The Houston Bowery Wall

The Houston Bowery Wall, also known simply as the Bowery Wall, is a mural wall owned by Goldman Properties^[1] in the East Village and NoHo neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. The concrete wall, on Houston St and the intersection of the Bowery, had been a popular graffiti spot in the early 1980s, when street artist Keith Haring created a large mural on it in 1982.^[1] The wall was acquired by Goldman Properties in 1984. Tony Goldman began using the wall for advertisements,^[2] though they were regularly vandalized. The wall once again become an art spot in 2008, when Goldman gave curator Jeffrey Deitch the right to commission large murals for the wall, with new pieces added every 6-12 months.

Since 2008, several street artists have had their works showcased on this famous wall.^[3], including: Shepard Fairey, FAILE, Os Gêmeos, Logan Hicks, Kenny Scharf, Aiko Nakagawa, Ron English, TATS CRU, David Flores and his partner Olivia Bevilacqua,^[4] and many others.^[1][5] The site is often reviewed as a significant part of the New York City art world.^[6]

Many artists and institutions have used this famous spot to draw attention to global issues, such as a 2018 installation by JR in collaboration with Time magazine about guns in America,^[7][8] a 2018 piece by Banksy highlighting the imprisonment of an artist by the Turkish government,^[9][10] and a celebration of global culture in 2019 by Tomokazu Matsuyma.^[11]

In May 2022, the owners of the wall announced an indefinite break from new murals on the wall, due to increased vandalism. ^[12]

References

1. "Houston Bowery Wall: The full history of the iconic Street Art Wall!". ALTINNOV. July 2, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
2. "Houston Bowery Art Wall". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
3. "The History Of The Bowery/Houston Street Graffiti Mural Wall In NYC". Complex. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
4. Japhe, Brad. "Avion Tequila Partners With Artist David Flores For Holiday Gift Set". Forbes. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
5. Grieve. "A wrap at the Bowery Mural Wall". Retrieved December 9, 2021.
6. Smith, Roberta (August 3, 2009). "A World Springs to Life on an Urban Wall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
7. "Artist JR takes over Houston Bowery Wall with a thought-provoking mural about guns in America". 6sqft. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
8. "Guns in America: 12 Participants From TIME Cover React to Pittsburgh Shooting and Mural Spray Painting". Time. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
9. "Banksy unveils mural at historic Houston Bowery Wall protesting Turkish artist's imprisonment". 6sqft. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
10. Chow, Andrew R. (March 15, 2018). "New Banksy Mural in New York Protests Turkish Artist's Imprisonment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
11. Halle, Howard. "Bowery wall's newest street art mural celebrates global culture in NYC". Time Out New York. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
12. Grieve. "Checking in on the Bowery mural wall". Retrieved December 23, 2022.

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