Recently we brought you a list of nine NYC-based visual artists that demand to be seen. Creative geniuses ranging from the immortal Meres One to fresher cats like Brandon Sines and RhizomeNYC abound in this city, and there's no reason not to bring you another list of dope NYC artists.
And much like before, not all of these people qualify strictly as street artists.
Many of them have a presence on the street, whether it's stickers, posters, graffiti, or commissioned murals-- but there's so much more than just what's on the street.
In fact, if you're an NYC artist and you don't have a street presence, you're of a different breed. It's not fully necessary that every artist go out and blanket the city like Cost or BNE, but it does help
There are whacked out bootleg action figures, Etch a Sketch Biggie Smalls, a suicidal Bugs Bunny, and way more. Let's get started.
1. Claw Money
via Claw & Co
Street artist gone designer/entrepreneur Claw Money started writing walls in the late 80s, at a time when authorities were cracking down on graffiti nationwide.
The era of the g-bombed subway cars was coming to an end, and freight trains had become the new target, but you could always see her signature claws on walls all over the City.
Over the last few decades Claw Money's secured her place in the annals of NYC artist history and developed a hell of a business based around art sales and fashion design. Not to mention, she's pioneered a space for ladies in a world that's traditionally dominated by male figures. Kick-ass.
She's done signature Fila sneakers, G-Pen vaporizers, and tons of other dope stuff. You can check it all out at the Claw & Co store at 101 Delancey Street.
2. Cosbe
via VNDL
Cosbe is a self-taught visual artist who grew up in Chicago and began writing graffiti over twenty years ago. He's now based in Brooklyn.
Recognizing similarities between old school graffiti culture and contemporary social media, Cosbe is an artist between realms. As he told VNDL, "Graffiti is like an analog way of expressing you exist in in a world that can make you feel like you don't."
His style often draws comparisons with Basquiat, and it's easy to see why. Though, it is well worth your time to look around his website and get a deeper understanding of his body of work, as there is much more to it than just looking at Basquiat.
3. Dan Curran
"Hell Mouth" via Dan J. Curran
Dan Curran is a pin artist, illustrator and a printmaker doing lots of concert posters, and they're sick. He's designed collector's edition NYC concert posters for performing artists like Ty Segall, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and The Oh Sees, Mac Demarco and more.
Mainly, really awesome woodblock prints. You'll find them in venues like Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Webster Hall, Irving Plaza and the Capitol Theater.
Curran does more than show posters though, playing with the eye through creative use of periscopic perspective and invoking some super throwback psychedelic styles.
4. Danielle De Jesus
via Danielle De Jesus Photography
Bushwick native De Jesus is a great example of the diversity of NYC's vibrant younger artists. She's a gifted photographer who's taken special care over years to document the gentrification of her home neighborhood while seeking to encapsulate and preserve the elements she finds homey.
Her first solo show, entitled "Made in Bushwick," opened this past April to much acclaim, and she's also got a cool thing going with her Etch a Sketch work, featuring pop culture themes like The Walking Dead and Biggie Smalls.
,5. Neil Harbisson
neilharbisson For the next 6 months my head will be wirelessly connected to this sculpture. Whenever a color is held up to the sculpture's embedded antenna I will receive the colors in my head wherever I am in the world. We are unveiling this first of its kind sculpture tonight at 7:30 at @el_cccb. The head was 3d printed and handpainted this year in New York by @ibudmen #cyborg #cyborgsculpture #art #barcelona #cyborgism #contemporary #cccb #isaacbudman #neilharbisson
Harbisson is the world's first cyborg artist. Born truly colorblind, he sees completely in greyscale. Yearning to experience color, he had a microchip installed in his brain which connects to a sensor that's always sticking out of his head, like an antenna.
When the sensor is presented with colors, it converts the shade into a corresponding pitch which is audible to Harbisson, who essentially now hears colors.
Since 2004 he's been memorizing what notes are linked to what colors, and has even replicated classical music like Vivaldi and Stravinsky with what he calls "sonochromatism."
He's quoted in a TED Talk, "When I started to dream in color is when I felt the software and my brain had united. In my dreams it was my brain creating electronic sounds, it wasn't the software."
Right now, there's a 3D printed bust of Neil himself with one of his signature color sensing units attached to the head. For the next six months or so, anytime anyone puts a color near the sensor on the bust, it will be wirelessly transmitted to Neil's brain anywhere in the world.
6. The Super Sucklord
stonecutterjeff Never thought I would own such amazing works from the @sucklord but was lucky enough to connect with a fellow collector and helped me fix some holes I had. Can't believe I own a #creature was close to crying when I finally held it in my hands. Now I need some suck cases for them. #Sucklord #monstersindrag @mpapers #marypapers #afro #badacid #bootlegtoys #toys #art #suckadelic #hatersgonnahatecollectorsgonnacollect
The Sucklord is a creator and purveyor of "unlicensed" action figures and toys. He operates out of a secret super villain lair/sweatshop down in Chinatown, where his relatively twisted or just hilarious (or both) designs come to life.
His "evil arts" organization, SUCKADELIC, is the hub of all of this now, and his style has caught the eye of countless collectors of traditional merch as they're super weird.
He likes to put Boba Fett, Darth Vader, and Dr. Doom heads on bodies where they don't belong. Imagine R2D2 with Fett's dome, or a storm trooper helmet on Caitlyn Jenner's body.
It's all pretty tongue in cheek, but the vibe is great as it reminds us not to take our culture, merchandise, trademarks, and indeed ourselves, so seriously.
7. Wizard Skull
conartistnyc Wizard Skull has about 2 weeks left on his newest kickstarter, new tshirts, patches, stickers and more #wizardskull #kickstarter #conartistcollective #conartistnyc #lowereastside #nyc
Wizard Skull has been active in Brooklyn since 2008, making psychotic mashups of classic animation characters, designing "mutants" that are a conglomerate of super heroes or famous television characters from Masters of the Universe and The Simpsons, and way more.
Skull's also very well recognized for his series of Ronald McDonald pieces, featuring the famous fast food spokesman with his french fry bush hanging out of a speedo, saluting Nazi style, and in other cracked out orientations you never thought you'd see Ronald McDonald in.
Staging the filthy Ron in front of an American flag is an effective way of satirizing the supposed separation between corporations and politics.
To some, it also conjures the idea that these imaginary figures are just as real to us as our pop stars and politicians. In the same way we're fixated on celebrity dirt and political controversy, Wizard Skull supplies us with fictional scandals in image form, and we love them.
Check out 11 Amazing Art Exhibitions You Gotta Check Out This Fall in NYC.
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]