The Great British sculpture show at Hatfield house

Wilfried Pritchard | Art-PIe

I was up for a treat, a helicopter fly and guess what, I got another treat: the Great British Sculpture Show currently in full swing at Hatfield house.

After having been thrilled by the helicopter excursion, I was eager to come back down to earth and wander amongst the bronze, wood and stone sculptures set against the formal topiary of the famous gardens and enchanting woodland at Hatfield House

There was over 70 sculptures from 22 artists such as David Goode, Geoffrey Dashwood, Hamish Mackie, Ian Rank-Broadly and Etienne Millner but we’ll focus on Wilfred Pritchard for now

Wilfried Pritchard | Art-PIe

Wilfried Pritchard | Art-PIe

Wilfried Pritchard | Art-PIeWilfried Pritchard | Art-PIe

About the artist – Wilfred Pritchard is the “nom de guerre” for the sculptures of Eddie Powell. He is owner and curator of The Sculpture Park, works as a Photographer as Eddie Powell and Sculptor as Wilfred Pritchard and has sold many sculptures worldwide privately from The Sculpture Park and through various auction houses, including Sothebys and Christies.

Now, skeletons are the fundamental basis for teaching sculpture. Luvvie has one included in his Sculpture School for reference and many have pinned them together in various forms. Wilfried Pritchard is just doing this and you can encounter a series of rather comic sculptures like a group of dancing skeletons.

Wilfried Pritchard | Art-PIe

Wilfried Pritchard | Art-PIe

WHAT – The Great British Sculpture Show
WHEN – 5 April to 30 September
WHERE – Gardens of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire

Bunny suicides from Andy Riley

When we first saw Andy Riley’s Bunny Suicides illustrations, we immediately love them but also found them very funny.

In a nutshell, rather desperate bunnies try to end their lives by any means they can think of and find themselves in ingenious yet dramatic situations.

You are looking at dark humour so these might not be your taste but cute bunnies might?

We included 9 of the best illustrations of the illustrator we spotted online

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley | Art-Pie

SPQR at Pure Evil: Monochromatic shades

Another exhibition by Signal gallery which I had penciled in as soon as I’d heard about it. The artist, SPQR, has been on the circuit for quite a while now and is a prolific stenciller, so I was not surprised to find, hung up on the walls of Signal gallery, technically very good, quality stencils.

For his first solo show in the UK, SPQR looks at how art can be used to express your disagreement about things surrounding you: society, media, economy, etc. At first sight, and maybe for the non-expert in street art, you may think that what you are looking at is ’some Banksy’, eg. (see pictures below) the reference to a chain of supermarkets and making fun of the police etc, are a parallel with Banksy’s sense of humour.

But SPQR’s stuff is as good as Bansky no doubt, even better perhaps and not just because of his unwillingness to cash in on the hype and fame like other street art artists. But based on what I saw in this show, and in particular the piece in the shop window of the gallery, thumbs up for SPQR

Go on SPQR, a bit of fame and hype you probably deserve won’t hurt, you would just be selling some art, some good street art, which everyone needs in their life!

What would you say: SPQR better than Banksky?

The show ran until the 28th September.

Related links
> Signal gallery
> SPQR website

ART-PIE

 

Gabriel Dubois at Stolen Space

Gabriel Dubois is back to Stolen Space gallery after having taking part earlier this year to a group show – read about it here and his new works for his debut solo show – Kykkeliky are bold, this is the least you can tell about them.

German-Canadian artist, Gabriel Dubois grew up in the streets of Vancouver and started to drop graffiti on urban spaces of the Chinatown area. However what I was seeing all around me were far away from it: large wooden panels with bright coloured lines that seem to run at each other or from each other while meeting a multitude of geometric shapes on the way. Such works can quickly turn into a big mess but Gabriel Dubois succeeds in keeping some harmony of this buzzing gathering of elements.

Gabriel Dubois’ visual language is rich like the colours palette used. His pieces are vibrant and complex it seems but looking at it a bit longer and you may see some logical juxtaposition of those lines next to that series of circles.

Gabriel Dubois is a big fan of turning discard objects of modern culture into art and here into something alive. This is why you will find stuck into one of his pieces a cut-out of an old magazine representing a car. His abstract approach inspired from his numerous travels to places like Sri Lanka, India or Japan is the expression of his keen interest of hand painted signs he picked up at a very early age.

You will also notice that wooden (his surface of choice) structure standing at the entrance of the gallery (see pic below) which is another angle to Gabriel Dubois’ art practices.

Related link
> Sculpture and paintings by Gabriel Dubois on Boom

ART-PIE

Remap 3 – Street art project from Athens

If there is one country that needs a push right now, it has to be Greece. Remap, an international contemporary art platform open and free to the public, could just what Greek people need to hopefully put a smile back on their faces.

ReMapKM’s main purpose, which is held bi annually in the area of Kerameikos-Metaxourgeio in Athens, in tandem with the Athens Biennial, is to goal is to create an alternative platform for the production and experiencing of contemporary art within the urban context.

The REMAP event is in third edition this year runs until the 30/10/11 which a multitude of shows and events. Read the full program.

Big names include APSET, BOOHAHA and RTMone & SIVE and these artists have come up with an installation made of human faces expressions with alongside them, a made up ladder which is supposed to lead them up to the sky where they can free their minds. The reference here is easily spottable: the need for city inhabitants to escape the sometimes tough urban jungle. Some photos of the installation are included below and are courtesy of montana-cans.com website which sponsor the paint for the event.

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

STREET ART