Now in its 6th year, Meeting of Styles UK took place again in London. This event was organised by End Of The Line and offer an awesome 3 days of painting and hip hop.
More pictures after the fold
We could only attend one day but truly enjoyed the authenticity of the event and were pleased to see that it was held at Nomadic Community Gardens, in the heart of East london. This area has become I hear a must-go to see Street Art in London. Other pop up spots included Allen Gardens, Pedley Street, Grimsby Street & Scalter Street.
We were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time last week end to see Shepherd Fairey and his team at work. The team worked on a huge piece which we went and see again today. Enjoy the pictures below.
We bring you, somewhat in a belated way, Nuit Blanche or when Toronto was transformed for one night only by hundreds of artists. Stroll all night long and get amazed by the works on display. A big thank you to Paul Snell for sending in the pictures below and no we aren’t jealous that he was out there and not us!
Green Invaders, 2012 | Yves Caizergues – Lyon, France
Light Installation – more about this project
Vertical Constructions: Dancer #1 and #2, 2012 | Max Streicher – Toronto, Canada
Sculpture (left) – more about this project The Way Things Are, 2012 | Chris Hanson – Brooklyn, USA | Hendrika Sonnenberg – Brooklyn, USA
Sculptures – painted street lamps (right) – more about this project
Here below is a video of the event – A sneak peek of some of the projects that were on display across Toronto for one night only, during Scotiabank Nuit Blanche on Saturday, September 29, 2012.
Of all the public art on display at the St Pancras station in London (UK), one piece stands out.
I am talking about the bronze statue called The Meeting Place that proudly stands at the south end of the upper-level beneath the station clock. The numbers: 9-metre (29.5 ft) high, 20-tonne (19.7-long-ton; 22.0-short-ton), impressive isn’t it? But have you been near it and noticed the frieze, a myriad of smaller sculpture works all around the plinth?
No? I did and was genuinely seduced by it.
This whole sculpture is the work of British artist Paul Day, and is intended to evoke the romance of travel through the depiction of a couple locked in an amorous embrace. However this is for the main part of the work, the part that everyone can see from the window of the train…. but, what about the work located at the pedestal? At first glance, there is nothing romantic.
The frieze was actually added by the artists in 2008 and caused a stir as it was branded as ‘controversial’. It indeed originally depicted a commuter falling into the path of an underground train driven by the Grim Reaper (understand ‘Death). The image was one of many featured on a frieze for a controversial sculpture planned for St Pancras in London.
A spokesman for the company said: ‘The frieze as originally suggested will not go ahead and work on it has stopped.”
In his defence, the artist replied that the image was created in a tragi-comic style meant to be a metaphor for the way people’s imaginations ran wild. He added: ‘The imagination and real life are often intermingled.”
Day revised the frieze before the final version was installed and it can be seen today. No trace of Grim Reaper but a multitude of faces with strong or bold expressions, often hard to pin point. Are they sad, happy, tired, pained? I do not know, but what I do know is the artist mastered conveying feelings in this work.
Have you seen this work? What do you think?
If you’ve not seen it, please do as it’s worth the trip. Enjoy the photographs below in the meanwhile.
After a successful and very positively received installation at APT Gallery in Deptford, This ‘Me’ of Mine moves onto its second venue in a four venue tour. The exhibition will open Friday 12 April at Strange Cargo|Georges House Gallery in Folkestone. The new venue is a lot more intimate than the generous space at APT and therefore might be an interesting challenge for Jane Boyer, the curator, to recreate the grandiose atmosphere I felt when I visited the show.
Jane Boyers says “Stage two of a four venue tour begins this week at Strange Cargo|Georges House Gallery in Folkestone. The difference in gallery space for the second venue will impact the relationships of the works to each other and will present new connections for visitors to the show. The changing context of space becomes a visible manifestation of the project theme – ‘self in relation to context’.”
““When I installed the work at APT in their wonderful space, I was able to give much of that space to the works themselves, allowing time for reflection and possibly a deeper look into the work in the show. I soon realised, though, that the space I allowed the works became more than just ‘space’, it became a visible manifestation of the project theme, self in relation to context. Just as each piece in the show makes visible an aspect of self and identity, this space made ‘context’ visible. That excited me,”
If we had to pick out three artworks from what we saw at APT, David Riley, Aly Helyer and David Minton got our attention and our curiosity excited.
David Ryley‘s work using some very 2.0 mediums such as a digital photo frame and or twitter who makes him a very cutting-edge and interesting artist to observe. We particularly liked his work “Twitter user names: coded and transcribed – TUNC” (c)2013 which consists of printed A4 office paper, printed on an office inkjet printer, connected into a continuous record using binding combs. Hung using a steel rod and steel eyelets. 300mm x 1800mm x 20mm (variable, will grow). You cannot get more current than that!
While social media channels are becoming part of out lives, and can even take over then, we understood here why Jane Boyer included this piece in her show as a witness of the ‘ME’ in a social interaction phenomena.
Credits: This ME Of Mine
Aly Helyer‘s ‘Strange Fruit‘ (c)2007 ink on paper 67 x 101 cm mesmerised us and took us to many places. Look at it again and you seem to perceive things, or are they faces or just thoughts. Thoughts of the artist, maybe not so happy but that reminded us that the ‘ME’ is before deep inside all of us.
David Minton‘s Peripheral Vision (c)2010 oil on canvas 152.4 x 121.9 cm calmed us and reminded us of the simplicity of the ME sometimes. It can be everything and then nothing anymore.
Credits: This ME of mine
——————
This ‘Me’ of Mine showcases work by: Aly Helyer, Edd Pearman, Jane Boyer, Darren Nixon, Hayley Harrison, Melanie Titmuss, Annabel Dover, Kate Murdoch, David Minton, Anthony Boswell, David Riley, Sandra Crisp, Sarah Hervey, Shireen Qureshi, and Cathy Lomax.
With a string of sold out europe wide gigs this Summer – GHOSTPOET returns to London stage at the grandiose Hackney Empire on Thursday 24th October with special live guest ANDREW ASHONG and THOM ALT-J (DJ Set).
After selling the Village Underground well in advance Ghostpoet returns for a full live show at the suitably decadent Hackney Empire. Don’t sleep! Obaro Ejimiwe, aka Ghostpoet, laughs when he remembers how Gilles Peterson “took a risk on a random maverick” back in 2010 by signing him to the Radio 1 DJ’s Brownswood imprint.
What – GHOSTPOET – LIVE plus very special guest ANDREW ASHONG – LIVE THOM ALT-J – DJ SET When – Thursday 24 October 2013 | 7pm-11pm Where – Hackney Empire
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.
In 2007 the global population living in urban environments passed the halfway mark, and that trend is accelerating. As cities become bigger and denser, and within the rigid structures of a mass-market society, truly meaningful personal interactions become increasingly elusive. Read the full preview here.
Artists featured: Swoon, Os Gemeos, Banksy, Shepard Fairey
Where –
Black Rat Projects When –
20th May – 23rd June 2011 (Preview – 19th May – 6-9pm)
Photos of the opening night below
Shephard Fairey
Swoon
OsGemeos
PS: “Where are the Banksy shots” you may think. Well, I thought the pieces from the three artists above were a lot more worth being photograph than his so I did not snap any but I am sure you have seem them all already anyway.
The frieze was actually added by the artists in 2008 and caused a stir as it was branded as ‘controversial’. It indeed originally depicted a commuter falling into the path of an underground train driven by the 
With a string of sold out europe wide gigs this Summer – 
