Stuck in traffic down Laurel Canyon Blvd. this weekend on the metropolitan side of the hill, we took note of this stencil, below. We can't identify the artist, can you? It looks like Bansky, but sources say no. Blek le Rat was in town, but that's not his. Herakut just opened their show this weekend, but Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art owner Seth Carmichael says it was not them and that he noticed this piece......

Parisian street artist Blek le Rat hit Subliminal Projects for his first U.S. art show this weekend and although it's been mentioned twice already on LAist, seeing Shepard Fairey's new space in action with the public inside really demonstrated Echo Park's newest arrival in a fascinating light. A line longer than the Short Stop formed outside the Gallery Saturday night as art patrons danced, drank wine and dished out conversation inside about art, Obama and......

Before Banksy and Shepard Fairey there was Blek le Rat. The French street artist is quite possibly the first person to use stencils for graffiti, a style he pioneered to veer away from the NY city tags he had witnessed. His first stencils of life sized rats invaded the streets of Paris in the early 80's. From there he moved to stencils of popular icons of culture and some self portraits. To say he is......

Earlier this year, Shepard Fairey's design agency, Studio Number One, his company Obey Giant Art Inc. and his gallery co-owned with his wife, Subliminal Projects, moved operations into Echo Park on Sunset Blvd. (see the photos of them putting up huge Obama posters here). This Saturday, the new space's first exhibition features Parisian stencil and street art pioneer, Blek le Rat, who is an influence on street art favorite -- Banksy. The show will be......