“Tibet Imprisoned” by New York based artist Jeffrey Pena aka Once5 is a graphically captivating image of Palden Gyatso, the Tibetan Buddhist monk who was arrested for protesting the Chinese invasion of Tibet. As a result Gyatso spent 33 years in Chinese prisons and labor camps where he was severely tortured until he fled to live in exile. The print is an edition of 20 spray paint on handcut paper mounted on chipboard. Each piece is hand embellished with different ink and coffee staining techniques used by the artist. Each piece measures 18″ x 24″ and will be available through My Addiction Gallery starting September 4.

As a show teaser for his solo show “What Keeps Me Radicalized.”, Once5 put up “The Self Immolation of Thic Quang Duc.” in his Bushwick neighborhood. The street version of the piece stands majestic on a rusted door in the middle of a sea of tags in an industrial part of town. To read more about the paper cut piece click here. To go to the artist’s website click here. To check out the gallery’s website click here.

Lapiztola is an urban art collective composed of three artists from Oaxaca, Yankel, Rosario and Roberto. The name itself, Lapiztola, is a play on word composed of the spanish word for Pistol (pistola) and the spanish word for pencil (lapiz). The intent was to create a name where two elements are combined to have a greater meaning – that of shooting graphic elements into the city. “Our style emerged from the need to express and demonstrate against what was happening in our city.” the collective shares.

“El Grito.”, or ‘the scream’ in english, is from the drug culture series. Much of the work made by the collective exposes the faults of the local government in order to eradicate local problem via their art work. “When the movement started the work started to pop up in prominent areas and the art work became very charged with social and political messages. There was suddenly more critique and people were more conscientious about the urban art that plastered the city.” the collective expresses in a recent interview with Curbs and Stoops.

“El Grito.” is a 20″ x 26″ silkscreen on fine art paper limited edition of 45. Each print will go for 60$ which includes shipping in the United States.

Read more about Lapiztola by checking out their interview with Andamos Armados here. Check out their page over at Just Feeds here. And check out their Curbs interview here. Buy the print here.

The young (and oh so fresh) portuguese artist Pedro Matos aka Drone will be having a solo exhibition at the Montana SHop and GAllery in Lisboa opening on June 4th. “Reality Show” will feature a series of Drone’s multi layered, multi medium painitng which include oil, acrylic and aerosol on canvas. In addition to these paintings he will have tow site specific installations in the gallery which will resemble his street work.

In an interview with Format Magazine the artist said “I find myself captured by the beauty of this homeless street musician the same way I am about this damaged, tagged and vandalized abandoned 18th century building.” The body of work that he has been developing is one that shows concern and sympathy towards disenfranchised people. This link goes beyond the person in the painiting – Matos is equally interested in representing the abandoned surfaces often found in the run down urban areas where his subjects live. While his work is influenced by the works of the old masters, the subjecst which once were religious figures are now “downtrodden, unnoticed, unappreciated and forgotten.”

This solo show is not the onlny thing that has kept Matos busy. His artwork will also be exhibited at the Living Walls Conference in Atlanta. He is also involved with the “Art Stars” Project and will be launching a print edition shortly with Harwood King Fine Art here. To check out the Montana Shop and Gallery in Lisbon go to their website at montanashoplisboa.com. Keep up with Pedro Matos on his website at pedromatos.org.

The UR New York duo creates images that have masterful compositions with the grit of urban graffiti. The team of Mike Baca aka 2ESAE and Fernando Romero aka Ski joined together in order to create an “urban industrial feel.” The duo can be found in the streets of Soho where they sell their art work guerilla style. Still, their work can be found in the finest of art venues. Recently, the duo teamed up with Barneys to paint a unique collection of the iconic Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair. The Eames Inspiration event which was curated by Billi Kid and Luna Park brings together some of the most celebrated street artists today.

The UR New York duo’s talent have spread beyond New York City. The collective is now being represented by New England’s finest Urban Art venue, Art Asylum Boston who are carrying an array of beautiful works by UR New York. These artist are joining the likes of Arkiv, Fake, Kinsey, and Shepard Fairey amongst others being shown by Art Asylum. The artists and Art Asylum will be releasing an exclusive fine art print which will be UR New York’s first print release. It is going to be a very limited edition of 10. Each print is going to be completely hand painted making them each unique. The print will be numbered and signed by both artists on archival paper with deckled edges.

If you are interested in seeing more of UR New York’s work go to their website at urnewyork.com or keep up with them by reading their blog at urnewyorkcity.blogspot.com To check them out on the Art Asylum Boston website go to artasylumboston.com and click on the artist’s page.

If you are a fan of street art, then you must love the paintings of the late artist, Jean Michel Basquiat. The artist who was known for his poetic writings all around New York City as well as his paintings representing issues of heritage and society in a densely collaged manner. Basquiat is also known for his SAMO graffiti. Samo, short for “same ol’ shit.” was often followed by a message. The SAMO writing series ended with the epitaph “Samo is dead.”

In this print, New York artist Once5 includes small symbols that are often found in Basquiat’s paintings such as the triple point crown. Embedded within the grain of the wood you can find many of phrases Basquiat scribed through out the city. These sayings include: “SAMO for the so called avant garde.” “SAMO as a neo art form.” SAMO a pin drops like a pungent odor.” ” SAMO as an escape clause.” and “The whole livery line , bow like this with, the big money all, crushed into these feet.”

You can purchase this print for $60 on the Once5 page or by clicking here. There is free shipping in the United States and Canada. 50% of the proceeds from the print will go towards the development of cultural centers in Haiti.