Street/Studio / Irvine Contemporary

June 20 to August 01, 2009

Exhibiting Artists:
Shepard Fairey (LA), Swoon (NYC), Gaia (Brooklyn),
Imminent Disaster (Brooklyn), Oliver Vernon (Brooklyn),
James Marshall (Dalek) (NY and Raleigh, NC),
EVOL (Berlin), and PISA73 (Berlin)

You can't help but notice that the alley at 14th and P Sts is a little more appealing lately. There's more than meets the eye in this new street art gallery. You're likely to do a double take and meander back to the eye catching visuals of Shepard Fairey and Evol. Is it art, grafitti, propoganda...you might wonder. On further exploration, you find the whole alley is plastered and painted with murals. And if you somehow miss the alley gallery, you can pop out the back door of Irvine Contemporary and be treated to the variety of the wall murals produced by the Street/Studio artists.

Inside Irvine Contemporary, the artists have produced work that reflects their street styles. Evol creates urban architecture on cardboard, one of the materials of choice by several of the artists. Don't be fooled.... beautiful pieces are created on these humble materials. There's a freshness, a vitality and an urban savy that the artists bring to this work - nervy, edgy and perhaps easier for some to absorb in bite size pieces. Don't miss it! Go see for your self.

There's a great article by Jessica Dawson in the WaPo on "Street/Studio" at Irvine contemporary Gallery.

Missed the opening night? Not to worry. You can get a look at the production of the murals & see the artists at work onsite and the opening night by visiting Irvine Contemporary's Website. Slide Show Artists, Wall Murals, On-Site Projects, Works in the Exhibition at Irvine Contemporary.

Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
202.332.8767
info[at]irvinecontemporary.com

Shepard Fairey

PISA73

Shepard Fairey

EVOL

Oliver Vernon

Oliver Vernon, Gaia

Swoon

Swoon

Swoon, (front)
Imminent Disaster (back)

James Marshall (Dalek)

Gaia

EVOL

Oliver Vernon

Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
202.332.8767
info[at]irvinecontemporary.com

Street Art Video Night at Irvine Contemporary

Greatest Hits of Street Art Documentary Films
Thursday, May 21, 7PM - 10PM

Shepard Fairey, wall mural, alley behind Irvine Contemporary,
14th and P Streets, Washington, DC. Created: Oct. 2008

Remix of selections from the greatest hits of street art films.

Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th St., NW, near P St.
202-332-8767

The AP Has No Case Against Shepard Fairey

Here's an interesting article on the Shepard Fairey copyright issue.

Jonathan Melber: The AP Has No Case Against Shepard Fairey

and Shepard Fairey speaks out, Shepard Fairey vs Associated Press HERE.

AP Sued by Shepard Fairey Over Obama Image Copyright (Update2)

By Erik Larson

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Shepard Fairey, the artist whose “Hope” image of President Barack Obama was added to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, sued the Associated Press over the news company’s copyright challenge to the artwork.

Article HERE

AP alleges copyright infringement of Obama image

Poster of President Barack Obama, right, by artist Shepard Fairey.
April 27, 2006 file photo of then-Sen. Barack Obama, Left, by Associated Press photographer Manny Garcia.

(AP Photo/Manny Garcia/ Shepard Fairey)

NEW YORK – On buttons, posters and Web sites, the image was everywhere during last year's presidential campaign: A pensive Barack Obama looking upward, as if to the future, splashed in a Warholesque red, white and blue and underlined with the caption HOPE.

Designed by Shepard Fairey, a Los-Angeles based street artist, the image has led to sales of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers, has become so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey have been purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay.

The image, Fairey has acknowledged, is based on an Associated Press photograph, taken in April 2006 by Manny Garcia on assignment for the AP at the National Press Club in Washington.

The AP says it owns the copyright, and wants credit and compensation. Fairey disagrees.

Read ARTICLE HERE
By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer

Shepard Fairey at the National Portrait Gallery

The The New York Times has an interesting article about the acquisition, by the National Portrait Gallery, of street artist Shepard Fairey's Obama portrait.

Read The New York Times Article By Randy Kennedy HERE, Outlaws at the Art Museum (and Not for a Heist).

"Carolyn Carr, the portrait gallery’s chief curator, said that the poster acquired by the museum — a 60-by-40-inch mixed-media collage that Mr. Fairey created after making the initial image — was a beautiful work of art. But she added that “one of the reasons the gallery acquired it is that the image — as opposed to the object — is ubiquitous and it became the image of the campaign.”

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Listen to Shepard Fairey on NPR, Fresh Air fromWHYY Jan. 20, 2009
Spreading The Hope: Street Artist
Shepard Fairey

Manifest Hope DC / Photos of Exhibition

Check out Manifest Hope DC Exhibition photos at these sites...
Arrested Motion

Manifest Hope: DC First Look- 01.16.09 at NOTCOT
& HERE Manifest Hope: DC ~ The Art!

MTV Gallery

WASHINGTON CITY PAPER REVIEW

Unveiling Shepard Fairey’s Obama “Hope” @ Smithsonian: National Portrait Gallery

AM is online with Photos of Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery unveiling and inducting Shepard Fairey’s symbolic “Hope” image of Barack Obama.

Martin Irvine of the Irvine Contemporary was credited for dedicating the time and effort to make this possible.

Arrested Motion Blogpost

Obama “Hope” portrait enters the Smithsonian

The red and blue stencilled portrait of President Elect Obama by street artist Shepard Fairey, which became the central image of the election campaign, has been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC for its collection. It is the first portrait of the new president to enter the national collection, part of the Smithsonian Institute.

The Art Newspaper, Article by Helen Stoilas

See post at The Specullector - http://specullector.com/

Regime Change Starts at Home / Artist Interviews

Irvine Contemporary has uploaded new video interviews from Shepard Fairey and Al Farrow.

Shepard Fairey: Interview at opening of Regime Change Starts at Home (October 2008)

Al Farrow: Interview at opening of Regime Change Starts at Home (October 2008)

Group Exhibition featuring Shepard Fairey, Al Farrow, Paul D. Miller
October 18 - December 6

IRVINE CONTEMPORARY
1412 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20005
www.irvinecontemporary.com
Phone: (202) 332-8767

Regime Change Starts At Home

October 18 to December 06, 2008

I went to the opening at Irvine Contemporary tonight to see the talents of Shepard Fairey, Al Farrow and Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky). The exhibition is a knock out! The presence of special security police at tonight's reception added to the feeling of angst depicted by some of the artwork. Al Farrow's cathedral and reliquary, made of guns and bullets blended an eerie fascination of religion and weapons with surreal beauty and austerity. The (trigger finger) reliquary points a scathing finger at the rewards of power. Standing in the space with these three artists works is almost overwhelming. Theirs is the visual power to transport the viewer to new perceptions, to questions, to awareness.

From Wired "The whole concept of 'Obey' was getting people to question their obedience," said Fairey. "Now I'm trying to react to what's going on around me in a way that is constructive."

Seen at tonight's reception...
















Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
202.332.8767

Marv over at The Marvelous Collective went on a hunt around DC for a number of Obama HOPE images and OBEY Giants that have consequently appeared all over the city. Click here for images with locations.

Shepard Fairey talk at the Corcoran last night

From Adventures of hoogrrl

"I went to hear Shepard Fairey speak at the Corcoran last night and felt compelled to write down everything he said. He verbalized pretty much everything I hope The Pink Line Project represents and ideals by which I'd like to live my life. Here's an early morning summary: Art is about accessibility, visibility, and passion....."

Geeky lecture notes

Shepard Fairey

Regime Change Starts at Home
On view at Irvine Contemporary
October 18 - December 6, 2008
1412 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
202.332.8767