more photos at http://kohshfinart.tumblr.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

please visit: www.amayzun.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There Goes The Neigborhood
By Shelley Leopold
LA WEEKLY, June 5-11, 2009 / Vol. 31 / No. 29

If Retna and El Mac were a team that worked in a more corporate environment, Retna would be the type guy, El Mac would be the photographer. But they don't make ads or album covers (yet), and they identify as graffiti artists. Retna is one of L.A.'s most prominent writers (and LA Weekly favorite) that has graced most of our city's billboards and blank walls with stunning Heiroglyphic type-forms and textures, now concentrating on legal spaces. El Mac hails from Phoenix and creates beautiful photo-realistic portraits, at monumental scale, mostly of women. They team up on a regular basis, notably for the towering Buddha murals on the gas station at Marathon and Western and the long-standing "Girl with Headphones" at La Brea and Third.

This new show of work at the recently configured Mid-City Arts space will feature live painting, a large-scale indoor mural installation accompanied by smaller pieces and serves as an homage to the neighborhood, something Retna promises with every work he completes, whether its inside a gallery or out in an alley. "These blocks and corners were where I was given the opportunity to do my art and was shown a lot of support by the community," Retna explains. "Communities like these are where we come from and it feels good to give something back to the future generation of kids doing this."

Word.

Mid City Arts, 5113 W. Pico Blvd., L.A.; Mon-Sun., noon-8 pm; through July 5; reception Sun., June 7, noon-6 pm www.micity-arts.com

Photos by Kohshin Finley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just a glimpse of the show. More pics coming soon...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles – March 2009 - Mid-City Arts is pleased to present the first solo show ever from the infamous LA graffiti artist, Chaka. Resurrection opens April 25th and will feature highly anticipated new work from the mysterious Chaka.

Daniel Ramos, AKA Chaka, was 18 when he was arrested and charged in 1991 with 48 counts of vandalism, trespassing and causing $500,000 in property damage. Chaka’s signature tag had appeared in a staggering 10,000 locations from Orange County to San Francisco. At the height of his notoriety Chaka was demonized by mainstream media and culture as being little more than a prolific vandal. At the same time he was celebrated by street artists who admired the ability of a teenager from the projects to literally make his mark on the vast, glitzy LA cityscape in such a ubiquitous manner. He is credited with breaking away from the New York “wildstyle” popular at the time and introducing clearer, more blockish lettering into tagging. Chaka was one of the first to create a reputation as a recognizable individual tagger, and spawned many imitators. However Chaka was not just a lone operative. He was part of the LOD crew and as such, his work in reclaiming hard to reach places of the cityscape (freeway overpasses, walls, trains etc) on behalf of his crew is recognized by fellow taggers as a selfless achievement for LA’s graffiti scene as a whole.

After spending a year tracking down the once unavoidable Chaka, Mid-City Arts presents his first solo show. For Chaka’s fans as well as street art collectors, this will be a rare opportunity to revisit the nostalgia of the early 90’s, and own a piece of LA’s cultural history. Chaka himself will be in attendance and there will be a limited number of signed posters in addition to his works available for sale. The opening reception will take place April 25th, 7:00-9:00pm at Mid-City Arts, 5113 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019. For more info visit: www.chakaone.com

Mid-City Arts was established in September 2009 as an extension of the store 33third – LA’s premier source of graffiti art supplies, streetwear apparel, and related books and magazines. The gallery was established with the purpose of showcasing local, national, and international artwork by up and coming and established artists with a focus on (but not limited to) graffiti / street / urban art. Mid-City Arts offers a show space that interacts with other artists and events that surround the 33third Los Angeles location. The gallery’s artwork is available to view by the active customer base of 33third, which includes graffiti artists and fans of graffiti art. Mid-City Arts is open Monday through Sunday 12-8PM. For more information, visit: www.midcity-arts.com

This Sunday August 2nd from 12-6pm. Mid-City Arts Gallery 1 Year Anniversary Art Exhibit & Live Painting Exhibition.

Works By:
ALOY, ASTEK, ATLAS, AXIS, AUGOR, BONKS, CAB, CACHE, CERN (nyc), CES (nyc), CHAKA, CHOR BOOGIE (san francisco), CLINTON BOPP, CODAK, COPE2 (nyc), CRE8, DASH, DUSTER (nyc), DYTCH, EL MAC, ELSE, ERNI (nyc), ESTEVAN ORIOL, EVOL, EWOK, EZRA, XPRES, FRAME, GOSHE, GYLT, HEX, INDIE (nyc), KOPYE, KRUSH, LESEAN THOMAS (nyc), MAKE, MINNETTE LEE MANGAHAS (san francisco), MOSH, MUCK (nyc), PERSUE (san diego), THE PHANTOM STREET ARTIST, POSE, POSE2 (nyc), RASK, RELAX, RETNA, RISK, SABER, SLEEZE, SLOKE (texas), SLOW (miami), STAT7 (nyc), SURYA, TEAL (nyc), T-KID (nyc), TRIXTER, TYPOE (miami), VYAL, WEAH (texas), WISK.

A Rare Live Painting Exhibition By:

The Infamous CHAKA, DUSTER (STYLE WARS), RETNA, THE PHANTOM STREET ARTIST & MORE...

Find out more at: MID-CITY ARTS

READ ARTICLE AT: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/04/chaka-from-graffiti-to-gallery.html

Seeking Heaven (SH) is one of the more unique crews from Los Angeles.  As a graffiti/art crew or collective they have established themselves as a unique grouping of artists with different creative visions.  All members are from a specific locality within Los Angeles and throughout their 20 year history have earned respect not only in the streets but in the art community. Mid-City Arts is proud to be the host of their 20 year anniversary show opening on Sunday November 1, 2009

Seeking Heaven 20 Year Anniversary
Dia De Los Muertos - Sunday November 1 2009  2-8 PM

Mid-City Arts / 33third Los Angeles
5113 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90019

Featuring artwork by:

ACME
ASYLM
BASH
CISK
DCLINE
DRE
EYER
FENE
KOZEM
MEL
MODEM
PANIC
PRECISE
PRIDE
RELIC
SIZE
SWANK
WARE

seekingheavencrew.blogspot.com
33third.com