Vantagepoint Radio

Growing up in Iran in the 90s and early 00's presented challenges for a young man that most of us around the world could not even imagine.  Icy and Sot, two brothers separated in age by 6 years compounded these challenges when they took up street art as teenagers and then later more seriously and professionally as young adults.  In a place where voicing your opinion and going against the grain was not only frowned upon but was downright dangerous, the young brothers flew their flag, hitting the streets with stencils and making their ideas known, all the while developing their voice and their own personal style.  Over time however, the pair reached their breaking point and made the tough decision to leave their friends and family in Iran behind and claim political asylum in the United States.
For the past few years Icy and Sot have lived as political refugees in Brooklyn but in a very short time have seemingly had no trouble making their mark on the over saturated New York art scene.  Through their stark highly political and highly political stencils, sometimes reaching multiple stories high, the brothers came out strong and demanded that the scene take notice.  These days their work is recognizable in the streets and galleries of major cities throughout Europe and the US.  With invitations to major festivals around the world steadily coming in and a newly gained freedom to travel unrestricted to most countries, big things are on the horizon for these two and they show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

To see photos, videos and more information about this show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/

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Coming off of a strong year of huge projects including a solo show in Berlin and mural projects spanning the globe from Miami, to Chennai India and numerous points in between, LOOK appears to be attacking the art world with both eyes wide open.

As one of the founding members of Peachbeach (a successful design firm with partner and VantagePoint episode 001 guest artist Vidam) and an original member of the highly respected Weird Crew, Look appears to have no problem keeping himself busy… real busy. Known primarily for his character based murals and other worldly acrylic paintings, his work is unmistakable. The can control and color usage seen in his murals allude to years and years of graffiti and bombing but his linework and subject matter are much more sophisticated and seem to take their inspiration from sic-fi films and psychedelic rock posters. With so many different influences and projects going on it was impossible to jam it all into one hour but we did our best and jumped at the chance to visit him in his Berlin studio for a chat with VantagePoint.

To see photos, videos and more information about this show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/

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As the world submits to the undeniable fact that the internet has changed how we live our lives and how we perceive and interact with the world around us, it has become glaringly evident that the people shaping this online world have great influence over how and what we see and base our opinions on.  This "information food chain" is just as present in the art world as it is anywhere else in our lives.  Blogs and other websites compartmentalize the vastness of the art world into smaller, more easily digestible genres and disseminate images and information out to the masses.  This position as "gatekeeper" between the art(ists) and the public can hold great power and has created a very interesting relationship over the past few years.

www.brooklynstreetart.com is one such website with over 90,000 followers on Instagram and 170,000 on Facebook they seem to have the attention and eyes of the public.  Jamie and Steve, the two guys behind BSA were in Berlin to curate Project M7 at Urban Nation and agreed to sit down with VantegePoint to discuss the origins of their website, the state of the art scene in Brooklyn, and how they perceive and deal with their roll as the bridge between the art and the public.
To see photos, videos and more information about this show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/

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It's hard to imagine that at such a young age one artist could accomplish as much in the contemporary art and mural scene as Gaia has. As one of the go to names in the early days of the mural explosion, Gaia cemented himself as a major player from very early on. His work can be found all over the globe, he has participated in some of the largest and most respected projects the urban art scene has to offer, he curated and oversaw two major street art festivals and has even had a major museum show at the Baltimore Museum of Art and all by the age of 25.

To speak to Gaia can sometimes feel like speaking to a creature from another planet. His vocabulary and knowledge base is so impressively vast and seemingly limitless that it can be hard to keep up. It is this higher level of thought and consideration however that sets his artwork apart from the rest of the crowd. In line with the early traditions of mural making, Gaia fills his wall paintings with historic symbolism and locally significant references, a concept that seems to have lost it's importance amongst most of todays mural artists. It was very much because of his thoughtfulness and individual take on art and the concept of what mural making should be that we were excited to sit down with him for a chat, and as expected, few interviews on VantagePoint Radio have dipped into the mind of the artist and shed light on their inner thoughts quite like this one with Gaia.

To see photos, videos and more information about this show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-34-gaia

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On the second floor of one of Berlin's most lively and rambunctious event spaces lies something quite beautiful and special. Through the beer soaked exhibition hall which has housed some of Berlin's greatest urban art and graffiti shows of the past few years, past the bathrooms so plastered with stickers that it is anyones best guess what the actual color of the walls and tiles is, up the graffiti covered stairs which read like a "who's who" of the Berlin street art scene, and down a dangerously lightless hallway there is a door which opens up to an entirely different world… that of Andrea Wan.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada, Wan moved to Berlin four years ago and wasted no time letting people know who she was and that she means business. Between her impressively full schedule of solo shows and illustration work for magazines and other clients it's a wonder how she manages to get it all done. There is no wonder however, why she is in such high demand once you've seen her work. Described by the artist as self portraiture, Wan tells the story of her life through surreal scenes of an alternate world where animal and plant life make up their own rules. Young expressionless girls break apart and dissolve into their surroundings or rather become consumed by them. Her signature acrylic ink paintings, although wild and chaotic at times, are painted with a delicacy and femininity which seems to bring a calm relaxing balance to the work. With so much momentum built up around her and no signs of slowing anytime soon, the future looks bright for Andrea Wan and we were thrilled to get the chance to sit down with her in her studio in Berlin's iconic 'Urban Spree' for a chat on VantagePoint.

To see photos, videos and more information about this show, visit vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-33-andrea-wan

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As one of the OG's of stencil art and street art in general, Jef Aerosol knows a thing or two about urban art and how to stay relevant over long periods of time. Inspired by punk rock music and the French contemporary art scene at the time, Jef began cutting and painting stencils throughout his small town in central france as early as 1982. Still active today over three decades later, it is no wonder that he is considered to be one of the pioneers of stencil art. What is quite interesting however, is to hear his views on the subject of stencils. In his own words, "I don't really care about stencils. A stencil for the sake of itself has no interest to me. It is only a tool."

In a contemporary art scene filled to the brim with street artists of every kind pushing the boundaries in countless ways, it is refreshing and somewhat humbling to go back over 30 years with Jef and hear what it was like then and what motivated him to begin making art in this way and stick with it for such a long time. As he continues to work in both the streets and in the studio and show across the globe it is clear that we've all got a thing or two to learn from those who paved the way for street art as we know it now.

To see photos, videos and more information about this show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-32-jef-aerosol

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Floating somewhere between the straight up graffiti scene and the high end gallery art market Stohead has managed to blow up in the last few years while remaining somewhat anonymous at the same time. Known primarily for his drip heavy hand-styles and square format text driven paintings, the Berlin based Stohead has quietly taken his place among the Urban Art elite, specifically those commonly labeled as Graffuturists. His studio practice consists of a heavy mix of invention (he custom builds many of his own art making tools), experimentation, and strict quality control. With a recipe such as this, it is easy to see how and why his work is constantly progressing and evolving month after month. Rather than comfortably ride the wave of success as many artist tend to do, repeating the work that got him recognized in the first place, Stohead continues to push himself and branch out into new areas of abstraction sometimes completely abandoning the letters and text that he is so well know for.

To see photos, videos and more information about todays show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-31-stohead

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With a previous career in New York's punk rock music scene Jonathan LeVine gained an early feel for outsider art and the underground. It would be this same sensibility that would a few years later fuel his fire to open his own art gallery featuring visual art with a punk rock vibe. A few years and a handful of smart moves later Jonathan Levine Gallery is one of the highest regarded galleries in the urban-contemporary art world. With two gallery locations in the prestigious Chelsea district of New York City, he represents some of the scenes leading stars bridging the gap between street and urban art and high end gallery work.
In contrast to the normal guest on VantagePoint, Jonathan's perspective into the art world is from the other side, that of the gallerist and curator. In an effort to cover all angles of the scene and bring insight to how things work and different peoples opinions, we were honored to be invited to his hotel room for a couple of beers and a chance to pick his brain. If you're a budding artists trying to crack the code of the gallery scene, you'll not want to miss this one.

To see photos, videos and more information about todays show, visit http://vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-30-jonathan-levine

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As one of Berlin’s leading young female painters, Julia Benz has a thirst for life and experience which seems to be perfectly matched to her determination and dedication to her craft. Taking on new projects in unfamiliar territory seems to have been the theme of the last two years for Benz but all the while holding strong to her diehard work ethic and hours upon hours of studio time. Between trips oversees and massive projects like painting a boat and giving art workshops in Africa, Benz still somehow manages to keep up with the high demand for her studio work as well.Her secret no doubt, is the long days she spends in her Berlin studio smashing away at 4 or 5 paintings at a time. From massive canvas works to much smaller delicate pieces, her paintings are electric. Layers upon layers of color and pattern weave together somehow perfectly driven by nothing more than impulse, experience and intuition.The colorfulness and vibrancy of her personality shines through in her work and it was an absolute pleasure to sit with Julia and talk it all over this week on VantagePoint.

To find photos, videos and more information on this artist visit http://vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-29-julia-benz

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Imagine a "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" type situation where a young punk rock kid from Brooklyn finds himself time traveling back to 17th century Holland and stumbles into the painting studio of one of the classic Dutch Masters. Accepting this odd twist of fate, he dutifully studies the teachings and techniques of his mentor and eventually breaks out on his own, painting images of his earlier life in the future. Pure fiction perhaps, but the result is all real. Dan Witz has been painting just such work in his New York studio for decades.

Masterfully composed scenes of epic mosh pits pieced together from reference photos take by the artist himself at punk-rock shows are painted with the detail and delicacy he cultivated during his studies as a classical painter. To the trained eye, one can spot extreme consideration for lighting and geometry in his works painted with the buttery goodness typical of oil paint. To everyone else, they're just dope paintings of cool shit!

What's possibly most impressive about Dan is his ability to straddle the high-end gallery market and the ever changing street art world without compromising either one and still managing to make all the work relate and stay consistent.

Where most artist have a "thing" they are best known for, Dan seems to create a new "thing" every couple of years. From his mosh pit paintings, to his street sign "interventions" and lamp-post candle vigils, to his genius series of "caged" people trapped behind vents and hidden throughout the city, the work of Dan Witz is nothing short of spectacular and promises to only get better with time.

To find photos, videos and more information on this artist visit http://vantagepointradio.com/?portfolio_cpt=episode-28-dan-witz

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