To navigate the December fair extravaganza, a visitor need only look to the streets, where for the past three years Primary Flight has produced murals by hundreds of renowned artists. Culminating in the largest curated street mural project in the world, the collective is now expanding beyond their Wynwood origins to launch their first-ever headquarters in the Design District. An interactive circus at Cafeina, CPOP Gallery’s Contra initiative and partnerships with Fountainhead Residency, Metro 1 Properties, Montana Spraypaint and more ground Primary Flight’s 2010 program as the most accessible and ambitious yet.
“This year is about growth: Miami is set in motion, and Primary Flight paved the way,” said Books IIII Bischof, principal of Primary Flight. “Since our involvement, Wynwood has become a street art Mecca with legs of its own. It’s time for Primary Flight to grow in new directions, and we always take cue from our ever-changing culture.”
Primary Flight Opens Primary Projects space with a solo exhibition by Marquis Lewis a.k.a. RETNA
Atrium Building | 4141 NE Second Avenue, Suite 104, Design District
Opening Night: Thursday, December 2, 2010 | 7 – 10 PM)
Primary Projects is a place where artists, curators, art dealers, museums and inspired minds will be pushed to create beyond the commercial constraints typically presented by galleries or formal spaces. To launch the 4,500 square-foot space, Retna, recently featured on the cover of Juxtapoz magazine with a foreword by Jeffrey Deitch, will present a fine art solo show. His work has set a standard for the entire medium, much of which can be seen in Miami from Interstate 95 including: a 30-foot-tall man throwing his hands to the sky on the western wall of The Margulies Collection at the WAREHOUSE; a seductive blue angel gracing the corner of 37th and North Miami Avenue; and a little black boy kneeling to the ground in Wynwood, just off 24th Street and west of North Miami Avenue.
Retna returns for Primary Flight’s fourth consecutive year, this time, kicking-off the collective’s home-base with a solo exhibit of paintings, drawings, an installation and an entirely new body of work specific to this occasion. The opening reception is slated for Thursday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m. Primary Projects will welcome visitors December 1 to 5 from noon to 7:00 p.m. daily, and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during regular season. For more information visit www.primaryflight.com.
Tristan Eaton with Trusto Corp Makes Artful Big Top at Cafeina
Cafeina | 297 Northwest 23rd Street, Wynwood
Subversive social commentary is increasingly gaining visibility in the world of street art. Talented artists are manipulating household items to engage people through every day experiences. In 2009, Primary Flight, in partnership with CPOP gallery, erected a series of re-branded food and beverage street signs near fast food eateries to call attention to obesity and related issues.
This year, CPOP with Trusto Corp, whose mission is “dedicated to highlighting the hypocrisy and hilarity of human behavior through sarcasm and satire,” will produce an interactive circus in Cafeina’s garden. Common products, brands and games will be given new life and meaning under Trusto Corp’s warped, artful eyes.
New Image Gallery, the Los Angeles group credited for mobilizing the careers of Shepard Fairey, Jo Jackson, Bäst and Barry McGee, will be adopting Cafeina’s exhibition space which will be open to the public December 1 to 5, 2010 during regular daytime hours. After dark, anticipate surprise celebrity DJ and musical guests. For more information visit www.cafeinamiami.com.
Primary Flight Street Art Murals
Between 20th and 36th Streets, from NE Second to Biscayne Boulevard
Live painting day and night, November 29 through December 5, 2010
Contra’s Wynwood initiative is taking place under the wing of Primary Flight, featuring a collaborative mural with artists Tristan Eaton, Ron English, Dalek, Tes One, Bask and Glen Barr at Butter Gallery (2303 NE Second Avenue, Miami).
Southbound, organizers have gained control of the RC Cola plant courtesy of Metro I Properties, where more than 80 Primary Flight artists are slated to paint its interiors and exterior (550 NW 24th Street, Miami). To the north, Primary Flight will also be growing into the Design District, developing murals on both sides of the Tuttle Wall on Biscayne Boulevard at 36th Street.
Primary Flight, the Wynwood Arts District Association, and the City of Miami anticipate inducting 30+ murals into the inaugural Wynwood Mural Museum (wynwoodmuralmuseum.org). Murals erected in the last four years and iconic pieces that have since been covered will be featured on a map dedicated to street art and on the official website, to be unveiled during Art Basel.
Select Primary Flight 2010 participants include: Askew, Bask, Burning Candy, Charles Craft, Cruz, Tristan Eaton, El Mac, Escif, Shepard Fairey, Herakut, Logan Hicks, Anthony Lister, Nunca, Revok, Remed, Reyes, Santiago Rubino, Stormie Mills, Christian Strike, Tatiana Suarez, Tackz, Tes One, The London Police, Michael Vasquez and many secret guests will be announced daily. Roughly 135 artists are scheduled to descend upon Miami to lift-off with Primary Flight this December.