Category Archives: PREVIEW

Hang-Ten at Hang Up Pictures gallery – Mark Powell live drawing session

Hang-Ten at HangUp Pictures gallery | Art-Pie

If a hot summer was not enough to enjoy London this summer, Hang Up Pictures gallery in Stoke Newington is throwing a ten week festival of art and entertainment. And if you know and like Mark Powell work, read on…

Nice.

To celebrate our tenth anniversary, this summer, we will be launching Hang-Ten; a ten week festival of art and entertainment. This includes a multimedia group exhibition, exclusive limited releases, a packed events calendar of talks and workshops, and of course, one huge party with free giveaways, music, food and drinks.

HangUp Pictures

Long story short, 10 years, 10 artists, 10 weeks, One huge party.

The next event taking place is Mark Powell Live Drawing Session | Sat 21 July, 12 – 4pm and you would not want to miss that, especially if you are a fan, as he is, of Mark Powell Bic Biro drawings.

Mark Powell will draw live at Hang-Up gallery on 21 July for what is set to be a fantastic afternoon. We also hear that there will be an exclusive limited edition print available at 50% off for the first 20 people through the door…

Mark Powell | Art-Pie

Hang-Ten is on at Hang-Up Gallery, 81 Stoke Newington Road, London N16 8AD from 23 June to 2 Sept 2018

Why you should go to the London Peckham Rye Music Festival

Peckham, once an area that most Londoners regarded as a no-go area, has become in recent years a hip and cultural hub in the capital.

One of the events which is conveying this message is the London Peckham Rye Music Festival. Here is Why you should go to the London Peckham Rye Music Festival.

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    • The festival is over two week ends. The main festival takes place on the 12th May through the 14th May (week end) but more individual ticketed events also take place the next week end so you should be able to squeeze something in your ever busy schedule!
    • There is a wide spread of music genre – HOUSE, TECHNO, ELECTRONICA, GRIME, GARAGE, BASS, DISCO, JAZZ, FUNK, SOUL so hop from stage to stage or find your ultimate gig area.
Peckham Rye Music Festival | Art-Pie
The Peckham Rye Music Festival street parties. Street art by INSA
  • The festival venue is easily accessible due to its central London-ish location. The closest train station is Peckham Rye which is a five minute walk to the ‘Festival Hub’ in Copeland Park. The entrance to Copeland Park is accessible via 133 Rye Lane, then down Bussey Alley, until 9PM and Bournemouth Road from 9PM until midnight.
  • You can get a day ticket for as low as 15 quids! But hurry up as it is selling fast.
  • Secretsundaze is playing on Sunday 14th May at the Outdoor Stage and you do not want to miss it! Weather, please be good so we can have a kick ass time!

We hope we convinced you to get yourselves down to Peckham and enjoy the impressive range of music genres across another impressive number of stages.

We’ll see you there.

Abstract painter Sandra Blow’s new show at Fine Art Society

Abstract painter Sandra Blow’s new show at Fine Art Society is entitled “Eleven Works” and is opening on the 9th January 2017.

"Stripes" by Sandra Blow | Art-Pie
“Stripes” by Sandra Blow | detail

The Fine Art Society will present eleven large- scale canvases by the English abstract painter Sandra Blow RA (1925-2006). Spanning a period of almost 30 years, the show will include a number of works which have never been exhibited before.

A pioneer of the abstract art movement in the 1950s, Sandra Blow is best known for her monumental canvases experimenting with abstract form, rhythm, light, space, and texture. Blow introduced a new expressive informality into British art, combining cheap, discarded materials such as sawdust and plaster with the more conventional medium of paint. Her unique manner of abstraction was strongly influenced by the Italian artist Alberto Burri, who she met in Italy in 1946.

Arriving on the London art scene in 1950, Blow quickly received international recognition and went on to exhibit throughout Europe and America alongside the most important artists of the day. Her canvases became increasingly graphic, colourful and exuberant as her career developed, as did her ambition of scale.
Blow moved from London to St Ives in 1994, but continued to participate in every Summer Exhibition at Burlington House, fulfilling her role as a Royal Academician, which she was elected for in 1971. St Ives and the sea inspired the strong but subtle use of colour that characterises a number of canvases featured in this exhibition.

“The Swimmer” by Sandra Blow, Acrylic On Canvas | Click to enlarge

The artist John Mclean described Sandra Blow as “the most amazing colourist and the most original composer of a painting we have had in recent years”, comparing her to the likes of Matisse and Mirò. Indeed, the grand statements presented in this exhibition suggest that her importance is yet to be fully recognised.
Sandra Blow’s work is included in a number of major international private and public collections including the Tate and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. An exhibition to celebrate Blow’s 80th birthday was held at Tate Britain in 2005.

‘Portraits in Character’ by Alexander Newley at St Martin’s in-the-Fields

‘PORTRAITS IN CHARACTER’ BY ALEXANDER NEWLEY IN THE CRYPT OF ST MARTIN’S | Art-Pie
Alexander Newley painting Dame Judi Dench

Artist Alexander Newley is delighted to announce his solo exhibition ‘Portraits in Character – supporting St Martin-in-the-Fields’, in the Crypt of St Martin’s, Trafalgar Square from 7th to 21st November. The exhibition is to run in partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields, a fitting location for the exhibition, with its proximity to the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery, and will mark Newley’s return to the London art world after several years in New York.

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Auction to support St Martin- in-the-Fields

St martin in the Fields | Art-Pie
Saint Martin-in-the-Fields (click to enlarge)

In Spring 2017 the paintings and drawings featured in ‘Portraits in Character – supporting St Martin- in-the-Fields’, will be auctioned to benefit the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields, including their outreach with homeless people.

For more information about this auction in support of St Martin-in-the-Fields please contact StMartins@activ.org.uk

Portraits of comedians such as Dame Judi Dench

Newley collaborated with Kenneth Branagh to create a unique series of portraits of several of the leading cast from the Plays at the Garrick season, which comes to a close this November. Alexander Newley spent time with the cast over a period of one year, capturing the actors in character backstage after performances.

The result is a series of drawings and paintings capturing the aura of some of the UK’s most celebrated actors; Dame Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Adrian Lester, Derek Jacobi, Richard Madden and Lily James.

Alexander Newley commented:

Painting an actor in character adds another layer of interest for me. I’ve always been fascinated by the unknowable human self and how it variously disguises and forms itself into the mask of personality. In a theatrical portrait, that self is further warped and refracted through the mask of portrayal. I am making a portrait of their portrait, in other words, which is a fascinating game of chess on many levels.

About Alexander Newley

Alexander Newley | art-Pie
Alexander Newley

Alexander Newley is a leading contemporary portrait artist working on both sides of the Atlantic, known for his iconic depictions of major figures in the Arts including; Gore Vidal, Billy Wilder, Christopher Reeve, Oliver Stone and Steven Berkoff. His portrait of Gore Vidal, America’s infamous polemicist and wit, and his dramatic triple-portrait of Actor, Activist and former Superman star Christopher Reeve, imprisoned in his life-supporting wheelchair, form part of the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery at The Smithsonian in Washington DC.

About St Martin-in-the-Fields

St Martin-in-the-Fields is a landmark church, which has been serving London for centuries. The iconic building stands as a beacon in Trafalgar Square, welcoming people through its doors for services, music or simply as a place of quiet sanctuary from the bustle of central London.

St Martin’s is famous for offering a welcome and practical support to some of the most vulnerable people in society. This December marks the 90th Anniversary of the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. The money raised helps homeless people who receive shelter, food, help and advice at The Connection at St Martin’s; as well as maintaining a special Vicar’s Relief Fund which makes thousands of one off grants to vulnerable people across the UK.

Love is the drug print from RYCA to win

“Love Is The Drug” print from RYCA to win, yes it can be yours. We are offering to you lucky readers, the chance to win this awesome print which coincide with the artist, RYCA aka Ryan Callanan, upcoming show at Lawrence Alkin gallery

“I love creating work that people want to touch.”

Ryan Callanan

Following his sell out London show in 2014, two solo US shows and being named Artist of the Year 2015 during Brit Week in LA, Ryan Callanan returns to Lawrence Alkin Gallery with Ten Years Later.

Offering a retrospective interpretation of familiar pieces, Ten Years Later presents a brand new body of work representing a transition into a new era for the artist.

Reservoir Dogs Storm Troopers by RYCA | Art-Pie
One of RYCA’s iconic piece – “Reservoir Dogs Storm Troopers”

Callanan commented:

“While the show will reference the work I’ve been producing over the last few years, it will be dominated by the new pieces. Rather than looking back, the show is about looking forward and offers a glimpse into the future direction of my work, where I want to go bigger and madder.”

For the past decade, Ryan Callanan, aka RYCA, has worked tirelessly as an artist and printmaker, developing techniques learned during his career as a sign maker. His use of pop iconography and lyric-based works has garnered wide appeal, with many noted celebrities including Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, Russell Brand, Gordan Ramsey and Jose Mourinho collecting his work.

Marking a move away from the print and canvas works Callanan made his name producing, the show consists mainly of 3D pieces.

Ten Years Later takes the 3D pieces Callanan has previously produced and inverts them to create abstract convex works. He comments:

“Everything I’ve produced before has been completely reversed. Instead of reliefs that dome away from the viewer, the new pieces come out at you. Ironically they draw people in more, as they are curious to know what the works feel like and what they’re made of. The pieces are housed in acrylic casing, so while the viewer wants to touch, they can’t and are left wondering.”

Zen Trooper by Ryca | Art-Pie
One of the artist’s 3D pieces – “Zen Trooper”