The striking style of Kerry Beall

Kerry Beal | Art-Pie
Detail of “Space” | This piece will be in our next show

We had wanted for a while to have Kerry Beall in one of our edition of The Creative Bubble, a multi-discipline pop up event atRoxy Bar and Screen, London.

Art-Pie – Can you tell your readers about yourself in a few words?

Kerry Beall – Hello! my names Kerry, I’m a Graphic Designer by trade and been working in the industry for about 8 years, in the last few years I’ve really got into fine art, I wanted another creative outlet away from the computer screen so I went and bought loads of inks and brushes, it wasn’t something I was overly confident in until I drew a face that actually looked like the real deal! that was pretty exciting, and now painting and drawing is definitely a big part of my life 🙂

Art-Pie – Can you tell us about your creative process and where does your inspiration come from?

Kerry Beall – I tend to draw lots of portrait pieces as that’s what excites me, drawing eyes and watching a face come alive from a blank piece of paper is magical to me!
I work with ink and charcoal, I love the unpredictable nature of ink when it hits the page, coupled with the accuracy and precision you can get with charcoal. So I tend to use them both together.
I’m inspired by interesting fashion photography and nature, I gather inspiration from pinterest and instagram, and then visual ideas start forming from there…usually at four in the morning, so I often leap out of bed and draw it before I forget!

Art-Pie – Give us the name of three artists you admire or like?

Kerry Beall – I really love collage, and masking imagery, I came across Joe Webb’s stuff, and fell in love with it a bit.
I also really like Françoise Nielly’s work, with the bold, striking colour portraits.
Lastly I have to say Dali, as he’s a childhood favourite and triggered my first interest in art.

Art-Pie – Street art is something we like at Art-Pie, what is your take on that form of art?

Kerry Beall – I’m a fan of street art, especially having lived in Bristol for a long time, the appreciation for street art is really apparent there, as it’s Banksy’s home town…I like the way whenever I visit there’s something new to look at 🙂

Art-Pie – Are there any other projects or shows that you will be involved with for the rest of 2015 that you want share with us?

Kerry Beal – I’m working on new stuff all the time, my main focus for this year is a project I started called Beyond Words – Gaza
https://www.facebook.com/beyondwordsgaza?fref=photo
I am currently painting the lives that have been lost in Gaza with the intent of raising enough money to have all the portraits framed and exhibited, hopefully in a few places, with the final destination being Palestine, where the family members of the victims can keep the portraits that are of their family.
I know what’s happened can’t be undone, but I just felt a strong urge to do something, by trying to somehow immortalise these people in some form so they don’t fade away forever.

——-

WHAT – The Creative Bubble, POP UP Art Gallery, Spoken Word, Poetry, Short Films, Music & Networking
WHERE – Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB
WHEN – Wed 29/4/2015 (POP UP art gallery opening night) / Thursd 30 (Spoken word)

Amar Stewart X Lava Gallery

Amar Stewart steps up to the Lava gallery for his first solo show of 2011.

We first viewed Amar’s work in the East Gallery in early 2010, the show had dark undertones, accented with sections of colour, A mixture of spray paint and acrylic. A different approach has been taken this time, the entire gallery almost devoid of colour, a series of large canvases featuring Black and white photorealistic portraits.

This was a understated approach for show early in the year and to be honest, a welcome one.  It is easy to feel bombarded when you attend opening nights, peering through crowds to look at large canvases. Lava gallery is only a small space located on the first floor of Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street.

Amar and the Lava crew did a great job laying out the space, taking a simplistic approach with the arrangement going with white walls and monochrome artworks.  It had a overall relaxed vibe, even with droves of friends and fans, it was easy to move around and check out all the work.

Amar’s progression in portraiture is developing a rapid rate and we look forward to seeing what he has to offer in the future.

Check out a the rest of the pics here: Amar Stewart at Lava gallery by Chasinghosts on Flickr

Invaders goes deep and high

Invader‘s trademark, the so recognisable  pixelated alien character from the even more famous arcade game from the 80’s has been seen by a large amount of people on street corners across the world. The monster has now taken a dip in the ocean and can be seen deep down in the water.

Invader teamed up with sculptor Jason Taylor deCaires, known for his underwater sculptures, and stuck his characters of Jason’s works. The result is pretty surreal and I would like to get my scuba diving gear on and have a look at it.

Invaders goes under water | Art-Pie

Invader also went high, very high in the space. The artist engineered a device that propelled the alliens to back to where they belong, space. Luckily for us, Invaders thought of equipped the device with a camera so we can enjoy the astonishing pictures below.

Invaders goes high | Art-PieInvaders goes high | Art-Pie

Invaders goes high | Art-PieInvaders goes high | Art-Pie

Last but not least, we have included a video “Green Invaders” is a light installation by the French artist Yves Caizergues, based on the classic video game Space Invaders. It formed part of the 2012 Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, where the streets of Toronto, Canada are given over to a festival of street art. This installation was outside the Sun Life Financial Tower at 150 King Street West.

Project Mighty and Napoleon by Adobe

The last few years have seen the rise of digital art. Devices such as Ipads have been at the forefront of this and some artists already master the new medium.

Adobe could be taking this a bit further with their new projects Mighty stylus and Napoleon ruler. These two pieces of hardware are designed to work with Adobe’s touch and tablet apps. Project Mighty is a pressure sensitive stylus, and Project Napoleon is a small ruler that projects straight lines onto the tablet for more precise drawings. 

Watch the video below to get a better understanding

5 Batman related street art pieces you ought to see

With the release of the new Batman : Arkham night video game just around the corner, we looked at 5 remarkable street art pieces related to the broader ‘Batman’ theme.

JPS
JPS
,
UK street is our first artist. JPS’s does pop culture works with a witty slogan. JPS’ often depicts iconic comic book and movie characters including Ted, Batman, Spiderman, and even Freddie Kruger and normally stencils them. Read an interview with Street Artist United States

Batman by JPS | Art-Pie

Mario Calvo and Pato Kozow
The work below, ‘The Creation of Batman‘ was painted in a square in Buenos Aires and you may have recognised its reinterpretation of Michael Angelo’s ‘The creation of Adam’ he painted in the Sistine Chapel. God is played by The Joker and the part of Adam is played by Batman.

Creation of Batman | Art-Pie

memeIRL
This artist is France based and the piece is called ‘Batman and Robin kissing’

Batman & Robin kissing - Art-Pie

Artist unknown
This is actually an illustration but we thought we’ll throw it in there as we find it quite funny

Batman | Art-Pie

Artist unknown

Batman | Art-Pie

Robert Brandenburg at Gallery 1988

In “Pooh… and Other Sh*t,” Robert Brandenburg brings “hijacked” art to Gallery 1988 in Venice Beach, CA.

As a self-taught artist from Ohio, Brandenburg brings an expansive perspective to viewers. Born in 1954, he paints contemporary works that offer a light repose from the mundane.

His versatile style allows him to incorporate renderings into a variety of works on a variety of mediums. Less art than humor, he creates an entertaining interlude and encourages viewers to recreate everyday scenes in a less than ordinary manner.

Renamed The Bird, Brandenburg alters a metal sign from 1956 used to advertise the Ford Thunderbird. In the original a couple speeds away in the automobile, waving to onlookers. In the re-mastered version, the passenger extends her middle finger to the people standing by. From metal to cardboard, In Mammy Cakes Brandenburg alters a Hostess Cupcake box from a chocolate frosted vanilla cupcake to a white mouthed image mirroring minstrel shows that ran in America from the 1830’s into the mid-1900’s. During these often severely racist performances, white men painted themselves in black face.

To compliment his images, Brandenburg includes brief bios and explanations into the life of his creations. One of his works, Hannah Lecter, features a young girl on a greeting card. Originally, she was eating a tasty piece of chocolate but Brandenburg coated the original snack with a dripping red acrylic paint to make it appear as if she indulges in human flesh.  The title and corresponding story names her as Hannibal Lecter’s love child. He also alters several Norman Rockwell paintings depicting the ‘ideal’ family life of 1940’s America including one from Rockwell’s “Four Freedom” series entitled Freedom from Want. Brandenburg redubs it Freedom from Stress and replaces the original turkey with a glass pipe, beers, and whiskey explaining, “experience suggests that the happy family is going to need a little more than turkey to keep things running smoothly for the rest of the day.”

Brandenburg brings a fresh look to “normal” images by incorporating himself into a variety of mediums at his new solo exhibition. By redesigning iconic images, he urges society to reexamine omnipresent sights that do not always reflect truth.

“Pooh… and Other Sh*t” hijacked art by Robert Brandenburg at Gallery 1988 Venice
Dates: January 7 – 28, 2011
Hours: Wed – Sun: 11AM – 6PM

Artists pick from the 2012 London art fair – part 3

Here is the third part of our artists pick from the 2012 London art fair | Read part 1 | Read part 2

Paul Richards via Connaught Brown
Pastel on paper
Paul Richards via Connaught Brown

Paul Richards via Connaught Brown

Elfyn Lewis via Beaux Arts London
Acrylic on MDF
Elfyn Lewis via Beaux Arts London

Tanc via The French Art Studios
Spray paint and ink on canvas
Tanc via The French Art Studios

Ralph Steadman via Jealous gallery
Giclee print with debossed border on Somerset paper
Ralph Steadman via Jealous gallery

Nick Morris via Arteria
Screenprint
Nick Morris via Arteria

Nick Morris via Arteria

Anne Penmansweet via Stephanie Hoppen gallery
Oil on canvas
Anne Penmansweet via Stephanie Hoppen gallery

System Collapse by Zosen at Stolen Space

Barcelona based street artist Zosen brings his premier UK solo show to StolenSpace.Featuring a collection of new paintings on canvas and the release of a limited edition screen print.

Born in Buenos Aires, Zosen developed his art practice on the streets since he was 11 and in 2001 became a long time member of Barcelona’s infamous ONG crew. Zosen continues to expand his creative practice with performance, illustration, video and collaborations with artists across the globe and he is co-founder of the street wear label, “Animal Bandido” with designer Clàudia Font.

Here is the latest video of Zosen and his crew

System Collapse is a colourful vision of the world around us and an incisive commentary on the current state of the world’s economy. The distinctive lettering styles, loosely influenced by the artwork of the punk and the ‘do-it-yourself’ movements of the 70’s-80’s, the illusory characters and bright, pure colours reflect a hopeful optimism while the meanings of the words, real and conceived, provide a complex context for a creative discharge of
conscience.

The simplicity of the imagery in psychedelic colours references a plethora of social and political issues, juxtaposing the heavily distorted photo imagery of today’s consumer society with naive, two dimensional characters and imaginary of primitive African art and Latin-American Folklore. In System Collapse, symbols saturated in colour represent the inequalities and injustices that separate the First and Third Worlds.

Zosen’s street art and ubiquitous interventions are essential to his practice, informing his gallery works and providing the impetus for his irrepressible creativity. His multidisciplinary work has been exhibited internationally between the street and the gallery.

The strong appeal of Zosen’s work lies in it’s child-like charm and it’s distinctly political edge. Building on the popular anarchy and contemporary art movements associated with his adopted home town and internationally recognised amongst the underground and mainstream arts and graffiti movements, Zosen’s unique style remains synonymous with Barcelona.

The show runs from 13th August till 29th August 2010.

NB: Words taken from the Stolen Space website.

zosen_frontpg

Related link
> Animalbandido

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