Banksy, beloved English street artist owes much of his popularity and fame to his voluntary anonymity. Some would call it admirable, an artist could surely garner more fame and fortune if he revealed his face. While others, like myself, think that he is already famous because of the intrigue he created. Director Ivan Massow tries to capture the Banksy phenomenon in his film “Banksy’s Coming For Dinner,” which stars Joan Collins, her husband Percy and a hodgepodge of other guests as they all convene for a dinner with Banksy. There is much excitement and comotion as the diners all wonder who the man behind the art really is. I’ve watched the trailer a few times now and to be honest, it is difficult to tell how much of the movie is fact and how much is fiction. It will be available in both DVD and downloadable formats soon and should be interesting!

Although her ink drawings always carry a somber vibe about them, Thais Beltrame’s (the only girl holding it down in the Sao Paulo artist collective Famiglia Baglione) U.S. solo debut will be anything but low key. Her new black-and-white works will be joined by watercolors for her When All the Stars Are Gone exhibit kicking off at Carmichael Gallery this Thursday. The title of the show refers to the literal skies, where she looks to for inspiration, and the pieces feature children walking down the path of awareness, turning into new people as they become wiser. I’m totally into the pensive state her work always leaves me in. The show runs till May 28, and in the back gallery will also be Get Rich Quick, a collection from the gallery’s collectors that includes work by Barry McGee, David Choe, Banksy and Kaws.

We talk a lot about artist on joshspear.com, but when we get to talk with artist its like peaking inside their head full of amazing visions. Sickboy’s Stay Free is full of scary, amazing, funny and just wacky visions. The show is best described as an art playground. He took over a building (not a gallery) and put up paintings but also a sweet factory, weird girls in mask walking around, paintings planted in pots, a house to walk through (check out our exclusive pictures of the opening night for a better idea) and of course his iconic temples. Sickboy’s Stay Free is an entire world and in this interview we walk hand in hand through that world.

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While the Brazilian street art invasion continues to migrate to the farthest walls of the world, its home territory is getting action from outside street artists as well. A few months ago Parisian stencil artist C215 joined up with the non-profit group Children At Risk Foundation, which gives kids in Sao Paulo’s Diadema favela a place and program to spend their time productively. He registers the experience in a neat, fresh video that follows him around the shantytown, adding 2-D faces and color. Anyone want to take bets that Banksy’s next piece will be found behind a dumpster somewhere in Brazil?

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According to some, the streets are at a crossroads. Not long ago, the art covering the bricks and blank spaces of the city was more likely to get you in trouble than in Christie's, but today's take leans more towards halos than handcuffs. This shift can partially be attributed to the quality of today's work (and the hype that surrounds it) but also, strangely enough, to the financial opportunities that have arisen within graffiti. No matter the game, the rules change when money and fame join the party — and they've certainly started to party with street art.

In order to suss out if these fears had a foundation, we decided to take a sit with Doodles, a 20-year-old out of the Bay Area who we consider a member of the ‘new school' of street artists. He also happens to be in school, adding another interesting element to our interview. Say hello to the future of graf art, readers — it's looking good.

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Beginning on September 25th with a private showing (then open to the public on September 26th), Steve Lazarides heads up an exhibition of outsider art in the Bowery. Lazarides, who represents Banksy, will be bringing art by Faile, David Choe, Paul Insect, Reas, Invader, Zevs, Bast, Blu, Antony Micallef, Vhils, Conor Harrington, Miranda Donovan, JR, Jonathan Yeo and many more. The group show will run for at least two weeks. A book by Lazarides, entitled Outsiders, is being published next month.

These days, you can hardly round a city block without coming across wheat-pasted, stenciled and sticker-bombed walls. With artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy getting plenty of attention for their street art, there is an “artist” you’ve likely encountered but for whom fame remains elusive…until now. Brooklyn designer Grotesk is calling out the original kings of NY sticker art as the folks behind the “stuck gate” stickers. The yellow and black rectangular notices are adhered to metal gates and offer help to shopkeepers with malfunctioning gates. They are a part of the New York City landscape, and Grotesk collected them over several years of walking around the five buroughs. Empire Gates and crew will finally achieve a small dose of glory when on September 15th, 5BORO Skateboards will release this tribute skateboard and t-shirt.

If there was any doubt that in the 21st century toys = bonafide art, Christie’s recent pop culture auction — including $625 vinyl figures from Huck Gee and Joe Ledbetter –settled it. Now, Phillips de Pury & Company is following suit with an urban art auction to be held in London on September 6th and in New York on October 25th. The selection of original works includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, mosaics, record covers and yes, toys, by urban street artists like Bansky, Blek le Rat, DFace, Faile, Shepard Fairey, KAWS, Dave Kinsey, Adam Neate, Barry Mcgee and Swoon.

While the full catalog won’t be made available until a week before the auction, PdP and Co. did drop a teaser: New York City-based Suckadelic created DJ Stormtrooper, an exclusive 12-inch Star Wars-based figure for the sale. The iconic mashup is 1:6 scale, wears a custom track suit, mini-headphones and spins his collection of records on a double turntable stand. DJ Stormtrooper is estimated to go for between £750 – 1000. This is on the low-end as compared to works from Brooklyn collective, Faile, which have estimates of £10,000 – 25,000.

Finally, this one goes out to all the elitists who like to debate “What is art?” Los Angeles’ Buff Monster, who has slapped his signature style of pink monsters, ice cream and squirting breasts on many toys, will be introduced to auction (eBay not inclusive) by PdP for the very first time.

London definitely has become the place for adventures ever since Banksy created a treasure hunt that took place at the National History Museum. Now the Transport Museum has announced a (more official) scavenger hunt around Covent Garden using flickr.

Teams will be running around Covent Garden on July 6th, following cryptic clues. The first team to complete the hunt wins… almost. This is where flickr comes in the picture. For each answer to each clue, the teams must photograph an object or piece of architecture. The pictures are then uploaded to flickr for judging by the ‘community.’ Points for skilled photographs will also be awarded.

We love the use of the internet to bring life to actives like scavenger hunts. Rumor is, that for this particular scavenger hunt, competitors should be skilled tube travelers, as it promises to be a difficult test of navigation. But that’s all part of the fun, isn’t it? May the best scavengers/photogs win!

This weekend's bank holiday in London is almost over, so you better hurry if you want to have a chance to compete with elusive graffiti artist, Banksy. The Cans Festival opened up a half mile of unused tunnel behind Waterloo Station to house some original Banksy stencils, along with other invited street artists. The goal, in Banksy's words, is to “transform a dark forgotten pit into an oasis of beautiful art.” Already visitors to the exhibition have added their scribblings to the walls. Although we have a feeling it will turn into spaghetti of mixed messages, the bigger danger is a word of caution posted on Cans’ Website: art outside the designated area may well result in prosecution.

Despite our past mixed feelings on the success of the (red) campaign, we've remained supportive of its effect on the proliferation awesome artistic collaborations and solo efforts as a means of raising money for a good cause. This time around we're positively psyched for their latest undertaking. The (red) campaign has called upon some of the art world's most preeminent persons to conjure up some of their best creations for a charity auction aptly named (Auction) Red. Luminaries like Damien Hirst, Banksy, and Jeff Koons are amongst the big names involved in this event that will donate proceeds to the United Nations Foundation to Support HIV/Aids Relief Programs in Africa. If you want to catch a sneak peak of these picturesque pieces before they wind up in the home of someone who can afford them, we recommend heading down to New York's Gagosian Galleryfrom February 4th through 13th. If you find that you fancy one of these fine whether or not you can afford on, the auction will be held at Sotheby's in New York, on the (red)dest day of all, Valentine's Day.

In what they’re claiming is the most “low-concept art event ever”, Banksy and a few friends have set up their annual Christmas shoppe in one of the more unlikely places around the world. Of course, it wouldn’t be Banksy or anyone like-minded if that place didn’t make a statement. So this year, they’ve chosen Bethlehem and titled the project Santa’s Ghetto. This places their new shoppe in an area surrounded on three sides by a massive security wall.

Their point is simply to cast further attention toward the Palestinian conflict, especially during a time of year when most people are out spending a ton of money on themselves. All of the proceeds from the project will go directly toward helping people in need in the area. And, of course, there’s some killer artwork coming out of the project as well. Have a look at some more photos and keep an eye out for the online shop to open here.

Via Things of Random Coolness

Banksy will come to NY galleries (for the first time) in the form of an opening at Vanina Holasek. Offering an exhibition of the graffiti bandit’s prints and originals for sale, the exhibit will run through December 29, when Banksy himself will make an appearance as a live statue holding a balloon and a detonated bomb (kidding). Or maybe dressed up as Angelina Jolie, who will have already shown up once to buy the entire collection (kidding… except for the part about Angelina buying everything). Who knows, maybe he won’t come at all, but even though no one will know if he does, I certainly won’t — I’ll be here in the mountains, bombing my Christmas tree with Santa’s Artificial Snow Frost Spray. Full details here, you lucky bastards.

Gothamist has a story today on something that combines two of my loves: NYC and Lego. I spent probably a grand total of at least a few years (cumulatively, I mean) during my childhood occupied by my boxes of Legos and now, the Storefront for Art and Architecture has an exhibit by Copenhagen-based architecture group BIG featuring the city of New York created out of Legos. While that’s pretty damn cool, it has been done before. BIG’s version, however, takes it a step further, incorporating some realistic details including some street art by NY faves like Banksy and realistic NY brands such as NYSC and Deal and DeLuca.

The exhibit is already up and running and can be viewed at The Storefront for Art and Architecture at 97 Kenmare St. You can bet your bottom buck I’ll be there before the exhibit closes on November 24th.

One of my new favorite places to go out in London is certainly The Groucho Club, a members-only club with three bars, a brasserie and a formal dining room. The best part, really, are the people — everyone invited or involved in the club has a deep history in publishing, arts, media or creative fields. Unlike most clubs in London, everyone was actually very nice; they knew if you were in there, you were probably doing something interesting. The space also has a constantly evolving and fantastic art selection (when I was there, Banksy and Damien Hirst were on the dining room walls). In addition to all the open space for some good partying, the club has 19 bedrooms for members coming in from out of town that need a place to call home. The name was naturally inspired by one of Groucho Marx’s famous quips; “I don’t want to join a club that will accept me as a member,” which I absolutely love. Find someone respected in creative arts or media who knows the London scene and they’re likely a member — this place is worth a visit on a Saturday night.