Mint&Serf Presents Graf-Abstract Mega-Exhibit; "Support, Therapy & Instability"

Last week the Bleecker Street Arts Club presented "Support, Therapy and Instability," over a dozen new paintings by the artists Mint&Serf.   Using their famous graffiti techniques, these paintings successfully bring the street to the canvas, a context to the action.  "Working within the parameters of contemporary painting, the duo has used their history with street art and graffiti-writing to build a new portal of painting, a new surface, space and vision, that has not yet been explored," says Laura Bloom, Director of Sandra Gering, Inc.  The layers are full and rich with paint, ripped papers and markers making the canvas a never-ending sea of abstract - graf work.  

Born in Moscow and Brooklyn, respectively, Mint and Serf (a.k.a. The Mirf) are Mikhail Sokovikov and Jason Aaron Wall. After meeting in 1997, the duo took to the streets of New York City.  After moving into their larger Broadway Chapter studio in December 2011, Mint&Serf were able to realize these major collaborative works as visiting graffiti writers such as Jacuzzi Chris and Pablo Power were invited to hang out and tag the canvases. Their emphasis on team collaboration forms a major aspect of their practice and separates them from their contemporaries in this field. Marnell writes, "It was just like graffiti on the city walls, or in seedy cocaine bathrooms at the bars graffiti writers hone in on: ever-evolving, alive, and essentially unconfined."  (-From the BSAC press release.) 

This fabulous book can be purchased for $40 at Bleecker Street Arts Club

The famous Birkin bag, which cost approx. $15k on it's own then adorned by Mint&Serf, one can dream.

Visit http://bsacny.com, http://www.mintandserf.com and the Huffington Post, The New York Post and Interview Magazine for more on Mint&Serf.   You have until February 22, 2014 to view the exhibit at BSAC, located at 305 Bleecker St., in the west village. 

Make sure you head upstairs also and view The Franklin Project's Andy Warhol works entitled "Portraits of Our Father" by the New York Academy of Art.  This show closes January 31, 2014.  The show looks like this: 

  

"Fourgive, 4Get - But Don't!" - CASH4 Exhibits Inside & Out at Wallplay

If you want an array of edgy, interesting and crazy colorful art to brighten up your winter snow days, head over to Wallplay Gallery for Cassius Fouler (Cash4)  "FOURGIVE, 4GET" debut solo exhibition. The gallery is located at 118 Orchard St. on the lower east side.  

If you are only half awake while walking or riding anywhere around NYC, Brooklyn (mainly the JMZ line) or even Queens nears Queensboro Plaza, you've seen the name "Cash4" up high on the buildings as a pun on generic graffiti.  Fouler believes society’s collective belief and trust in a currency that is not currently backed by gold amuses the self-described starving artist, who finds humor in tagging the word CASH. 

Curated by Huey Crowley and Laura O’Reilly, Fouler’s recent installation can be seen at/on Wallplay’s art billboards feature his signature 8-bit style lettering with the words FOURGIVE and 4GET (on Orchard Street and Delancey Street.  The phrase BUT DON’T is revealed after hours on the rolldown gates between the two billboards, completing the phrase. Ten of Fouler’s paintings and over seventy five works on paper are featured in the the street level gallery space, while a video installation corresponding with the billboards loops on Wallplay’s 12 digital screens.  See a few examples below, it will brighten your day while making you think.

Fouler has gained notoriety for his use of the paint roller within the graffiti community, including attention from law officials. The artist’s use of this tool and incorporation of sign painting technique make his CASH4 tag highly distinguishable.  His tag has become ubiquitous in New York and has made its way to Japan.

Fouler is a prolific painter and his work has been shown in several galleries in New York City. He has also produced a mural on the first floor on the Museum of Sex in Los Angeles and a sculpture for the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Visit: http://www.wallplay.com & http://www.cassiusfouler.com