When I stopped by Brooklynite on Sunday for a visit with Berlin-based duo Various & Gould, I could tell a lot of work had already gone into the Make It Fit show, which opens this Saturday. The two of them were furiously at work crafting bold and colorful new collages using printed material brought from Germany and objects sourced in Brooklyn. From what I’ve seen, I would say they’ve definitely stepped up their game since last showing at Brooklynite with Dain in Fall 2008.

Brooklyn-resident Specter - who last year garnered respect and admiration from peers, fans and strangers alike with his hand-painted, wheatpasted portraits of New York’s largely invisible working class - has also upped the ante. Taking his portraiture as a point of departure, he has built an impressive series of sculptural installations that are a natural progression from his recent street work.

Make It Fit
Brooklynite Gallery
334 Malcolm X Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11233 (A/C to Utica Avenue)
March 20-April 17, 2010
Opening reception: Saturday March 20th, 2010, 7-10pm

Labels: brooklynite gallery, gallery opening, specter, various + gould

MoCADA's Gentrification of Brooklyn show, featuring works by street artist Specter (pictured above), photographer Nate Kensinger and many others, opens with a public reception Thursday, February 4th, from 6 to 9pm. There will be a public art performance, a DJ set, as well as a presentation by curator Dexter Wimberly. Check the museum website for a full list of public programs planned for the duration of the show.

The Gentrification of Brooklyn: The Pink Elephant Speaks
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
February 4, 2010 - May 16, 2010
80 Hanson Place (at S. Portland)
Brooklyn, New York 11217

Featured Artists:
Josh Bricker (Installation), Oasa DuVerney (Illustration / Mixed-media), Zachary Fabri (Video), Irondale Ensemble (Theater Performance), Nathan Kensinger (Photography), Jess Levey (Photography / Outdoor Projections), Christina Massey (Painting), Musa (Sculpture), Tim Okamura (Painting), Kip Omalade (Painting), John Perry (Painting), Michael Premo / Rachel Falcone (Photography / Multimedia), Adele Pham (Video), Marie Roberts (Painting), Gabriel Reese (Painting), Ali Santana (Music Video), Monique Schubert (Mixed-media), Alexandria Smith (Painting) and Sarah Nelson Wright (Installation)

Labels: gentrification of brooklyn, mocada, museum, nate kensinger, opening, specter

If you missed the wonderful Art, Advertising, Activism & Alchemy artists talks - featuring Jason Eppink, Posterchild, Gabriel Reese (Specter) and Jordan Seiler (Public Ad Campaign) - at Wonderland in Queens recently, you can now view them all online! Anyone interested in how and why these artists operate in public space is encouraged to watch.

[Via Public Ad Campaign.]

Labels: artist talk, jason eppink, posterchild, public ad campaign, specter, wonderland

Tomorrow night promises to be an interesting evening...
Wonderland: 38-01 23rd Avenue @ 38th Street in Astoria, Queens.
N/W trains to Ditmars Boulevard.

Labels: artist talk, i am, posterchild, public ad campaign, specter, wonderland

Specter continues to impress with his large-scale, hand-painted, one-of-a-kind paste-ups. His work is visually arresting and a welcome break from the increasingly superficial, "branded" street art that has become popular lately. His pieces go beyond being merely beautiful, they make a strong, political statement.

Of this latest series he writes on his website, "I often deal with socially marginalized people and places, an example of this is my ongoing project titled "If I Saw You in Heaven" where I address the issue of homelessness and our apathy towards it by introducing larger than life portraits of these individuals, making their image a celebration of humanity instead of a blight."

"Another project, "Discarded" also deals with these forgotten elements by highlighting the waste of our society. Large quantities of disposed food items left to rot characterize the excess that interplay with neglected properties, creating a story of the undervalued detritus of our culture."

Labels: specter, street art