With his technically masterful, contemporary portraits and his sensational art of destruction, including exploding walls, Alexandre Farto aka Vhils soon became one of the most skilled and talented young artists in today’s urban art scene, for what reason I’m really happy that I did this nice interview with him in 2010! Earlier this year, Gestalten published a fist book about the art of Vhils. Including a preface by Marc and Sara Schiller (who you probably better know as Wooster Collective), the book presents not just Vhils’ popular wall stencils, but also other projects he worked on between 2007 and 2011, like the Nothing lasts Forever and To Have or to Be series, or Scratching the Surface and the Disintegration series. It also includes his major exhibitions at Lazarides Gallery in London and Los Angeles… ...

Yes, it’s X-mas again and for that reason, Ironside and Berlin’s Stattbad are going to open the pools for the Stattmarkt, this year’s urban art X-mas market in Berlin! With its diverse concept, this market contains not just the usual design, fashion, jewelry, merchandise, comic, literature and food stuff, but also artwork by independent artists, gallery representatives, photographers, graphic artists and, and that’s the clue, creative entertainment including video-works by Quintessenz crew, live DJ’s during the day and live paintings by Berlin-based urban artists Irgh, Karl Addison and James Bullough! ...

Last Friday, Berlin’s Neurotitan Gallery opened its doors for another nice group-exhibition entitled Simple is Rare, presenting diverse artwork by different urban-inspired artists like Herr Orm, K 110 and Robert Matzke, just to name a few… Although or probably because of this exhibition’s major topic was simplicity, it was the huge and very complex installation by Clemens Behr which dominated the show-room. By combining cardboard, tape, neon light, paint and wood his walkable and impressing tunnel-like architecture draw almost my entire attention. Of course I took some photos from inside the installation - Take a look and be impressed! ...

Berlin’s iconic 1UP crew has done it again. On a memorable evening at the Babylon Cinema, the highly anticipated film One United Power finally premiered, drawing an enthusiastic crowd of street art enthusiasts, filmmakers, and curious onlookers. The sold-out screening delivered a unique blend of thrill, art, and cultural commentary that cements 1UP’s legacy as a powerhouse in graffiti culture. The Premiere Experience The atmosphere inside the cinema was electric. Despite whispers of undercover police presence, attendees were unphased, fully immersed in the excitement of the event. A standout moment came when the audience was asked to don complimentary 1UP supporter ski masks for a group photo—a sea of masked faces celebrating the spirit of unity and rebellion. The sight was unforgettable, and official photos are eagerly awaited. ...

Following the mantra Style needs no Color, From Here To Fame Publishing’s second issue of their Schwarz auf Weiss (Black on White) book series brings again some dope urban-inspired illustrations by well-known artists in a nice collection! Style needs no Color has invited a diverse range of international artists to contribute black and white illustrations, vector graphics, street art and graffiti styles to this impressive publication. On about 140 black and white pages the book presents selected works of artists, following the philosophy that artwork should be able to stand alone without unnecessary distractions. For that reason, the Style needs no Color artists restrict their palette to black and white and create in that way a contrast to the excessive use of color and flashy techniques for example in advert… ...

Bringing together round about 100 of the most famous and talented urban artists from around the world like Vhils, Amose, Base23, Boxi, L’Atlas and Smash 137 (just to name a few), Walls & Frames - Fine Art from the Streets by Maximiliano Ruiz and Gestalten Publishing presents on 265 colorful pages a cutting-edge collection of recent artworks by young artists who are moving from the street into galleries. Street art has firmly established itself as a facet and attitude in the landscape of contemporary art. Today, young artists are going beyond their work on the streets to present their innovative styles in galleries. Walls & Frames documents the work of this next generation of street artists. ...

After Urbanartcore reached nearly 1,400 friends on Facebook and 4,172 followers on Twitter, I set up the official Urbanartcore page on Google+ a few days ago. From today on it’s open to every urban art enthusiast who wants to celebrate street art and graffiti also via the google community! My idea with that new, official page is to spread the creative urban voice loud and far by providing the latest news, links, statements and event-dates from the urban art movement around the globe (especially those, I’m not mentioning on this blog!) by bringing together all the great sources I’m discovering every day. ...

Bringing together several talented, young urban artists like Clemens Behr, the Berliner Neurotitan Gallery is opening the weekend with the big Simple is Rare group-show tonight! The doors will open at 8 and I’m pretty sure that this exhibition, which examines simplicity in urban arts, is definitely worth to get on your feet, grab your friends, a few beers and to join the opening ceremony asap. I will also hurry and try to get there in the next two hours. ...

That the Parisian underground includes one of the most spectacular tunnel systems throughout Europe is general knowledge not only since the renowned National Geographic published a nice photo gallery of the catacombs. Now, after their phenomenal New York project with 100 artists mounting an unsanctioned show in abandoned tunnels during a one-year period, also the Underbelly team around Pac and Workhorse discovered the deep paths worming under the French capital and brought some of the most creative heads - including C215, Futura, Conor Harrington, How and Nosm, Saber, and SheOne - to create the Underbelly Project Paris! ...

Nelio, Tblr*one and Zerozedrip recently redesigned a wooden fence into a nice palisade in the heart of the French city of Besançon! The entire action, which was documented by Sofarida, is part of the Bien Urbain street art festival. The festival’s aim is to make people realize the power of art on our everyday life perception on museums, theaters or clubs, and also on the streets, for what reason they invited several European street artists to participate… ...