The annual Art Fest from San Juan City’s Xavier School is quickly become a signature event of the Philippine fine art and street art calendar. We took an early tour to see what this show has in store for street art lovers, and here’s what we believe should not be missed.
In the wake of last week’s BGC Coffee Festival (an event produced by Honeycomb and directed by Kayo Cosio,) we look at some of the pick ups that happened around that event, including the J Balvin slide that came out in the succeeding week.
Also shown are the DiFluid bluetooth pocket refractometer, a beanie from HK streetwear brand Clot, and some fine art ceramic work.
In this video, we unbox:
Kung Hei Fat Choi! Welcoming in the Chinese New Year with some new mail!
You may notice that we have the Kinto 4 Cup Metal also on the table. Something went wrong with the video recording for this section and we had to cut it out. But we promise to do a video about this brewer and pour over system soon!
On the hook of “Maestro,” the Kartell’em crew rap how they’re intent on letting the city know who they are, that they’re set to “make this place aware.” It’s a mission statement, and they’re definitely doing a good job following through on that promise. To do so, they’re aiming higher than the stage and looking to the sky. Specifically the rooftops. If you gaze out the window of the LRT in Manila, you might spot a recent big ‘ole blockbuster at eye level with the train screaming TELL’EM. It’s so crispy it looks like an advertisement, which we guess it is, but it’s a DIY one painted by the crew themselves to promote an upcoming tee collab with cmplct.
Skateboarding. Punk rock. Graffiti. They’re all pretty aggressive subcultures, outlets that allow angry kids to express themselves. And Distort Monsters has been here for all of them since he was little. Whether out in QC on his board during middle school, running around Metro with a can in high school, or penning angsty punk songs all along, it was a way for him to channel his mood into relatively positive ways. And it paid off too, considering that he’s opening his first solo art show this Sunday, courtesy of the good people at Secret Fresh. [Full disclosure: Distort is now part of the Honeycomb team.]
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The exhibition is Nada’s fifth solo show, coming off of a hiatus of six years since his fourth. So the title “Homecoming” is fitting, marking his return to the gallery setting. Those familiar with his personal street art style and murals scattered around the San Juan and Quezon City area will be interested to see how his style has evolved. And evolved it has, revealing a secondary meaning to the show’s title: come into the Nada household.
JP Pining knows who’s got a soft spot for their fuzzy little friends. In his second solo show at Secret Fresh, dubbed “Endless Loyalty,” he uses his trademark geometric style to illustrate different breeds of dogs, capturing them in riotous color. JP has a doggo to call his own, who is part of the inspiration behind this show, but another driving force was witnessing how people are changed by forming relationships with their dogs. Any pet lover would know what it’s like, and these bonds were on full display with all the pets running around that night.
Hosted during a scorching Brooklyn summer, “Beyond The Streets” boasts over 100,000 square feet of exclusive collections by more than 150 of the world’s most celebrated street artists and pop artists. Located along the newly luxurious Williamsburg waterfront, the exhibition brings together some of society’s most pervasive mark makers and rule breakers.
Curated by Roger Gastman, “Beyond the Streets NYC” displays how graffiti was born in the streets of New York and Philadelphia during the late ’60s and has grown to take over galleries in the 2010s, blending with a new era of pop art.
Today we unpackage the Nike Air Fear Of God moccasins in a particle beige colorway for our weekly installment of “Opening Act.” Honeycomb bossman Kayo Cosio gravitates towards these as a universal pair of sneakers that are comfortable to wear in most situations and easy to match with any outfit. They were also pretty easy to cop since there are a lot of haters out there: Failing to win the raffle at Commonwealth on release day, he stopped by their shop the following morning to see if anyone failed to pick up their pair, and indeed two colorways in his size were up for grabs. “A lot of people call them basura,” he laughs. But the lightweight feel and understated design appeal to him.
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