In 2022, Riccardo Vecchio’s 42-foot installation 31 Degrees opened at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Dweck Gallery. This past week, the freeform Italian art and design bimonthly Un Sedicesimo published a sampling of it. The freedom to produce content for Corraini Editions‘ publication gave Vecchio the opportunity to introduce a grand plan for 31 Degrees as a broader multi-site public mapping and mural project drawing attention to ecological inequalities and environmental injustice through disparities in tree coverage. The endeavor sets out to work with different agencies, including the NYC Depa ..read more

On my daily subway commute, my gaze often wanders up to the ads, mainly to avoid uncomfortable eye contact with strangers and smirk at the latest pitches from injury lawyers and Botox specialists. However, I was pleasantly snapped from my usual unfocused haze last week by an unexpected sight: a captivating gallery of Renaissance artwork adorning the subway walls. In a bold move to capture the essence of the New York City home-buying experience, StreetEasy has partnered with Mother New York to decorate the city streets with Renaissance-style paintings. These visually striking artworks vividly p ..read more

Stars like Jay-Z, Run DMC, and The Notorious B.I.G. don’t just appear overnight. It takes a village, and a very talented village at that, to create personas of such magnitude. Many of these backstage figures have been there from the beginning, helping to craft aura, style—that special something—that propels someone from person icon. Artist Cey Adams is situated squarely at the center of those three hip-hop legends, among many others. Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Maroon 5 are a few more of the big names Adams has had a hand in molding during his four-decade career, in which he ser ..read more

When it comes to iconicity, it doesn’t get much more recognizable than the Coca-Cola logo. The soda pop juggernaut has boasted a largely unchanged logo since 1887, when the first iteration of the classic script Coca-Cola wordmark we all know and love was first launched. For as long as the Coca-Cola logo has been part of a social consciousness—that’s nearly 140 years—it’s been repurposed, remixed, and reimagined by the masses.  It’s been incredible to see the unique and individual interpretations of the Coca-Cola logo. … We’re proud to celebrate and embrace their work. Islam ElDessouky ..read more

A month ago, a trio of abandoned buildings in downtown Los Angeles transformed into a canvas for graffiti art seemingly overnight. In the last few weeks, the luxury apartment high rises across the street from the Crypto.com Arena and LA Live have been systematically claimed by anonymous taggers in the dead of night, with each leaving their mark in one of the many large windows that compose the facades of each building. via Piko 5uave Some have clutched their pearls at the buildings’ makeover, considering the graffiti vandalism and calling the state of the buildings an eyesore. Meanwhile, othe ..read more

When I moved to Los Angeles from my hometown of New Haven, CT at the tail end of 2016, I found myself putting down roots in one of the city’s eastern-most neighborhoods, Highland Park. Everyone I consulted about LA areas said that Highland Park was the newest hot spot, which is code for gentrification’s latest victim. My very own move there was emblematic of this gentrification, and something I’ve had to reckon with.  Photo by Paul Alarcon Highland Park was and still is the place to be, but not necessarily for the trendy new restaurants, boutiques, and other businesses that seem to pop up ..read more

Back in 2011, Laurence King published a book by Patrick Thomas—the Protest Stencil Toolkit. Yes, it is a book, but it is so much more than a book. Instead of words and images, inside, you’ll find 46 die-cut stencils and a full alphabet of lettering stencils created using a bespoke typeface. According to the publisher, the stencils “can be combined to create both slogans and powerful visual messages, and are robust enough to be re-used any number of times. There are classic symbols from the great protest movements of the twentieth century, as well as new images reflecting contemporary concern ..read more

Introducing “DYES,” the nom de crayon of a 25-year-old Mexican primary school teacher and street artist who is transforming the paradigms of graffiti. He lives in a poor Mexico City neighborhood, has been robbed by cops and beaten up by other graffiti writers. He has no formal art training or artists in his family. But behold his ideas and style. You’ll be awed by his virtuosity. DYES’ work is an energetic mashup of contemporary alphabetic forms. He is not attempting to ape anyone else, and as his brief answers to my questions (translated from Spanish) indicate, he simply enjoys the talent he ..read more

Cey Adams and Dianne Smith are two artists known for their artwork that elicits profound emotions and a broader sense of meaning. While both artists are uniquely talented, they've recently worked together to design the Bombay Bramble gin campaign launched in Harlem. The two artists were chosen to create for this campaign to have an advertisement that naturally reflected the local Harlem community and its community of creators. Each artist's style is seen in the campaign, from Cey Adams's 60s pop-art fused graphics to Dianne Smith's minimalistic yet abstract art; there's no lack of creativity i ..read more

Flowers unquestionably bring a calming presence to any area or space that they may be. Whether it be from the soft colors, the beautiful scents, or just the thought that something so beautiful can be natural, they simply bring peace. Commissioned by the Netherlands Embassy this past July, The Garden Of Delight was a public exhibit that placed floral posters throughout Budapest. Each stop featured different posters that showcased distinctive flowers and their respective colors. While commuting can be stressful, this exhibition undoubtedly helped ease wary travelers' nerves. The Garden of Delig ..read more