Jana & Js

Solo show "Jeux de constructions"
February, 25 - March, 26

Opening on Friday, February, 25 from 6 pm

Deserted factories, parking lots being demolished, low rise apartment blocks : these elements - among many others - surround and inspire Jana & Js. Their work is nourished by the city they live in, together with its inhabitants and its ever changing architectural landscape. The paintings created by this couple of artists make use of extremely detailed and scrupulously prepared stencils..
Jana & Js raise the question of the individual in large groups of buildings and more widely in the cities, combining portraits and architectural views.
Their street paintings (in France, Austria, Russia, Slovakia, Romania and Spain) also led them to develop an interaction with the environment in which they operate and the public – passerby or spectator – using sets of mirrors as a game in order to create infinities of ways of seeing the city.
Jana & Js are young artists whose work began to take shape only in the mid-2000, and who are today among the most talented of their generation. After having lived and worked together in Paris, they are today between Austria and France.
Jeux de Constructions is the second exhibition in Itinerrance Gallery devoted to them. Combining their love for woodworking, rebuilding their own materials and images composition from their cuts, this exhibition will present for the first time a wide range of their work volume initiated a few months ago.

2022 UPDATE: This post gets a fair amount of traffic via Google searches for spray paint and air quality issues. Glad you stopped by! Recently, Stencil Archive has added other posts about spray paint and environmental/health issues: a long read on aerosol pollution from Mongabay, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for Belton and MTN 94 paints, and an article on aerosols from National Geographic. Read on and get informed. - Stencil Archive

Paint it green

Do graffiti artists express themselves at the expense of our air quality?

Sun, Feb 06 at 8:00 PM – Fri, Feb 11 at 8:00 PM

Hamburg OZM Bartelsstr.65

Tona and Quasikunst in den kellerräumen des OZM bartelsstr.65 in hamburg
vernissage 6.2.2011 20uhr
finissage 11.2.2011 20uhr

In Mid-December I ran into "Stencil Nation" publisher Jennifer Joseph at the annual Last Gasp Xmas Party (always a fun time). She let me know that the book continues to seel quite well and that the 2010 3rd print run was practically sold out. She contacted me over this past weekend to let me know that the book is now in a 4th print run.

What does this mean? It means that you can buy it from me, buy it online, or buy it from your local bookstore, graff supply store, or hipster store.

Your local store doesn't have it? Tell them to contact Manic D Press or me and we'll give them distro info.

As always I am still available to present, lecture, or sit on a panel and geek out on stencil art, graffiti, and any kind of public art. Just let me know by hitting that "contact" link up in the mast head!

And, after 9 years of being a stencil fan and artist, THANKS as always for your enthusiasm and support.

Adding this to this post so the RSS can get the good stuff:

Here is a Flickr set of tags with at least four stencils sprayed in protest against the long autocractic rule of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and his corrupt party.

If you have ever wondered what I do with all my time that is not centered around stencils, then CELLspace would be one of the things I'd mention. Started in 1996 by a group of crazy, radical, creative artists, CELL has weathered many a storm as a funky underground arts facility. It became a nonprofit about ten years ago, and over $250,000 has been invested in building out the space to (slowly) meet code compliance with all the various government agencies in San Francisco. Right now, on the cusp of CELL's 15th anniversary in March, the space is as close as it has ever been towards becoming a legit events facility. And it is still run by a bunch of crazy, radical, creative artists.

I started volunteering at CELLspace in 1998, soon after I had gotten hooked into documenting and making stencils. My love for stencils were encouraged during all my other projects at CELL, so I made stencils for shows, props, and eventually became a shadow puppetteer throwing negative space shadows on screens. I co-curated three stencil-specific shows at CELL: Negative Spaces, For the People, and Stencilada. Other artists like Swoon, Jef Aerosol, Scott Williams, and Peat Wollaeger have also added their art to CELL's exterior walls over the years.

And I have been curating and making murals on both of CELL's walls these past few years. Long before I took interest in CELL's outside walls, many artists have sprayed and painted their art. Spray graffiti has a long tradition at CELLspace, and it's former satellite annex the Mission Village Flea Market (this is where the Bike Kitchen began). There is still a bboy and bgirl night every Monday at the CELL. 

Right now, San Francisco is cracking down hard on any space that is not 100% legal. The locals here call it the War on Fun, which has been waged for the past two years. Add a shitty economy and an internal re-organization (CELL transformed back into an all-volunteer run space about three years ago), and you have an amazing warehouse space in a tight fit. 

And we're so close!

Below is the email that we are sending out to help raise $$ for the space. I hardly ever ask for your financial support (beyond the book links at the top of this page), but now is the time to help an amazing art project get over the final hump. I have already written a check and $6,000 has been raised so far.

If I ever had an inspiration to be an artist, then it is the CELLspace and all those amazing people who have walked in the doors (David Byrne, Extra Action Marching Band, Flaming Lotus Girls, Dave Eggers, Perry Ferrell, Bassnectar, Yard Dogs, Bishop Joey, Matmos, Point Break Live, Michael Franti, Chicken John, Cardboard Institute of Technology, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Art and Revolution, and many many more).

thanks for all your support,

Russell