SPAIN LOVES NY

BABYLON MAGAZINE is one of the most internationally recognized art publications edited in Spain. It is such events like SPAIN LOVES NY that really show their multicultural character and define their editorial line.

The city chosen for this coupling of the Spanish and North American characters could not have been any other than NYC; a city where South American immigrants have left their mark throughout it´s history. There are a number of workshops planned for September 13th and will include music, art and gastronomy. For us, graffiti and urban art lovers, names such as Blade, Sen2, Indie 184, Cope2 and Dasic (amongst others) will be wondering around with a huge presence through the exhibition “My Name is Calle”, an attempt to illustrate their vision about spanish culture.

We´ll publish a chronicle of what went down there shortly.

Cope2. Fernando Carlo, aka Cope2, made his name in the South Bronx district of New York in the ‘80s. A privileged student of the maestro Caos, his cousin, Cope2  and his gang Kings Destroy are a legend in the world of New York graffiti. A master of the Wild Style and Throw up, his works first appeared on subway carriages and have now reached galleries all around the world. He’s carried out campaigns for Time Magazine, Adidas and Converse among others.

Shie Moreno. This self-taught artist works between Miami and New York. He was born in Havana and moved to the United States at eight years of age. He carried with him the spirituality, light and colour of the tropics and became infected with the energy that throbs through the streets of west side Miami.  Shie achieves some beautifully balanced compositions, resulting from an exhaustive study of colour and forms and a  versatility that works with any media or surface to express himself.

Blade. Without any question of doubt, one of the most eminent figures in the history of graffiti, as well as being a record holder in the discipline. The legendary writer painted nearly 5,000 graffitis on the trains of New York during the’70s and ‘80s. Blade has forged his own style and achieved fame and universal recognition. His influence has kept going to the current day. ‘King of Kings’.

Indie 184. A love for fashion and graffiti led this New York woman to learn how to sew at the same time as she studied graphic design and develop her own joyful and colourful style of graffiti. Nearly 10 years after she arrived on the scene, Indie 184 is one of the most acclaimed artists on the New York scene, with works in Ireland, Spain and Germany, a presence in prestigious art galleries and her own line of clothes, Queenz Destroy.

Sen2. This Puerto Rican sees his major influences as being Slick and the journeys he made as a child between the Bronx and the small town where he was born, Cantera Santurce. In all these comings and goings, Sen2 built up a name for himself that has now become a living legend in the world of graffiti. Sen2 belongs to the recent species of artist-businessman. Last year he launched his own line of clothing and art gallery, Da Bakery, in the Bronx.

Dasic. The hyper realist finish and impressionist effect are the techniques that distinguish the work of this artist, born in Chile in 1986. His meteoric career has already taken him to work in Toronto, New York, Detroit, Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires. Currently, he is working on Panamerican Graffiti, a documentary on American street art.

Native. Don’t let the nickname fool you. The art of Native, a New Yorker currently living in Paris, doesn’t fit any specific branding, flag or culture. Being a nomad is the real deep roots of an artist who mixes elements of popular imagery with a technique that reminds one of the ‘art of the line”, the name the Arabs give to their calligraphy.