First I noticed the folk-artsy chalk drawings on sidewalks around the E.Vil. accompanied by sayings like “Become Your Dream” and
“I Just Bought Real Estate In Your Mind.”
Then I happened to be strolling along St. Marks towards
Tompkins Square Park, as I do most every day, and discovered the De La Vega East Village art gallery/shop. T-shirts and post cards -- with philosophy-lite sayings such as, “You are your best investment” -- are sold along side wo
rks of art, notably oil paintings. My very brief perusal of his sometimes serious but mostly irreverent works made me think of a life-affirming, minimalist
Basquiat. According to his
website, James Delavega is a native of Spanish Harlem, was educated at Cornell and has been described by David Gonzalez of the Times as “a hybrid between a street kid and an Ivy League guerrilla performance artist.” The E.Vil. shop hasn’t been open a week, but I’m betting he’ll do quite well here.
First I noticed the folk-artsy chalk drawings on sidewalks around the E.Vil. accompanied by sayings like “Become Your Dream” and 
rks of art, notably oil paintings. My very brief perusal of his sometimes serious but mostly irreverent works made me think of a life-affirming, minimalist Basquiat. According to his website, James Delavega is a native of Spanish Harlem, was educated at Cornell and has been described by David Gonzalez of the Times as “a hybrid between a street kid and an Ivy League guerrilla performance artist.” The E.Vil. shop hasn’t been open a week, but I’m betting he’ll do quite well here.
