CONTEMPORARY ART, OPENINGS

T.wat solo show at Graffik gallery

The show opened on 19th September and is now in full swing for a three week duration. Within his broad repertoire are portrayals of gangsters, multi-nationals, evolution, politics, religion, the class system and general Mickey taking. This new body of work however is a closely guarded secret, very few images or sneak peeks will be available before the show is open.

What perhaps is most understated is that he does not require a production team. All his ideas are original and he cuts his own stencils. T.Wat is a modern master craftsman, elusive and one who shuns the limelight and instead lets his work do the talking.

Ms Penfold, follow her on Twitter, has kindly sent in the pictures below. We are bowing to her.

What – “Straight outta compton” a show by T.Wat
When – Thursday 19th September, 6.30pm
Where – Graffik Gallery. 284 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London W10 5TE

T.wat at Graffik gallery | Art-Pie

T.wat at Graffik gallery | Art-Pie

T.wat at Graffik gallery | Art-Pie

T.wat at Graffik gallery | Art-Pie

CONTEMPORARY ART, REVIEWS

Armsrock at Signal gallery: “Drawn Towards The Present”

I knew very little about Armsrock before going to Signal gallery but I was pretty sure I would get to see something different, the sort of show where you feel you have a new experience.

Danish artist, Armsrock’s medium is charcoal and for his solo show he uses huge piece of rice paper. I stepped into Signal and looked up right away, immediately curtains of drawings appeared in front of me, suspended all around the gallery. Continue reading Armsrock at Signal gallery: “Drawn Towards The Present” →

GRAFFITI

Sniders Lane Project

Sniders Lane Project – Presented by Just Another Agency. 

Who would have thought that spending a weekend sitting in an alley by a dumpster could be so much fun. At the end of the Semi-Permanent conference Just Another Agency and Sister Bella hooked us up with the last instalment bringing a new location into the Melbourne lane ways mix.

It all kicked off on the Saturday with five talented artists, two large scissor lifts and a trunk full of Ironlak spray paint. The artists, Sear, Sirum, Dvate, Cam Scale and Deb worked on their pieces from early morning to well into the evening. Each artist was inspired by a preselected colour palet that was already laid out by Does who painted the mural on the back wall a few moths ago. Watching the progression of each piece was really enjoyable and seeing the end result of all the pieces fused into a mural was spectacular.

On the seven day the artists rested. The public wafted in and out of Sniders all day Sunday to check out the new work and we all just kicked back, drank beer and admired the art. Kirpy stopped by to add his stencils to a door way in the alley not only showing us his shear talent but also showing the intricacies that go into his work. We were happy to relax and watch Kirpy do his thing. By the end of the weekend the lane was complete. So make sure you add Sniders Lane to the tourist trail and why not stop off for a drink at Sister Bella too.

Enjoy the photos below © Chasinghosts.com as well as the interview with just another agencies owner Toby

You can view the full set of photos from Chasinghosts.com

Sniders Lane project

Sniders Lane project

REVIEWS

Ben Eine’s ‘Tenderloin’ A-Z showcase

Ben Eine | Art-PieWhen I first read about this event from my inbox, I must admit I got quite excited as Ben Eine and his work are exciting. If you love colours, letters and typography, you will appreciate this artist’s work.

“The venue will be announced just before the show and via Nelly Duff’s social medias”. This was enough to convince me that we were on something good.

I was wrong. What the show had to offer was a series of pieces with the whole alphabet broken down in a multitude of versions, different colours, not coloured at all, this sort of things. It did not take me long to go round the whole venue to have seen it all. I actually must more enjoyed the old graffiti and tags spread all around the venue from old jams or other shows.

I have not mentioned the launch of of ‘The World Atlas of Street Art & Graffiti by Dr Rafael Schacter that happened that night too just because, let’s be honest, the hype around Ben Eine did a good job by bringing people in and to get the copies of the book flying off the shelf…

We took a few pics anyway.

Ben Eine | Art-Pie

Ben Eine | Art-Pie

Ben Eine | Art-Pie

Ben Eine | Art-Pie

Ben Eine | Art-Pie

Ben Eine | Art-Pie

PREVIEW

Drones in Deptford coming soon

Silent RunningWe all like going to the movies, don’t we? But how about going to the movies and get a total immersion in it, how about an invasion by spaceships and robots whilst watching the 1972 eco-themed sci-fi classic Silent Running?

Immersive cinema company The Vanishing Point is throwing another mighty sounding event in association with nationwide film season Scala Beyond.  The venue is the Utrophia Gallery in Deptford – a space which, conveniently, is already well equipped with rooftop machinery, and the feel of a ‘run down old spaceship’, according to Paul Reed, The Vanishing Pointco-founder and creative director.

Drone#1-huey
Drone #1 aka Huey in Silent Running

From Paul Reed,

‘We don’t want to create a nostalgic reaction of the film but look at the themes, what was it getting at and how can we have some fun with that and keep people interested and excited.

The event will feature interaction with crew members from The Valley Forge space freighter, garden areas, a blast-off bar, food stalls and immersive installations inspired by the fiction of the film. We also hear that there will also be a retro video game installation.

The Vanishing Point Silent Running Screening takes place on 15 September at Utrophia (Rooftop screening), 120 Deptford High Street, London, SE8. For tickets and more information visit www.thevanishingpoint.org.uk

Find out a bit more about the concept

CONTEMPORARY ART

Lego art: be prepared to be amazed

When Ole Kirk Christiansen came up with the idea of that brick we call LEGO, I can say with confidence that he was most probably miles away from thinking that one day, people all aver the world would use his brick, and in some cases, ton of them to create pieces of art.

There is even today some sort of art movement that has sprung. How about that?

One very recent example of the frenzy that surrounds LEGO and art can be this life-sized Star Wars X-Wing fighter that was made from 5,335,200 individual bricks. Yes you heard it, over 5 millions of brick were used. It was 11 feet tall, 43 feet long 44 feet wide, and weighed almost 46,000 pounds. This is, as of today the largest model ever built.

Brick X wing | Art-Pie

But while some art purists may argue that the Brick X Wing is not really art but more a clever engineering poroject, and we would tend to agree, some other artists we feel, have really taken the brick and turn into an art medium.

Nathan Sawaya is certainly one if these artists (we already published something about him) and has gained a recognisable art LEGO style with his Dali-esque statues that are intricate and perception-bending. We have included some of Nathan Sawaya’s works at the bottom of this post.

Other interesting artists are Katie Walker who builds mosaics, we have included one example below.

Katie Walker
Katie Walker LEGO | Art-Pie

Nathan Sawaya
Nathan Sawaya | Art-PieNathan Sawaya | Art-Pie

Nathan Sawaya | Art-Pie

Nathan Sawaya | Art-Pie

PREVIEW

“The Age Of Reason, a show by Chris Stevens at Beaux Arts London

"Arsenale" by Chris Stevens | Art-Pie
“Arsenale” by Chris Stevens

Chris Stevens is a painter with the firm belief that art is a marriage between concept and technical accomplishment. The process of making a painting is as much a part of the work as the finished piece. Challenging our preconceptions about people, this is an artist who explores current identity, class, race and gender.

Recently he co-curated ‘REALITY’ at the Sainsbury Centre, an exhibition that brought together over 50 works celebrating the strength of British painting. Some of the best and most influential artists of the last sixty years were exhibited in the show – key figures of the 20th century such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and David Hockney.

 

Having studied Fine Art at the University of Reading under Terry Frost, he has exhibited regularly since graduating in 1978. A prize-winner in the BP Portrait Award, 50 over 50 and more recently in the Painted Faces exhibition organised by the Saatchi Gallery and Windsor & Newton, he has also undertaken Arts Council residencies at Sunderland Football Club and Birmingham International Airport.

"Bibaud" by Chris Stevens | Art-Pie
“Bibaud” by Chris Stevens

Chris Stevens has worked in public and private collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum, The National Gallery of Wales, Unilever, Galerija Portreta, Bosnia & Herzegovina and many private collections in UK, South Africa, USA and Europe. He currently lives and works in France.

REVIEWS

LUDO at Starkart gallery – La Belle Vie

We arrived in Zurich to find that the centre of town, near where we are staying is insanely upper class. Ferrari’s and Bentleys cruising the streets typically driven by what looked like teenage boys and the main streets lined with cafe’s filled with people wearing Gucci sunglasses laughing and sipping their cocktails.

It was not something that we were expecting and thought that it was extremely superficial, until we ventured of the beaten track in search of Starkart gallery that was hosting the LUDO solo show.

The neighbourhood that Starkart is located in is very culturally diverse and much more down to earth.

Starkart is one of the most understated spaces we have come across, set inside an old residence turned commercial space that gives no impression of what is happening behind the scenes.

The Ludo show is set over multiple rooms on two levels, it is a minimalistic show, with the works widely spread out to make use of the vast space provided.

The ground floor displays originals from his “nature’s revenge” series and the basement features two video installations of his work processes, from creation to installation on the street.

It really felt like urban exploration venturing into this show, moving from room to room, some brightly lit and others very dark with the sound of what seemed like a old French record echoing from the basement.

Check out the full set of Ludo pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chasingghosts/sets/72157626390493355/

GRAFFITI GALLERIES, STREET ART

Ludo, a street artist by nature

LUDO is a French Street Artist who is enjoying enjoyed a very successful first solo show in Zurich at the Starkat Gallery.

LUDO’s style is very particular and his pieces always depict ominous and imaginary plants which always seem to want to grab you as you walk past them. His street art series is actually called Nature’s Revenge which he has been focusing on for the past two years or so. A way perhaps to warn you all about the irreversible force of Dame Nature.

The show is on until the 7/05/2011

LUDO took the opportunity while in Zurich to splash a few of his mighty plants. Photo © Roman @ Starkat Gallery

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS