Jun 032023
 

Rooted in the Community was created by Kenny Coil and Marc Merenguer of Break Maiden for the 2020 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

May 262023
 

Dave DiMarchi’s Somatic Pause, located in Princeton, New Jersey during Winter/Spring of 2023.

From the Arts Council of Princeton about the mural and artist-

Fashioned after both the artist’s workspace and print editions he created during his Arts Council of Princeton’s Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residency, Somatic Pause invites Princeton to contemplate the transformational power of rest, and how time changes each of us.

Somatic Pause – a wheat-pasted, painted, and collaged installation – is an ephemeral one.  Meant to change over time, the mural will be exposed to harsh winter weather, early spring rains, and glaring sun, each doing its own work to fade, soften, tear, and mar its surface.

Change is the constant.

And about the artist-

Dave DiMarchi is a queer, multi-disciplinary artist working in printmaking, papermaking and sculptural book forms. He engages in a relentless material practice, nurturing ideas into singular and editioned works. As a multi-disciplinary artist, he has exhibited works on paper, installations and books in the US and internationally. He maintains a small collaborative studio and art space in New Hope, Pennsylvania and teaches printmaking, papermaking and book forms extensively throughout the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area. In Fall of 2022, he was announced as the ACP Artist-in-Residence which will allow him to continue to explore collage-based multi-media and print works.

Since 2012, he has created his own work, curated exhibitions, provided print exchange opportunities, and published fine art prints as 9INHANDPRESS, a fine art printmaking and education studio located in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

May 112023
 

This mural was created by Lara Nguyen in 2016 for The Refinery in Asheville, North Carolina. The local artist and teacher’s design was chosen for the building by the Asheville Area Arts Council.

From a Mountain Xpress article about the work-

Bowerbirds and butterflies decorate the building’s facade. Nguyen considers the former “the artists of the bird world.” Each year, for up to six months, the male bowerbird will spend its days building arches made of straw. He will then gather brightly colored objects and place them outside the construction in order to attract mates.

“They perform,” says Nguyen. “They use the hole [of the arch] as a stage. … They’re also great mimickers and singers. I thought that was interesting. They’re like actors, performance artists, builders, makers, collectors, [and] in some way they’re painters. They pick certain colors and situate them.”

Nguyen saw the creature as a perfect symbol for The Refinery Creator Space. She lists off the various types of artists (painters, photographers, sculptors, filmmakers, fiber artists…), in addition to the art-based organizations (Asheville Darkroom, Asheville Makers, The Bright Angle, Local Cloth and Mechanical Eye Microcinema) that now call the space their home. She views her mural, with its bright colors and visual appeal, as a way to help facilitate traffic; a way to intrigue the public to step inside and support the arts.

More recently, Nguyen contributed work to the 2023 annual ArtFields event in Lake City, South Carolina. The two pieces are from her series “Letters to My Children”.

Her statement about these works-

“Strong Arms” & “Keep Going” are from a series entitled “Letters to My Children.” I was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma in July 2018 when my kids, Atticus and Moon, were 7 & 9 years old. In January 2020, my lung collapsed and I underwent a lobectomy. Now with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis I have found myself up at all hours worrying about dying before my kids are grown. When I couldn’t sleep, I wrote letters to them, recording their favorite recipes and my fondest memories of them for them. In 2021, I decided to share my writing with them instead of saving all this pondering in a box for later. Making and sharing this work has allowed us to cry and grieve together, which, in turn, has opened up space to truly be honest and present for one another while we are all still alive. With my children’s permission, I present slices of difficult conversations we have had to a wider audience in hopes of easing any load the viewer might be carrying on their own personal journey.

Apr 142023
 

This mural by Emily Ding was created for the 2021 SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.

Her work can also be found on Instagram.

Feb 282023
 

Standing in the Gap by Sophia Dawson (@iamwetpaint) is in the Dumbo area of Brooklyn, NYC.  It is part of Murals for the Movement, a public art initiative curated by Liza Quiñonez of Street Theory Gallery, and presented by the New York City Department of Transportation’s Art Program, in partnership with the Downtown Brooklyn + Dumbo Art Fund.

From the artist about the mural (from the information plaque)-

“The concept stems from the necessity to acknowledge the legacy of the generation that came before us that fought for our rights and freedom as we continue to contend for the destiny we deserve. It also speaks to the importance of spiritual warfare and how a battle must be won spiritually before it is won physically. — Sophia Dawson

Feb 252023
 

TIDE- “SEA E”

TIDE- “DAYS” and “CALM”

 

Closing on 2/25 at Ross + Kramer in NYC is artist TIDE’s  (Tatsuhiro Ide) debut solo exhibition, HAPPYSADEMPTYFULL.

From the gallery’s website-

TIDE is a Tokyo-based artist renowned for his signature cat character, which he depicts in monochromatic, domestic settings. Beginning in 2019, TIDE has made grayscale paintings of this cat character, existing within various domestic environments, often punctuated with art historical references. In this newest body of work, the cat, perhaps an avatar for the artist himself, lounges in a cozy bed, swathed in blankets and layers of duvets.

The title of the exhibition comes from a painting, HAPPYSADEMPTYFULL, and reflects the cycles of feelings that one experiences throughout a day. The subject matter feels especially relevant given current events—a housecat, much like humans in a pandemic lockdown, has a somewhat narrowed spectrum of experience.

TIDE works in multiple layers, using airbrush and spray paint to express the illusion of depth in a delicate environment, and employs a variety of brush stroke techniques in order to create the appearance of texture and natural elements. TIDE’s work wonderfully demonstrates the value and richness of harmonious composition. His monochromatic palette, coupled with crisp yet gentle silhouettes, ignites a pronounced sense of nostalgia.