Artist profile – UP MAGAZINE

ZoGa: A Love in Color

Medha Gandhi, co-host of Z100’s ‘Elvis Duran and The Morning Show,’ and her boyfriend Brandon Zornes, who collectively paint under the moniker ZoGa, transitioned from a long-distance relationship to living together under lockdown during the pandemic. What started as a creative outlet during quarantine evolved into an artistic journey, and now, they are set to showcase their artworks in their first exhibition “A Night in Color” at Inked Tattoo & Art Gallery on November 30th.

Lily Brick: Coloring the Streets with a Message of Reflection

Lleida, Spain, saw the birth of Lily Brick, a street artist who has transformed the city’s walls into canvases filled with color and meaning. In this interview, Lily Brick shares her inspiration, creative method, and the challenges she faces as a street artist.

Allison Bamcat in Lala Land

Influenced by painters like Salvador Dali, Kenny Scharf and Vincent Van Gogh, Allison Bamcat developed her own style: Pop-Surrealism.
And not unlike Alice in Wonderland, Allison creates fantastical, colorful beings – despite the darkness she has known in her life.

The Photographer: An Icon of Valencia’s Streets

In the bustling streets of Valencia, we find a unique urban artist known as Mrbt62 or The Photographer, who, at the age of 70, has made an indelible mark on the city since 2015. In an exclusive interview, we delve into his world, where urban art becomes a form of unparalleled expression and authenticity. Through his words, we discover his unique and passionate approach to street art and his iconic alter ego, The Photographer.

Diamonds in the Rough – Dirty Jewels Berlin

The creative forces behind Dirty Jewels Berlin share their journey from fragment to fashion and their labor intensive process of upcycling graffiti walls into jewelry.

“It Comes Up, it’s Beautiful, and it Dies” – King Adz

For King Adz, street culture was street food, street art, street fashion and street sounds. They collided together to tell greater stories of subcultures that were as yet untouched by the mainstream. They were of the people, for the people. Through his films and books, King Adz told these stories to the public.

DAIN: The Eye of the Artist

DAIN, whose work was showing through September at Avant Gallery in New York’s Hudson Yards before moving to Avant’s Miami location in October, is a second generation New York street artist whose practice draws largely on a pair of divergent influences: the chaos and grit of 1980s New York City and the lost urbanity of golden age Hollywood. Commercialism, luxury branding, fashion and urban culture are also part of the mix. But it is the brightly colored, dripping painted circles around one eye of his central subjects that make DAIN’s work at once arresting and instantly recognizable.

A Q&A with the Creators of the ‘Sticker Movie’

Sticker Movie is a celebration of sticker culture worldwide. Through street art, zines, shows, and street photography, people of all ages and backgrounds have come together to form an international sticker community. This self-regulated network of enthusiasts create, trade, collect, and display stickers outdoors for all to see. Sticker people are the heart of this subculture, and Sticker Movie is their legacy. The world premier is this Friday, October 6th 7-9pm in Portland, Oregon.

The Eyes of Nikybotz

Nikybotz’s street art will make you look twice. Meet Nick of Nickybotz, an LA native and Los Angeles based collection designer and street artist on the rise. He is known for his colorful, uniquely shaped, jovial characters, with distinct almond shaped eyes.

Pay Peanuts, Get Monkeys: The Devaluing of Public Art With Lucas Geor

“It’s funny the hand that artists play in gentrification. Artists will move into an area because the rent’s cheap, maybe the buildings are a bit run down so people don’t mind you painting on the walls. They make the area look cool, and people start to come, and then developers catch on to it. They put up apartment blocks. And then they run out all of the artists who live there. That’s kind of the cycle. As more and more of that happens, I guess people just seem to think that art is for free, you know?” – Lucas Geor