New York – UP MAGAZINE

Street Aesthetics and Fine Art: UP Magazine’s Selection of Highlights from 2023 Armory Week

Earlier this month were the fantastical SPRING/BREAK Art Show and The Armory Show in New York City. UP Magazine contributing writer Alexandria Deters couldn’t help but reflect how the newest generation of art collectors taste and life experience has influenced the fine art world for the better. For your reading and viewing pleasure, she selected some works that highlight this realization.

Graffiti Writer or Street Artist? Norwegian Artist Martin Whatson Says He’s Both

In the world of public art, there’s this persistent debate that seeks to categorize art into two neat little, mutually exclusive, boxes: graffiti or street art. And artists working in public spaces are often called upon to define themselves: graffiti writer or street artist, choose a side, make a choice, fill out a commitment form, and sign it. Martin Whatson, the Norwegian artist, has an answer: Both.

Park Avenue’s Tunnel Vision

The section of the fabled street just below 42nd Street, where Grand Central blocks the road forcing traffic to go around via the Park Avenue viaduct, is among Manhattan’s busiest pedestrian thoroughfares. The perfect place for some art. That’s exactly what Patrons of Park Avenue (POPA) had in mind when they started featuring art installations on the Park Avenue Malls. Yes, even Park Avenue has its underground, quite literally, and this one has a distinct downtown edge to it. Read Scott Orr’s account of what happens under Park Avenue.

Photos from Boone Avenue Walls 2023

This August, over 100 artists were invited to the 9th annual Boone Avenue Walls Arts Festival with the event culminating on August 26 & 27, 2023. Curated by Wen Cod, the invited artists included some of the best muralists and style masters in the world. Photos by Kurt Boone.

Renz Renderz: Creating a New Reality

Renz Renderz, whose complex, layered images blur the lines between technology and reality speaks with UP about her career’s journey.

Artists Protest in Washington Square Park Against NYPD Crackdown

On Sunday, July 30, a few dozen artists and community members gathered by the park’s fountain to demand an end to the over-policing and criminalization of street artists and performers.

Akiva Listman Lights Up New York

Akiva Listman doesn’t just paint the fantasy New York tourists come to the city for–he depicts the grit and the glow that makes up the city as it really is. (Take it from Emma Riva, a native New Yorker with high standards). Listman’s star is on the rise with a solo show at 188 Allen and a feature from the MTA, so now’s the time to learn what his work is all about.

Kristopher Hull’s Unlikely Coupling of Street Art and Chopin

Over the last year, Hull has brought classical music to painting projects and events by some of New York’s top street art talent: Shepard Fairey, Chris RWK, Tito Ferrara, Lexi Bella, Jerkface, LeCrue Eyebrows, Vewer, Jim Tozzi, to mention a few. He has performed at some of the city’s most important street art venues like Freeman Alley, First Street Green Art Park and the Park Avenue Tunnel. He has played at art show openings and, at least once, at a tragic closing: the recent demolition of the outlaw 188 Allen Street Gallery.

No Model Lady: The Modern Day Vixen

In her new collection, ModVixen, Milena Bennett brings forth the complexity and depth of what it takes to be a woman unafraid to exhibit, celebrate, and fight for the best qualities of herself.

Keeping the Faith: Artist Kollier Din-Bangura Explores Adversity, Hope, Humanity

Kollier Din-Bangura stood frozen under the African sun at the corner of Sani Abacha Street in Freetown, Sierra Leone, for more than two hours. It was October 2020, just seven months after global COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns had begun. Dressed in all black, hands extended, and forearms drenched in sweat, he appeared to onlookers to be praying, or meditating, or simply a neighborhood character. Read about the artist’s story of performance and perseverance.