GRAFFITI, GRAFFITI GALLERIES

Graffiti at the Jardins de Walter Benjamin, Barcelona

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I am now back from Barcelona where I had the chance to enjoy a warm winter sun, delicious tapas but also and above all eye-catching graffiti.

You can see quite a few scattered around the city and especially in the main avenues of the city but head down to the port, look for the maritime museum and you will definitely spot the Jardins de Walter Benjamin, a very formal name for what is a hotspot for so-called underground activity: graffiti.

A selection of best shots is below as well as a map where this spot is located.

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin

Barcelona - Jardin Walter Benjamin


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PREVIEW

Stik at Subway gallery

We have all seen the stick men across East London, well the man behind all this, STIK, is having a solo exhibition at the Subway gallery, venue as quirky as STIK men.

Stik’s show at the Subway Gallery will feature an exciting Live Graffiti event, an installation comprised of four large light-boxes and hosts the long awaited launch of the new high quality print edition “Single Mum” produced by Squarity. As always there will be smaller, affordable pieces on sale too at this show which is set to be a vibrant and fascinating event for all.

STIK

When –
Preview is on Wednesday 2 March 6—9pm
The show will then run until the 26 march 2011.

Where –
SUBWAY GALLERY | Kiosk 1 Joe Strummer Subway | Edgware Rd / Harrow Rd | London W2 1DX

PREVIEW

RETNA at The Old Dairy

The Hallelujah World Tour is RETNA’s first solo exhibition in the UK. This show will present new works by Los Angeles based artist RETNA and will be hosted at the Old Dairy, London.

RETNA mixed inspirations from Asian calligraphy, Incan and Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew and Arabic script to traditional UK gang style graffiti writings seen since the 1970’s in Los Angeles .

Where – The Old Dairy | 7 Wakefield St | London |WC1N 1PB

When – 9/6 till 27/6/2011 | Tuesday to Saturday | 11am to 6pm

IN THE NEWS, STREET ART

Banksy new street art in London

Banksy has finally dropped again in London and this time, he has put a strong emphasis on different signs of pop culture which suits so well street art and especially stencils.

Some says that that one of his new work is a clear reference to The Clash London Calling album cover, another one refers to Futurama’s Bender and in the last one, Keith Harringâ’s Dog can be clearly recognized.

Locations of these new works:
The Clash London Calling album cover – Thomas More Square (E1)
Futurama’s Bender – Not know (yet)
Keith Harring’s dog – located on Grange Road (SE1)

On another note, ART-PIE has learnt that Banksy story boarded and directed the opening of the latest Simpsons episode. View it below.

PS: photos taken from the slamxhype.com website

Related link
> Interview of Al Jean, one of the executive producer for the Simpson’s opening-credit sequence, on the New York Times

banksy-futurama-bender

banksky-the-clash-london-calling

banksy-keith-harrings-dog

BLOG, PREVIEW

Art4Peace Auction at The Ivy Club

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.

Art4Peace | Art-Pie

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An online preview auction  opened to bidders worldwide on the 21st of September (UN International Peace Day), and the campaign will conclude with a public auction on Friday 2 October at The Club at The Ivy, in London’s West End   – get your tickets on eventbrite.

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 | Art-PieInternational 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).

WHAT –
Online preview auction: 21 September – 1 October (www.talkingpeacefestival.org/art4peace)

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:

Ivy Club (London) | Art-Pie

BLOG, PREVIEW

A Beautiful Disorder – sculptures from Chinese artists

A major exhibition of new outdoor sculptures created by 18 contemporary Greater Chinese artists is about to open at Cass Sculpture Foundation.

A leading sculpture foundation in England will display the first major exhibition of outdoor sculpture by contemporary Greater Chinese artists to be shown in the UK.

The exhibition invites the viewer to reflect on China’s past, present and future relationship with the world at large, and provides valuable insight into the state of Chinese culture, politics and society today from the perspective of some of its most dynamic and engaging artists.

C 2016 Cass Sculpture Foundation, Wang Yuyang, Rendering of Identity, 2015 | Art-Pie
C 2016 Cass Sculpture Foundation, Wang Yuyang, Rendering of Identity, 2015

 

From July 2016, eighteen monumental outdoor sculptures will be on display throughout the grounds of CASS. These artists employ a variety of ambitious sculptural techniques across a range of materials including bronze, stone, steel and wood. The historical relationship between English and Chinese landscape aesthetics is the starting point and inspiration for these contemporary artists. The title of the exhibition, A Beautiful Disorder , is a quote from an influential letter written by the Jesuit missionary and artist Jean Denis Attiret in 1743 that had a tremendous effect on English garden culture.

Attiret used the term to describe the ability of the Chinese garden to provoke violent and often opposing sensations in the viewer through a series of theatrical framing devices. Cass Sculpture Foundation’s Executive Director, Clare Hindle, says: “To date, Cass Sculpture Foundation has commissioned over 400 works – A Beautiful Disorder is a landmark moment for the Foundation as it is the first time we are commissioning works for a major exhibition by international artists. The exhibition will showcasecontemporary sculpture by some of the leading Greater Chinese artists.”

C 2016 Cass Sculpture Foundation, Zhao Yao, Rendering of A Sculpture of Thought I-192 , 2015 | Art-Pie
C 2016 Cass Sculpture Foundation, Zhao Yao, Rendering of A Sculpture of Thought I-192 , 2015

 

Participating artists for A Beautiful Disorder include: Bi Rongrong, Cao Dan, Cao Fei, Cheng Ran, Cui Jie, Jennifer Ma Wen, Li Jinghu, Lu Pingyuan, Xu Zhen (Produced by MadeIn Company), Rania Ho, Song Ta, Tu Wei-Cheng, Wang Sishun, Wang Wei, Wang Yuyang, Zhang Ruyi, Zheng Bo and Zhao Yao.

More details: http://www.sculpture.org.uk/event/a-beautiful-disorder

BLOG, CONTEMPORARY ART, LATEST

Chen Wenling’s farting bull

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When we first noticed Chen Wenling’s “What You see Might Not Be Real” sculpture, we immediately wanted to find out more about the artist and his work. This is not the name which jumped at us but the rather amusing look of the sculpture – yes it a farting bull!

Here is what Zhu Qi says about Chen Wenglin’s sculptures

Chen Wenling’s sculptures represent the spirit of collective imagery that defines China after her entrance into consumerist society. His work uses a mythological form that encompasses the spiritual insemination that overtook a generation with materialism in the 1990s, as well as the self-awareness and post awareness era everyday spirit of Chinese after the 1990s.

"What You see Might Not Be Real” (or the Farting Bull)
“What You see Might Not Be Real” (or the Farting Bull)

Zhu Qi adds –

Two main themes are prevalent in Chen Wenling’s sculptures, the first being an expression of the extreme human condition, the latter being an expression of the spiritual imagery of a consumer society.

The “farting bull”, we will refer to the work above using this – so much more fun, is a reflexion ab about the infamous global financial crisis.

The man getting crushed by the bull is Bernard (Bernie) Madoff who is an American fraudster and a former stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

Chen Wenglin’s “farting bull” has also been used in several other sculpture works. We included below a few examples of these as well as more about the “What You see Might Not Be Real” sculpture – the piece first described above

"What You see Might Not Be Real” (or the Farting Bull) | Art-Pie"What You see Might Not Be Real” (or the Farting Bull) | Art-PieChen Wengling | Art-PieChen Wengling | Art-PieChen Wengling | Art-PieChen Wengling | Art-Pie Chen Wengling | Art-Pie

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS