THE COOPER SQUARE PUBLIC ART WALL
Press Release
This November, The Cooper Square Hotel unveils its Art Wall Project. Managing partner Klaus Ortlieb designated the south facing wall of the new Cooper Square Hotel a venue for public art by commissioning a piece to celebrate the East Village and its long history as a welcoming place for emerging artists. The hotel invited Art Production Fund, a non-profit art organization dedicated to producing public works and expanding the audience for contemporary art, to bring together a range of talent to collaborate on a single piece. Nic 1, Vizie, Joyce Pensato and Shinique Smith, who represent a range of graffiti and gallery practices, painted and tagged for over two weeks, layering their work on top of one another’s. Passersby enjoyed viewing the process in real time.
Nic 1 has been a fixture in the graffiti world since the 1970s. He was one of the founders and organizers of the world-renowned graffiti landmark 5 Pointz in Long Island City.
Vizie has been “tagging” the streets of New York for more than 10 years. He also crosses over into the contemporary art world, participating in gallery shows and exhibitions.
Joyce Pensato was born in Brooklyn and currently resides and works in New York City. She has exhibited in New York, Houston, Brussels, Berlin and Paris. Using a black and white color palette, she creates cartoon images with grimacing faces and gaping eyes. These cartoons bring to mind the women of Willem de Kooning’s early works. Her brushstrokes are quick and energetic, and she uses paint drips alongside her characters.
Shinique Smith was born and raised in Baltimore where she discovered an interest in street art. She now resides and works in Brooklyn. She uses a variety of materials in works such as fabric, found materials, collage and video. By creating pieces with found paraphernalia, her works feel like portraits that are personal recollections of a former owner. She is inspired by abstract expressionism, Japanese calligraphy, Nikki Giovanni, poetry, hip-hop, street art and our culture’s obsession with consumption and waste.
