Gabriël Specter - Street art

‘Gabriël “Specter” Reese’ is a street artist currently working in and around Brooklyn, New York. 
Unlike some other artists that place their work in public places, every piece Specter creates has been hand painted, –drawn and –sculpted. Therefore all of his work you see on the street is unique and has been made to fit it’s environment. This environment obviously already contains a lot of information that will influence the creation of the artist, such as traffic signs or various forms of advertisement. Specter often uses these elements directly in various and diverse projects, where he changes the environment itself.

In his series called ‘Ad Project’ Specter has altered logos and advertisement posters to give them another message and a different meaning. And in his ‘Sign Project’ he changes the street view by installing new signs on the storefronts of abandoned shops. 

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'Ad Project', CK

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'Sign Project', Homeless

In ‘Wheelchair Project’ Specter placed a little sticker on every store that wasn’t available to wheelchair users. Making people aware of that fact, but not directly judging the store. 

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'Wheelchair Project', Sticker

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'Wheelchair Project', Placed sticker

Specter also takes his skills to the third dimension creating sculptures using materials he found on the streets and returning them in a different form. The works occupy spaces that otherwise wouldn’t be used for art or any other purpose. 

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'Cartboard Project'

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'Cartboard Project'

Specter placed the beautiful works named ‘From Russia with Love’ in the Russian city St. Petersburg. 
They immediately catch the attention of the viewer and are able to remind them of a larger issue, without any words. Mainly due to the manner in which Specter composes elements that must be very recognizable and confronting to the inhabitants of St. Petersburg. 

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'From Russia with Love', 2010 St. Petersburg

Gabriël Specter Reese, 'From Russia with Love', 2010 St. Petersburg

Placing unauthorized and vulnerable art in public is unpredictable, knowing that it took a lot of effort to create a piece or a project and not knowing how long it will survive. The conceptional works of Gabriël Specter Reese are at their best on the streets, confronting the people with their message. 

Gabriël Specter Reese