During the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Snoeman partnered with fellow artist Maya Hayuk to paint protest posters. Working from the rooftop of their Brooklyn studio, the couple created and distributed large amounts of colorful signs, throwing them at passersby. “It was gratifying to contribute our art to something so important and that others could express themselves through our art,” says Snoeman, who in recent months began putting up hand-painted posters around the city with messages like “spread love”. and “do the right thing.” “I have continued to make posters and I have been hanging them in the street,” he adds. “Same purpose, different delivery.”
One of his protest posters ended up in the hands of gallery owner David Weiswasser. Last summer, Weiswasser, director of entertainment marketing and art collector, opened the N.53 gallery off Main Street in East Hampton. The new gallery is dedicated to showcasing artists in the street art and graffiti ecosystem, including the late hip-hop photographer Ricky Powell, graffiti pioneer Stash, and Paul Sevigny. In April, Weiswasser approached Snoeman, part of the creative collective Smart Crew, which includes rapper Action Bronson, about the possibility of teaming up for a solo show. “New York Love” opened on May 28 and will close on June 28.
“New York Love”. Courtesy
“It exposes my work to a completely different audience of people,” Snoeman says of bringing his work to East Hampton for the first time. “The reactions have been very positive. Everyone can relate to the theme in one way or another, and people love bright colors. There are also interactive facilities for taking photos, which has been fun. “
One such facility is an ice cream cart; the artist has painted carts for local street vendors in Washington Heights in recent summers. In early June, the gallery hosted an ice cream social from inside the gallery. “The only local ice cream shop [in town] closed. So this was the perfect opportunity to do something fun, ”says the artist.
Installation of ice cream cart in Gallery N.53. Courtesy of the artist
Installation view of “New York Love” at N.53 Gallery. Courtesy of the artist
“New York Million”, mixed technique on canvas. Courtesy
His work on display in the gallery will be familiar to anyone who has walked a block in New York. His portraits of city life focus on winery windows, along with the resulting ephemeral: trash cans full of trash, lottery tickets. “These paintings were inspired by real New York places, like ‘188 Bakery Cuchifritos,’ which is an iconic Puerto Rican restaurant in the Bronx,” he says. His most recent work, created in recent months as part of an artist residency at a vacant school in Harlem (allowing him to work indoors and scale from murals to smaller illustrations), incorporates subtle details that reflect the circumstances of the year. past. “The way subjects are depicted hasn’t changed much, aside from the new signage about COVID-19 regulations in each storefront, which I included in the new work. The past year has also reinforced the importance of these small businesses for the city and the world ”.
With the closing of his first solo gallery show, Snoeman has turned his attention to future projects: brand collaborations and private commissions, and the next edition of the ambitious traveling street art exhibition “Beyond the Streets.”
“Besides that, I will do a lot of street art this summer: posters, murals, ice carts, whatever I can,” he adds. “That’s what summer is all about for me.”
Snoeman posters outside a New York warehouse. Courtesy of the artist
Snoeman in the studio. Courtesy of Jacob Consenstein (@ jacob.consenstein)
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