Hense: New Paintings at Maxwell Colette

HENSE: New Paintings is on view through July 20, 2013 at Maxwell Colette Gallery, featuring a body of large-scale paintings on wood and smaller works on canvas from the internationally lauded muralist, Alex HENSE Brewer.

HENSE’s work is fluid and playful. It is a delicate interplay of geometric shapes, organic forms, abstract lines and frenetic squiggles executed in a furious effusion of saturated pastel hues. His massive, free-form paintings and epic public mural installations are not what you would expect from someone with HENSE’s Graffiti pedigree. His work is a natural extension of the radical visual legacy of Abstract Expressionism, but it is imbued with a palette purloined from some tropical paradise and a swagger that places it firmly in the current Post-Street Art age. HENSE says he is “combining the language and techniques of graffiti art with the formal language of painting in [the] studio,” and that his paintings “are invigorated by the quick pace and commentary of street culture.”  

Alex HENSE Brewer’s nearly two decades working in the realm of public art grants and commissions has produced exterior works across the U.S, and abroad in Spain, France, Japan, Taiwan, Peru and Mexico. In April 2013 he completed a  massive commissioned wall in the heart of Lima, Peru. In the fall of 2012 he garnered national attention for his treatment of the entire exterior of a historic church in Washington, DC.  His work is held in numerous collections including The High Museum of Art in Atlanta.  Complete information about HENSE may be found on his site.

7 Questions: Zore

Chicago-based graff writer-turned fine artist Mario Gonzalez Jr., also known as Zore, has been keeping busy this summer. He just had a killer solo show at the Museo Internazionale Italia Arte, and represented the US in the International Meeting of Styles in Wiesbaden, Germany, before heading back to the states to prepare for MoS Chi and a solo show this fall at Maxwell Colette. 

We caught up with him before his European tour, while he was painting the Violet Hour mural. 



How did you first get into graffiti and painting? Believe or not my exposure to graffiti was since birth. My parents and family members wrote on buildings and subway stations here in Chicago since the early 60s. Later on in my youth I grew up in the 70s where muralist and activist took over the streets of Chicago. 

Do you remember your first tag? My first "tag" was JR/JUNIOR in tall simple blockish letters when I was like 9 or 10.

Any good close call stories you can share with us? Lots of "close call" stories...but the best were subway stories... Like the times we would get caught right outside the subway yards with a car full of young mixed race kids with bags of paint and the cops are like "wtf is going on here," and I would tell everyone the same story, "I'm an artist at SAIC! And these are my students and we've been painting all night and I'm dropping them off at the train station," hearts racing knowing damn well half the crew was in the train yards painting already...probably even watching us from the yards talking to the cops, only to be let loose half hour later.

Have you bombed anything you later regretted? One of my biggest regrets came early in life..I must have been 15 and I would keep tagging the same wall on 35 st day after day only to see it had been cleaned the next day. Till one day I was on the 35 st bus and saw this old ass man that walked slower than a snail scrubbing and scrubbing away and it was then I vowed to keep my bombing to public property...which in the end was a good thing. 

 Where do you draw your inspiration? My studio work comes from hanging out at museums and walking the streets my whole life observing the urban grime. My tags are inspired by old Chicago hand styles. My full on burners have more of a Trixter/Orko feel. Two writers that influenced the crap out of true Chicago pieces.

How do you feel about graffiti moving into galleries? Graffiti in museums and Galleries have occurred longer than 90% of us been writing.. One of the first graffiti exhibits in the world was here in Chicago at the museum of science and industry in 1973! I was 3 yrs old..lol! 

I've been showing in galleries and museums since the mid 80s and it changes nothing. I believe that knowing our place in art history is important seeing that most artists have no place in history. Makes me feel proud for never quitting or giving up.

Mario VS Zore? Well that is an interesting subject right there... I believe that both of my alter egos have a place in this world and the man/child inside of me must harvest this energy and make them both function on a level that won't end up killing me, lol. I've been working my whole life developing both souls and staying clear from negative energy from both the art world and graff world, as well and have come to the conclusion that life is about living the best case scenario.

As I sit here in a hallway for better reception in a bed and breakfast from across the world knowing where I came from and where I am now having solo shows in museums and galleries while painting in the streets and packing bags of paint at night fully sponsored as well as self funded from sales and commissions I would say that I am right where I need to be Right Now! 

Would like to say thanks to my familia! Sergio Gomez! The Zhou Family! Liz Lazdins and MAYA for everything that I am doing today. Stay Bold Chicago!

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. IX: winter wonderland

We've been slacking on the flickr updates lately.  This is not to say that we haven't been shooting pics, we just haven't been posting as regularly as we should.  In an effort to catch up, we present a series of pics from the best alley in wicker park taken over the past several weeks.  There's nothing like the clean facade that snow provides to accent the ever changing work.  See what you've missed over the past couple of months in our flickr set "the best alley in Wicker Park".

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. VIII

It's time once again to witness the carnage wrought by repeated bombing runs down the best alley in Wicker Park.  Scope out our flickr set to view for yourself what has changed since we last posted pics of the alley back in October.

MARKS & STENCILS Private View

For those who were unable to attend, Butterfly has posted a wonderful video of the opening of the Pictures On Walls pop up show 'Marks & Stencils' in London.  For those who were there, try to spot yourself in the queue...

new print from Banksy

It's official: a new Banksy print is going to drop in December.  A test print (or unique variant) of the image is hanging on the wall at the Pictures On Walls pop up show 'Marks and Stencils' in London, and the print appears in the new POW Winter Catalog and on their website.  There is no confirmation yet as to whether the release will be handled by a lottery (like the release for 'donuts') or some combination of in-store and online mayhem (like 'No Ball Games').  Time to practice masking your disappointment as your chances of actually nabbing this print are nearly non existant.

Keep an eye on the POW website for details of all the new print releases that are happening in conjunction with 'Marks and Stencils'.

FAILE's Bedtime Stories

The new FAILE show officially debuts tomorrow night at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York.  The Faile boys have set up a sneak peek of the work (which includes the sublime fashion chimps pictured above). In addition new FAILE stencil pieces have popped up on the street in Brooklyn (thanks to Sabeth for photographing the pieces).

'Bedtime Stories' opens tomorrow night at Perry Rubenstein Gallery and runs until December 23, 2010.

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. VII

Though our pop up show 'Love Flows Both Ways: street culture x contemporary art' has been keeping us down in the South Loop more than we are used to, we still make the time to check out our favorite Wicker Park alley at least a couple of times a month because it's always worth the effort.  As we look back at the last month's activity in the alley, we are struck by Snaki's  'Waste Away Your Starry Nights', with it's visual nod to Van Gogh.  It made our inner art school geek smile.

Check out our flickr set here to peep all the great work that appeared in the alley since our last update.

Da Mayor

Mayor Daley has had an interesting and challenging relationship with the street art community of Chicago, so it is no surprise that said community has taken notice of his announcement that he will not be seeking reelection. After all, Daley's reign has seen the outlawing of spray paint sales within Chicago city limits, the classification of markers as criminal tools, and the creation of "Mayor Daley's Graffiti Busters" whose sole raison d'etre involves the destruction of street art.  What is perhaps most amazing is that even after the installation of these draconian measures, Chicago's street art community continues to thrive.

Reaction to Daley's announcement has taken many forms, and has provided an opening for the launch of at least two mayoral campaigns by artists Swiv and Jagoff.  We will continue to monitor further developments and bring images of the best Daley inspired street work as we become aware of it.

it's starting to get political out there...finally.

stop motion graffiti

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. VI

Once again it's the end of the month, and time to look back at what has transpired in the best alley in Wicker Park over the past few weeks.  This month started with some drama in the alley, but this was overshadowed by some spectacular walls from Amuse and Momentumarttech.  In addition, Snaki brought some faces, Herts and Omens brought 'dubster', and someone painted dead cats.  Way too much great stuff to list (like this and this and this), so come take a stroll with us down the best alley in Wicker Park in our flickr set here.

a painterly approach to street art...

The railroad underpasses off of Hubbard Street have seen it all.  Long a staple of the local street art and graff scenes, they have been regularly bombed for years. But something very interesting has been occurring under the train tracks lately.  It's painting.  I'm not referring to aerosol artistry, I'm talking about good old fashioned brush-and-paint-can painting.  And it's on a monumental scale.

There are seven paintings in total that we found. Some are huge- nearly 20 feet in length. They appear to be in various states of completion.  It seems the artist starts with a basic form (see below) and then elaborates with increasingly drippy broad strokes until the original form is obscured.  The process appears to require a fair amount of time as there are clearly layers that were dry before the next color was applied.  The resulting murals have elements that are reminiscent of Willem de Kooning and the abstract expressionists; a visual reference seldom witnessed in todays street art scene.

All of the paintings incorporate some text as well.  They bear slogans (titles?) like "Love No Fear | Fear No Love" "the magic you don't c." and "Griots & Bacchanalia".  Sometimes the text is next to the painting, and sometimes it is incorporated in the painting itself.  The artist states on one work "my name is a four letter word" but signs all the pieces with a black spade (or many spades as the case may be).  Since we don't know what to call you, wer're going to call you "Spade".  So, hello Spade. If you've got a problem with us calling you that, let us know and we'll correct it.

We first noticed the hand painted stylings of "Spade" last month, and posted pics of the work here, here,  and here.  Chicago Art Magazine noticed as well and wrote about a piece in their Top Street Art Picks for the month of August.

View pics of all the Hubbard Street pieces by "Spade" on our Flickr set "Hubbard Street Viaduct".

it's time once again...

This coming weekend the international graffiti festival Meeting Of Styles comes to Chicago.  There is a great lineup of acitvities and talent for the three days (and nights) and it looks to be very cool this year.  Check out the event flyer with all the listings and keep an eye on the Meeting of Styles website for info and pics from its stops around the globe.

performance art from Banksy?

Banksy has been at it again.  He has updated his website and posted pictures of some recent outdoor stencil pieces near the British seaside, and his guerilla installation at Brighton Pier of the reconditioned dolphin ride he originally showed at The Village Pet Shop and Charcoal Grill in New York, which has now been updated to include a ruptured BP oil drum and a wave of crude oil.

Then there was posted a video, "Royal Visit Glastonbury 2010", in which Banksy presents us with a hilarious encounter between a costumed hippy hemp enthusiast and the heir to the British throne. We were dumbfounded that the interaction was permitted to take place, as here in the US you wouldn't even get that sign up before security would be all over you. And throwing a sample bag of weed at "Charlie, Charlie" would be out of the question.  The episode displays the cunning of Borat, the brazen recklessness of Jackass and the irreverence towards celebrity of Punk'd.

And it raises numerous questions. Who is the hippy? Is it the same person who posed for the portrait in Times Square wearing a black ski mask back on May 19, 2010?  Is Banksy creating another "superstar" (in the Warholian sense) the way he created Mr Brainwash?  Are these "pranksy" pieces part of the next big Banksy project or just a diversion? Is it Banksy himself doing these actions? Is it a friend of Banksy's? Is it Robin Gunningham?

For those who don't follow the British tabloids, The Daily Mail ran an article in July 2008 claiming that it had tracked down the identity of Banksy, and that he is Robin Gunnigham (pictured above right). Comparing these two pictures, we cannot rule out that it s the same person in both.  Is this Banksy? And if so, what's he up to?

Check Banksy's website banksy.co.uk for future updates.

Bob Partington: the sublime potentiality of stored energy

Bob Partington is an artist who produces art and sculpture that often showcase his interest in technology and science.  He also makes cool videos that document his artistic endeavors.  We are particularly fond of three of his projects that all utilized spray paint.

The Paint Dart was brilliant in its simplicity.  It was a projectile that would stick to anything and delivered the payload of a pocket-can.  When the payload deployed, the can was triggered and would hang there discharging the paint, creating huge drippy trails down the side of whatever it was stuck on.  

With his Paint Gun and his Briefcase projects, Bob Partington took the use of spray paint in new directions and pushed the boundaries of the medium.  I won't waste time describing the works to you.  You'll simply have to view the videos for yourself.  They are stunning in their originality and their utilization of technology.  That briefcase is utter brilliance- and we really, really, really want one!


"Bob’s approach to art-making comes from his interest in energy, and it’s modes of transference: Energy moved in perfect conservation, or in complete chaos—as well as the sublime potentiality of stored energy, like with the charged battery cell or the can of spray paint. This pursuit has led him to explore a variety of materials and technologies that are not always consistent with traditional art making."  (bobpartington.com)

You can see more of Bob Partington's incredible art and design on his website www.bobpartington.com and view his videos on his Youtube channel.

the best alley in Wicker Park vol. V

It's time once again for the monthly update of our Flicker set "the best alley in Wicker Park".  Bender, the robot street artist, has recently shown up in the alley along with an anti BP political statement and a huge rainbow trout.  All in all, it was an interesting month.

See the entire set on our Flickr.

Metamorphosized

Metamorphosized, originally uploaded by Poster Boy NYC.

Posterboy has a Flickr account. On his photostream you can see some of his most recent work, like the Kafka inspired Metamorphosized who's picture was just shot and uploaded today.  Like we needed a reason to be spending more time on Flickr...

Click the bug to go to Poster Boy NYC's photostream on Flickr.

why we continue to love Faile

With Faile Temple, the Brooklyn street art collective Faile have proven yet again why they are to be considered not just among the vanguard of the street art movement, but also the broader contemporary art world as well.  Similar to what they did for their Deluxx Fluxx Arcades last year, Faile have created a website for the Faile Temple project (which can be viewed here).  The site hosts all the pertinent information as well as fantastic photographs of the finished Temple.  This amazing piece of monumental sculpture is worth an in depth viewing.  If Mies Van Der Rohe was correct that god is in the details, then this is indeed a holy place.

View Faile Temple at www.failetemple.net.
Check out last year's Deluxx Fluxx Arcade at www.deluxxfluxx.com.
Keep an eye on Faile's website at www.faile.net.

photo ops

Despite the heat, we've been taking a lot of photos lately and it seems that they are getting noticed. Our street art images have been featured recently by The Reader, Chicago Art Magazine, and Chicagoist, among others.

Check out our most recent set "land of shadows" when you peep our Flickr photostream.