The History of LeS
The Lower East Side (also Known as Les) is the area of Manhattan that roughly spans the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, the area has been a working-class neighbourhood although it has been rapidly gentrified from the mid-2000s. Since the 1960’s the area has been associated with artists with many famous street artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring (amongst many, many others) either undertaking works there or using the area as a location for their studios.
Current Art
One thing that immediately strikes you as you wander the Lower East Side is the sheer amount of street art and graffiti. Indeed, it is impossible not to, on every corner, on every turn, see something that makes you stop. From invader to Shepard fairy and countless highly-detailed hand-sprayed works, street art is the lifeblood of the area. The quantity and quality of the works as well as the variety in styles is something to behold. Below we share a handful of the works we loved.
Bowery Wall
Staying in the Lower East Side we were lucky to be next to what has often been referred to as the epicentre of street art. The Houston Bowery Wall, also known simply as the Bowery Wall, is a famous mural wall on Houston Street and the intersection of the Bowery. The wall has been a popular graffiti spot since the early 1980s when street artist Keith Haring created a large mural on it in 1982. Acquired by Goldman Properties in 1984 the wall was used for advertisements that kept on being vandalised. In 2008, Goldman Properties designed to give the wall back to the streets commissioning artists to produce large murals for the wall with new pieces added every 6-12 months. Since 2008, several street artists have had their works showcased on this famous wall including: Shephard Fairey, Banksy, David Flores and many others. Indeed, in 2018 Banksy created a large black and white mural to protest against the incarceration of Turkish artist, journalist and activist, Zehra Doğan. The work, which resembled a tally chart of her time spent in prison, also featured a projection of Doğan’s watercolour that landed her in jail shown at night.
Banksy residency in NYC
Better Out Than In (the title referencing a quote by impressionist Paul Cézanne, "All pictures painted inside, in the studio, will never be as good as those done outside.) was a residency undertaken by Banksy in New York City during October 2013. Banksy unveiled at least one work of art daily, documenting it on both a dedicated website and an Instagram account. The majority of the works were stencil graffiti and chiefly political, a distinctive characteristic of Banksy. Other pieces and multimedia exhibits toyed with dark humour and satire. The month-long residency drew controversy amongst some locals for its more politically strong pieces, and received mixed reviews from critics. Highlights of the residency included the stunt where an old man was selling original Banksy paintings outside of Central Park for $60 USD, Waiting in Vain (the show's 24th instalment) illustrated a man in a tuxedo holding flowers, presumably jilted by his date, and Sirens of the Lambs, where a military-style cargo truck filled with squealing, stuffed animatronic livestock was driven around the Meatpacking District.
Heading up to see Banksy’s Hammer Boy
Speaking of Banksy, no trip to NYC would be complete with searching fro an original street art piece by the world’s most in-demand artist. With this in mind we headed to the Upper West Side to see Hammer Boy, The work, completed as part of Better Out Than In, shows a young boy holding a carnival-esque hammer (the type used in test of strength games) striking a fire hydrant. Prior to the conservation and preservation of the work the wall previously depicted point levels coming up from the fire hydrant using the signs from the fire regulations of the building. The work, more akin to an installation than what one would consider graffiti, has been placed behind a case for its prosperity, allowing for visitors to enjoy one of the few remaining original street pieces by the artist.
Discover our selection of Banksy original art for sale and view our Banksy signed prints, as well as our Stik signed prints, original Keith Haring screenprints for sale and, for more information and any questions, speak to our team via sales@andipa.com or call +44 (0)20 7581 1244.