Vantagepoint Radio's tracks

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As one of Berlin’s leading young female painters, Julia Benz has a thirst for life and experience which seems to be perfectly matched to her determination and dedication to her craft. Taking on new projects in unfamiliar territory seems to have been the theme of the last two years for Benz but all the while holding strong to her diehard work ethic and hours upon hours of studio time. Between trips oversees and massive projects like painting a boat and giving art workshops in Africa, Benz still somehow manages to keep up with the high demand for her studio work as well.Her secret no doubt, is the long days she spends in her Berlin studio smashing away at 4 or 5 paintings at a time. From massive canvas works to much smaller delicate pieces, her paintings are electric. Layers upon layers of color and pattern weave together somehow perfectly driven by nothing more than impulse, experience and intuition.The colorfulness and vibrancy of her personality shines through in her work and it was an absolute pleasure to sit with Julia and talk it all over this week on VantagePoint.

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Imagine a "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" type situation where a young punk rock kid from Brooklyn finds himself time traveling back to 17th century Holland and stumbles into the painting studio of one of the classic Dutch Masters. Accepting this odd twist of fate, he dutifully studies the teachings and techniques of his mentor and eventually breaks out on his own, painting images of his earlier life in the future. Pure fiction perhaps, but the result is all real. Dan Witz has been painting just such work in his New York studio for decades. 

Masterfully composed scenes of epic mosh pits pieced together from reference photos take by the artist himself at punk-rock shows are painted with the detail and delicacy he cultivated during his studies as a classical painter. To the trained eye, one can spot extreme consideration for lighting and geometry in his works painted with the buttery goodness typical of oil paint. To everyone else, they're just dope paintings of cool shit!

What's possibly most impressive about Dan is his ability to straddle the high-end gallery market and the ever changing street art world without compromising either one and still managing to make all the work relate and stay consistent.

Where most artist have a "thing" they are best known for, Dan seems to create a new "thing" every couple of years. From his mosh pit paintings, to his street sign "interventions" and lamp-post candle vigils, to his genius series of "caged" people trapped behind vents and hidden throughout the city, the work of Dan Witz is nothing short of spectacular and promises to only get better with time.

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At the beginning of January of 2014, two guys in Berlin set out to document the Urban Contemporary art world armed with little more than a few microphones and a Zoom recorder. The plan seemed simple enough… "Lets find some artists, sit them down for an hour and talk to them about their work. We'll record the whole thing and release an episode to the public every other week."

In the 12 months and 26 episodes that followed, JB and Tom have continued to push forward improving recording quality and putting together a list of guests that reads like a who's who of leading artists and gallerists in the Urban Contemporary scene both internationally and locally.

To Celebrate hitting the one year mark, we've decided to take a look back at the first year of VantagePoint. In this YEAR IN REVIEW show you'll hear highlights of some of our favorite moments and others that exemplify what the show is all about and why we continue to put it out there for all of you to hear.

2014 was a very big year for us and we plan to continue to improve and expand the show in the new year. Thank you to all of our listeners and followers for your support and help spreading the word about our show. We truly appreciate you all.

To hear the full version with music, visit Vantagepointradio.com

'Armature' is the english word for the skeletal structure upon which a sculpture is constructed. When all detail and mass have been stripped away, the Armature is all that remains.

Likely as a result of his early training as a sculptor, the work of Chinese born, South Africa based painter Dal East resembles that of a metal or wooden armature. The animals that he creates however seem unsatisfied or unaware of their fragile structure and often spring free of their rigidity, breaking their form completely and in some cases creating new life from their explosion. With a steady output of quality work and a busy schedule of studio and travel, Dal keeps himself in high demand through seemingly countless mural projects and exhibitions at galleries such as Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York City.

It was a great pleaser to sit down with Dal East during a stop off in Berlin for a nice relaxed early morning chat about art, travel, culture, and life.

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It has been said that Graffiti and street art is the most widespread and influential art movement in history. A lot of the worldwide reach that graffiti has enjoyed has much to do with with it's timing and connection to the birth of the internet age but before that even, Kids around the globe were catching the graffiti virus through obscure graff-magazines and books like Martha Cooper's Subway Art. Few people currently active in today's urban contemporary art scene exemplify this more than Tel Aviv's own KLONE. 

In the late 80's and early 90's the graffiti scene in Israel's capitol city was virtually nonexistent, that is until a handful of kids inspired by visions of New York and LA began treating these magazines like textbooks, following the rules laid out within them to the letter. Klone, like most of the others at the time, first cultivated his addiction to graffiti by writing letter styles on walls and abandoned spaces around his city. With almost no attention from the authorities, this very small group of writers in Tel Aviv enjoyed the freedom to experiment and progress their skills and artistic voices. Eventually however, Klone's visual language would transform away from letters and into a whimsical universe of animals, plant-life, and and vast landscapes. Currently he balances his time between travel and projects around the globe, and life as a dedicated studio artists in his hometown. It was a pleasure to talk with Klone about his background, the current state of the art world in Tel Aviv, and where he sees things for himself in the future.

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Her story plays out like a hollywood film… strong, independent thinking young girl grows up in suppressive socialist Poland only to find herself rebelling agains everything around her. She eventually scraps together enough money and guts to buy a one way ticket to New York City where she arrives with hardly more than a few dollars in her pocket and a "Failure is not an option" attitude. A handful of really smart decisions and a few years later Olek is one of the most sought after Urban Contemporary artists in the hi-end gallery circuit and without a doubt the coolest thing to happen to the crochet world in… well… ever.

As a young girl in Poland, Olek learned how to crochet in school (the process of creating fabric from yarn using a crochet hook). This skill came back to her as an adult in her work as a costume designer/maker and then again as she left the world of costumes to pursue an independent career in the fine arts. Her street interventions and "transformations" have caught the attention of the street art community while her impressive and provocative gallery installations keep her in high demand with collectors and gallerists.

The only thing more bold and colorful that her work is her personality and it was an extreme pleasure to sit down with Olek for this interview on VantagePoint.

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Axel Void is a true child of mother earth. With ancestral roots in Spain and Haiti, he has moved around a lot in life. Born in America, raised in Spain, Axel even called Berlin home for some time before moving back to Miami where he currently resides during his down time from a life of travel and exploration. The effect of this travel on the artists is obvious. His warm and almost sponge-like personality seems to suck up a bit of culture and life from everywhere he goes and everyone he meets. This magnetic nature shows in his work with murals that comment on the sometimes mundane nature of daily life for people in a particular place where he visits. We were lucky enough to catch up with Axel on a short stop in Berlin with his travel and painting companion, the young Leo. The relationship between the two and the story behind how they came together and what they are doing is both heartwarming and inspirational… but you'll have to listen to the show to hear that story.

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Possibly more than any other guest on VantagePoint to date, Mark Lyken epitomizes the connection that visual art and music can and very often do have. As an accomplished artist in both fields Lyken bounces back and forth between the two with an ease that is more impressive than he may be willing to admit. What's more, is that if one were to stand before a Lyken painting and listen to one of his songs at the same time, the aesthetic relationship between the two would be undeniable. light, airy, ambient, abstract… beautiful.

It was a pleasure to sit down with the man from Glasgow during his visit to Berlin to participate in Urban Nation's Project M5 (curated by VNA magazine) and discuss his thoughts and methods for creating art and music and the ability to balance both.

To hear the full version with music, visit Vantagepointradio.com

An artist's journey is often full of surprises and unexpected turns. One opportunity can lead to another and to another and next thing you know, you've got a solo show in a gallery half way across the world. Such is the story of Paola Delfin. In her home town of Mexico City, Paola has been painting for many many years, but an opportunity a few years ago to paint a big wall in a very short amount of time after never doing such a thing before created an interesting dilemma for the artist… "how can I fill so much space in so little time?"

Her answer to this question would turn out to be a stylistic discovery of how to paint the female figure in a way that was completely her own. Women consumed by their own exaggerated flowing hair, wrapped up in it like a blanket, and hidden behind it like a mask. This imagery paired with a lot of hard work and some world travel have gained Paola a lot of attention including that of Berlin's Open Walls gallery where she will have her first European solo show this month (Sept 2014). Although her work has evolved away from the stylistic luscious hair that we knew her for last year, her current collection explores the female form in new and very interesting ways while still maintaining the feel and aesthetic that first brought her to our attention. Look for big things from Ms. Delfin in the coming months and years.

To hear the full version with music, visit Vantagepointradio.com

Take everything you know about graffiti and street art dudes and throw that right out the window.

This guys approach is unlike anything you’ve seen before. At first glance it appears that he absolutely does not give a fuck about anything or anyone and could not care less what you think about him or his work. But the more you talk to him and the more you look at what he’s been up to the last few years, the more it becomes clear that LUSH may in fact be one of the most thoughtful and hardest working artists out there today.

Love him or hate him (and there are plenty of people on either side of that coin) Lush is making big noise world wide with his unique view on contemporary art. From his seemingly juvenile drawings and model-train dioramas, to his wildly simple yet intelligent graffiti and conceptual videos, Lush pushes the boundaries of street art, always looking just past the limits of what everyone else is doing. Sometimes provocative and violent, sometimes vulgar and overtly sexual, but always smart.

He is one of the most polarising figures in the game today and nowhere will you get a better understanding of him and his work than right here… straight from his mouth, in his own words… we give you… LUSH.