We strolled through the London Art Fair for the fourth consecutive year and as always stumbled upon remarkable artworks from ever so talented artists.
In this series, we will tell you why we liked a particular piece from these artists as well as posting more works. We hope you will also enjoy it as we did.
Feel free to comment too at the end of this article. Let’s get started….
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Guy Allen
Click to enlarge
We stumbled upon the piece called “Horse Study Yellow” – etching, Aquatint with 1 colour screenprint and instantly got drawn to it. We like the contrast in this piece and when artists use 2 or 3 colours. Some may qualify this as minimalist art and this is fair enough. We think a grey on any colour is striking.
About the artist
British printmaker Guy Allen is highly skilled at drawing from the animal world. His limited edition etchings are beautifully detailed, and sometimes include abstract elements. He’s a graduate of Central St Martins who has also studied at École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
He has worked with the highly respected Curwen Studios and now works out of London’s Artichoke Studios. Guy’s work has been included in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition and is popular at London’s major art fairs including the Animal Art Fair.
Around 20 acclaimed urban and street artists from around the world exhibited their artwork in support of the peacebuilding charity International Alert’s #ART4PEACE campaign, at The Old Truman Brewery in London from 4-20 September 2015.
The art exhibition and sale, titled #ART4PEACE: Peace from the street up!, featured work inspired by the theme of ‘peace in our cities’. The artists, some of whom come from conflict-affected regions, refelcted on opportunities for peaceful change in an increasingly urbanised world. Graffiti, reclaimed police shields and road signs, and even rolling pins, all featured in this unique show in the run up to UN International Peace Day on the 21st of September.
We included images of the show at the end of this article.
All proceeds are in aid of International Alert and its vital peacebuilding work in more than 25 countries around the world.
About International Alert
International Alert is one of the world’s leading peacebuilding organisations, with nearly 30 years of experience laying the foundations for peace in more than 25 countries (including the UK). We believe that dialogue is crucial for building peace. We bring people together to help them better understand their differences and resolve them peacefully. Find out more at www.international-alert.org
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The line-up of UK and international talent is: Ben Turnbull (UK), Clet Abraham (France), Dan Kitchener (UK), David Scheinmann (UK), David Whittaker (UK), Ganzeer (Egypt), Goldie (UK), Inkie (UK), K-Guy (UK), Know Hope (Israel), Malina Suliman (Afghanistan), Matt Small (UK), Olek (Poland), Otto Schade (Chile), Sadhu X (Nepal), Shraddha Shrestha (Nepal), Sten Lex (Italy), Tammam Azzam (Syria), Teurk (France), Victor Ash (France/Denmark), War Boutique (UK) and Yola (Poland/UK).
Auction: Friday 2 October (The Club at The Ivy, 9 West Street, London WC2H 9N. Tickets. Exhibition catalogue, high-res images and information on participating artists:
You could not say no to an exhibition where you would get to see pieces from artists such as Andy Warhol and Ed Ruscha without having to hop between venues across town, well you do not have to do that anymore – CRASH: homage to JG Ballard is that exhibition. Go now.
Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, big names on the menu as well as a good bunch of younger artists Glenn Brown or Jenny Saville. You look at the leaflet handed over to you earlier by the very friendly staff at Gagosian and you just do not know where to start.
Adam Mc Ewen’s Boeing 747 undercarriage ‘Honda Teen Facial’ in the entrance looks like it fell through the roof and sets the tone of what this exhibition will be about – provocative as was JG Ballard’s literature. Another large scale piece which immediately draws your attention is Richard Prince’s car model made of steel, plywood and Bondo. You look up and right there hing up on the wall is ‘Explosion’ by Roy Lichtenstein. Big names, big works. Continue reading CRASH: homage to JG Ballard at Gagosian gallery→
On my way to BRP (Black Rat Press), I knew I was up for a treat. I knew I would hang out for a while and enjoy ROA’s installation.
What makes ROA so popular is definitely his unique style – (very often) large black and white scale wildlife animals made of spray paint but also his ability in putting together quite clever installation integrating his wildlife characters. Flip out/ flip in some wood panels or just walk round and get a new angle on the installation and you can now see something completely different, the inside of the animals or the outside in this case.
We appreciated also ROA’s effort to push its creativity further by integrating x-rays light effect in one of his work. Close the flap and you see the fur of the animal, open it and the inside of the animal is revealed with an X-ray effect (see below)
ROA’s wildlife is powerful and definitely worth seeing with your own eyes. More pictures of the installation below.
When I first watched this video of Daniel Franke & Cedric Kiefer’s soundsculpture project, I was fascinated and watched it again several times.
Not for me to try to breakdown to you how this is done as it is quite complex. I’ll invite you to read the complete explanation from Creative Applications Network. In short, you are looking at a moving sand sculpture from the recorded motion data of a real person.
Room 1: LAVA Showcase featuring: Ashes57, Forged Signatures, Lucas, Neas, Emma Dexter, The Krah, Stik & Otto Schade.
Room 2:: Art Splash Charity Auction Help our friends Eska and Pikto raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Free entry | Original art and prints for sale | Music from LAVA DJs + special guest TBA .
The artists: The Krah, Stik, Otto Schade, Ashes57, Forged Signatures, Lucas, Neas & Emma Dexter. The dates: preview on the 3/11/11. The show runs until the 6/11 (daily, 12-7pm) The address: The Rag Factory | 16-18 Heneage Street | London E1 5LJ
Not sure about you, but right now is a very exciting period for me. Yes, it is that time of the year when London gets very busy with a multitude of art fairs.
On one hand, you have the well established or ever growing in popularity ones such as Frieze, which has 160 of the worlds leading contemporary art galleries exhibiting. On the other hand, there are several smaller ones, yet just as exciting. They are often run by independent artists in incongruous venues but with a common factor: a great atmosphere, and creativity all around.
We have listed below what is a non exhaustive list, but hopefully a useful one…. so enjoy, and see you around!
We have listed below what is a non exhaustive list but hopefully a rather useful one so enjoy and see you around!
Frieze Art Fair
WHEN – > 15th PV | > 16-18 Oct Public opening
WHERE – South of The Regent’s Park with the entrance off Park Square West. The postcode is NW1 4NR
FREE? NO
160 of the worlds leading contemporary art galleries are at that fair so needless to say that it is a biggie and that you should find something that excites your creative mind.
Gallery led art fair created as a platform for an intimate group of like minded emerging commercial galleries to present work by a diverse range of artists within a relaxed environment.
WHEN – 16-18 Oct 2014
WHERE – Ambika P3, 35 Marylebone Rd, London, NW1 5LS
FREE? YES
UK’s only art fair dedicated to contemporary prints and editions. The fair is in its The fifth instalment; returning to Christie’s, South Kensington this autumn.
WHEN – 17 – 20 Oct 2014
WHERE – Christie’s South Kensington, 85 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LD
FREE? YES
Jester Jacques – First of all, how did your interest in art making come about? Were there any specific events or influences in your childhood which swayed you to be more creative?
Novemto Komo – I have always been doodling since I was kid, on the wall of my parent’s room and my room; also sticking stickers I got on the doors all around the house.
Simon Sarin Photography Copyright
I remember when I was in kindergarten and elementary schools, almost every weekend my parents took me to “Ancol art market” to see paintings, sculptures and crafts by local artists. We got our family portrait from one of the artist there using paper cut, and when my sister and brother were born, we also get their portrait done by the same artist. I also participated a lot in kids drawing competition and some of them came out top 3.
I also remember saw a painting by Ford Madox Brown, titled “Take Your Son, Sir!” in a book and I was finally able to see it in real a year ago in Tate Britain.
JJ – You were born in Indonesia. Does any of the culture seep into your work, even though you live in the UK?
NK – It does influence me a lot. There is so many social issues going on in Indonesia that kind of influence my way of thinking when developing the idea.
Also, the diversity of animals in Indonesia can be seen on most of my artwork lately. A lot of animals in Indonesia are very rare now and a lot are in risk of extinct.
JJ – Where did you study Fine Art and do you think it helped in your career as a visual artist? In what ways?
NK – I never studied Fine Art, I was trained as multimedia designer which lead to my first job as a junior flash developer. Then as time went on, I got more jobs doing illustration which carried me into doing more hand drawing/illustration. I got more into painting when I took my master in graphic design in 2010 at Newcastle where I had a lot of spare time to practice and develop my skills.
JJ – What is your fascination with animals? And anthropomorphising them?
NK- I started using animal a lot in my artworks as they are part of our life. They are also very attractive subjects because they are beautiful. I believe every human has their wild side which I interpret through animals.
I also want to bring awareness to people about animal extinction, especially caused by poachers and hunter. I’ve followed and joined a hunter online forum and feel sad every time I see them posted photos of animal they killed proudly.
Simon Sarin Photography Copyright
JJ – How do you get inspired?
NK – I get inspired from many things; news, people around me and their relationship towards each other. A lot of time I got inspiration by talking with strangers or random people. I visit Stolen Space Gallery a lot and Signal Gallery. I guess I get a lot of inspiration from street art around the world and there are so much of it in London created by international artists. To name a few, Faith47, Remi Rough, and Anthony Lister.
JJ – In your painting ‘Worst thing of Screaming,’ there is a feeling of pop art in there; the Lichtenstein type of shapes. Tell us more about that particular painting, as it stands out to me in your most recent body of paintings.
NK – The starting point of that painting was based on an idea of relationships. There are many situations where no one listens to you even when you scream out loud and sometimes it make you scream even louder, which end up make you feel like a freak show.
JJ – You do commercial work as an illustrator. What do you enjoy doing more – that, or your personal work? Is there an overlap in ideas and style, or do you try and keep them separated?
NK – I always try to separate the idea and style between them, but I have to admit sometimes there’s a mix in some of them.
JJ – Your work has a collage feel to it. How do you begin a new piece? Do you actually cut and paste, or just play with objects and figures as you go along?
NK – I never thought my work has a collage feel but I heard some people said that they thought my work was a collage, especially “escape the game.” I guess I just play with objects, figures and imaginations to visualise my idea into a painting. Many times when I’m in the middle of painting, I come out with some graphic elements that I can incorporate with and I just play around with it.
JJ – Do you have any exhibitions or projects/events coming up which we should look out for?
NK – The exhibition that I confirm at the moment is in December but I am doing another live art on the Tuesday the 24th this month during Jam Sandwich at The Russet Cafe. It is a monthly music event which I paint live depending on that night performers.
JJ – Finally, what piece of advice would you give young artists who want to pursue visual/fine arts?
NK – If you’re happy doing it, keep doing it as you never know what might happen.
We strolled through the London Art Fair for the fourth consecutive year and as always stumbled upon remarkable artworks from ever so talented artists.
In this series, we will tell you why we liked a particular piece from these artists as well as posting more works. We hope you will also enjoy it as we did.
Feel free to comment too at the end of this article. Let’s get started….
________________
Paul Wright
Click to enlarge
We stumbled upon the piece called “Wild Fire” – oil on linen, 43” x 39′, and once again admired the technique and palette of colours used. We always look forward to pass the Thompson’s booth art the London Art fair to find out about Paul Wright’s works.
We know how hard it portraiture is in general which makes us appreciate even more this artist’s work. His portraits are always impeccably proportioned and transpire always strong emotions boosted by the often vibrant choice of colours.
About the artist
After his beginnings as an artist working in Illustration, Paul Wright has spent the last decade developing a language of painting through which he seeks to capture a vitality beyond the establishment of a mere ‘likeness’ to the subject. As an artist, Paul Wright appreciates the importance of the individual being recognisable, the subjects are glimpsed in the painting rather than exposed, their inner selves hinted at but ultimately inscrutable.
Though Paul Wright often works on a large, potentially imposing scale, his paintings remain approachable through fluency of brush mark and a rich palette. In Paul Wright`s paintings, the spaces the subjects inhabit are often indeterminate, providing an atmosphere that allows for ambiguity of psychological state. Paul Wright`s subjects retain their integrity and yet through the artist`s painting method a sense of intimacy is evoked.
International Alert is one of the world’s leading peacebuilding organisations, with nearly 30 years of experience laying the foundations for peace in more than 25 countries (including the UK). We believe that dialogue is crucial for building peace. We bring people together to help them better understand their differences and resolve them peacefully. Find out more at 
