Born and bred in Bushwick, Joe Ficalora has transformed the face of his neighborhood, transforming it into an open-air art museum with a project he calls the Bushwick Collective. But Ficalora is not your typical art curator. In fact, one could say he's an accidental art curator who, in the best way, used his personal pain to reshape his environment.

In 2011, after losing his mother to a devastating battle with brain cancer, Ficalora was looking for a change. So he began searching the internet for street artists who could transform neighborhood walls with their art. Even though he had no connections or experience with the art world, he took a chance and invited several artists to come and paint. And in June 2012, the Bushwick Collective was born.

Over the past 13 years, Ficalora's personal initiative has changed Bushwick and drawn top-tier local and international talent. Everyone from legendary street artists Blek le Rat and Jef Aerosol to My Modern Met favorites Dasic and Alice Pasquini have left their mark on Bushwick's walls.

What makes the Bushwick Collective unique in terms of street art projects is its scope, which moves far beyond the aesthetics of the finished artwork. Ficalora cares deeply that anyone who brings their work to the neighborhood understands its history and is passionate about being part of the community. And each year, an annual block party brings that community out en masse—a stark contrast to Ficalora's days growing up there in the 90s, when he wasn't allowed to play outside for safety reasons.

My Modern Met had the chance to speak with Ficalora about the history of the Bushwick Collective and where he sees it headed. Read on for our exclusive interview.

 

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How did you know that the Bushwick Collective was really starting to take off?

I didn't, I just kept doing it because it made me feel less pain from my loss and the void of my mother no longer being around. People, including family, started to come together, and it was my therapy. I'd say three years into it, I realized I had a greater responsibility to others whom this project has affected and inspired.

Tymon de Laat for The Bushwick Collective

Mate for The Bushwick Collective

How has it helped shape or make a difference in the community?

It has brought the whole world together and created a home for people who love what they are doing with life, not just artists….volunteers, lawyers, doctors, marketing executives, photographers, families. I have received messages even last week to ask when we are hosting our annual event, so they can plan their family trip to America around it. It's a platform for everyone to do what they love and give more of themselves than they receive.

Enzo for The Bushwick Collective

Golden305 for The Bushwick Collective

Over a decade in, how has the Bushwick Collective evolved?

It has evolved organically through the blessings of all the souls and hearts that have contributed to this family. Bushwick Collective has its own soul and has grown through the years. Life is about evolving and changing to be better each day we get blessed to be here.

What is your current process for selecting artists who participate?

You must be dedicated to your craft, passionate, and an all-around good human being. Life is way too short not to give it your all!

Stash & Patrick Kane McGregor collaboration for The Bushwick Collective

What do you see for the future of the Bushwick Collective?

I never planned this, and just like life, none of us knows what's to come. I'll just keep being true to my passion for this project and the beautiful people who have helped build it and have helped me put my broken heart back together

Bushwick Collective Artist BBQ, an annual event held for artists who have painted for the collective. (Photo: Dave Lee)

14th annual Bushwick Collective Block Party

How has the whole experience impacted you personally?

In so many ways, so much so that I want it to go forever, even when I'm no longer here and able to continue. It has helped me understand my mom's journey, realize what truly matters, and be inspired by endless amounts of inspiring people (artists, Bushwick KiDs Collective, journalists, volunteers, supporters, sculptors, business executives, musicians, rappers, DJs, producers, videographers, families, young artists, so many). Last year, a young artist came all the way from London to perform live for us to try to get on stage for the Bushwick Collective Block Party. This is just an example of the inspiration and effect that this platform has made, and I have so many more stories to share.

The Bushwick Collective: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by The Bushwick Collective.

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Spanish street artist Sfhir is known for his large-scale realistic murals. And over the past two years, he's been utilizing his 20 years of experience painting in the street to create murals that are a true fusion of art and architecture. This “musical architecture” series features figures strumming on instruments that are perfectly integrated into their setting, cleverly using architectural elements to enhance the scene.

In one piece in Madrid, a woman wearing a flower crown closes her eyes as she strums a guitar, lost in a world of music. Sfhir uses the straight rows of windows to lay out the guitar strings, making them appear as part of the instrument. On other occasions, the artist plays with positive and negative space. Murals in Salamanca and Fene depict women playing a violin and cello, respectively, with the necks of these instruments represented by open spaces in the architecture.

By using these architectural elements, Sfhir's work is perfectly balanced and aesthetically striking. The painted elements don't simply sit on the building; they become part of it. This masterful use of paint has been recognized by Sfhir's peers, with the Fene mural named 2023 Best Mural in the World by the street art platform Street Art Cities.

Sfhir's musical architecture spotlights the best of public art, where clever design and a high-skill level come together to transform the space. To see more of the artist's work, follow Sfhir on Instagram.

Spanish street artist Sfhir has created a clever series of “musical architecture” murals.

The monumental artworks feature figures strumming on instruments perfectly integrated into their setting.

The painted elements don't simply sit on the building; they become part of it.

Sfhir: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Sfhir.

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Photo: Andrea Berlese

Every year for the past decade, the Alpine city of Grenoble, in southeastern France, becomes a beacon for street art. That annual transformation is thanks in large part to the Street Art Festival of Grenoble, which, since 2015, has brought more than 400 murals to the city by artists from around the world. For this year’s edition, the UK-based duo SNIK unveiled Flourish, their newest and, in many ways, most technically complex artwork to date.

At 14 meters tall (about 46 feet tall), Flourish demanded tremendous patience and care to complete. The mural depicts a woman with a tangle of flowers draped over her face, which has been rendered in an etched style. Her gaze is firm, staring directly ahead, and vibrant bursts of pink and blue hues surround her like a thin fog. With its graphic lines and pops of color, the entire composition seems meticulously layered, and yet it was created as a single-layer stencil, hand-cut over several weeks.

“With only one layer to work with, there’s nowhere to hide,” Nik Ellis of SNIK tells My Modern Met. “Every detail, every edge, every fade of color had to be deliberate. The scale alone made it a challenge—painting a face of that size while still trying to capture something delicate in the expression.”

Despite pushing SNIK “technically and physically,” Flourish maintains an air of ease and clarity, perfectly complementing its urban surroundings. But, Ellis cautions, street art is nevertheless temporary, a “quiet reminder that things change,” reminiscent of the blooming and subsequent decay of a flower. It’s exactly that juxtaposition between renewal and ephemerality that compels SNIK—and why botanic motifs felt so crucial to incorporate throughout Flourish.

“Surrounded by foliage and florals, it feels like she’s both emerging from something and being reclaimed by it,” Ellis explains. “Blooms grow, fade, then disappear. That tension between strength and fragility has always been a big part of our work.”

Another significant—and inherent—aspect of street art is, as Ellis adds, the connection between a piece and its local community. While working in Grenoble, people in the neighborhood “came out every day to watch [us work], ask questions, bring food, or just check in,” the artist says. “From a distance, [Flourish] catches the eye, but it’s also rooted in place—the colors, the figure, the organic shapes feel like they’re meant to be there.”

As for what Ellis would like audiences to take away from the mural: “Hopefully, it gives the people who walk past it every day something a bit different—a moment to pause.”

To learn more about the artists behind Flourish, visit SNIK’s website.

The UK-based art duo SNIK has unveiled their latest mural, Flourish, for this year’s Street Art Festival of Grenoble.

Photo: Andrea Berlese

Photo: Andrea Berlese

Photo: Andrea Berlese

Photo: Andrea Berlese

As a single-layer stencil, Flourish is one of SNIK’s most ambitious and complex murals to date, meditating upon themes of fragility, renewal, and resilience.

Photo: Andrea Berlese

Photo: Andrea Berlese

Photo: Andrea Berlese

SNIK: Website | Instagram | Facebook

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by SNIK.

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American muralist JEKS ONE traveled across the ocean to bring his hyperrealistic style to the walls of Glasgow. Created in the riverside district of Govan, the mural honors celebrated Scottish activist Mary Barbour. As a political activist, magistrate, and local councillor, Barbour was a prominent figure in the first half of the 20th century. JEKS ONE was charged with capturing her spirit on a wall that came together quickly.

Local arts organization Yardworks spearheaded the project, getting logistics, permits, and community buy-in over the course of a week. From there, JEKS ONE stepped in, creating two sketches for the mural—one showing a young Barbour and another showing an older version. After getting the go-ahead to create the younger version, JEKS ONE got to work, taking just four and a half days to paint his vision.

On one side of the finished mural, we see a young woman's eyes raised to the sky. Given that there were no usable photos of Barbour for JEKS ONE to work from, she is not an exact depiction of the activist, but rather an embodiment of her spirit. In the foreground, a purple thistle, Scotland's national flower, places her as a patriot who fought for the rights of her people.

The other half of the wall is dedicated to a protest scene that recalls her work fighting rising rents in the city. She was a leader in the 1915 Glasgow rent strike, gathering a group of women who became known as “Mrs Barbour's Army” to protest and effect change. By dedicating half the mural to the protest scene, JEKS ONE is acknowledging the great importance of her community work. The composition works successfully because it emphasizes the Barbour portrait and, thanks to a clever use of perspective, draws us into the protest.

For JEKS ONE, working on such an important mural is a meaningful way to give back to the community and, hopefully, make an impact.

“I want it to give the younger generation inspiration to speak out about injustices,” he shares when asked what he hopes people will take away from the work.

“I am very vocal about human and civil rights, so I know how it can put you in the targets, especially on social media. It takes guts to speak up and speak out, so I wanted to create a beacon of strength for the community, regardless of their knowledge of Mary Barbour's historical contributions.”

American muralist JEKS ONE traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to bring his hyperrealistic style to the walls of Glasgow.

The mural honors celebrated Scottish activist Mary Barbour, who worked to better human rights in the early 20th century.

“I wanted to create a beacon of strength for the community, regardless of their knowledge of Mary Barbour's historical contributions.”

JEKS ONE: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by JEKS ONE.

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For Jonas Melvin, who is better known by his graffiti tag GREY, it took losing all control to finally regain it. After becoming a formidable force in San Francisco’s graffiti scene during the late-90s and early-2000s, and feverishly traveling the world to paint over cities and transit systems, GREY suddenly disappeared at the height of his fame. It was during this time that he took to the streets of Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, where he battled homelessness, addiction, and criminality.

“My experience with the street, substances, and criminal activity took me to a place where I would shed societal and explore my personal bottom line and physical limits,” GREY tells My Modern Met. “There were multiple factors which contributed to embracing chaos and accepting the terminal nature of this lifestyle.”

Nearly a decade elapsed before GREY managed to “exhaust the virtues of drug addiction” and find solace in a wider community. Now, more than two years sober, GREY has returned to his creative practice, this time with a greater appreciation for and insight into the relationship between “extreme beauty and severe tragedy,” as the artist puts it.

“The themes explored in my work are therapeutic in working through intense experiences,” GREY explains. “Since finding sobriety, I have had the benefits of exploring my past with optimism, and I find comfort in surviving certain depths that I can share through creative insight.”

It should come as no surprise that survival figures strongly in GREY’s artwork, which practically leaps with an explosive sense of movement. Even in his most hectic and at times bleak canvases, there remains an optimistic tone, most clearly communicated in the artist’s bright colors, tender gradients, and swirling letterforms. Lately, castles have also served as a recurring motif, whose architectural features are personified into bitter grimaces and tearful faces. It’s as though these palatial structures embody the delicate balance between a life of stability and one of homelessness, their varying expressions revealing their culpability within the ongoing housing crisis.

“If I had not survived my struggle, my experiences would go untold and it’s important to me to offer a story to others,” GREY adds.

Besides his art, GREY has found another way to unveil his story: a new exhibition at Beyond the Streets in Los Angeles. Titled PINK CLOUD, the exhibition gathers GREY’s work, alongside his curated selection of artists that he has “drawn inspiration from over various stages of [his] life,” including Alexis Ross, Alicia McCarthy, Angel Castro, Cheryl Dunn, and Elberto Muller, among others.

“The show’s title refers to a period of intense elation and extreme optimism, a phenomenon of early sobriety,” GREY says. “I have been fueled by youthful excitement and ambition for the immediate future. I wanted to bring this special era to LA and had a wonderful opportunity to make it happen.”

That “youthful excitement” is made abundantly clear throughout PINK CLOUD, which bursts with the vibrant flavor of solidarity, resilience, and hopefulness. The exhibition’s clarity of purpose is only enhanced by its partnership with Feed the Streets, a community-based non-profit that provides hot meals, clothing, and hygiene for those experiencing food insecurity and poverty. In fact, a portion of the show’s proceeds will be donated to the organization.

“I honestly hope people will be able to appreciate the themes I explore and potentially reconsider preconceived understandings of struggle and lifestyle choices,” GREY remarks. “I want to offer inspiration to others in various stages of struggle and celebrate overcoming the pitfalls of my own behavioral challenges.”

PINK CLOUD is currently on view until June 7, 2025, at Beyond the Streets in Los Angeles.

After nearly a decade of battling homelessness, addiction, and criminality, the legendary street artist GREY has returned with the exhibition PINK CLOUD.

PINK CLOUD considers GREY’s experiences in tandem with his sobriety, offering a sense of buoyancy and optimism.

PINK CLOUD is currently on view at Beyond the Streets in Los Angeles.

Exhibition Information:
GREY (Jonas Melvin)
PINK CLOUD
April 18–June 7, 2025
Beyond the Streets
434 N La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036

GREY: Instagram
Beyond the Streets: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by GREY and Beyond the Streets.

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“Untitled #7,” 2022

In Tehran, where Shamsia Hassani was born to Afghan refugees in 1988, restrictive policies denied her access to a formal arts education due to her immigrant status. It wasn’t until Hassani and her family returned to their native Afghanistan in 2005 that she could fully pursue that passion, earning degrees in the visual arts from Kabul University. Now, two decades later, Hassani, who is known as “Afghanistan’s first female graffiti and street artist,” is staging her first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom.

Currently on view at Dorothy Circus Gallery in London, The Dreamer catalogs the impact and significance of Hassani’s street art, which considers themes like feminism, displacement, gendered oppression, resilience, and hope. Much of Hassani’s work incorporates singular, highly illustrative figures, often enveloped in stylized burqas and depicted with their eyes firmly shut. Hassani strikes a delicate balance throughout these compositions, evoking the simultaneous determination and historical suppression of Afghan women by repurposing cultural symbols.

“I prefer that the signs of my roots be present in each of my works in some way, whether in the content or in the margins and details,” Hassani tells My Modern Met. “My character’s clothes, for example, are a combination of traditional Afghan clothes and my own creations.”

Kites also figure strongly within Hassani’s work, as seen in the artist’s 2023 acrylic painting Freedom. The piece showcases a woman set against a gray background, her hands outstretched and cradling a small pot. The pot isn’t home to a plant or flower, as would be expected, but instead a white kite. As if urging the woman to follow it, the kite shoots out from the pot, soaring away from the gray canvas and into its own smaller canvas doused in a sky blue. The contrast is both deceptively simple yet provocative, joining together disjointed realities—or canvases, in this case—into one cohesive image.

“The kites in my paintings are a reminder of the beautiful and free days of Afghanistan, a reminder of the flow of life,” Hassani explains. “Many other characteristics that are remembered in me from being Afghan can be discovered in every corner of my works.”

It’s true that Hassani’s work benefits from an attentive eye, but she knows that this isn’t always a given. In fact, this conundrum is what originally drew her to graffiti and street art.

“Sometimes, a work of art needs to be seen many times to be remembered,” she says. “Street art gives people the opportunity to see more, learn more, and become curious.”

Given their sheer scale, murals demand not only attention, but space. Sprawling across city walls, Hassani’s graffiti effectively becomes “part of people’s daily lives,” nearly impossible to avoid or forget, whether it be during a regular commute home or a quick visit. Their immediacy, combined with their “layered content” and “symbolic style,” make for compositions that encourage optimism as well as reflection about how, exactly, the current realities faced by Afghan women can be reimagined.

As for The Dreamer, Hassani is most excited about gallery visitors and, in particular, British audiences being able to encounter her work in-person.

“The fact that people see my works up close and see my work in detail is a great achievement for me,” she adds. “I can look at my paintings through the eyes and mind of another person and get acquainted with new dimensions of my paintings.”

Shamsia Hassani: The Dreamer is currently showing at Dorothy Circus Gallery in London through May 31, 2025.

The Dreamer, Shamsia Hassani’s first solo exhibition in the UK, unveils the Afghan street artist's singular, highly illustrative style.

“Untitled #9,” 2022

“Untitled #1,” 2022

“Untitled #8,” 2022

For years, Hassani has created graffiti and street art that considers themes like feminism, displacement, gendered oppression, resilience, and hope.

“The Wishes Suitcase,” 2023

“Freedom,” 2023

“Untitled #4,” 2022

“Drown,” 2023

Shamsia Hassani: The Dreamer is on view at Dorothy Circus Gallery in London through May 31, 2025.

“Untitled #11,” 2023

“Kabul Has Fallen,” 2022

Exhibition Information
Shamsia Hassani
The Dreamer
May 1–May 31, 2025
Dorothy Circus Gallery
35 Connaught Street, London W2 2AZ

Shamsia Hassani: Website | Instagram
Dorothy Circus Gallery: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Dorothy Circus Gallery.

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Planning a large-scale event is not for the faint of heart. There is an incredible payoff when the whole thing goes according to plan, although getting to that point requires a lot of logistics and work behind the scenes. But when it’s beyond a success, it affects more than the people involved in the planning; it can light up an entire community. The artist Enzo knows this well; last fall, he successfully planned and ran a new street art festival called the Enz’Horgues Festival.

The festival's name is a portmanteau of Enzo and Horgues, a small village in southwest France where the event took place. Over two days, eight artists adorned the walls of an old school that needed repainting. The artists involved were: Madvaillan; V.K.; Calicho; Georgia Violett; Trasheer; Fanny Granon; Liza Vivaldi; and Enzo himself. They cloaked the walls in brilliant blue designs, which was the color theme of the 2024 event.

“The mission was to bring street art where there is not any,” Enzo tells My Modern Met, “and connecting people who usually don’t know about this movement to become something familiar.” He worked closely with the mayor of Horgues to make this happen. With community in mind, the festival hosted many activities that invited attendees to be part of the festival. They could spray paint on a wall and participate in art battles. The focus on attendees paid off. Enz’Horgues Festival exceeded its attendance goals and, most importantly, it helped everyday people get excited about street art—and the next year’s edition of Enz’Horgues Festival.

My Modern Met spoke with Enzo about the inaugural Enz’Horgues Festival, including how it came to be, what they learned, and what will be incorporated into next year’s event, which will happen September 13 and 14, 2025. Read on for our exclusive interview.

What was the inspiration for Enz’Horgues Festival?

This was my first ever event as a curator. As an artist, I've done different festivals in the United States, like painting for Awall Projects in Miami during Miami Art Week or the Bushwick Collective block party in Brooklyn, New York. The inspiration came from those events, especially The Bushwick Collective, created by a friend, Joe Ficalora, 14 years ago, and it’s still running. Being a part of that showed me behind the scenes how that was going on, all the energy, the sharings and the love for the people, artist or public, and the behavior, how to drive people for creating an event.

Horgues is a small village in the southwest of France, where street art is not as popular as in big cities like Paris, London, or New York. I worked on differents projects with them, and Jean-Michel Ségneré (the mayor) told me they have an old school in the village that has to be painted, so maybe we can bring some of your friends and create an event. It would be for both sides, a colorful school and entertainment in the village for the people. That’s how the event was created, with this opportunity of the old school in the village needing to be refreshed. We decided to take my name, Enzo, and connect it with the village of Horgues and created simply Enz’Horgues.

How would you describe the festival's overall vibe?

The overall vibe was crazy, really electric. All the people loved our event, especially the kids. We expected 500 people during the weekend, and we stopped counting entries at 3,000 people.

What was the setting of Hourgues like?

The setting of Horgues was the old school in the village, where all the old people went as pupils. This is a closed enclosure in an open-air space. Perfect for families coming with the kids and letting them go around without stress. All the artists were living in a guest house close to a castle in the heart of the Pyrenees (cross-border mountain between France and Spain) and it was a nice spot to make artists friends discover the beauty of typical French southwestern backcountry.

How did you select the artists you invited?

Artists selected for this first edition were all friends to me. I needed to have people I trusted and people that trusted me. I selected different artists' styles and backgrounds, but the common point was kindness and accessibility. The main event has to be a family event, so they also had to love people and love the kids, wanting to bring happiness and joy during a weekend as people discovered a new discipline, street art.

The lineup was with American, French, and a Mexican artist. All had differents styles, from darker graffiti vandal backgrounds like Madvaillan of New York, to mainstream bold gallery art like Trasheer from Mexico. There was Madvaillan, V.K., Calicho, Georgia Violett (all from New York), Trasheer from Mexico, Fanny Granon, Liza Vivaldi, and me from France.

The event was covered by my close friend T.K. Mills as a journalist, creator, and owner of UP Magazine in New York, so even on a first edition, we created an international street art festival with a two continents media exposure.

Can you break down the events of the festival? Beyond mural painting, what other things were happening?

We wanted to create real entertainment with activities in the festival, thinking first about the kids. We had two days of festival, Saturday and Sunday. When people came by, they could discover artists' paintings on top of their lifts, seeing the magic of painting happening. Also, they could try spray painting for the kids on canvases, then land their mark on a concrete wall in the school. It was dedicated to the public and the visitors were a full part of the festival, like the artists.

There was a show with dancers' school, le Renc’Art de la Danse, run by professional dancer Marine Cazalas. During the dance, there was a show where all dancers were painted by artists, creating unique suits for each dancer linked with their choreography. We had an art battle with artists, two artists each with a canvas and spray paints, 20 minutes of battle. On Sunday, artists with the kids were battling two versus two, inspired by the incredible Secret Walls. Voting was done by the public with an applause meter.

Was there anything that surprised you during the event? 

What really surprised us was the awesome crowd of people and all the energy we could feel, as artists and as visitors. Both sides. All the kids were running up to us, and we spent Saturday signing tee shirts and taking pictures from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. nonstop. My girlfriend Camille brought me some sugar and water to help me stay awake during this intense rhythm. They tried to collect us as they collect Pokémon.

All of these kids came by discovering this universe, and a lot that came the first day came back on the second one. At first they just knew me as an artist, at the end they knew all the artists and different styles. It was the rockstar life, and everybody enjoyed it. We are really proud of the vibes we brought to the festival for the kids and the families.

What have you learned from the first Enz’Horgues Festival that you'll incorporate into the future years of the festival?

What we learned about this first edition of the Enz’Horgues Festival is that art has no borders. Connecting two continents and two cultures in the heart of the Pyrenees (that is not a known place for street art) was crazy for both sides, artists and public. We were like a family of 3,000 people during a weekend, and nobody wanted it to end. A lot of people I saw after the festival were like, “Hey, when will be your second Enz’Horgues edition!?” It was still not even in the plans.

So yes, now it’s official: We are running a second edition on September 13 and 14, 2025. The event is based on a different color each year as a theme. The first edition was blue, and this next one will be orange. All the murals are still available to visit, but a month before, everything will be covered with orange paint to let new pieces come.

My aim is to continue with the same vibes as a big family event, with new artists, new activities in the festival, and trying our best as usual to make the kids dream. It’s only the beginning.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Enz’Horgues: Instagram
Enzo: Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Enzo. 

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Installation view of “Shepard Fairey: Golden Compass” at Over the Influence, Bangkok.

Whether it be his 2008 Hope portrait of Barack Obama or the 1989 OBEY GIANT art campaign, artist Shepard Fairey has created some of the world’s most instantly recognizable visuals. Golden Compass, the artist’s latest solo exhibition, offers a sweeping overview of Fairey’s indelible impact upon guerilla aesthetics, street art, and political action.

Staged at Over the Influence Gallery (OTI) in Bangkok, Golden Compass comprises 112 works, encompassing everything from mixed-media paintings to retired stencils and screenprints on wood and metal. This expansive selection is not only indicative of Fairey’s range, but of his recent projects and development as an artist: almost everything featured in the exhibition is from the past year and a half, and all of its unique pieces are from 2024. But no matter the medium, each piece clearly conveys Fairey’s staunch belief in the “transformative power of art as a tool to connect with the most compassionate core of our humanity,” according to an OTI statement.

Perhaps this is why Fairey so often gravitates toward collage and punchy graphics, both of which are central to urban, pop, and socially engaged art. Much of the exhibition recalls classic imagery from activist movements, including roses, raised fists, and peace signs which appear alongside bold slogans such as “rise above” and “see no stranger.” Some collages also incorporate newspaper clippings that, for Fairey, exude “historical relevance.”

“I weave in clippings with historical relevance, things like the end of WWII, MLK’s assassination, Watergate, but not everything has to be topical,” Fairey explained in a recent interview with Hero Magazine. “I like the idea that we’re all shaped by the media we consume.”

The exhibition’s centerpiece is arguably a composition featuring two women lounging on a beach beneath an open parasol. On the horizon is an imposing oil derrick, the sky around it slipping from a clear blue into a dramatic, almost frightening shade of red. The artwork is an adaptation of a 10-foot-tall version designed specially for the Petit Palais, inspired by a painting in their collection from the early 1900s.

“I reimagined it with two women, adding an oil derrick in the distance and a warming sky,” Fairey told Hero Magazine. “Back then, no one was thinking about climate change. Industrialization gave people more leisure time, but they weren’t considering the consequences.”

Fairey himself has expressed that his body of work is, hopefully, seductive while also maintaining its provocative edge. He’s successful in that endeavor as his canvases are not merely attractive, seamlessly guiding the viewer’s eye from one graphic element to another, but political statements that throw a punch.

“Each piece confronts these subjects while fostering a direct and intimate connection with the audience, aiming to inspire reflection and, ideally, subtle or overt calls to action,” OTI writes. “Together, these works invite viewers to reflect on their own journeys, encouraging them to find their personal compass in the face of life’s challenges.”

Golden Compass is currently on view at Over the Influence in Bangkok until April 27, 2025. To learn more about the exhibition, visit the Over the Influence website.

Shepard Fairey’s newest solo exhibition, Golden Compass, explores the iconic artist’s recent output as well as his remarkable impact upon street, urban, and political art.

Exterior view of Over the Influence, Bangkok.

Installation view of “Shepard Fairey: Golden Compass” at Over the Influence, Bangkok.

Installation view of “Shepard Fairey: Golden Compass” at Over the Influence, Bangkok.

Golden Compass comprises 112 works, encompassing everything from mixed-media paintings to retired stencils and screenprints on wood and metal.

Installation view of “Shepard Fairey: Golden Compass” at Over the Influence, Bangkok.

Installation view of “Shepard Fairey: Golden Compass” at Over the Influence, Bangkok.

The exhibition is open until April 27, 2025 at Over the Influence Gallery in Bangkok.

Installation view of “Shepard Fairey: Golden Compass” at Over the Influence, Bangkok.

Exhibition Information
Shepard Fairey
Golden Compass
February 27–April 27, 2025
Over the Influence Bangkok
81 Tri Mit Road, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong, Bangkok, Thailand

Shepard Fairey: Website | Instagram
Over the Influence Gallery: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Over the Influence Gallery.

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“Rising Hope,” Alexandria, VA, 2024.

One of the first things Nico Cathcart noticed were the birds: they’d somehow gone silent. Even though she could see them soaring above her, their beaks shaped into chirps, she wasn’t able to hear them. By her 20s, she’d been officially diagnosed with a degenerative cochlear condition.

Today, birds figure strongly within Cathcart’s monumental art and murals, not only as reminders of the artist’s disability but, more importantly, as symbols of resilience. Her work showcases birds, alongside classic memento mori symbolism such as skulls, as perfect vehicles through which to engage with sociopolitical themes while also providing a sense of strength. In this way, each of Cathcart’s compositions pulse with energy and vitality, seeking to connect with and mobilize the communities in which they’re found.

Cathcart’s work certainly highlights issues of disability and accessibility, but it nevertheless remains universal in the hope it dispenses. Empowerment and intersectionality serve as top priorities for the artist, and she consistently aims to visualize topics such as climate change, feminism, trans inclusivity, Indigenous land rights, and racial equity, among others.

“Nothing exists in a vacuum and all social and environmental factors are tied together,” the artist explains. “I try, as much as I can, to talk about these things within my work.”

My Modern Met had the opportunity to speak with Nico Cathcart about her relationship with disability and art, her creative influences, and her upcoming projects. Read on for our exclusive interview with the artist.

“A wider lens (in which to see the world),” collaboration with Valerie Rose, Sunny Dayz Mural Fest, Ponca City, OK.

What originally drew you to painting and murals as your preferred media, and how did you develop your personal style?

I have always been drawn to art. As a child, I drew on everything and was painting in oil by the time I was in high school. I was a studio artist first, and have a BFA in painting. Murals were something I found later.

“GROW,” aWall Mural Fest, Miami, FL, 2024.

“Reflection,” 2024.

“Ferdinand,” Wall Street Mural Fest, Portsmouth, VA, 2024.

Your art often revolves around naturalistic and feminist imagery. What compels you about these two motifs, and how do you interpret them throughout your art?

One of my core beliefs as an artist who works in the public eye is that there is an inherent responsibility the artist has to the neighborhoods in which they work. Murals are a great way to talk about issues that really matter. Many of my works are the result of a lot of research and critical thinking about how to best represent the communities, environment, and people around the wall I am working on.

This leads me often to projects that empower women. I have been heavily involved with the artistic effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, Artists4ERA, and carry the core principle that all women deserve equality, equity, and freedom to protect the trans community.

In this tumultuous time, that is more important than ever. In light of that, I try to make my work in a way that invites a critical look and drives conversation. Sometimes, that is about feminism; sometimes, it’s about Indigenous land rights; sometimes, it’s about elevating the trans community; and sometimes, it’s about elevating the Deaf community. It all depends on the project.

I also understand that we are intrinsically tied to the health of the planet. A lot of my studio work is based on the European memento mori genre that originated in the 17th century. I am updating the genre, which was originally a reminder of mortality, to talk about climate change and its effect on the human race. Our health is so tied to the health of the ecosystem, and I am creating tableaux that show how tied to the planet we are. We need a diverse array of plants and animals around us to thrive. Humans need healthy oceans and trees to breathe, and those things need us to be good caretakers to survive.

In a small way, these paintings are a little about how we handle death as well. In many cultures this type of imagery is considered reverent to the dead, famously in Mexico with Dia de los Muertos—celebration of life. Bones are not to be feared, but celebrated for the life that was lived. In our culture, we have sterilized death, and that’s a big step back from nature.

Those might seem like radically different bodies of work. However, I believe completely in the concept of intersectionality, as taught by the great Angela Davis: nothing exists in a vacuum, and all social and environmental factors are tied together. Feminism and the environment, disability rights and Indigenous rights, Black empowerment and immigration rights, Gaza and Iranian women’s rights—all are different parts of the same issue.

That’s not to say everyone’s suffering is the same—it’s not!—but that all of it is tied together by the need for change, and I try, as much as I can, to talk about these things within my work. I try to actively learn from the communities I encounter. Maybe it’s a lofty goal with a bunch of emotional homework to do, as well as real research, but the result can be gratifying.

“Age and Grace,” Richmond, VA, 2023.

“Rhiannon,” Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA.

You’re in the process of going deaf. How has this impacted your art and your creative process?

I’ve been trying to reset my mind to think of my Deafness as a superpower rather than a disability!

I have a degenerative cochlear condition, meaning I have been losing my hearing most of my life. It’s hard to pinpoint when it started. It’s a thing that I constantly struggle with, especially within my chosen career, as I am often in crowded, loud places where I am missing out on a lot of conversation.

I lip-read pretty well but, admittedly, this only gives you comprehension about a third of the time, sometimes less, so it’s never easy to do that. I also get through with CC apps—which also fail in a crowd—and have been learning ASL for a few years now, which requires the other people in the room to be able to sign. Still, I often miss out on important connections and conversations because I just can’t hear them. This makes the networking side of the art world very, very difficult.

Artistically, because I am driven to talk about issues, I have been incorporating ASL into my work, as well as highlighting Deaf models when it makes sense to do so. I had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with fellow Deaf artist Valerie Rose last summer at Sunny Dayz Mural Fest, which was so gratifying, as I had someone I could communicate with outside of the “Hearing World.”

I painted her signing the ASL for “Open Mind” while she painted begonias, a symbol of “communication between different people.” The piece used transparency to convey the motion of ASL, which is a difficult thing to illustrate in painting, because motion is required. It’s a technique I went on to paint at aWALL Mural Fest during Miami Art Week this year, with the sign for “grow.”

“Do You Realize?,” Plaza Walls, Oklahoma City, OK, 2024.

“Aurora,” Richmond, VA, 2022.

How do birds as an artistic theme connect to your disability? When did you find yourself inspired by birds as a symbol of your disability?

One of the things I noticed, before my official diagnosis in my 20s, is that the birds went silent, so you can often see birds floating about in my pieces. I cannot hear them, but they still go on, and I can remember them, so they kind of became a symbol of resilience to me. I always have a connection to them because it’s a reminder of what is gone, but also a bit of a reminder that there is hope in all things, even when it’s bleak.

“Vital Qi,” Richmond, VA, 2024.

“Women.Life. Freedom,” 934 Mural Fest, Columbus, OH.

Which of your artworks has most stuck out to you in recent memory?

I find that they are all precious in some way, and I am constantly working, so it’s hard to choose.

GROW in Miami, and the collaboration with Valerie Rose is pretty close to my heart. Do You Realize, over in Oklahoma City for Plaza Walls, is also special, because that fest absolutely knows how to support their community.

I also very much enjoyed painting the mural Rhiannon on a castle in Busch Gardens Williamsburg, which was a piece that allowed me to explore Celtic earth myths, and, you know, ride roller coasters while painting on a castle. I also got the rare opportunity to paint next to Lady Pink and many, many friends at Paint Louis with Few and Far women. Last year, I painted a portrait of femme graffiti writer, Shan, which humbled me to my core.

As for my studio work, I particularly loved the painting Vanity I did for Modern Eden last year, focusing on the dangers of excess. The painting Reflection, which was shown at Joseph Ryan in Colorado, really took a lot of mental math to paint, and I enjoyed it so much.

Recently, I just finished an ocean piece for ABV Gallery in Atlanta, which brought me into painting some more marine life, and I thoroughly enjoyed that, too. The show that it’s in, Wild Wonders, opens on March 1.

“Poppies,” Richmond, VA, 2024.

“A song for a swamp rabbit,” Mural Mania Mural Fest, South Bend, IN.

What do you hope people will take away from your art?

I would hope that there is a moment of reflection. I would hope that whatever they are looking at, they see past just a pretty image, and think about the “why” of it all.

Painting has the power to convey so much meaning without the written word. It transcends words in that way. I would hope that there is a little critical thinking into what the image is saying, because it is saying something.

“Vanity,” 2024.

“Oceans Rise, Empires Fall,” 2023.

“Lionfish,” 2025.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up in the near future?

This is such a planning time of the year. I have a lot of irons in the fire, so I am knee-deep in design work. I will be in North Carolina with Commonwealth Murals and Goodspace Murals to install a piece in collaboration with the North Carolina School for the Deaf in March.

My next group show is at ABV Gallery in Atlanta, with the Lionfish painting, opening March 1, and the lineup for that is so amazing.

I am currently sitting at the Sam and Adele Golden Paint Residency, which is wrapping up and has been a lovely experience. Painting in the place that MAKES THE PAINT, is a joy.

Nico Cathcart: Website | Instagram

Interview has been edited for length and clarity. My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Nico Cathcart.

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New Orleans' French Quarter just became more colorful with a new mural by Shepard Fairey. The legendary artist painted his characteristic graphics on the side of the Marriott in honor of a new exhibition at the Mortal Machine Gallery. Titled Harmonious Elements, the mural incorporates two staples of New Orleans' rich cultural history—music and art.

Weaving in local jazz musicians like Charlie Gabriel and Walter Harris, Fairey pays homage to the significant contributions the city has made to the history of American music. And, in classic fashion, the mural is also a reminder to remain hopeful as we look to the future. This is symbolized by the woman looking to the horizon, searching for meaning despite the crevices rising around her. To her left, a lotus caresses her face. This flower, symbolizing resilience and beauty, only enhances the significance of the piece.

“Bringing Shepard's mural to New Orleans means weaving another thread into the city’s rich tapestry of art, culture, and resilience,” shares Gabriel Shaffer, part owner and curator of Mortal Machine Gallery. “It’s about creating a landmark that sparks dialogue, challenges perspectives, inspires creativity and reflects the soul of a place where history and rebellion dance in the streets. I am very proud of it.”

In conjunction with the mural, Fairey has also produced a limited-edition print. Some are available at Mortal Machine Gallery, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Greater New Orleans Foundation to benefit victims of the New Year’s terror attack in New Orleans.

Fairey's exhibition at the gallery, Warning Signs, runs until March 2, 2025, and features an incredible selection of the artist's work. From screen prints and retired stencils to works on paper, the show is a testament to the power of Fairey's lengthy career. By merging this exhibition with the public art project, Fairey just further cements his position as one of the great innovators of the street art movement.

Shepard Fairey recently revealed a large-scale mural on the edge of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

 

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In conjunction with the mural, the artist also released a limited-edition print.

“Harmonious Elements” 24 x 18 inches. Screen print on 80# cream Speckletone paper (edition of 500).

All of this art culminates in a show exploring Fairey's storied career at the Mortal Machine Gallery.

“Disinformation Havoc,” 2024, mixed media (stencil, silkscreen, and collage) on paper, 23 x 47 1/2 in.

“Exclamation OBEY,” 2024, mixed media (stencil, silkscreen, and collage) on paper, 43 x 38 in

Exhibition Information:
Shepard Fairey
Warning Signs
February 7, 2025 – March 2, 2025
Mortal Machine Gallery
940 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70116

Shepard Fairey: Website | Instagram | Facebook

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Mortal Machine Gallery.

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