The Private Property Collection Of Graffiti Artist Designed Furniture From Alife X Uhuru.

New York Art Department's PRIVATE PROPERTY is a collaborative project between downtown New York lifestyle brand ALIFE and Brooklyn-based contemporary furniture manufacturer Uhuru (perhaps you recall the post I did on Uhuru's Coney Island furniture line).



The exhibition, which was at The Hole in New York's Bowery, featured sustainable furniture by Graffiti artists Earsnot (Ear) Irak, Semen (Semen Irak aka SeMeN SPeRmS), Jim Joe, KR (Craig Costello aka Krink), Max Fish (Bar and Art Gallery) & ALIFE.



The PRIVATE PROPERTY furniture collection consists of the following pieces:


EARSNOT AND SEMEN IRAK:


EARSNOT IRAK Antique MOD Mirror:
Antique Mod Mirror, steel-framed, floor-length mirror. Etched by EARSNOT, President of NYC's IRAK Crew. Dimensions: 30"x80"Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Edition of 2. $7500



SEMEN IRAK Antique MOD Mirror:
Antique Mod Mirror, steel-framed, floor-length mirror. Scratched and cracked by SEMEN of NYCʼs IRAK Crew. Dimensions: 30"x80" Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Edition of 2. $7500

Artists Earsnot and Semen at work on the mirrors:





MAX FISH


MAX FISH Slab table and chairs:
One-of-a-kind hardwood slab set on trapezoid steel legs with 4 1X1 metal and wood chairs. Marked by Max Fish patrons overthe month of April 2011.Table dimension: 84"x42"x29.5", Chair dimension: 17"x18"W x35"Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. One-of-a-kind. $25,000







JIM JOE:


JIM JOE on LAP Coffee Table:
1/4" Aluminum plate and solid wood 3"x3" base. Drawn on by Jim Joe.
Dimensions: 46"x46"x16" Signed by the artist and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Edition of 4. $7500


underside of the coffee table:


Artist Jim Joe at work on the coffee table:



additional images of Jim Joe coffee table courtesy of Seth Lassman's (Setlasmon) fabulous sets on Flickr

KR aka Krink aka Craig Costello:


KR on SUMMER SNOW Benches:
Solid Ash tops over 1"x1/2" steel tubing powder coated white. Painted by Craig Costello. Dimensions: 60"x16"x18"Signed by the artist and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Edition of 5. $7500




ALIFE NYC:


ALIFE NY CRACK Table:
1/4" steel plate with 1/2" glass top. Dimensions: Base: 26.5"x41"x15.5" Top: 48"x34" Signed and numbered. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Edition of 15. $3600



ALIFE Metal STOOLEN:
A metal version of Uhuruʼs signature stool, created in 4 custom colors for ALIFE.Dimensions: 16"x18"Signed and numbered. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Edition of 15. $1800



About the Metal Stoolen: The Metal Stoolen was created using scraps of steel from Brooklyn area metal shops. Bundled together haphazardly and encased in a ring of longer pieces, the hollow ends of metal form the objectʼs top. This produces a dynamic pattern filled with highly charged empty space. The effect is like a photonegative of the original Stoolen. The eye-catching powder coating adds to the pieceʼs sculptural quality and highlights the tension between positive and negative space.



(NY Mag) PRIVATE PROPERTY brings together high-end sustainable furniture design and downtown New York graffiti culture: The project counts on the participation of infamous graffiti writers EARSNOT, SEMEN, JIM JOE and KR; legendary Lower East Side hang out Max Fish and its unruly clientele; and lifestyle brand ALIFE—all of whom have produced self-titled pieces.


To be displayed for sale during New York Design Week, the idea behind the project began as a friendly conversation between Alife and New York Art Department founders Robert Cristofaro and Arnaud Delecolle, and Uhuru founders Jason Horvath and Bill Hilgendorf. The four agreed to collaborate and create a New York-centric project that would represent all partiesʼ respective areas of expertise.

The result is a unique collection of handcrafted sustainable furniture that plays with the concept of vandalism, private property and each's appropriation of the other. PRIVATE PROPERTY is produced by creative consultancy and design company New York Art Department with support of lifestyle brand-consultancy company WhY-Q.

"The collaboration between ALIFE and Uhuru creates a dialogue between designers and artists, Urban landscapes and interiors. Ultimately, it will aim at producing a merging of viewpoints to challenge conceptions between fine art and furniture," says Jason Horvath.

“This project allows ALIFE to play and execute with yet another medium. This is the first time ALIFE applies its vision to furniture, but it's something we've wanted to do for a long time. It's more quality content from the ʻalifevisionʼ,” says Arnaud Delecolle.

“The artists selected for this project represent Alifeʼs vision of the New York graff scene. Each individual chosen in this lineup is recognized within the New York downtown lifestyle as a trailblazer in his respective niche. Whether it be manufacturer of art supplies, DJ to the “Downtown”, wordsmith or just an infamous personality within the graffiti scene, all have all paid dues and contributed to this art form,” says Rob Cristofaro.

"Getting involved with NYAD to produce Private Property was a no brainer for WhY-Q. For the past 10+ years WhY-Q has produced avant-garde events such as Ryan McGinley's first solo exhibition & the NY Minute Exhibition in Rome, we felt this was one of those events: Real New York street art collaborating with real New York high end furniture design. It hasn't been done before," says Why-Q Partner Teddy Liouliakis.

Alife opened in 1999. One of its main goals then was to showcase people around it whose work enriched our lives with original ideas and the honest commitment to the qualitative execution of those ideas, independently of the medium. From fashion to graffiti, this was the criteria we lived by. Also, we had to like the end product.

the press release:
New York Art Department, 201 —The artists and contributors that are part of this project meet these same requirements and were asked to participate because of their contribution to the downtown graffiti scene:

Earsnot and Semen Sperms of the infamous IRAK crew. Over the years, both—each in their own way--have destroyed vast amounts of private property with undisputed flair and attitude, represented here with two of the most destructive marking techniques.

Craig KR Costello, a downtown ambassador of good taste and purveyor of fine inks and markers to street vandals and studio artists alike, brings controlled chaos with his well-known and often imitated KRINK drips.

A witty newcomer with art school charm, JIM JOE showcases the melding of art education, graffiti culture and his personal obligation to illegally write his name and phrases everywhere, as evidenced by the threatening note attached to The Hole gallery door by a neighbor.

Legendary Lower East Side watering hole and artist safe haven, Max Fish and its patrons provide us with the colorful impromptu composition of layered drunken vandalism characteristic of its bathrooms on Ludlow street.

Finally, Alife comes in as the curator and long-time supporter of the scene with its stamp of approval: NY CRACK



ALIFE X UHURU DESIGN: PRIVATE PROPERTY ran from MAY 14 – MAY 17, 2011, some of the items are now up for auction at Blacklots.

images courtesy of Alife, Uhuru, High Snobiety, Metro Velvet and Alife on Flickr.

Graffiti Decorated Desktop Dumpsters By Steelplant.

Designer Ryan Christensen of Steelplant has come up with a very chic urban way to store books and desk accessories or as a container for live plants and other objects.




His Steelplant Edition One are a series of artist-decorated "Desktop Dumpsters." The graffiti-painted miniature steel dumpsters are each one of a kind and look just like the real thing. Dumpsters are cut, formed, and welded up from 14 gauge (1/16") 25-35% recycled steel. When empty, they weigh nine pounds. The lid tiles are milled from a wood/plastic composite material that is made from plastic bags and sawdust that would otherwise go to a dump somewhere.




Once built they are given to an artist, or multiple artists to be painted, inked, glued, printed, distressed, whatever. Each dumpster is unique in the first edition. The art and application methods will change with each release.







In Ryan's own words:
"Steelplant was born out of a massive year-long brainstorming session I had. Back in November of 2010 while working like mad on a catalog for a client, I got a serious overuse injury that crippled me for a year. During this time It occured (sic)to me how important it was to make objects with my hands. I also realized that I needed a creative outlet that wasn't limited by factors out of my control. When I was finally well enough to use my hands again I turned my thoughts into sketches, and my sketches into Steelplant."

Shop for them here

Graffiti Art Becoming Hot Property

Graffiti art- From the street to the museum [May 07]

This article has been reprinted from artprice.com, the leader in the art market:

Historically, graffiti was a underground movement, born to the Hip-Hop rhythm in the American ‘hoods of the 1970s. It is people’s art, rough and ephemeral. Rough because it was created illegally in public spaces. Ephemeral because its lifespan, subject to external constraints, is necessarily limited. The prohibitions which hit this urban art right from its beginnings in Europe could not stop its expansion during the 1980s. At the end of the decade it had become a veritable fashion phenomenon, in the press and on museum walls. Aside from urban buildings, street furniture and public transport, the graffiti artists created works on canvas, paper or street hoardings which are now prized by a growing number of collectors.

The pioneers

above: A Basquiat serigraph

The unquestioned star of the genre is Jean-Michel BASQUIAT who is racking up million-ticket sales (more than forty). On 15 May last, a mixed-medium 1981 work smashed the artist's record in crossing the 10 million dollar mark! Initially estimated at between 6 million and 8 million dollars, the hammer went down on the lot at 13 million dollars (more than 9.6 million euros, Sotheby’s NY). Warhol’s friend with the fleeting destiny (he died at 27 years) signed his first works in the street under the pseudonym Samo. Today a small pencil or graphite drawing changes hands for between 10,000 and 20,000 euros on average and you'll need between 50,000 and 100,000 euros for a paper-based work in crayon. Prices are higher still for large formats in ink or oil pastel.

above: A Keith Haring silkscreen

Another Warhol accolyte, Keith HARING, is also a key graffiti name. He doesn’t reach the heights of Basquiat but has shown steady growth over the last four years. On 8 February last, you'd have needed not less than £56,000 to secure a small 1984 acrylic (50x50 cm) at Sotheby’s London. The same day, Sotheby’s competitor set a new record of £440,000 for a 1983 canvas (Christie’s London).

The more affordable FUTURA 2000 is one of the pioneers of urban painting which he created instinctively on the walls of Brooklyn as of the 1970s. Only 3 works from the graffiti artist have been put up for auction in ten years! The latest, an untitled acrylic and aerosol painting on a plank of wood, found a buyer for 4,000 euros in October at Artcurial who will auction a spray-painted graffiti canvas entitled Bar code (1983, 137 x 181 cm) for an estimate of between 4,000 and 5,000 euros.

above: A 1963 John Perello acrylic painting, All Are One

Graffiti art becomes sought after in France

The auction house Artcurial will auction around twenty works by American and French graffiti artists on 6 June. The sale catalogue lists the works together in a section called ‘Graffiti and post-graffiti art’: never before has a French auction house given the genre so much credit! The sale’s headline piece is the large-scale Match Point, Ephemeral Hospital, 1993 (214.5 x 190 cm) by John PERELLO, aka Jonone estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000 euros. Highly vibrant and colourful, this work takes liberties with the masters of abstract art such as Kandinsky, Pollock and de Kooning.

With these twenty lots going for estimates averaging between 5,000 and 10,000 euros, the art lover can set his or her heart on the large canvases with cartoon references signed John Matos CRASH or ASH II. There is a wide choice of works for between 1,000 and 5,000 euros: a Jonone sized at close to a metre, the abstract graffitis by SHARP, Chris Ellis DAZE, KOOR or a surreal graphic canvas by Alex/Mac-Crew. For less than 1,000 euros, one might hope to secure the spray-painted canvases by Sonic or Hondo and for a low-end estimate of 100 euros an untitled work combining several media on a plywood panel signed Thierry CHEVERNEY.

In two years, graffiti artists have seen their prices double: is the street phenomenon moving to the auction room?