Brazil Style in Chelsea
Jonathan LeVine plays host to eight Brazilian artists this month with the launch of his most international exhibition yet—Ruas de Sao Paulo: A Survey of Brazilian Street Art. Looks like last month’s art auction paid off. LeVine raised enough money to bring all of the artists over from Brazil to attend their opening (all but Speto made the trip).
First off, LeVine expanded his space, offering twice as much room for cool new art. Six gallery rooms are shared between the eight artists, their work running the gamut between huge installation murals and stunning works on canvas.
Titi Freak’s character paintings drip with yellows and golds, dwarfing most of his peers’ works. Onesto’s creations look like stencils, but the artist assures us that all the paintings are paint on canvas. In another corner of the gallery, Highraff displays a three dimensional scene that looks like it could fit nicely in Candyland.
Rather than bring art to the streets, Zezao brings the streets to the gallery with a selection of paintings designed over etchings of sewer grates. In the same room, Fefe, the only female in this collective, shows off her distinct street style, which involves creating animals from letters.
Kboco’s style is less graffiti and looks right at home in a New York art gallery. His work is a dazzling display of intricate black lines with gold embellishment.
Speto, much like his mates, leans towards a character design that feels like street art, but the subdued colors and detailed facial expressions on his portraits bring out the fine art in his pieces. The crown jewel off the show is Boleta. His style toes the line between tattoo flash and hot rod art, and his color work is mesmerizing. One painting has a knife sticking through it—coolest painting ever.
The show kicks off on Feb. 17 and runs through March 17. For those uneducated in the world of underground Brazilian art, pick up Tristan Manco’s book “Graffiti Brazil” for a comprehensive overview of the scene.










