From Ruas de Sao Paulo to New York City

by Stephanie Nikolopoulos

March 9, 2007

The Brazilian street artists have landed, and we're tracking their every move as they get ready to launch Ruas de Sao Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery this Saturday. Here’s an account of the movements of Boleta, Fefê, Highraff, Kboco, Onesto, Speto, Titi Freak, and Zezão.

Feb. 14 – The Installation: The artists installed their work at the gallery. Flavio Samelo captured some moments of the installation at his RESFEST blog. Click on the photos to see the video footage.

Feb. 15 – Launch Party: The eight artists strutted their stuff at a private launch party at Hiro Ballroom. Off the streets of Brazil and into this posh, oriental-inspired venue, Zezão, Onesto, and Titi Freak took to the stage to perform live acts of brilliance on canvas instead of city walls. Between mouthfuls of beer, Titi Freak wowed the crowd with his yo-yo tricks. Stopping from their meticulous application of paint, Onesto shook his booty and Zezão used his paint to keep to the beat of DJ Greg Caz. Setting the tone for a chill but electric party, Caz is part of Brazilian Beat Brooklyn that plays at Black Betty and put out Baile Funk 1 & 2 mix CDs. Hanging off the stairs, gyrating their hips, and sipping Beleza Pura and Sambazon, the crowd watched as the art that would later be sold at Jonathan LeVine Gallery was created before their very eyes. Anyone who couldn’t get close enough to the action, at least couldn’t miss the 6’ x 8’ projection screens on both sides of the stage. VJs from C-TRL Labs merged bright Ruas art with real-time video manipulation on 6’ x 8’ projection screens.

Feb. 16 – Mural Painting: After a night of partying, the artists were up and ready to take on the Bronx on Friday morning. Taking ZipCars from Chelsea, they went to a school at 916 Eagle Avenue in the Bronx to paint murals. The artists are visiting the US to raise awareness about Brazil’s culture through community outreach and educational events, and this is just one of the events they have planned during their stay. Ignacio Aronovich and Louis Chin of Lost Art, the guys that brought you the seminal book Graffiti Brasil, photographed the Bronx mural painting, so we plan on having those photos for you soon.

Feb. 17 – Gallery Opening Reception: Saturday is your chance to finally get to see Ruas de Sao Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art. The opening reception starts at 6 PM and goes till 9 PM, at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, located at 529 West 20th Street, 9E, NYC. The exhibit is presented in association with Choque Cultural Gallery. If you can’t make it for the opening reception, the exhibit will run through March 17. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 AM to 6 PM.
Posted by Stephanie Nikolopoulos in Art