Tag Archives: LES

8282 Brings Elevated Korean Fare to NYC’s Lower East Side

interior with signage photo by gail worley
All Photos By Gail

There is much to be said in favor of being ‘unassuming,’ and when speaking of a new favorite dining spot, all the better. Picture a restaurant whose non-descript exterior hints at a place where they serve a mean poke bowl or avocado toast. Once you’re inside and seated, however, you’re swept away by a menu rich with wildly inventive, farm-to-table creations that would be right at home in a Michelin-starred establishment. This was my inaugural experience at 8282, a recently-opened LES eatery serving distinctive modern Korean fare in a casual, comfortable setting. If a restaurant was ever a hidden gem, this is it.

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Pink Thing of the Day: Crushed Pink Toner Cartridge

Crushed Pink Toner Cartridge By Gail Worley
Photo By Gail

This random piece of literal Street Art was spotted by me while I was wandering around the lower east side taking photos for This Post. All I saw was a flash of bright pink in the street, so I just got down in it with the iPhone and took a snap. It wasn’t untilI I arrived back home and took a good look at the photo that I recognized this dazzling mess as a crushed toner cartridge with the magenta toner dust sprayed artfully across the blacktop. Happy accidents: I welcome them.

Discovering a Kenny Scharf Mural on the LES

Kenny Sharf Mural Photo By Gail Worley
Photos By Gail

Covid Life, it is now a thing. I’ve been working from home for two weeks already and I’ve fallen into a daily routine of taking a walk after lunch in the most isolated areas I can find, just to get exercise and prevent (delay) the onset of Cabin Fever. It cheered me immensely to discover this colorful mural by Kenny Sharf, populated with his trademark whimsical faces. Since I’ve been exploring new turf more than usual, I see his stuff all over doorways and gates. Who knows how long this has been here?

Kenny Sharf Mural Photo By Gail Worley

Spotted on Norfolk Street Between Rivington and Stanton on the LES.

Shai Dahan’s Red Dala Horse Mural on Broome Street

Shai Dahan Red Dala Horse By Gail Worley
All Photos By Gail

It’s been months since we had a lovely, sunny weekend day in Manhattan where I wasn’t also otherwise occupied with a trade show or a museum visit, or some other plan that was going to keep me indoors all day. But this past weekend we enjoyed enough good outdoor weather to venture out on an Urban Art Safari, and that’s just what I did!

Shai Dahan Red Dala Horse By Gail Worley

As I turned onto Broome Street, walking west near the corner of Forsyth, I spotted this fantastic, Bright Red Horse which towers up five stories of a six story mixed-use building. A bit of Googling revealed that the artist, Shai Dahan (whose name is clearly visible at the top right corner of the mural) painted the horse in October of 2019 as a gift to NYC, his former home. Dahan currently lives in Sweden.

Shai Dahan Red Dala Horse By Gail Worley

This particular Red Horse is modeled after the Dala Horse of Sweden.

Shai Dahan Red Dala Horse By Gail Worley

You can read more about the artist and this fantastic Red Horse in a Q&A with Brooklyn Street Art located at This Link.

Love Beyond Borders Mural By Nicopanda

Love Beyond Borders Close Up
All Photos By Gail

Street wear brand Nicopanda is behind the design for this expansive mural that stretches across the western façade of a tenement building at the corner of Allen Street and Stanton Street. on New York City’s Lower East Side. Known for its edgy and playful approach to ready-to-wear and accessories,  Nicopanda is the personal brand of style icon Nicola Formichetti. The Love Beyond Boarders mural is part of The New Allen project, is co-sponsored by MAC Cosmetics, and features a design based on Formichetti’s original Amoeba Panda print. While l I could not uncover an exact date of its creation, the mural appears to have been put up in early December, 2016.

Love Beyond Borders

“Our world feels divisive, right now, so the message of universal inclusivity is very important, and especially because many of our political leaders are suggesting otherwise,” Formichetti says in a statement on the brand’s website. “I believe in Love Beyond Borders, and that’s very much so at the core of Nicopanda.”

Love Beyond Borders
Love Beyond Borders Shown Here Alongside a Lion Mural By South African Street Artist Sonny.

To announce the mural, Nicopanda created a short film, starring a cast of Yew York kids, most notably the rising green-haired rapper Ahsh EFF. Watch the video, at This Link!