CONTEMPORARY ART, REVIEWS

Tom French at Lawrence Alkin gallery

Tom French is one of these artists who conveys a very particular style and when you see a “Tom French” you know right away that it is a “Tom French”.

With this idea occupying my mind, I was looking forward to see the artist’s new show “Flux” at Lawrence Alkin gallery. I was already familiar with the artist’s intricate style where skulls are a major element in his works.

But look closer and you might realise that there is most probably another more important element in that artist’s composition : the “hidden” characters that actually make up those skulls and faces and this is what we particularly like this artist.

FLUX is another tribute to the fact that the artist plays so cleverly with figurative realism and surrealism and invite you to a twirl of emotions and suggestions.

The show runs until the 5th May 2014

Tom French at Lawrence Alkin | Art-Pie

Tom French at Lawrence Alkin | Art-Pie

Tom French at Lawrence Alkin | Art-Pie

CONTEMPORARY ART, OPENINGS, PREVIEW

2012 London art fair private view invitation

London Art FairLondon Art Fair is the UK’s premier Modern British and contemporary art fair. Galleries from across the UKand overseas will present the work of over 1,000 artists covering the period from the early 20th century to the present day. You will see museum quality British art presented alongside exceptional contemporary work from leading figures and emerging talent. The Fair provides a uniquely welcoming atmosphere in a spectacular venue in the heart of Islington, attracting visitors with a genuine passion for art; from experienced collectors to those buying their first original work.  Source: www.londonartfair.co.uk

London Art Fair would like to invite friends and client’s of  Brownhill Insurance Group to the Private View on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, from 6pm – 9pm.

This is an exclusive invitation-only evening reception and it’s a perfect place to catch-up with friends in the New Year and enjoy a complimentary glass of wine in the informal and welcoming atmosphere of Private View.

To receive your complimentary Private View invitation, simply visit http://www.londonartfair.co.uk/brownhills  before 9 January 2012.

For all art insurance requirements remember to get in touch with Brownhill Insurance Group on 0208 353 8907 or visit www.loveartinsurance.co.uk

London Art Fair
18 – 22 January 2012 | Business Design Centre London N1

CONTEMPORARY ART

RECURSIVE on Repetition

1 Comment

RECURSIVE blog banner

I’m very pleased to say

1) I have a new project in the works and

2) Art Pie is again media sponsor!

This project is smaller in scale than This ‘Me’ of Mine, but just as interesting. RECURSIVE explores the inner repetitive thought processes, both ones we’re aware of and ones we’re not. The works in the exhibition show evidence of this recursive thinking in action through the work. My goal for the blogsite is to create a place to discuss what repetition is, how it affects us, and why we’re so drawn to it. So far, that is working really well!

Here’s an example:

janeboyer

Submitted on 2014/05/16 at 1:03 pm

I’ve been thinking of how I feel about the change in repetition, and really, how would I put it into words?I can remember feeling ‘solid’, meaning I knew who I was in relation to where I was and who I was with. Mechanization made communities prosperous, providing most of the work for a local population.

I knew what products I could depend on, where to buy them and how much they would cost. I knew I would need to save money to afford more expensive things I wanted. There was stability in knowing products were readily available and in constant supply. I came home with products I liked in shopping bags. I could smell the production process of tires and toothpaste on the air, knowing they smelled polluting.Now, as someone involved in a digital world, I work where I do not live, I purchase products from all over the world which are shipped to me.

I feel guilty at the thought that less wealthy people than I (and I am not wealthy!) make the clothes I wear and have produced them in a very foreign place in unknown circumstances and at unknown costs to the environment. I feel ‘transparent’ as I share quirky little thoughts on twitter and downright exposed when I post anything on Facebook. I feel impinged by knowing that I can never decide to remove my profile on Facebook. I feel hectic and rushed even though I sit at a table most of my day typing on a keyboard.

I see almost no one, except my husband, throughout my workday. In short, I feel boxed, constrained, observed and strangely non-material in a world that I struggle to comprehend, as my thoughts flit from task to task, page to page, and site to site.

Ian Pickering

Submitted on 2014/05/16 at 4:50 pm

I am not sure that repetition is mechanisation. Farming is repetitive as is much basic craftwork. I am also tempted to suggest that change has always produced a response that things have got worse. Feeling transparent. That is an insight and I understand the idea of being simultaneously connected but isolated.

codedimages

Submitted on 2014/05/16 at 5:17 pm

I recognise your descriptions. I do feel though that I work where I live, but the product of that work is then spread instantly to all parts of the globe and to anyone who cares to take an interest. Working alone is lonely.

I envy those who have a physically located group to associate with and are able to share ideas face-to-face. I don’t know if any of this has repetition at its core though. I do know I would not want to turn the clock back entirely. I feel privileged to be able to discuss ideas with people all over the world.

Being able to find like-minds wherever they might be is a huge plus for the web. On the other hand I need to find a better balance, where at least some portion of time is spent physically co-located with other artists. I will be working on that aspect in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

Kay

Submitted on 2014/05/17 at 1:46 pm

A few thoughts on a great topicI knit and crochet so there is much repetition involved in those actions. By chance I found and continue to find those repetitions creative. The stitching can also have a meditative quality to it, awakening me to the moment.

I don’t expect every repetitive action to have a meditative quality to it however I do recognise actions which are engaging and enlivening and those which have a dulling effect.I have had interesting on-line conversations and got connected to collaborative on-line projects -which I would never have come across without the digital world – I do value them. What I find with digital media is that it is all too easy to get stuck in repetitive actions which don’t lead to anything in particular.

The impact of some digital repetition is to dull / numb the brain. Perhaps that is why we crave the connection with humans who aren’t glued to the screen. The connections can perhaps be more random, intuitive and exploratory.I also think that repetitive digital actions in office spaces are questionable. The assumption seems to be that if people are at the screen they are working and even engaged in their work.

I don’t agree. Humans create and work in a range of ways. As a fellow human I need variety and stimulation through words, textiles and other random moments to develop. This becomes more important as I get older. I work with older people and am obsessed with memory, aging, loneliness and isolation! A few of the comments here refer to people experiencing a sense of isolation even in a world of virtual connections.

I think it is essential to create spaces which integrate the virtual and physical nature of life (I love the makers library network). Isolation is a killer. As a human I want to be awake to this and create repetitions which sustain me and who know others around me.

——

We hope you’ll join us and join in the conversation…

Go to RECURSIVE

CONTEMPORARY ART, PRODUCT DESIGN

The House of Detention at the Clerkenwell design week

I got myself to the Clerkenwell design week, well, I work in the area so it was easy for me to walk to Clerkenwell close where the remains of the House of Detention are – a series of underground tunnels and rooms.

The place has been a museum since 1993 but for the last three days it showcases exciting contemporary talent. The nature of the space  and its spookiness (some say it is haunted) make the whole experience a success and very much enjoyable for the visitor.

You will find below pictures of what excited me at the show.

BLOG, DIGITAL ART, FEATURE

Sam cannon at SCOPE international art fair in Miami

SCOPE, an international art fair, is under way now until this Sunday 6/12 and along with scores of people, it brings out fresh new talent such as Sam Cannon.

Sam Cannon, 23, is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and a digital media artist living in New York City. Cannon’s work exploring the innovative space between video and still photography has been bolstered by her significant presence on Tumblr. Through this influence, Cannon has been asked to lend her vision to brands like Gap, Veuve Cliquot, and Nike, as well as an anti-bullying campaign, musician Vic Mensa, and New York Fashion Week.

Sam Cannon at SCOPE | Art-Pie

Sam Cannon at SCOPE | Art-Pie

Sam Cannon at SCOPE | Art-Pie

Sam Cannon at SCOPE | Art-Pie

Sam Cannon at SCOPE | Art-Pie
More on Sam Cannon’s website

CONTEMPORARY ART

Noise project – Challenge #2 The Little Things

Here is our second entry for the Noise Intercepted project, a global art project curated by Labspace Studio (a creative agency & art house in Toronto, Canada). Noise Intercepted is a series of ten experience-activated noise challenges that prompt participants to listen, observe and interact with their urban soundscape in new and unlikely ways.

Noise challenge #2: The little things

“This week spend some time paying attention to the little things… the sounds that you tend to ignore and the seemingly insignificant noises that you take for granted. You have 1 week to listen, identify and select one “insignificant” sound and transform it into something “significant.”

—————————

Water is all around us but often forgotten, we may see it but not necessarily hear it or listen to it but yet it can take all sorts of sound shapes or noises.

Here are four of them, from the subtle to the fierce…

PREVIEW

Team Robbo calling at Signal gallery

Already a legend within the international graffiti community, London’s ‘King Robbo’ will soon lead his entire UK crew (known to the world as ‘Team Robbo’) into Signal Gallery for their first gallery show of the year.

Team Robbo is an intentionally amorphous and anonymous graffiti crew, which has now grown into The Team Robbo Network. Its presence stretches across the world, overseas members working in collaboration with their UK counterparts.

Team Robbo UK will be represented in this show by core crew members: ROBBO, CHOCI-ROC, DOZE, FUEL, PRIME and P.I.C. – some of whom have worked together as a crew for around 25 years!

They will be supported by the artist known as ‘Pranksky’, who provides coverage of Team Robbo’s continuing war with street artists via his media organization, Prank Sky Media.

Several members of Team Robbo are already well-known to members of the street art/ graffiti community and to art collectors alike. This stemmed from several very successful shows last year, including Robbo’s solo show at The Pure Evil Gallery plus Fuel & Prime’s work in ‘The Architects’ Group Show at The Atom Rooms in London. Prime’s controversial piece ‘The Age of Shiva’ was widely publicised when it appeared again last year in Pictures on Walls’ show – ‘Marks and Stencils’ before Christmas.

The crew’s new show, ‘The Sell-Out Tour’ (which can be interpreted in a variety of ways), will be the first time that Team Robbo UK have exhibited in a gallery together.

It will showcase an impressive variety of their work: prints, canvases, sculpture and photographic work. The photographs trace Team Robbo’s joint output, (both legal and illegal) over the years. They will be shown alongside new solo work where crew members push forward the graffiti genre and develop their own work in highly divergent and novel artistic directions. The show is expected to tour the world after the Signal Gallery launch.

The Sell-Out Tour will be supported by work by the artist Pranksky. His work is described as hybrid art (merging art, photography and graffiti) providing a commentary on the ongoing art feud between street artists and graffiti writers that has received considerable media attention.

The show offers a rare chance to both view and purchase original new works and prints by this notorious crew. All work shown is for sale.

Words by Signal gallery

When
7th April: Private View and Press.
8th April: Writer’s night (By invitation only).
8th April – 7th May: open to public.

Where 32 Paul Street | Hoxton, London, EC2A 4LB.
www.signalgallery.com

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS