The third Single Fare MetroCard art exhibition opens up tomorrow. Small works by a thousand different artists will be featured this year, including some Subway Art Blog veterans. Stay tuned for my full report soon!
February 13 – 22, 2013
Opening Reception: February 13, 6-9pm
RH Gallery, 137 Duane Street
SKI and 2ESAE of UR New York have kicked off a sweet new subway project. “Going UR Way” involves custom black vinyl stickers created by the artistic duo. Each one is cut to form the silhouette of a figure and then placed on the surfaces of subway cars, each which interact with their environment very playfully.
2ESAE described the project to me:
We’re trying to make our mark in the public spaces even if its a small statement. As opposed to the tradition of just dripping or scratching our names into shit we found a cleaner, less invasive technique with the hopes they get to ride and reach more of an audience. We chose everyday imagery that people can relate to which is inviting and invokes thought. The message is simple: “Be Who You Are”, which in a way we are subliminally putting out there.
I’ve been told to keep an eye out for more of these soon. Send in your photos if you catch them in the wild!
Logan Hicks is a New York-based subway art veteran. His work explores the dynamics of urban environments, so naturally public transportation is depicted in much of his work. One of his newest series focuses on New York’s subway. Logan depicts life on subway trains in these pieces made out of anodized aluminum, inside custom machined aluminum frames that mimic the windows of subway cars.
I was lucky enough to be a part of the piece above (that’s me turned around gazing at the viewer).
The anodized aluminum series is being shown now at the Opera Gallery in Paris France and closes tomorrow!
In contrast to all the post-Sandy images we are seeing of a flooded subway system, here is a painting by Seth Tane called “Escape.” Be safe.
Check out this awesome project by artist Norman Ibarra. Over two years, Norman created a deck of playing cards out of MTA MetroCards. Each of the face cards and jokers feature New York monuments like Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty. Each card was silkscreened in Brooklyn at the Gowanus Print Lab.
The full set (not meant for actual play) will run you $550, which sounds like a lot to spend on deck of cards, but really not bad at all when you think about it as getting 54 miniature artworks.
MetroDeck is available at metro-deck.com.
The guys at UR New York have outdone themselves once again. With their new exhibition, Cause & Effect, 2ESAE and SKI are taking on the roll of curators for the first time. Over 20 artists are in the show, including many big names in graffiti and street art like COPE2, Sofia Maldonado, BISHOP 203 and more.
Several of the pieces in the show reference the subway in various ways. One of my favorites is entitled “Talking Trash” by KA. At first glance the piece looked like some sort of digital print based on a subway ad. Upon closer observation, I realized it an actual copy of the ad, but refined with paint, stickers and more. The piece does a wonderful job paying homage to the stickering that goes on in subway stations.
Cause & Effect has been extended to August 22. Keep an eye on Graff Cal for an announcement about the closing party.
Subway artist Jay Shells, well known for his etiquette campaign, is back with a brand new signage project. This time around he is tackling a much more sensitive topic: the NYPD. Jay shells out a steaming hot tray of irony, replacing images on Transit Police recruitment ads with terribly embarrassing photos of officers caught by cell phones, etc. The image above, for example, came from a video that made rounds recently of an officer body slamming a teen who had allegedly not paid his fare.
Check out the gallery below for more and let us know if you spot any underground!
Jilly Ballistic’s latest subway art has been making its way all over the web. Her new advertising error messages interact with subway ads in a really clever way. Check out this lottery ad for example.
Keep an eye out for new ones popping up every day!
