Despite what you read on Yelp, Wynwood Walls is not any painted wall west of North Miami Avenue and south of 34th Street. It's a specific urban art park sandwiched between Joey's and Wynwood Kitchen on NW Second Ave. It began with 12 murals in 2009 under the direction of Tony Goldman and Jeffery Dietch. The pair also commissioned several works outside of this block by artists like Barry McGee and Swoon.
For this year's Art Basel festivities, Wynwood Walls is expanding further. New for 2011 are a pop-up gallery, a Wynwood Walls book, and T-shirts designed by wall artists. And who doesn't want a Kenny Sharf stretched tight across their beer paunch? Read on to see which seven street artists will decorate Miami's favorite public art nook in the coming months.
Joining Kenny Sharf, Jim Drain, and Shepard Fairey, seven new artists
will paint large mural inside the art park. Tony Goldman and the
project's art manager Meghan Coleman (as well as a small cadre of
artists and curators) selected USA artists Faile, Retna, the Date
Farmers, and How and Nosm, Mexico's Saner and Sego, Liqen from Spain and
b from Greece. Look for Faile's Roy Lichtenstein-esque designs, and
b's yellow-hued, whimsical forms that play with architectural
elements.
There will also be more murals outside of the official Wynwood Walls park with new work by avaf, Nunca, Interesno Kazki (all the way from the
Ukraine), and Miami's own Friends With You.
Also new year is Shop the Walls, a pop-up gallery,
which is slated to open November 29, 2011. There you'll be able to browse and
buy artwork and T-shirts by Walls artists as well a new Wynwood Walls
book documenting the neighborhood's street art-fueled transformation.
Last year, Wynwood Doors, a series of rolling store doors,
opened next to Walls. Classic New York subway artists Phase II and Coco
144 adorned the space. This year, the doors, which are continually
bombed and tagged, will open to a new gallery space. On exhibit will be street artists Joe Grillo, Gaua, Vhils, Neuzz, and Interesni Kazki.
Lastly, the duo Haas and Hahn will team up with Miami International
University of Art & Design, DASH, and NWSA to paint large-scale
murals on 26th Street between NW Second and Fifth Avenues. For last
year's Graffiti Gone Global, Haas and Hahn erected shanty-like
structures, which served as their canvas. The 2010 project reflected their previous
collaborations with youth in the slums of Rio de Janeiro to
create colorful street art in the community.
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