Charlene Weisler Urban Montage Art at The Refinery Hotel

If you want to see some of my work in person, please go to the Refinery Hotel located at 63 West 38th Street in New York City. I have seven 30 x 40 sized framed canvases hanging on individual floors at the elevator bank.

They are on seven of the floors and there are some brand new images - never seen before.

My work is supported by Indiewalls which is a great organization dedicated to placing works of art from living artists in venues. The work is up through November 2103 and is for sale in limited editon of 25 - all signed and numbered on the back of each canvas.

 

• 
• 
• 
• 

 

Chirality in Breaking Bad and, For Me, Street Art

Chirality  is the mirror image that at once looks alike but behaves differently. The concept of chirality is explained excellently in this video about Breaking Bad and Walter White's transformation from good to evil.I post this as a fond farewell to a great series.

In thinking about chirality, I liken it to the contradictions in the art world today - from fine art to street art. "Fine Art" is acceptable, professional, falling within the societal boundaries of what is considered art. Compare that to its opposite "Street Art" - the rebellious counterpoint to the acceptable art form, raw, uncontrollable, unprofessional, even illegal. What will happen to Street Art as it slowly becomes acceptable in galleries and museums. Will it retain it's raw authenticity? 

I reflect on chirality, whether in Breaking Bad or in Street Art.

 

Murals of 1990s Manhattan

Curbed wrties: Though he's now a director of video production at Louis Vuitton in his native France, Gregoire Alessandrini spent seven memorable years as a student in New York. From 1991 to 1998, he roamed the streets of Lower Manhattan with his film camera, capturing many neighborhoods before the full brunt of gentrification hit. Here are some images of the murals and graffiti that were once ubiquitous in that part of town, before major city-wide clean-up efforts wiped many walls and building surfaces clean. Do you remember these?

Hidden Hotel Graffiti

Each person has a hotel ritual – whether it be immediately unpacking every item of clothing into the dresser or cracking open a beverage from the mini-bar. For comedian David Bussell, he’d routinely visit hotels around the world and leave funny messages hidden behind wall hangings, toilet lids, under drawers, behind bed posts and anywhere a curious guest might look.

So will you take your hotel room apart the next time you check in to see if you can find any hidden messages? ... or write on of your own...?

Matisyahu performs at the SoHo Synagogue

Happy and Healthy New Year.

 

When the New York Times Starts Reporting on Street Art

Over the past few days there have been a few articles in the New York Times on street art and I have to ask myself, "What does this portend for the art form?" Is this good - does it give street artists an opportunity to have their work more widely seen and appreciated? Or does this mainstream street art so much that it becomes commercialized, homogenized and uninteresting?

I hope for the best - that street artists are finally considered true artists (as I believe) and have their work appreciated and valued.

Here is one of the articles and the link:

NYTimes: A Feast of Urban Scrawl, Luminous and Legal

A tour of New York’s most striking (legal) graffiti creations can help slake a thirst for art in summer’s dog days.