up includes Australian art heroes Ghostpatrol and Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Spanish comic artist Berto Fojo, the prolific Luke Pelletier from the States and killer London based illustrators Suzie Kemp, Jasper Dunk and Jon Boam. Along side these phenomenal names will be the usual awesome depravity from Londoner James Unsworth, the black metal space demons of Madrid’s Manuel Donada, beautifully strange and politically charged drawings from Florida’s Dillon Froelich and the white trash fables of Sean Morris himself, who hits London just 2 weeks after a successful solo exhibition in Madrid."

With such an incredible lineup of fantastic artists, this is a show that if you’re in London, you really need to go and see. The first show was brilliant, this one will be just as much – what wonder does Sean Morris have in store for us next??

Who: Sean Morris, Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Ghostpatrol, Berto Fojo, Luke Pelletier, Suzie Kemp, Jasper Dunk, Jon Boam, James Unsworth, Manuel Donada, Dillon Froelich
What: Magic Weirdos Never Die
Where: Scawfell Street,6A Scawfell Street, E2 8NG London, United Kingdom
When: Show opens Thursday May 2nd from 6pm til 9pm

Check out the facebook event page for more info!!

I actually had a bit of a chuckle when I saw this event coming up – I’m in Oaxaca, Mexico right now, and here I am wishing that I was in Melbourne and able to go to this laneway party, featuring all things great and Mexican! Ironic, I know. Its all okay though, as I can live vicariously through the internet, and if I want a taco, I can just step outside the hostel and walk five metres!

For those of you, though, who are in Melbourne this weekend, and the following weeks, this event looks absolutely awesome – and if you like all things Mexico, taco, street art and laneway-lush, then this is for you!!

"Welcome to Las Laneway Fiesta, the opening night of one of Melbourne’s most innovative pop-up experience , Si Señor Art Taqueria. Brought to you by the new Mexican kids on the block, Si Señor Group & Melbourne Books. This one of a kind, pop-up art project celebrates Melbourne-Mexican art, emerging Latin American musicians and Mexican street food over four exciting weeks.

Prepare to be transported to a callejon in Mexico in the heart of Melbourne when Si Señor Pop Up Art Taqueria kicks off with:Las Laneway Fiesta opening night.

Fiesta like it’s 1999 with Tequila and Mezcal special edition cocktails, and unique regional tacos.

Expect Latin tunes and Aztec beats, a visual laneway projection phenomenon by the talent behind White Night Melbourne, Projection Teknik and live graffiti’s.

Si Senor Popup will showcase 4 up and coming street artists:
Gaston Mendieta
Juliette Claire
Heesco
Theo Robinson

With the 10th May introducing the second round of artists and installations.

All artwork for sale on the night.

We looking forward to see you!"

I believe that the whole thing opens with a big bash this Friday, followed by more mayhem on Saturday, and then new artists and shows for four weeks! There are plenty of other artists involved as well, and we’ll keep you updated on whats happening! If you want to know more, theres a great interview here on what its all about!

Head down to the laneway and to Gallery ONE THREE to enjoy it all for yourself – looks like there will be a few people enjoying it with you!

Who: Gaston Mendieta, Juliette Claire, Heesco, Theo Robinson, White Night Melbourne, Projection Teknik, Ruskid,
What: Si Senor Popup Art Taqueria
Where: Gallery ONE Three13 Somerset Place, Melbourne, Victoria
When: Starts this Friday 27th April and Saturday 2th April with events on every Friday and Saturday for 4 weeks!

Check them our atTwitter. @sisenorpopup and nstagram@sisenorpopup – also take a look at the Si Senor facebook page for a heap more info!

Throughout my journey across San Francisco, one thing that I kept a good eye out for was for all the stickers across the city. There aint nothing I love more than a good wad of slaps, and San Fran totally delivered on that front!

I previously posted about my journey checking out all The Mission street art, and needless to say, the place was packed with stickers!

Including a few I also left behind …

This had to have been one of the best stickers I saw hahaha.

One thing I particularly loved was the abundance of stickered newspaper boxes.

Even ATM machines are not safe from the onslaught of radness.

Down in The Haight, stickers seemed the norm on every surface – I especially loved all of these.

Nowhere escapes the slap – out on a pier in the middle of the water, the Bay Bridge gorgeous in the background, these were some of my favourite stickers in my favourite spot!

I also visited the California Academy of Sciences whilst I was there – I fkn loved it and would recommend visiting, and as someone else had already left a little something, I decided to leave my own …

Check out all the photos of the San Francisco street art and graffiti stickers I spotted below – these were all over, and they are fkn mad. I’ve got one more post of my adventures in San Fran coming, then its on to Mexico … enjoy!

12►

We’ve been hot on the trail of Paul Deej’s work for quite some time – we interviewed him way back in 2010 and since then he has had some damn fine shows. This time, Deej hits Kurb Gallery in Perth for what may be his best yet – Harlequins.

"On Saturday the 27th of April, Kurb Gallery in Northbridge will play host to the third solo art exhibition by accomplished Perth artist Paul Deej, entitled “Harlequins”.

“Harlequins” marks the end to a series of artworks recently completed, exploring the theme of the female clown, or “harlequin”, in an array of styles, moods and mixed media.
Always on the quest to capture the beauty of the female form and face, he has created a body of colourful and bold work that represents his love of comic book and street art, while adding a graphic designer’s touch.
In the past 3 years since his highly successful first exhibition “Nicely Toasted” at ABD The Gallery in Northbridge, Deej has worked diligently and shown pieces in a plethora of exhibitions locally and nationally. His last solo show was the successful “El Deejo” Exhibition at The Grey Door Gallery in Claremont in late 2011.

About The Artist

Paul Deej has been a professional Artist, Illustrator and Graphic Designer for 12 years. Originally known for working within the digital realm, around 3 years ago he started painting canvas and murals in the traditional style of acrylic paint and aerosol, and found he had a overwhelming desire to capture his minds eye on this raw medium based in reality rather than a computer screen.

With a short time on the gallery scene, Deej has been a part of 20 solo and group shows within the past three years.

Deej has also made a name for himself over the years as a part of the ever growing Australian Hip Hop community in Perth and the eastern states, creating literally hundreds of event posters for local and interstate acts as well as many award winning album covers. Deej is also closely affiliated with the West Australian music collective known as Syllabolix.

With a passion for throwing around paint and a workaholic attitude for creating artwork, there is plenty more on the way from this esteemed Perth artist"

We’re looking forward to this one – its been a little bit since the last mad show in Perth, and this one is going to rock!

Who: Paul Deej
What: Harlequins solo show
Where: Kurb Gallery, 312a William St, Northbridge, Perth WA
When: The exhibition runs for one week only, from Saturday April 27th until Friday May 3rd.

Check out Paul Deej’s website as well as the facebook event page, and Kurb Gallery, for more details.

You might recognise Ryans work from the innumerable shows of his that we’ve covered, as well as from the interview we did with him some time ago – now, Ryan has a new show coming up at Paradise Hills, and it looks exquisite!

"In this new stunning body of work, ‘She’s the moon; Perception in the absence of stimulus’, Ryan explores mental illness in women, in particular hallucinations associated with schizophrenia. His drawings describe scenarios of hallucinations that are suspended between ambiguous states of fear and comfort, leaving the viewer to determine the circumstance.

After coming back from a residency in Finland and having a successful show with partner and collaborator Hollie M Kelley in Berlin last year, Ryan’s nomadic experiences have propelled his work down a darker and conceptually well rounded path based on his explorations in rural travel and family members that had been diagnosed with mental illness, in particular schizophrenia. His drawings are magical as they are unsettling, full of emotional dichotomies.

Please join the artist on Friday APRIL 19 for the opening of his first Melbourne solo exhibition, which will also include performances by bands EM VÉCUE AQUAIEU, HOUSE OF LAURENCE and HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS and the solo vocal talents of GOLDWYN. Gallery opens at 6pm, music starts at 7pm."

Head down to Paradise Hills this Friday night to see it all for yourself – Ryans work is fantastic and we wish him the best of luck with the show!

Who: Ryan McGennisken
What: She’s The Moon solo show
Where: Paradise Hills, 8 Doonside St, Richmond, Victoria
When: Show opens Friday 5th April from 6 – 10pm and runs until 11th May.

Check out the facebook event page as well as Paradise Hills for more info.

After having spent a really good amount of time in Kuala Lumpur and checking out the streets and walls of Singapore, I picked up stumps and headed over the Pacific on the next part of what has now turned into an epic adventure; San Francisco – I’m in Guatemala right now, so San Fran actually feels a world away!

That said, I fucking loved San Fran. Apart from my shock at how badly the homeless situation has worsened since my last visit there ten years ago (wtf America, how can shit get so bad, seriously?), I have to say it was pretty amazing. San Francisco is a city of so many facets that, well, there’s just no way I can cover it all here. Instead, I’m going to split my visit up into two pieces – one from an amazing day trekking through The Mission district, one covering all the stickers I saw and the one with all the rest – all, I’m happy to say, are big, big posts and are absolutely fascinating.

One thing that San Francisco has, for which I am many others are more than thankfully are, is a veritable plethora of paintspotters – those who seek out new pieces of graffiti and street art to share with those of us who may not be fortunate enough to live in the area. Melbourne has them, and almost every city has them, and for a certainty San Fran has them, spanning San Francisco graffiti and street art every day. So, it was a no brainer when I arrived in San Fran that I’d try to catch up with one of my favourite instagram paintspotters – @pixelina.

I’d been following @Pixelina on IG for some time, and have had the pleasure of seeing a huge bunch of amazing images that she’s taken from all over the city – so when I contacted her and asked if she could show me some of her favourite spots, she was more than obliging. It just so happened, that another of my favourite IG paintspotters was in town on the same day, @purpurella (who takes a bunch of great shots from around LA), so it all turned into one big paintspotting mission in the Mission – honestly, these girls were amazing.

We started out meeting at coffee shop in the Mission, have to say, this was some of the nicest coffee I’ve ever tasted. It wasn’t long though, until the crew arrived and we headed off to see what the day had to offer.

Not far away proceeded to walk down a variety of the many laneways throughout the Mission – each harbouring a multitude of art. From graffiti, murals to street art, the cornucopia of colour reminded me in many ways of what we have in Melbourne around Fitzroy and Collingwood, the two had a very similar feel … I have to say though, that there may be a little more art in the Mission than there is in the F&C area … but that’s okay, I’m sure we’ll catch up ;)

Whilst trekking through the multitude of streets, I spotted a store on a corner that had a bunch of art on the walls, and discovered Faze Apparel. I loved this place – these guys are doing really cool things, promoting local artists and artist designed clothing.

The art up on the walls was damn cool, and the threads were fresh – if you’re in the Mission at any time, drop by here. They also do regular art exhibitions as well, in fact, that’s what they started out doing before they opened up the store itself.

We walked through a great carpark that was a couple of blocks down from where we started, and spotted a bunch of great work in there as well.

Towards the end of the day, we found we’;d been walking for around six hours – so one of our last stops was to check out a neat van being painted by some friends of @pixelina – Eon75 (Max Ehrman)and someone whose work I’ve actually followed for a while (big fan of his toy!), Jesse Hernandez. It was a great way to finish off the day and watch some of San Frans finest in action.

Nearby, there was a huge collab wall – one of the parts had this robot, that I fkn loved!

On the way back, there were, of course, more walls to be seen – but probably my favourite one was this wall that Meggs, Ha-Ha and a bunch of others had painted when they were in San Fran for the Young & Free exhibition – a great wall to see on the last part of our journey throughout the mission.

Ended up the whole day exhausted and tired, and having a pint at the infamous Zeitgeist bar – felt like I was back in Fitzroy!!

Again, thanks to Pix, Purp and the others for a wonderful day – if you get yourself to San Fran, you can easily lose an entire day, or more, just walking the back streets of the Mission in search of great art – you cant miss it, its everywhere.

Check out a mass of photos of all the walls we saw in San Fran below … this is the largest collection of pics I’ve posted up here before, there’s about 280 of them – I could have culled, but there’s so damn much that’s good, and I wanted to document it all! In the next two part of my San Fran posts, I’ll post up a bunch more shots stuff from Haight and the rest of the city, murals, stickers and a visit to the newest minted Zero Friends store!

Enjoy – there’s several pages of these images so browse through by clicking on the numbers below!

123456►