Philip Buehler alongside the car cemetery installation. Image courtesy Philip Buehler.
This past month we’ve been wondering ~ and even concerned ~ about the lack of news coming from our media about the war in Ukraine. We see we are not alone. This month, photographer and explorer of urban ruins, Phil Buehler, created a 60-foot-long photograph of Irpin’s car cemetery in Ukraine as a reminder that this war rages on. The mural, entitled ‘Irpin, Ukraine: Please Don’t Forget Us’ is located near the Ukrainian Museum and the St. George Ukrainian Church in the East Village, on view through November, 2023.
Nicolas Party and Rosalba Carriera mural and paintings on view at Frick Madison
The Frick Collection has unveiled a large pastel mural commissioned from the Swiss-born artist Nicolas Party (b. 1980) at the museum’s temporary home, Frick Madison. This site-specific work was created in response to Rosalba Carriera’s Portrait of a Man in Pilgrim’s Costume ~ one of two eighteenth-century pastels by Rosalba bequeathed to the Frick by Alexis Gregory in 2020. The installation features Rosalba’s superb portrait at the center of a three-wall mural designed by Party, as well as two new related works specially created by Party for this presentation.
On view from June 1, 2023, through the remainder of the Frick’s residency at the Breuer building (which ends March 3, 2024), this installation will inspire the Frick’s summer and early fall programming as well as a new publication.
The “Origins and Today” (2019) mural by artist Oscar Lett, from the first round of the Community Mural Project, is a backdrop to a performance by the Will Holshouser Trio at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. (Credit: NYC Health + Hospitals)
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine program today announced the selection of 10 artists to create new murals at its facilities as part of the NYC Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project. The artists will design the murals through focus groups with patients, staff, and neighborhood residents, followed by community “paint parties” to create the mural. Selected from among 130 applicants, the artists include a mosaic artist, an augmented reality muralist, and a photomural artist. Decades of research have shown that the arts can play a role in “healing the healers” as well as improving patient outcomes and forging community health awareness and partnerships. The new murals will build on the 26 murals created in the first wave of the Community Mural Project and recently featured in a new book, Healing Walls: New York City Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project 2019-2021. The Community Mural Project and several other Arts in Medicine programs at NYC Health + Hospitals are possible with a grant from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.
The community was shocked to see their 191st Street #1 subway station at Broadway, devoid of the colorful murals commissioned by Department of Transportation in 2015 as part of a Beautification Project. This past weekend, a DOT operation “fully clean and sanitize’ the approximately 900-foot-long tunnel early on Saturday morning, January 21, 2023.
The Uptown Collective posted the names of the artists whose work will ‘enliven and beautify the walls’ of the 191st Street Tunnel. They are Vicky Bonilla, Denise Coke, Rasheeda Johnson, and Carla Torres. Congratulations to the artists, and look forward to the new murals.
To celebrate the centennial of Richard Avedon’s birth in 1923, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present a selection of the photographer’s most innovative group portraits in the exhibition Richard Avedon: MURALS, opening January 19, 2023. Although Avedon first earned his reputation as a fashion photographer in the late 1940s, his greatest achievement was his stunning reinvention of the photographic portrait. Focused on the short period between 1969 and 1971, this exhibition will explore a critical juncture in the artist’s career, when, after a hiatus from portraiture, he began working with a new camera and a new sense of scale. The exhibition will be organized around three monumental photomurals in The Met collection (the largest measures 10 x 35 feet) that depict groups of the era’s preeminent artists, activists, and politicians. Uniting the murals with session outtakes and contemporaneous projects, the exhibition will track Avedon’s evolving approach to group portraiture, through which he transformed the conventions of the genre.
The exhibition is made possible by Joyce Frank Menschel.
Rendering courtesy of the artist and High Line Art
From her commission at the newly renovated David Geffen Hall to The High Line, a new mural by artist Nina Chanel Abney titled NYC LOVE is on view on the High Line this week. NYC LOVE is a celebration of New York City via its iconography, and is located on one of the city’s most popular destinations for tourists and locals alike. The mural is on view for a year, from November 2022 though Fall 2023, on the High Line at 22nd Street.
Hudson Square Properties, a joint venture of Trinity Church Wall Street, Norges Bank Investment Management, and Hines, today announced the completion of a portfolio-wide initiative in which volunteers painted an 11,000-square-foot mural in Hudson Square in partnership with Publicolor, UPS, and the Hudson Square BID. One of the largest outdoor murals in New York City, ”Fractured Spectrum: Colors in Motion” encompasses 34 loading dock gates, transforming the previously muted Greenwich Street corridor from West Houston to Spring Street into a unique, engaging, and colorful art installation spanning four city blocks.
Emily Oliveira, We Are At a Moment That Will Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Great Change, For Who Can Say When a Wall Is Ready To Come Down. photo credit: BRIC arts.
Artist, Emily Oliveira will be reminding us that ~ We Are At a Moment That Will Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Great Change, For Who Can Say When a Wall Is Ready To Come Down, with a mural at the Prospect Park Bandshell on October 1st!
The Garment District Alliance unveiled a 225-foot-long painted mural by local artist, Steed Taylor. Broadway in the Garment District will receive a custom ‘road tattoo’, titled Magic Hour, created by local artist Steed Taylor. Presented by the Garment District Alliance, the 225-foot-long painted road mural stretches from 39th to 40th Streets on Broadway in the Garment District and will be available to the public through this fall. New Yorkers can watch the design come to life, as artist Steed Taylor finalizes the mural on Wednesday, August 4th. The artwork is also part of GDA’s summer programming, which features Broadway Rhythm, a series of weekly musical performances from 12 – 2pm on the Garment District plazas.
Trumpeter Swan mosaic by Carlos Pinto and John Sear @163rd and B’Way (click on image for more) photo: Mike Fernandez/Audubon
in 2014, the National Audubon Society and Gitler & ___ Gallery collaborated to create The Audubon Mural Project. The project was inspired by the legacy of the American bird artist and ornithologist, John James Audubon, and the specific birds threatened by a warming climate. The project consisted of painting avian-themed murals on more than 300 gates and windows in the neighborhood, promoting the society’s climate-change-awareness campaign. Fast forward to 2020 ~ The Audubon Mural Project completed its first public mosaic, after two-years of work, unveiling in December, 2020 ~ Trumpeter Swans on Broadway and 163rd Street.
Vernissage of LEGEND exhibition, with the artists in the first row and BEZT’s mural in the background
Let’s take a trip ~ to a new street art exhibition on the walls of a castle in Aveyron, France.
The Château de Belcastel is a medieval castle in the village and commune of Belcastel, in the Aveyron département of France. It was officially declared a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture in 1928. It is here that visitors will find a street art exhibition of murals, paintings and lithography entitled Legend ~ A group exhibition with seven internationally established contemporary painters who have interpreted the rich history of this medieval warrior fortress through its legends and lore.
New Street Mural on Doyers Street in Chinatown entitled Rice Terraces by artist Dasic Fernandez. Image via Instagram
Chilean-born New York street artist Dasic Fernandez was the commissioned artist for this year’s NYC DOT’s ‘Asphalt Art Activations‘ mural project on the historic Doyers Street in Chinatown. Her mural, which was unveiled this week, is entitled Rice Terraces and spans the entire 4,851 square feet, at 200 feet long. The artwork was unveiled this week.
Site #5: 388 Deli & Cafe ~ 1 Eldrige with mural by Sara Bao. Image via thinkchinatown.org
A women-led team consisting of Rachel Chaos of Chaos Built, A+A+A Design Studio’s Andrea, Ari and Ashley, and the mural artists, Kat Lam, Rose Wong, Jennifer Palomaa, sarula Bao, Jia Sung, Vanessa Nguyen and Chanel Miller, with Volunteer Coordinator, Alison Chi and On-Site Coordinator, Alice Liu, along with Yin Kong, project curator and producer joined forces with Think!Chinatown to launch ‘Assembly for Chinatown‘ ~ beautifully personalized open-air outdoor dining spaces on nine sites for thirteen businesses (and more to come).
Stop the Hate mural by artist Bianco Romero. Image via CBS news.
The mural, Spread Love: Stop Asian Hate by New York-based Korean and Spanish artist Bianco Romero was unveiled on Saturday, May 22nd on the side of the building housing the New York Chinese Alliance Church.
The Uptown Grandscale Mural Project is back! Uptown Grand Central unveiled canvas fencing extending all the way to Third Avenue, kicking-off the opening of our City with color and fun. In this second edition of Uptown Grandscale, murals were painted by more than 100 artists in May, June and July, with a closing celebration ~ The Roller Jam ~ on Saturday, July 10th from Noon to 7:00pm at the newly renovated 125th Street Plaza at Park Avenue.
The Roller Jam will be headlined by D.J. Ted Smooth, D.J. Arson, the World Famous Brucie B. Kool D.J. Red Alert, Ninoflex and D.J. Kenny Maneuver. Roller skates will be available for rent, and the African-American Roller Skate Museum will also be on hand to share historical perspective. Participating artists will give a tour of the murals ~ art tour at 3:00pm.
The much anticipated Carmen Herrera designed mural, Uno Dos Tres, was unveiled today (November 5, 2020) in East Harlem’s JHS99, which houses semi-autonomous ‘mini-schools.’ Through the spring and summer of 2020, the artist worked with the nonprofit Publicolor to install the 54-foot wide by 17-foot tall artwork, which was meant to be installed last May in celebration of Herrera’s 105th birthday.
The artist passed away, a year later on February 13, 2022 at the age of 106. She passed away in her loft in Lower Manhattan that had been her home for sixty years.
CITYarts restoration of ‘Flowering Vine & Us’ mural in Chinatown’s St. James Triangle Park. Image credit: Shirt Paamony Eshel.
CITYarts, a not-for-profit that connects local youth with professional artists to collaborate on public art, recently began the restoration of their ‘Flowering Vine & Us’ in St. James Triangle Park, located in Chinatown. In keeping with social distancing measures, the painting is being done in small groups, masks required.
In the Summer of 2018, do you remember seeing a fifty-three-foot long trailer tuck (the mobile studio) in your neighborhood? The trailer truck spent a month driving through all five boroughs, checking out numerous locations, taking photographs of people from all walks of life who wished to participate in French-artist, JR’s project, The Chronicles of New York, which coincides with his current retrospective, JR: Chronicles, at Brooklyn Museum of Art.
The landmarked 120 Broadway, also know as the Equitable Building, has undergone a two-year, $50 million renovation. We were pleased to be invited to take a look inside, from the historic Banker’s Club space on the 40th floor to the newly created mural project on the third floor, and beautifully restored lobby. Come along, as we take in the new, while reflecting on the old.
November 9, 2019 will mark the 30th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989. It was a wall that divided the East and West part of Germany for more than twenty-eight years ~ and a perfect canvas for artists to express their feelings in creative and colorful works that became a tourist attraction on the West side. While those living on the East side were not permitted to write on that side of the wall.
15-Story Vinyl Mural painted by Domingo Zapata at One Times Square. Image courtesy Jamestown
Times Square is the latest canvas of famed pop artist Domingo Zapata, as he embarks on his most ambitious work to date. From Monday, August 19 through Wednesday, August 21, the Spanish artist will complete a retrospective of his work across a 15-story vinyl canvas at One Times Square—a project he launched earlier this August.
A restoration of the historic, two-sided mural ‘Crack is Wack‘ by Keith Haring was underway on the East Harlem handball court located on Harlem River Drive at 128th Street (Second Avenue). It was inspired by the crack epidemic and its effect on the community.
NYC Parks and the Keith Haring Foundation are pleased to announce today that the restoration of Keith Haring’s “Crack is Wack” has been completed. The mural was refurbished and repainted by artists Louise Hunnicutt and William Tibbals, and the project was sponsored by the Keith Haring Foundation.
Annual Garment District Alliance Urban Garden and Street Mural
The Garment District Alliance unveiled its annual green oasis ~ Urban Garden ~ along with the 180-foot painted mural, Nymph Pond, created by artist Carla Torres along the Broadway Mall between 37th ~ 38th Streets on July 9th.
EVER for Monument Art Project, PS 109 at 99th Street & Third Avenue
MonumentArt2015 was the second installment of the International Mural Festival in East Harlem and the Bronx, sponsored by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, José Morales of La Marqueta Retoña and La Respuesta in Santurce, Puerto Rico, partnered with muralist Celso González to produce and curate the festival. Eleven internationally known artists created nine murals throughout El Barrio from 99th Street to 138th Street. Many of the murals focused on El Barrio’s rich culture and heritage. Let’s take a walk, as we watched the artists create in October, 2015.
They’re back! Remember the eleven Harlem students who created murals inside the new Shake Shack on 125th Street? Once again, partnering with Creative Art Works, the young artists completed the exterior work on the facade, which includes Fifth Avenue and 125th Street.
In celebration of the completed installation, Creative Art Works invites the Community to an official dedication of the exterior art on Thursday, May 23rd at 4:30pm. In addition, 25% of all proceeds on any purchase at Shake Shack that entire day will be donated to Creative Art Works IF the buyer mentions Creative Art Works (or CAW) at the register.
NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks ~ Creative Courts initiative, Facebook Artist-in-Residence Program (FB AIR Program), along with artist Saya Woolfalk, the non-profit Publicolor, and the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance/Public Art Initiative have arrived at the basketball court on Madison Avenue near 122nd Street in Marcus Garvey Park. Watch as this work-in-progress takes shape over this next week.
Oscar Oiwa, Black & Light at Cadillac House Gallery
Cadillac House has opened its gallery to the Japanese-Brazilian artist, Oscar Oiwa for his all-encompassing mural entitled Black & Light ~ a project created with Visionaire.
The mural, Migrations, on the south wall of the gymnasium at Jacob Schiff School Campus. Image via Creative Art Works
The Audubon Mural Project has been a quest to create public murals of the 314 American birds threatened by climate change, and this month the project added seven new murals PS 192, Jacob Schiff Park Harlem, unveiled by 26 youth apprentices. The murals display climate-threatened birds on the walls of this local playground.
The non-profit group, Artolution and the students at PS 751 & Harvey Milk High School came together to create an incredible mural capturing their diversity and individuality. We were thrilled to come across it, and wanted to share a few pictures we took today.
It’s back ~ Spirit of Harlem ~ With a new plaque, dedicating the Mural to the Harlem Community. (and at the same time, we mourn the passing of the artist, Louis Delsarte, on May 2, 2020).
The timeline & adventure of a Community coming together to get this beloved mural back on view is below
New plaque, dedicating the Mural to the Harlem Community
Mural entitled “A Memory of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue” located at 101 West 14th Street painted by Julien Binford in 1954
Preservationists familiar with the building recognized it right away as the original home of the historic Julien Binford murals located at 101 West 14th Street. They were alerted to the murals by Andrew Cronson, who spotted the murals, but also noticed a demolition notice on the door. The murals at the 14th street location appeared to still be intact. The building, a shuttered HSBC bank branch, was built in 1952, designed by Halsey, McCormack & Helmer. The website nysonglines states that the Binford murals at that location were painted in 1954, and could gloriously be seen from the street.
Cronson’s alert took place in 2017, setting in motion a plethora of efforts by the non-profit organization Save Chelsea, the primary historic preservation advocate in that area. Council Member Corey Johnson’s office was also onboard, as was Jamestown, and soon after, a newcomer to the area ~ Google.
The Legend of Watchung Mural in Sears store. Image via Echoes~Sentinel
Inside a Sears store on Route 22 in Watchung, New Jersey, a 16 foot by 10 foot mural depicting “The Legend of Watchung” was painted in 1965. The mural depicts member of the Lenni-Lenape tribe living peacefully with Dutch settlers in a location that would later be known as Watchung. The historic mural is now in danger of being destroyed, since the Sears store that houses the mural is due to be demolished on October 1st.
July 12, 2017, Spotify exercised an option to lease another 100,000 square feet at 4 World Trade Center, adding to the originally signed lease for the 378,000 square feet in February that includes the Graffiti in the Sky art installation curated by World Trade Gallery. Spotify will occupy the 62nd through 72nd floors.
