4 Videos From Inside Largest U.S. Street Art Show Released;
Bloggers Breafast & Press Preview Unveils The Exhibition
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Masters from the 1970s NYC graf movement (Blade, Crash, Daze, Jonone, Quik, Lee Quinones, Rammellzee, Sharp) and European art stars (Victor Ash, Banksy, Blek le Rat, Ikon, Sozyone, Plateus) are among 19 painters, sculptors and photographers showing contemporary works in âWhole In The Wall: 1970 â Nowâ. Itâs an unprecedented, museum-quality, 150-piece exploration of street artâs ongoing transition to, yes, fine art. The pieces are all original and rare; most are new; many were finished onsite in the past few weeks.
Two days before the public opening, four teaser videos have now been released:
The videos include a âLegends Reunionâ â shot during the massive installation â which feature Blade, Crash, Daze, Quik, Jamel, Quinones and Sharp catching up with famed graph photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, who have documentary photos appearing in âWhole In The Wallâ. In the impromptu gathering filmed onsite a few days ago, Cooper and Chalfant share their just-off-the press, oversized, hardcover 25th anniversary re-release of their groundbreaking photo book, âSubway Art.â
The clips capture the ebullience between these friends and onetime competitors who, in some instances, had not seen each other in a decade. The videos and photo web feeds will also offer a first glimpse into the ambitious, two-story, 25,000-sf installation on Manhattanâs industrial West Side, juxtaposing street artworks with authentic 17th Century antiques. It will be an unprecedented presentation when it opens to the public Friday.
A Bloggers Breakfast and Press Preview today provided the first opportunity for a a select dozen media members to see the completed installation, meet the artists and the curators, Chantal and Brigitte Helenbeck of the Helenbeck Gallery of Paris.
May 15, 2009 (May 29 to June 27, 2009) âWhole In The Wall: 1970 â Nowâ
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Largest U.S. Street Art Exhibition Debuts in NYC
Masters from the 1970s NYC graf movement (Blade, Crash, Daze, Jonone, Quik, Lee Quinones, Rammellzee, Sharp) and European art stars (Victor Ash, Banksy, Blek le Rat, Ikon, Sozyone, Plateus) are among 19 painters, sculptors and photographers who are featuring mostly original works in âWhole In The Wall: 1970 â Nowâ. Itâs an unprecedented, museum-quality, 150-piece exploration of street artâs ongoing transition to, yes, fine art.
Itâs not just the scale of the show thatâs important. Itâs presented in a lavish style only Europeans could pull off â with 17th Century antiques. This juxtaposition of authentic Louis XVI/XV furniture and crystal chandeliers in a two-story, 25,000-sf space on Manhattanâs industrial West Side puts the artists and their work in a setting Paris gallerists Chantal and Brigitte Helenbeck (Helenbeck Gallery) believe is simply . . . appropriĂŠ.
The fun-loving, art-loving sisters â identical twins no less â staged a similar show in Paris in November. Well aware that NYC street artists command more major museum shows and higher prices in Europe galleries, the Helenbecks hope this dramatic presentation will inspire an elevated view of this genre in the city where it was born.
Legendary NYC graf photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant will also feature works, including a new, 40-foot Cooper mural. This show also marks the 25th anniversary re-release of Cooper and Chalfantâs groundbreaking photo book of NYC transit masterpieces, âSubway Art.â
Friday, May 29 to Saturday, June 27
Open 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesdays through Saturdays
529-535 W. 35th St. @ 11th Ave. (former Splashlight Studio)
FOR RELEASE
April 28, 2009
GALERIE HELENBECK PRESENTS WHOLE IN THE WALL: THE LARGEST AMERICAN & EUROPEAN STREET ART EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK - ARTISTS FROM THE 70âS TO NOW
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Artists: Victor Ash, Banksy, Blade, Blek le Rat, Crash, Daze, Ikon, Jonone, Nunca, Plateus, Quik, Lee Quinones, Rammellzee, Sharp, Sozy One, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, Jamel Shabazz, Silvio Magaglio
Galerie Helenbeck presents the largest street art exhibition of American & European Street Art: Whole in the Wall 1970 â Now in New York. The exhibition will take place at Splashlight, former photo studios at 529-535 West 35th Street located in Chelsea in New York from 28 May to 27 June 2009. Galerie Helenbeck has brought this exhibition back to where this art form began, New York.
Porsche Cars North America is proud to be patron of this exhibition. The show is also supported by Red Bull, Voss Water and IFL Transport.
Gallerist, Chantal Helenbeck says, âThe street art movement was home grown in New York. It is real, it has meaning and it has credibility. It is Americaâs art history and personal story, which is why I decided to hold this exhibition in its home roots of New York. Since New York in the 1970âs, this movement has become a global phenomenon. These individuals may have started on the street but they have developed into great studio artists and it is important that their talent and recognition is seen and documented within the art world. â
The Hudson Yards Development Corporation is pleased to lend this space to the Galerie Helenbeck for this exhibit. HYDC is dedicated to transforming this neighborhood from an underperforming industrial area into a thriving, 18 hour mixed use community that will welcome artists, residents, workers and tourists. Later this year, the exhibition site will be incorporated the new 4 acre Hudson Park.
ARTISTS IN THE EXHIBITION
This exhibition will explore the transition from the New York underground subculture scene to the mainstream. Important photographers who have documented rare scenes of the street art movement will be represented in the show: Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, Jamel Shabazz and Silvio Magaglio. The first generation artists of the street scene in New York during the 1970âs and 80âs: Blade, Crash, Daze, Jonone, Quik , Lee Quinones, Rammellzee and Sharp will produce fresh works alongside their European contemporaries: Victor Ash, Banksy, Blek le Rat, Ikon, Sozy One and sculptor, Plateus who have since entered the pantheon.
Porsche Cars North America has donated six hoods of its iconic 911 sports cars, which will be painted by six artists and sold during a silent auction at the opening night on Thursday May 28. Proceeds will go to the CITYarts organization led by Tsipi Ben-Haim, who has empowered for 40 years, children and youth by bringing them together with professional artists to create public art that addresses civic and social issues,impact their lives, and transforms their communities.
These artists will exhibit their work in Midtown Manhattan, a 25,000 square feet (2,322 m2) space on two floors. The contemporary works will be juxtaposed with antique furniture & works of art representing the old and new and reinforcing, ironically, the entrance of street art into one of the main areas of the art world. The antique furniture & works of art will be presented by Jean Gismondi, the prestigious antique dealer in Paris since the early 1980âs. This exhibition is an extension of the successful show at Galerie Helenbeck in Paris earlier in the year: Whole in the Wall, American Graffiti Art 70âs-90âs where international interest was received throughout the exhibition. Galerie Helenbeck and Galerie Gismondi pushed the boundaries of curating, mixing the fine works by artists Blade, Crash, Jonone, Quik and Sharp with magnificent European antique furniture at their prestigious period gallery in Rue Royale, Paris. The public, collectors and dealers were excited and appreciative by the mix of the two genres coming together which will now echo and carry through in this innovative show in New York.
In the show, there are 15 outstanding painters,
2 sculptors and 4 photographers. American âpioneersâ of Street art during the 70âs include: Blade, Lee, Rammellzee; The American 80âs generation is : Daze, Crash, Quik, Sharp and Jonone who was born in New York and settled in Paris in 1987. Street artists from Europe include: Sozy One from Spain; Victor Ash from Scandinavia; Ikon from France and French âpioneerâ during the 1980âs, Blek le Rat. Presenting works from the UK is the satirical artist from the late 80âs, Banksy and young Brazilian artist, Nunca who recently exhibited a full length work on the building of the Tate Modern as part of the Street Art Exhibition in London. Also in this show are 4 remarkable photographers : Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant who documented rare urban art scenes of the artists, NYC, the city people and the atmosphere of the underground scenes during the early years. Photographer during the Eighties, Djamel Shabazz shot the fashion, the attitude and the culture of Black American New Yorkers of the street art scene revealing an insight into this movement and the changing times of New York. French photographer, Silvio Magaglio documented the European scene, witnessing scenes such as the young European taggers, in his fascinating photographs.
BACKGROUND
In 1971 The New York Times featured a seventeen year old street artist who called himself: âTAKI 183â â the handle standing for the street number of the building where he lived. A new genre of art was born â street art. Soon this street art evolved into signatures, gigantesque, revealing a thirst for recognition. The film, ââStyle Warsâ summed up the spirit. The works became progressively more adventurous and unconstrained, vehicles of an aesthetic intent through which their creators expressed themselves in individual ways. An art movement was born.
Although a quiet interest from the galleries of New York was evident during this time, it was not until 1980, that the first exciting exhibition took place representing a mix of street artists collectively, including Fab Five Freddy and Jean Michel Basquiat. The show was called Beyond Words at The Mudclub, a renowned venue which was the hub of an important period in dance music in New York City. Young artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat hung out with the kids of the club scene to experience groundbreaking performances experimenting with new ambient beats by now known legendary musicians like Brian Eno. The mix of fresh music and street art inspired by personal experiences, beliefs and ideas echoed through.
Gallerist during the 80âs, Patti Astor had a keen eye on the talent of this group of street artists having already exhibited the work Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Dondi reinforcing a shift from street to canvas.
One of the street artist of the early 80âs says, âThis artwork started as an American art form without any other influences from any other country. As adolescents we didnât go to museums, we really looked at what other people within our community were doing. Our influences were comic books which were designed and drawn by Americans - so comic book art and each other became our subculture. We were self taught and learnt from each other.
âOur ability to be taken seriously has always been a tenuous process. Many associate us with what they see in the street and find it difficult to look at the growth of a person. It usually stems from misinformation, education or even discrimination but now the timing is right as enough has happened in the world to be heard. Something on this scale, given the size of the space and the level of professionalism from each artist will be very exciting to see in this show.â
In the early 80âs, the New York scene had already started to make waves in Europe. In 1982, Holland presented their first street art exhibition. The vision to recognise the importance of allowing each artist to have an independent show reinforced each artistâs individual style. With the dialogue of Europe, these artists were seen in a different light and portrayed a new kind of reality. Outside influences also occurred with film and music such as Wild Style, Malcolm Mclaren - Buffalo Girls and Style Wars. In 1985, European artists experimented with New Yorkâs influence and mediums including spray painting, stencil printing, fly posting which later evolved into a global movement with street art exhibitions in countries such as: France, UK, USA, Brazil, Australia.
Today this odyssey has travelled from the streets to the canvas. Their styles from lettering to pictorial has developed in precision and refinement reinforcing their creativity and integrating the origins of the streets. Inextricably entwined with music and fashion, street art continues to resonate with its original audience, global youth culture proclaiming its political and social stance and its exuberant independence.
Despite being co-opted by the establishment during the passage of time, these artists have since been recognised as some of the most exciting talent to emerge, creating a shift from the street to the fine art world. This group of artistâs works are some of the edgiest, fresh and relevant contemporary art that is available today. Today, the market attracts an assortment of international collectors along with celebrity collectors such as Angelina Jolie, Eric Clapton, Jude Law and Dennis Hopper.
