Images Courtesy of Ozon Magazine. Photography by Jonathan Waiter. Text by Lala Lopez.
Agata Olek has become quite the popular New York artist. The more she pushes the boundaries, the more the masses respond to her world of witty work. From her crocheted bicycles on the Lower East Side to her crocheted living spaces, she has become a mainstay in contemporary New York street art. I got the chance to sit down with Olek for Ozon Magazine‘s Spring Summer 2011 International Issue to talk about her processes and influences after we returned from Art Basel Miami at the Christopher Henry Gallery. Friend and photographer, Jonathan Waiter, was there to snap some candids of Olek, as well. At the time of interview, she had mentioned that she had a special gift that she was waiting to unveil to all of New York City. A few days later, the world wide web was booming with images and articles on Olek’s Christmas masterpiece of the colorfully knitted Charging Bull on Wall Street. Within hours of the images being released they went viral and so did Olek.
Image by Lala Lopez. Taken with iPhone on Instagram.
Last week, cruising down Metropolitan Avenue to slip into my favorite taco joint, Yola’s Cafe- I spotted a shopping cart with the Olek stamp of knit beauty, chained to a parking meter. Even though Olek hails from Poland, she really knows how to find and create the beauty in the gritty, New York jungle.
Olek has really made her mark on New York City and catapulted yarn-bombing to international notoriety. Our favorite part about street artists like Olek is that they are making an effort to make NYC beautiful. We’re excited to see what her next big endeavor is!