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Meet the the All-Stars

New York City’s largest art collective brings its A-Game to 198 Allen Street this summer (August 6th - 12th) in an epic retrospective of long-time collaborators and studio members. Hand-selected from our rich eight-year history in the Lower East Side. Approaching the art world on their own terms, presenting artists embody the culture of Con Artist Collective. Join us for a public gallery reception Thursday, August 9th, 2018 7pm-11pm. 

Now we would like to introduce each featured artist:

Kayo Albert 

Kayo Albert was born in Hyogo, Japan. After graduating from college in Kyoto, she came to New York to study painting at Art Student League, New York Studio School, and School of Visual Arts. She is actively creating and exhibiting her work in New York. A member since 2014, Con Artist Collective has been her hub for collaboration, exchanging ideas, and inspiring with other fellow artists. Her work is abstract painting heavily combined with drawing on a surface called Mylar. Her use of paint rich in fluidity creates translucent layers, and gives depth and complexity. Mylar of which most of her paintings are done, also gives translucency, luminosity, and airlines. With strong interest in Carl Jung’s psychology, she takes references from nature, and memories perceived and stored in the unconscious, extracted in altered form. She expands her work in several projects: The Iceland Project explores the juxtaposition between abstract painting and landscape photography, which she took in Iceland. In The Pillar and Fault series, paintings are mounted on multi-dimensional planes of wooden board to cross the boundary of 2 dimensional surface.

Tomaso Albertini 

Artist Tomaso Albertini was born in Milan, Italy (1984) where he attended the La Scuola del fumetto di Milano. He lives and works in New York City. His first professional work of large format paintings concentrated on a serious investigation of color. Here he broke free from the confines of illustration, the subject emphasized in his academic training, and began to create emotional projections that served as the foundation of his further development. Guided by instinct, he mixed color on flat surfaces using abstract forms that ultimately revealed figures. After this initial period, there was a big change. Albertini began to experiment with new materials. He wanted the work to be more physical - more direct. He introduced the use of burned, melted plastic into the paintings. He has described the process as a defacement of the figure in an effort to dig into the life of the human form. One senses the physical presence of form conveyed by a willful act of transference. Albertini than started to create three-dimensional art using cardboard. It allowed him to accomplish the figure as if it were a sculpture and paint on it as if it were a canvas. This technique introduced dynamics approaching sculpture. It is, in fact, a hybrid manifestation.

Atomik

Atomik is a 100% Miami artist. Atomik, trained in graphic design, is a big name in the Miami art scene. The graffiti legend, part of the infamous MSG crew, a group of local graffiti heroes, has been painting the city for quite some time. While growing up in the emerging Miami graffiti scene of the 80’s, Atomik witnessed for himself at a young age what would later become his profession. Famous for his iconic orange character which emerged as a response to the demolition of the Miami Orange Bowl, the artists also marks the walls of Miami with his sleek hand-styles, graffiti and lettering.

Jaouad “The Jah” Bentama 

Jaouad Bentama is a French artist born and raised in Paris, France. As a kid from a non-artistic family, his passion was initiated by his neighbor who took him to his first museum trip, which exposed him to different art styles. Jaouad creates artwork that echoes deeply with the lightness, the happiness, and the innocence of childhood.

Ian Bertram 

Ian is an artist working in multiple drawing and painting disciplines. His large scale works have been shown in Paris (Gallerie Glenat), Sri Lanka (Barefoot Gallery), and New York (David Lewis, Lazy Susan, Society of Illustrators). He has worked for Marvel, DC comics, Image comics, and Glenat BD. His current project is a creator-owned title called Little Bird, being published by Glenat Bd in France the winter of 2019.

Andrea Cook 

Andrea Cook is an international artist dedicated to empowering women through her paintings on various mediums including the street. Her latest series, Pussy Power debuted at the Museum of Sex in 2015 in NYC. With over 1000 pieces, now in collector’s homes and on the streets in cities all over the world, this body of work continues to grow along with her role as an international artist and global activist. From a 20-year entrepreneurial career in technology and communications that began in Chicago, Cook evolved into a visual artist and has become purposeful and passionate about creating street art that empowers women that drives real social change. As a changeologist, Cook has a large body of work on change that has been showcased in hundreds of shows and venues throughout the country. Wallpaper Magazine "cherry-picked" Andrea Cook’s Pussy Power art as one of the “finest works” from the Art on Paper show during its Art Basel review in 2015.

Charlie Cunningham 

Charlie Cunningham’s artwork invokes the contradictions within subjects both dubiously humorous and revolting. Utilizing campy motifs and materials, he searches for humorous optimism in mortality and satirizes the perverse nature of our destruction, both at the hands of time and our fellow man. His artworks span figurative sculpture, installation, drawing and painting. Each work can incorporate a wide variety of mediums including, ceramic, silicone, found objects, charcoal, urethane foam, resin, acrylic, and human hair. Charlie has recently exhibited at the Governor’s Island Art Fair, Burlington City Arts, and The Delaware Contemporary Art Museum. He is also the recipient of several awards and honors including a Teton Artlab Residency, Rasquache Artist Residency, and the Penn State University Creative Achievement Award.

Hektad 

Hektad is a New York City graffiti pioneer. In 1982, at the age of 12, the Bronx native set out to compete with veteran bombers such as Mitch 77 and Chris 217. After an intense 12 year campaign on New York’s streets and transit system, Hektad took a well deserved break to focus on his family. In 2013, he returned with a vengeance. After jumping into what many consider a cluttered and undefined street art scene, Hektad clearly took the lead with his whimsical “Love Drunk” hearts and humorous anecdotes.

JCORP 

JCORP is an American artist based in New York City. Known for her bright, starry-eyed characters, she explores pop culture and contemporary romance through street art, murals, and illustrative painting. She studied Visual and Critical Studies at the School of Visual Art and earned her BFA in 2014.  Some of her clients include MTV, VICE, NBC Universal, Redbull TV, Creative Nail Design, Ricky's NYC, The Doughnut Project, Black Tree Brooklyn, and Little Skips; among other public art projects such as The 100 Gates Project, Centrefuge Public Art, Arts Org LIC, Welling Court Mural Project, Lower Manhattan Art Festival (L.I.S.A. Project), JMZ Walls, and many more.

Seunghwui Koo 

Seunghwui Koo creates her works drawing inspiration from the daily happenings and intricate moments of her life in NYC.  Her work is a commentary on the lives of New Yorkers as she has witnessed. She was born in South Korea, where she first had the idea of combining the pig’s head and human body. The significance of the pig’s head lies in the different symbolic meanings from the Eastern and Western cultures. Good fortune (Eastern) and greed (Western), two very different connotations of the pig, are themes that are a part of her works. She uses resin, acrylic, plaster, clay, and mixed media to create her works. She is one of the artists in the Chashama organization in NYC.

Joseph Meloy 

Joseph Meloy is a muralist and mixed media artist who creates electrifying images that trigger the senses. His art is more of a subconscious realization of an idea or thing, than it is a fully realized or recognizable concept, yet there is enough there to convey a purposeful message of emotion, movement or mechanization. He has a distinctive style – each painting is a little different, but it’s always abstract with a bright color palette. He calls his work “post graffiti” art and coined the term “vandal expressionism” to best describe what he does.

Dean Millien 

Millien is an NYC-based artist who creates sculptures out of aluminum foil. His first solo exhibition, “Curses, Foiled Again”, was debuted at Con Artist Collective. He has been commissioned by J.Crew for their “Crew Cuts” kids lines. His sculptures have also been featured in Macy’s window display.

John Raymond Mireles 

John Raymond Mireles began his artistic career in the mountains as a rock climber, photographically documenting the lives and exploits of his fellow vertically inspired athletes. Though a climbing rope is no longer part of his equipment list, Mireles continues in his photographic adventures. His most recent series consists of portraits of Americans from all 50 states. Entitled the Neighbors Project, it has been publicly installed in San Diego, Phoenix, Anchorage, and in New York City’s Lower East Side - where it was listed by the New York Times and The Guardian newspapers as one of the top public exhibitions of 2018. Solo shows of his work include the Anchorage Museum in Anchorage, Alaska, Bread and Salt gallery in San Diego, and Circuitous Succession in Memphis, among others. Mireles is a recent transplant to New York City from his hometown of San Diego, California. His first solo gallery show in New York City will take place in September 2018 at the Storefront Gallery in the Lower East Side.

MOR 

Mor is an artist and Brooklyn native. A daughter of storytellers and artists - her narrative originates from an inherent urge to express an inner landscape of dreams and symbols. Spirited forms of flora and fauna emerge from a delicate and meditative process of paper cutting. She utilizes both pencil and blade to create these multi-layer stencils and singular paper cuts.

Victor Joseph Ochoa 

Victor Joseph Ochoa (b. 1988) is an artist born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from The Cooper Union in 2010, Victor began to pursue a career in graphic design within the publishing industry. He has worked for companies such as HarperCollins, Scholastic, and Simon and Schuster designing books for children of all ages. He has had books on the New York Times best sellers list and has worked with companies such as Nickelodeon, Lionsgate, Guinness World Records, Rovio, DC Comics, and more. He is a member of the Con Artist Collective in the Lower East Side of New York City. Here he creates, mentors, learns, and grows with a family of artists from around the world. Outside of his graphic design career Victor continues to pursue all aspects of creation. In 2010 he started the independent comic publisher DRAWMORE INC., where he self-publishes comics. He has exhibited at numerous local comic conventions, such as New York Comic Con, MoCCA Festival, and King Kong. He also ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for the comic anthology NOBODIES Volume 2. He previously worked as the Lead Publishing Designer at Marvel Entertainment. He currently is an Art Director at Ellation (Crunchyroll & VRV).

Cody Oyama 

Cooper Union alumni working with history, memory and the inability to touch either and the failures of both. Cody, along with Laura Tack (who now resides in Morocco) were two of the earliest artists to join the Collective and played a large role in the development of its culture.

RAD (Raddington Falls) 

RAD is an artist and art educator in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, Cuban-American RAD has exhibited and sold artwork online, galleries and alternative spaces. He has taught in museums, public and independent schools and community centers. His artwork embraces the person we were as a child. Sometimes, his artwork is a harsh mirror of our society. Most of the time, it lives somewhere in the middle. And perhaps his work may allow people to tap into their own sense of wonder and the power somewhere inside of them.

RX Skulls 

Rx Skulls aka Arrex is a adhesively obsessed exterior decorator from Portland Oregon who’s street art revolves around a single skull photo taken in the Natural History Museum in London. The project began its evolution in 2010 after a series of medical hardships and a trip to Europe, which exposed Rx to the world of street art in person. Having already dabbled in screen printing, creating stickers and posters from scratch quickly became more of an addiction than a hobby. To this day, six years later, Rx travels the world sharing his skulls, tombstones, poison labels, and plethora of other morbid designs with the masses.

Audrey Ryan 

Audrey Ryan is a figure painter with a dark sense of humor, hailing from Binghamton, New York. She holds a BFA in Drawing & Painting and a BS in Visual Arts Education from SUNY New Paltz. She is prolific, producing a constant stream of of observational gesture drawings, usually in ink or charcoal as well as many large-scale oil paintings. Her work is regularly published by Endless Editions, and is distributed/exhibited internationally. She is informed by punk culture, and histories of disorder, addiction and recovery. While also making drawings, poems, prints, zines, videos, installations and tattoos, she aims to communicate the struggle to survive our human selves.

Rachael Senchoway 

Rachael Senchoway wishes to inhabit a space where her restless energy can channel itself into something that lives outside of her body. She takes in her environment and returns it to the world as characters that are ultimately stand-ins for herself, and people she knows in her dreams. She is able to exert control over this dimension and integrate the creatures into a system that allows them to escape, become heros, animals, lovers, and ghosts whom exist in an ongoing myth. Creating these places helps her to see where she’s been, and where she’s going. Each painting is treated as an individual meditation within a body of work. These ideas allow her to rediscover the complexities of her own human experience.

Katie Shima 

Katie Shima (BA Columbia University, MArch Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation) is an artist and architect based in Brooklyn. Katie has had exhibitions at BRIC, the Knockdown Center, Bridge Gallery, Mighty Tanaka Gallery, Devotion Gallery, Trestle Gallery, and others in New York City as well as the GWVA Museum in Springfield, MA, and D.A.K. in Aarhus, Denmark. Residencies include Trestle Art Space, Con Artist Collective, Clocktower Gallery, and Det Jyske Kunstakademie. Katie is also a founding member of the electronic noise art group Loud Objects and has taught as an instructor at Columbia University.

Brandon Sines 

Frank Ape is a Sasquatch who lives in New York City amongst the humans and is the creation of artist Brandon Sines. Frank can be seen all over the city on any given day and has been spotted on streets and in homes around the world. He embodies positivity and equality, and cares about all living things. Frank believes in "creating your own universe" and inspiring people and animals every day. Shortly after moving to New York City in 2010, Sines combined his use of mythological creatures, pop icons, and made up characters into a new character called Frank. Frank is an “ape” that often takes the form of a cartoon, but is no doubt a reference to Sines himself. Frank explores human conditions without human restrictions.

The Sucklord 

The Sucklord is a New York City Pop Artist and Television Personality known for his subversive Action Figure mashups and Reality TV Persona. Operating under the Brand SUCKADELIC, The Sucklord’s Line of self-manufactured Bootleg Toys steal shamelessly from STAR WARS, Vintage Advertising and All manner of Pop Culture Trash. Packaged in layers of ironic self-Mockery, His shoddy looking wares have inspired an entire secondary Art movement, with dozens of entrepreneurial Toy Bootleggers creating their own versions of highly referential, low-Rent interpretations of their favorite figures. Recently The Sucklord has increased the scale of his work, putting oversized Blister-carded figures in Tokyo Art Galleries, the homes of the famously wealthy, and the Walls of downtown New York City.

Laura Tack 

Born on 9 June in Belgium, Laura Tack works through images and materials in an attempt to connect with the vastness of time, using processes that emphasize the connection between creation and destruction. Laura, as a painter, depicts both the pains and joys of seeking out and growing closer to our roots. She is currently living and working in Marrakech, Morocco.

Sarah Wang  

Sarah is interested in people and the communities they represent. In her photography and films, she collaborates with her subjects to tell their stories. She is exploring new ways and mediums through which to tell these stories, working in collaboration with professionals in various creative fields along the way. A photographer, film-maker, and curator born in Harbin, China, Sarah grew up in the Bay Area from the age of six. She earned her BA in Art Education from San Francisco State University with an emphasis in drawing and painting as well as a CA Teaching Credential in K-12 Art Education. Sarah worked as an artist teacher with the Joan Mitchell Foundation during her first three years in New York. She then, along with fellow artist, Shaina Yang opened an alternative art space in the Lower East Side, called City Bird Gallery. They offered an experimental space for emerging & professional artists as well as student and community organizations to exhibit their work. Shaina and Sarah have since joined forces with a collective of women and gender non-binary artists and curators to create Disclaimer Gallery, an experimental installation space catered to showing queer, women of color and other marginalized groups.

Wizard Skull 

Wizard Skull is an artist living and working in Brooklyn NY. Early on he picked up skateboarding, and he immersed himself within the subculture. Designing T-shirts, skateboard graphics, and skateboarding in local shop videos, he eventually went on to design over 200+ board graphics for skateboard companies from Norway, Russia, England, and all over the US and rest of the world. His art as well as himself skateboarding appeared in numerous skateboard magazines including Thrasher. Adopting the moniker of Wizard Skull and abandoning freelance design work, he began wheat pasting his art all around New York. One of his most often wheat pastes was "Sexy Ronald", a buff version of Ronald McDonald wearing only underwear with fries popping out of them. People began photographing and sharing images of it on social media which led to the image going viral several times, being bootlegged and sold on T-shirts in Thailand. This also led to his art being exposed to a larger audience.

Shaina Yang 

Shaina​ ​Lee-Shuan Yang, often known as Aniahs Gnay or Moon Mansion, is a ​multidisciplinary visual​ ​artist​ ​and​ arts​ ​organizer​ ​based​ ​in​ ​NYC. Their work explores the relationships of the vessel body and its carried symbols, connectivity, and the space between it all. They are influenced by the​ ​superstitious nature of their ​Taiwanese​ ​family​ and ​life as first-generation queer American.

Be there for our biggest show to date!

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Battle Royale

On June 11th, 11 members of Con Artist Collective will enter our gallery @119​ Ludlow Street to do battle in a display of talent and finesse. The stakes are high, with one of the eleven artists leaving with 24/7 access to the studio for a full month.

We invite all of our followers to come spectate and marvel at this historic event. Con Artist 1st Battle Royale: Summer Slam!

Displayed above are works by a handful of the artists participating in this event. We hope to see you all there!

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New Banksy in New York

It’s been awhile since the street artist Banksy has done work  in NYC and the hype over his new pieces in the streets of the Big Apple are at fever pitch. The small rat in the clock on 14th Street and Sixth Ave. has already attracted other artists posting up next to it to get some side fame. The mural wall on Bowery and Houston has already been defaced earlier yesterday with some anti-gun law protest. That has also been already removed. It’s only Day 2. Art on this famed wall space generally stays for three months so expect more attempts to go over it.

The art on the mural wall itself is political this time. It’s a collaboration piece with another artist, Borf, and featuring another artist, Zehra Doğan, who is serving time in a Turkish prison for a painting of the destruction of buildings during a clash between Turkish military and Kurdish militants in 2015. At night, a projection of the controversial painting is displayed above the mural.

UPDATE: The clock has been removed by the building management. The building has been scheduled for demolition. Three other works in New York have been theorized as works by Banksy but only one other one has been confirmed and it has now been gone over with gray paint and various tags by other artists.

Text and photos by Josef Pinlac

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Illustration Residency Interviews

The Illustration Residency is a 3-month residency starring artists Alice Skinner, Luz Dager, Anna Marcelo and Rosa Chang. These artists were picked by a jury of:

Ian Bertram, an American comic book artist and SVA graduate who has been published by D.C. Comics, Marvel and Dark Horse. Ian is a long-time Con Artist Collective collaborator and has had solo shows at our sister gallery Lazy Susan Gallery, and the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo, Sri Lanka as part of a Hot Butter Collective artist residency.

Victor Ocoa, an artist from Brooklyn, and studied Fine Art at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. After graduating he established a career as a graphic designer for companies such as Scholastic, HarperCollins, and Marvel Entertainment. He is the founder of the independent comic publisher DRAWMORE INC., where he worked with artists from around the world creating original sequential art. He is currently an Art Director for Crunchyroll in San Francisco, California. 

Richard Miller  has over 20 years experience as an illustrator and fine artist. He graduated from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Graphics in 1994 and was recruited by DC Comics, where he worked on producing comic books including Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. His expertise includes illustration, toy design, and animation.

Interviews

Alice Skinner

Alice Skinner is a 25 year old artist originating from London. She comes from London and is currently based London and New York City. She earned her BA with honors in Illustration and Visual Media at the London College of Communication. Her work often touches on topics like gender, sexism, and sexuality.

A bunch of your works are inspired by Pablo Picasso, when did you start doing this and why?

So I wrote my thesis for the last year of my degree on the gender gap in art and out of like the top ten most expensive works of art in the world, like 6 of them are Picasso. And for me, it was all about depictions of women are worth so much money but then work created by them is not. So I just wanted to start taking recognizable images and giving these women narratives, and modernize them for our generation. And also, the meme captions are there because the young people need relatability so they can see themselves in popular culture and in art. Where as I feel like for many many years art is very elitist. I’m just trying to change that.

As a high school student, I’ve noticed that the arts are in my opinion, unappreciated. Do you fear that such revered artists will eventually be forgotten by the youth?

Yeah, and I think it’s important that even if we disagree with the person - as a person I hate Picasso, he was a sexist, racist, horrible man - but he still paved the way in art. I don’t really like classical art and that’s why it was interesting doing this project because it gave me a new appreciation of how we’re here. But sort of changing it and veering it in it’s own direction.

You said the depiction of women is very popular and sells well but the art that women create isn’t. How do you think that can change and do you think it’s already changing?

I do think it’s changing. Instagram is like one of the biggest tool for female artists right now. I’m also in an exhibition in London this week that is all about women who have furthered their careers with just Instagram. I think because we’re taking it outside of the gallery, and not just women but all minorities are having more of a chance at being able to be artists because the way we are consuming our art is changing. I think it’s the best time so far for women and minorities to come through.

In one of the pieces you’re showcasing, the caption is “How I sleep at night knowing that strange men on the internet hate me for existing.” What kind of hate have you been receiving? And how frequent is this hate?

It comes in bursts. It was very overwhelming after the women’s march. A piece of mine, which I completely stand by, said white silence equals white consent and a lot of white people, especially men, did not like this. I had like 4 days of being trolled by the alt-right and nazis. [They were saying] I shouldn’t be able to live, I shouldn’t be able to procreate, n-word lover, all of these crazy things. That was the big incident but it does happen quite regularly, I’ll just get some man in my inbox telling me how awful I am and sexist doesn’t exist and all of that crap.

Does it ever scare you?

Yeah, when the women’s march happened it was real bloody intense. I got like 700 new followers in a day and then like 700 haters and my phone [was going crazy]. They found my twitter as well and it was everything to “you shouldn’t be able to procreate” to just “eat shit.” I can find the humor in these things because these people are just close-minded ignorant fools.

You said it scares you, but does it also excite you?

I was with my mom when it happened - we don’t live together so it was quite rare that we were together - she was getting excited because she said “isn’t this what artists try to do their whole lives? To start a conversation, and you’ve started a conversation, cause like - some of it’s good and some of its bad, but people are talking.”

Luz Rodriguez Dager

Luz Dager is a 27 year old artist originating from Ecuador. She is based in Ecuador but comes to New York often. She earned her Bachelors in Graphic Design and Visual Communication at the Universidad Casa Grande in Ecuador. Her work often touches on female empowerment, and body positivity.

I’ve noticed that many of your works have been on the topic of body positivity, has body positivity been an issue for you growing up?

Yeah, I wasn’t the skinny girl in my college. So it was hard because I always wanted to be more skinny, more pretty, I always wanted to have straight hair because I have curly hair and all those kind of things [made it a] really hard time. So yes that is part of what I’m doing right now. It’s not the whole thing but it’s a really big part of it. Also I realize little girls like my cousins and the daughters of some of my friends who are 5 and 6 years old  are already worrying about what they look [like] and what people think about them, and I don’t think it’s a stupid thing but it’s like “why are they doing that? They are just kids.” So this is part of how I can speak aloud what I feel, and demonstrate the physical is not everything.

In all of your pieces that you’re showing it's black and white, but then there’s a bundle of color somewhere. Do the colors represent anything?

Yeah, they actually represent who you are inside. The series of illustrations are about self love and how you can improve or achieve self love. And I think these 16 years I’ve been in New York I have tried to do that, even though I didn’t realize it until now. They are black and white illustrations and the colors that pop out aren’t the “physical” illustration. Every single piece is of a girl doing something, in the first piece it’s a girl discovering what’s wrong with her, but she realizes nothing wrong. In the second one is helping herself to improve, to realize things can be better if you love yourself first and not to let everything get her down. Not for anyone, because they are many things you can’t control, but you can control yourself, if you can do that you have resolve.

In your piece, “Forgive,” who are you telling to forgive and who should she be forgiving?

She has to forgive herself. She’s like punishing herself because something happened or something different happened. She tries really hard and she does things wrong and things come out wrong, and she does things right and things still come out wrong, so it’s all these situations she can never forgive because she always feels [she is wrong]. But the flowers start coming up and she starts forgiving herself for the things that happen and don’t happen that aren’t her fault.

Anna Marcelo

Anna Marcelo is an artist who originates from the Philippines and is currently based there and in New York city. She is studying Graphic Design at Pratt Institute. Her work often touches on technology and mental health.

Some of your work involved modern technology and how it affects modern technology and how it affects relationships. Do you think the effect is positive or negative.

What I wanted to talk about was how we always think about how digital things are fake, but technology has evolved in a sense that it’s become an extension of ourselves and we have to question, “is it reality at this point?” because our social media, like snapchat, and instagram, in a world of everything to our nudes to our breakdowns they become documentations of our most vulnerable selves. So that’s what I wanted to talk about when it comes to digital intimacy. This can be both bad and good. I’ve done art experiments where people have sexually harassed me, but also there are such good things like intimate stories. Intimacy is just a positive thing, but there is vulnerability.

Do you think younger people are more likely to be affected?

Yeah, of course because we grew up with it [technology]. Like I grew up having internet friends and that whole thing. It becomes an extension of ourselves and that’s not necessarily a bad thing but there are effects to it.

It seems like you are trying to showcase the power of women in your pieces tonight, is that right?

Not exactly, it was actually about body politics and erotica. I wouldn’t call it positive but it is a commentary on it. You can freely interpret it - that’s like the whole art thing but when I created it, it was supposed to be a play on two types of binding that society creates on us. Most of them are filipino porn stars and most of them actually change their names into soda names, so there’s a girl called Pepsi Paloma to create this fantasy. And she was in the business since she was like 14.

Is that legal in the Philippines?

It’s not now, but it was the 80’s and it was legal back then. It was purely fucked up, they were forced to be stereotyped. It went to an extreme that this girl 3 years later kills herself at 17, and in her diary she talks about the violence in the porn industry. There’s nothing wrong with porn, but like the creation of it. That’s why I wanted to use binding because it symbolizes what society forces us to be physically.

Rosa Chang

Rosa Chang is an artist who originates in Seoul, South Korea. She regularly works in New York City and earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is currently enrolled in the Visual Narrative graduate program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).

In your Weeping Tree Story, you say the use of abandoned objects, old garments, and denim serves as a metaphor for the feelings of those who feel socially abandoned and rejected, have you ever felt that way?

Yeah, of course, especially in my first couple of years surviving in a different country as an immigrant. Also I’m [a] minority [and] also [a] woman and English isn’t my first language. But I think these kind of things unconsciously inspired my art. But I kind of wanted to create something positive. I really like the idea of reusability, we recycle used stuff that can’t be used anymore but can turn it into something very cool.

When did you start caring about recycling? In America I’ve noticed it’s not really a big deal to a lot of people.

So I was working in a natural indigo dyeing studio two years ago where I was an apprentice. I learned how to dye fabric and realized that there is nothing to be wasted and the whole process taught me that everything comes back to the earth. And it helps regrow the earth, so it’s a cycle. I thought it would be nice to apply that whole process to my own artwork. It’s too long to explain the whole process of dyeing but the plants, water, and other resources are super precious.

Why did you choose cactus for this past exhibition?

Aside from this exhibition I’ve also been painting this series called, “I am not your comfort zone,” where I choose things like a cat or pillow, it can be something useful or something small and cute, and I thought maybe they want their own voice. For example, a cat that’s very cute but it doesn’t really want you to pet it all the time, so the pet wants the power to express this emotion. The items are usually fragile and have no voice to give them a power to express themselves. So as an alternative I decided to add needles on their surface so it turns into a cactus.

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NAVIGATING THE NEW YAYOI KUSAMA FESTIVAL OF LIFE INFINITY ROOMS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE

You probably seen Yayoi Kusama’s Festival of Life Infinity Rooms currently on view at the David Zwirner Gallery, at the time of this writing, all over your social media feed. If you have never experienced her installation art or have had trouble, this is a crash course. Following the wildly successful traveling retrospective exhibit in the US of her work, this Japanese artist is more popular now than ever. Expect long lines and very little time to experience the art. Even though it might not have been the artist’s wishes when she created the works, most museums and galleries limit your time in her environments to a minute or less to accommodate as many visitors as possible. This means show up early! The earlier the better, even before the galleries open. You can also decrease the time you have to wait by scheduling your visit on a weekday or on a day with bad weather. However, the bad weather only cuts the time by thirty minutes or so. The average minimum wait has been two to three hours. You might want to avoid the weekends. The wait has been reported by the David Zwirner Gallery Twitter feed to be four hours during Saturdays and this is BEFORE the gallery has even opened. You might want to make sure you visit with good friends so the time will feel like it’s just whizzing by. Or maybe bring that book you have been meaning to finish reading. Maybe bring some small snacks but none or just a little liquid beverage. You risk losing your spot in line to go to a nearby restroom. There have been reports that you can’t hold a spot in line for friends but this gets less enforced when you are further back in the line. The front of the line has barricades so that’s when leaving the line or sneaking friends in gets frowned upon. The line usually gets cut around two hours before the gallery’s closing hours but just this past Saturday it got stopped four hours before.

All of this seems ridiculous I know, but consider that the power of her art has increased membership at the normally free anyway Hirshorn Museum in Wahington DC by over 6500 percent and has sold out of timed tickets at every other stop including the current Broad Museum in Los Angeles. There’s just too many people who want to experience her art and/or have bragging rights to seeing it first. I have been pondering for a few years now if there is a solution to the frenzy over her work and other similar art experiences especially when the anticipation is backed by social media and its influencers. If you have any idea let me know. At this time, there seems to be no system that can make the experience better or more efficient. The work in the photos in this article by Yayoi Kusama are With All My Love For Tulips, I Pray Forever (2011), and the two Infinity Rooms, Let’s Survive Forever (2017) and Longing For Eternity (2017) on view at the David Zwirner Gallery at 533 West 19th Street until December 16. Her paintings and sculptures are also on view at the adjacent gallery and the new uptown location. There is no line for this part of the exhibit...yet

Photos and text by Josef Pinlac

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Fall Residency Artist Interviews

The five artists in this past Fall Residency made some great work over a 3-month period. The artists - BriAnna Olson, Seunghwei Koo, Joe Arnold, and Michelle Kim. They worked on a variety of mediums like prints, acrylic, and mixed media works. Each artist showcased their talents with 1-12 pieces. Below are some short interviews of three of those artists - BriAnna Olson, Seunghwei Koo, and Joe Arnold. The 5 artists in the residency were all chosen by a set of jurors, they are Trina Merry, Kayo Albert, and Sue Karnet. Enjoy <3.

BriAnna Olson

BriAnna is a New York City based filmmaker, photographer, director and producer. After studying at King’s College in London, she has directed music videos and films and traveled as an independent artist.

What is the symbolism in these pieces?

The project is about my grandmother and this mysterious witchcraft practice that she brought from Cuba that was always hidden from us. It’s a sort of fantasy of what she’s doing behind closed doors.

When I was younger, touching my mother’s jewelry was taboo. Was it the same for you and your grandmother?

Yes, the jewelry represents this older woman who is untouchable in a way.

Do you think her untouchable status was justifiable now?

Yeah, I think she was a very tough woman and I think there was a lot of stuff we weren’t told about her business.

You guys never found out?

No, there’s a lot of legends though. I don’t want to know the truth. Like she had a boyfriend that just disappeared and my sister and brother think my dad killed him. Yeah, I think there’s a reason she didn’t want us to know what she was up to?

Was jewelry a big deal growing up or was it just there?

It was just there, it sort of represents womanhood. It’s what women buy, it represents their worth. [There are] these owls that represent great wisdom she received and brought with her.

Seunghwei Koo

Koo was born in South Korea, where she first had the idea of combining the pig’s head and human body. After graduating from Kyungpook National University in South Korea in 2005 Koo has gone on to participate in numerous exhibitions and win multiple awards. She is now based in New Jersey.

What are the pigs all about? In Korea, piggies are good signs everywhere. When you have a dream about pigs people buy lottery tickets the next day because it means you have good luck. And the ears signify success, if you’re trying to have a baby you want the piggy. Then I came here 12 years ago and people asked why? People here in America said they are dirty and pointed out all the negatives.

What are the pigs all about in this piece. (Red People)

It represents the mixture of people in places like New York City. It includes all different colors and patterns. In New York City people come from all different cities and countries like me. For example, this piggy here has a bandage, this piggy is sick or has issues.

In this collection, what were you trying to convey?

It represents the young, emerging artists. I was walking down the street and I see “hipsters” walking and young people and it inspired me to many more pieces. I’m interested in the, “neighborhood” stories. For example, the inspiration for this one [Artist Lunch] is I used to have pizza for lunch everyday and my friends would ask me, “why are you always eating pizza?” and I would say, “I don’t have any money!”

Joe Arnold

Joe is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Brooklyn, NYC. While only graduating from The College of New Jersey with a B.F.A, he has already been in several exhibitions as far back as 2015. 

What are you trying to say or change about how gay males are perceived?

I don’t know if I’m necessarily trying to change anything, I was just trying to highlight how gay men in the media are offered only a specific type of portrayal, and now that social media alot of queer people can image themselves in a more empowering way. I photograph men in their own homes with their own things as a way to show without putting bias onto it. As far as the pieces here [The Con Artist Collective] goes this is a bit more obscure, this is a diptych, it’s two pictures of a fur jacket. So it’s the outside and inner lining. The fur jacket is something that’s shown up in my photographs before and so I took it as an item has meaning to me. I wanted to create a metaphor of the inner lining is the conscience, and the exterior is what we show. I wanted to create photos that were textured and tactile and sensual and made you want to look at them.

What exactly does the fur mean?

At first it didn’t mean anything but it started to mean stuff when I started visiting multiple men who owned fur coats. I started to realize this became a sort of theatrical item and I realized looking at my photos from the past is a lot of gay man have this theatricality to them and this idea of performing. And it comes from, not to generalize everyone, we’re always very self-reflective and thinking constantly about how we are coming off to people and so I think a lot of gay people come out and accept themselves they no longer worry and realize how they really want to be perceived.

Interview by Kyle Isler

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David Choe Mural Controversy

You might know about the constantly changing mural on Houston St. and Bowery. Normally murals are commissioned there for a duration of 3 to 4 months from established artists chosen. Recently, artist David Choe was chosen for a mural that was to last until after the summer. It lasted about a little over a week. You might not know much about the artist and maybe do not even care but it’s become a world where art no longer belongs to the creator but filtered through his or her actions in relation to the world. Or sometimes even though another person’s filter in relation to the world. The controversy stems from a podcast he made a few years ago where he claimed raping a masseuse that he forced into unwanted sex acts. He later apologized and claimed this was just a fictional story told for shock value. His critics feel that despite his statement regarding the lie, he is still promoting rape culture and shouldn’t be forgiven so easily. He also claims that he is no longer the same person who makes such shocking content anymore after much soul searching and rehab and sobering up. In any case, the recent work was in public view and he was vilified in print and the work was vandalized over. You can read more about the protest over the mural in more depth in articles by other blogs such as this one from Hyperallergic: (link here: https://hyperallergic.com/386156/artists-protest-sexual-violence-and-david-choes-bowery-mural/) and maybe make up your own mind about it. Mostly the whole matter makes me wonder how much time would need to pass before an artist can be forgiven for past mistakes. Can they ever be forgiven? It brings to mind the not so recent but no so long ago situation of artist Tom Otterness and how reports came about how he killed a dog with a gun as part of his early “art". Many still like him for his whimsical and playful sculptures, but many including myself also have trouble enjoying them now. David Choe has been an artist very much under my radar before and now that he has been made publicly accountable, will all his future work be only filtered through past mistakes and not on its own artistic merits or failures? As of this writing the wall remains empty.

Photos and text by Josef Pinlac

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The Dyke March is a part of Pride Weekend in NYC and takes place on Saturday afternoon the day before The Pride March. It is generally praised for being still a protest and not being under any corporate sponsors. The Dyke March itself is held without a permit from the city though the city acknowledges its existence and usually still provides a police escort and protection even as the march provides their own personnel to stop traffic at intersections and generally keep an eye out for safety of everyone in the parade as well as supporters on the sidelines. It starts out from the 42nd Street Public Library and winds down to Washington Square Park where the tradition is to wade into the fountain afterwards. Photos from the 2017 Dyke March on its 25th anniversary.

Photos and text by Josef Pinlac

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Statue Showdown

This town isn’t big enough for the both of ‘em?

Fearless Girl by Kristen Visbal and the Charging Bull of Wall Street by Arturo Di Modica are courting controversy in the news as of late and bringing up interesting ideas to light as to what and how copyright violation should apply to public art. To recap, the girl statue was placed within striking distance of the bull to promote International Women’s Day by State Street Global Advisors encouraging the companies they represent to diversify their board members and decision makers with more women. It is also shameless self-promotion as their visibility as an investment company is now much more well known after the marketing stunt went viral. Fearless Girl was meant to be temporary for a few weeks as its permit allowed but in the current political climate, ordinary citizens all over the world have embraced the message the art implies and many have pushed to have it permanently on display. At the time of this writing, an extended stay of a year has been granted by the mayor’s office. Enter the original artist of Charging Bull, Arturo Di Modica, who is now claiming copyright and trademark infringement as Fearless Girl is riffing on his work and doesn’t stand on its own. ACLU big name lawyer, Norman Siegel, represents Mr. Di Modica and though no lawsuit has yet been filed, they are requesting relocation of the girl statue and asking for retribution fees awarded to Mr. Di Modica. Surprisingly, a lot of artists and art influencers have been against the commercialism of Fearless Girl and I wonder if their stance has changed now that censorship has entered the stage in the name of casting the Wall Street Bull in a negative light. First of all, I have always considered Charging Bull to be negative as it represents the greed and mismanagement of Wall Street to me. The artist originally intended it as a positive symbol inspired by America triumphing over a recent stock market crash. Maybe it’s the jaded advertising major in me but I have not been the biggest fan of Fearless Girl either. I have hopes that its message can rise above its origins as a commercial for its commissioners but I didn’t feel all that strongly as the company that helped create it doesn’t even practice what they preach by having only three women executives among a group of eleven. I do take issue that Charging Bull is public art and that Arturo Di Modica should not dictate what happens around his work after he basically gifted it to New York City and the world. There is no final word on the matter and ideas surrounding this controversy will most likely make for passionate conversations yet to come. I leave you with words from New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio who tweeted, “ Men who don’t like women taking up space are exactly why we need the Fearless Girl.”

Text and photos by Josef Pinlac

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We're so saddened to hear ab Chuck Berry's passing that we're postponing the opening of our Trump hat show to throw a Chuck Berry party this Wednesday (3/22 @ 7pm). Come out and dance with us at #conartistcollective #chuckberry #rocknroll #alternativeparty (at Con Artist Collective)

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He Will Not Divide Us

I was not planning on another political post but these days even the personal is political which brings us to the performance art participatory piece known as He Will Not Divide Us by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. It was supposed to last the length of the Trump presidency, at least 4 years was planned but the project was dismantled today as I write this on February 10, only a little over three weeks from its initial start on inauguration day, January 20. As a protest against the election of Donald Trump into the office of the presidency, visitors/participants were expected to repeat the words “he will not divide us” however many times they choose to as a camera and microphone records the actions for a livestream on the official website www.hewillnotdivide.us. I visited it a few days after the tumultuous weekend that include multiple protests during the first few days of the new presidency. It was a cold and wet rainy day. I was not expecting anyone to be there so I expected to chant for a minute or two then leave but as I rounded the corner to its outdoor location there was a large crowd of about 15 or 20 people gathered there and the way they chanted the phrase was pretty catchy. I took a few photos for posterity and then I was approached by one of the artists who I did not even notice was nearby since most everyone was wearing raincoats that covered their heads. It was Shia LaBeouf and he introduced himself and welcomed me into the community. I instantly felt more at ease and started to join in on the chanting and mostly forgot that I was getting soaked the longer I stayed. At times, someone would bang an empty water bottle against the wall as a percussive instrument and keep the beat for the chanting. I stayed a lot longer than I had planned but it made me realize the potential the piece could become especially given four years to mature. Already it had a bit of drama when a neo-Nazi tried to chant his own propaganda into the mic and was shut down by Shia chanting louder and in his face. He would ultimately be arrested at one point for another similar incident. There were other notable interactions such as late night/early morning trolling by millennials looking for a bit of internet fame or angry bigots and old school New Yorker types or Trump supporters that cursed the artists and even made death threats. A local politician even staged a gathering one weekend to combat all the hate speech that was getting attention. I think there was also a live podcast done in front of the camera once. Mostly there were also a few quiet moments where conversations were had with whoever was visiting that would turn into interesting streams of consciousness. Like most compelling art, people made it their own and added to its quirky characteristics. Looking back, four years is a long time for a political piece and I wonder how much it would devolve given how everyone was finding ways of hijacking the piece to further their own means. In the end it was too much drama for the Museum of the Moving Image and the conservative middle class neighborhood the work was located in and the museum decided to end it prematurely. The artists’ official statement is that they have not abandoned the idea but the museum has. The last image below is what is currently on the live (dead?) stream.

UPDATE: The livestream has now moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and is back live! It also looks to be experiencing the same drama as New York, but at least the project goes on.

UPDATE: 2/24/2017 Dammit! Shut down again due to reported gun shots fired in the area.

UPDATE: 4/14/2017 The project has re-surfaced as non-interactive flags placed in various locations. Unfortunately, it barely lasted a day in each location as internet trolls basically made it interactive by trespassing and capturing the flags or trying to capture them. I will let you search for those stories on your own as they are quite interesting in themselves.

Photos and text by Josef Pinlac

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In a show of solidarity to the Women’s March in Washington D.C., New York City had its own protest that took place on Saturday, January 21, that will go on record as probably the second biggest protest in the Big Apple for the 21st Century(the biggest is the recent Climate March). The official route was so packed it moved at an incredibly slow pace of about three blocks every hour. A lot of participants strayed off and started their own marches at nearby streets and made impromptu disruptions to the dismay of motorists. One photographer I spoke to remarked that he found it all very inspiring. I really like that everyone let out their individualism and found their own ways to voice their resistance whether it was through homemade signs, T-shirts with carefully chosen words or even the now ubiquitous Pink Pussy hats. All ages were represented and one could sense the importance of this pivotal moment in history. There is a long road ahead and consistency in keeping the momentum is key. Simple actions like writing your local politicians about your concerns will help as well as getting more involved and informed about your local government. To quote Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see” and as one sign quoted Bill and Ted, “Be excellent to each other.” And for you artists, wise words from Meryl Streep recently quoting Carrie Fisher, “Take your broken heart and make it into art.”

Text and photos by Josef Pinlac

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Happy New Year!

If ever there was a year to start off hitting the ground running, 2017 may be it. We have an unpredictable new president and government that may change everything we know for better or for worse. As artists living in New York, we are well poised to find and use resources that may serve us for the better. If you have not already discovered the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) at https://www.nyfa.org/, I suggest you look into it. There are a few weeks left at the time of this writing to apply for their Fellowships which gives cash awards to artists in 5 distinct categories that change every year. If you are not eligible for this year’s categories of Crafts/Sculpture, Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts, Nonfiction Literature, Poetry, or Digital/Electronic Arts, you can check out next year’s categories and plan out your application. The NYFA website also has job listings and workshops. If you are looking for a venue to showcase your work, you might consider looking into http://www.4heads.org/. 4 Heads organizes two art fairs a year that are a great stepping stone from becoming an emerging artist to an established one. The one for Spring, the Portal Art Fair is only in its second year and has a few weeks left in its application deadline or skip ahead to the Summer Governors Island Art Fair. Both only cost a $35 application fee, but are looking for well prepared entries so keep this in mind if you do apply. If you are looking for something a little more casual, Figment Festival, also on Governors Island, is a free art fair with no cost to apply. This year’s 2017 Figment includes a section that will grant $1000 in funds to a project that will bring in attention which also has a few weeks left in its deadline. The Figment website is http://newyork.figmentproject.org/. Even if you miss the deadlines, Figment allows for guerilla style art making if you can bring your work to the island during the weekend of the festival. Also, if you are a New York City resident, you need to apply for the IDNYC and take advantage of the one year free memberships to art museums and cultural institutions! Apply for the card here: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/idnyc/index.page. If you need a community or space to develop, we at Con Artist Collective are offering a Resolution Special! Check out the details here: http://conartistnyc.com/blogs/news/resolution-special-100-off-24-7-workspace-access. You can also take part in group shows as a member! Happy New Year and have a productive 2017!

Text and photo by Josef Pinlac

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I caught the Why I Love to Fuck Donald Trump art show at the Joshua Liner Gallery the day after the Tuesday night election of president elect Donald Trump. It was filled with a lot of humorous pieces but in the context of the day after, the art was not as funny anymore. Pictured above, is The Legacy Stone Project (The Donald Trump Tombstone) by Brian Andrew Whitely, The All Seeing Donald Trump by anonymous artists and Weathered Flag (Gold Drip) by Andrew Schoultz. It has only been a week at the time of this writing and the effects of the recent current events will not truly be felt for a few more months at least. In a way it has brought to light the problems our society still needs to address and work together to solve. Presidents and politicians have always been easy marks for artists due to the strong emotions they stir up from within and this election year has been one for the books as far as all the visual iconography that it has produced, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders included. As much as the unfortunate power shift brings about a lot of anxiety and stress over what this could mean for everyday life in the near future, it can also bring about a lot of great thought and art. Don’t stop dreaming and don’t stop making art.

P.S. The views on this post are the writer’s own and does not necessarily reflect the Con Artist Collective...though it probably does.

Text and photos by Josef Pinlac

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Originally conceived as a temporary art installation to memorialize the tragedy of September 11, the Tribute in Light in now an annual display. It was designed by John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Myoda and lighting designer Paul Marantz and came into being through arts organization Creative Time and the Municipal Art Society. Originally, the 88 spotlights with Xenon bulbs were located at Ground Zero approximately where the original Twin Towers were built. When reconstruction finally began after years of bureaucracy, it was moved nearby to the rooftop of the Battery Parking garage. Its costly maintenance kept threatening to discontinue its yearly projection into the night sky, but there have been new developments in the past years. Recently, its care has been transferred to the 9-11 Memorial and Museum. Also, its power source of generators has now been changed to run on biodiesel which significantly cut the cost. It also used to run the entire week leading up to September 11, but now usually runs only on a full night on the actual date of September 11. It is often tested a few nights before so it is visible before the day, but is usually shut off before midnight. If you look closely in and around the beams, birds have been attracted to the light in recent years and the National Audobon Society has been enlisted in monitoring this. Periodically, the lights may be shut off during its run in order to keep the birds from exhausting themselves trapped in the light.

Text and photos by Josef Pinlac

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The Troll Museum Resurrected

Lower East Side historians, underground culture lovers and general NYC know-it-alls lamented the recent loss of the only Troll Museum in the world which once existed on the sixth floor of 122 Orchard Street. It has currently found a resurrection at community art space Chinatown Soup. It’s a chance to marvel at the collection that founder, curator and trollogist Reverend Jen has put together featuring all her favorites. The sexy trolls are there, the pregnant, cutesy and the haunted troll, too. Select art by the Reverend is also on view and for sale. The framed photo of the Board of Directors is prominently on display as well. Meet Rev Jen and discuss the disappearing legacy she has cultivated on the LES or just take a troll selfie. It could be a while before the museum will be on view again so check it out at Chinatown Soup on 16 Orchard St. before it closes on August 30th!

Photos and text by Josef Pinlac

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Pokémon Go is going into its sophomore month and recent updates have shuffled certain nests around, but you can always count on some interesting ones hanging out in the Lower East Side including at the Con Artist Collective studio space. But careful where you leave your last beer though or it may be up for grabs to the nearest of these pocket pet creatures.

Text and screen captures by Josef Pinlac