CONTEMPORARY ART

Erik Sommer or painting with cement

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Mediums you can use to paint are countless, it is only down to the artist to use them or not. Meet Erik Sommer and his very original and unique way of painting with cement. We talked to Erik to find out a bit more about him and his work.

ART-PIE: How did you come to use cement in your work?

Erik Sommer: I’ve been using cement in my work for several years. I like its urban grittiness, especially as I live in NYC and am surrounded by buildings and cement. My work is about the passing of time, and beauty and chance and control. It is about capturing the passing of time, and the beauty found within its accidental natural effects.

A-P: Most of the work I can see from your website are using mixed medias? What are they?

Erik Sommer: Most of my work is mixed medium on canvas. I use cement and plasters, acrylic pastes, gessos, some acrylic and oil pants. Most of the materials are home modeling materials which happen to be white, which make the most recent pieces white, although I do use colors as well. The various layers of material act as different stages of time. The work is very three-dimensional and comes off of the canvas. It is very industrial and physical.

A-P: What are your inspirations?

Erik Sommer: I like everyone from Rudolf Stingel, to Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Andy Goldsworthy, Basquiat, etc.

Any upcoming shows?: I am represented in NYC by Rooster Gallery, and am beginning to work with Arch 402 in London as well. I have a piece in a group show/ auction with Arch 402 in April, and then hopefully will be doing more with them later this summer. My next solo show with Rooster in NYC will be next year.

Related link
Erik Sommer’s website – www.erikjsommer.com

IN THE NEWS

Dick in FSB Captivity, the latest from VOINA

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Voina, a russian art collective, is making people to talk about them again. They have done crazy things in the past such as hurling live cats at McDonalds workers, engaging in a full-on orgy in a state museum, and shoplifting a raw chicken from a store by hiding it in one member’s vagina!

Their members got in all sort of problems of course with some being put in jail but they are now recognized by the establishment, VOINA has indeed just received one of the highest honors for contemporary art in their country Russia.

Dick in FSB Captivity is why they got this award. The artwork is a 210-foot outline of a penis on a drawbridge facing the the headquarters of the state security services, yes the KGB. When the drawbridge raises, the penis appeared to become erect – genius.

Bansky takes a keen interest in VOINA and gave a large amount of cash earlier this year to get two members of the collective out of custody.

Art terrorism like some call it?

Related links
The VOINA website – http://en.free-voina.org
Read more about Voina on Wikipedia
Read more about VOINA on The Guardian

BLOG, PREVIEW

“So it goes” by The Connor Brothers at Hang Up gallery

'So it goes' by The Connor Brothers | Art-Pie

‘So It Goes…’ features new work from the artist’s notorious and much sought after Pulp Fiction series, which explores the porous boundary between reality and fiction. The duo have created an exclusive collection of original hand painted Pulp Fiction paperbacks, original canvas works and hand painted limited editions that reflect their interest in how our understanding of the world is formed by the narratives we tell about it.

Following a series of sell out exhibitions from Los Angeles to Sydney, these internationally acclaimed artists are back in London with not only a new body of work, but a new cause – the foundation on an NGO in association with the artists’ friends and collaborators Pussy Riot. The new show will combine reality and fiction with an installation detailing their experiences in ‘The Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais. Hang-Up will be releasing a third limited edition charity print to raise further funds to build additional shelters when they return to The Jungle with Pussy Riot in December.

WHAT – ‘SO it goes’ by The Connor Brothers
WHERE – Hang Up gallery, 81 Stoke Newington Road, Stoke Newington, London N16 8AD
WHEN – 13 NOV – 6 DEC 2015

DIGITAL ART

Tatsuo Horiuchi | the 73-year old Excel spreadsheet artist

Meet Tatsuo Horiuchi, a 73-year old Excel spreadsheet artist. Yes I know, you must be thinking “Excel spreadhseet, wth?!“. While millions of us would dive into the software and try to make sense of crazy formulas, Tatsuo Horiuchi has turned it into an amazing art generator.

And guess what, it  is only just before retiring that he thought he had to do something new in his life and went on buying a computer, discovered Excel and has now mastered like no one the tool to produce pretty eye catching pieces.

“I never used Excel at work but I saw other people making pretty graphs and thought, ‘I could probably draw with that,’” says Tatsuo Horiuchi

“Graphics software is expensive but Excel comes pre-installed in most computers,” explained Horiuchi. “And it has more functions and is easier to use than [Microsoft] Paint.” adds Tatsuo Horiuchi

This artist is annoyingly good at what he does. Back to my formulas for my part.

Tatsuo Horiuchi | Art-Pie

Tatsuo Horiuchi | Art-Pie

Tatsuo Horiuchi | Art-Pie

Have a peek at some of the Excel spreadsheets, it is pretty incredible
Cherry Blossoms at Jogo Castle (2006)
Kegon Falls (2007)

First view on Spoon & Tamago

GRAFFITI

Sniders Lane Project

Sniders Lane Project – Presented by Just Another Agency. 

Who would have thought that spending a weekend sitting in an alley by a dumpster could be so much fun. At the end of the Semi-Permanent conference Just Another Agency and Sister Bella hooked us up with the last instalment bringing a new location into the Melbourne lane ways mix.

It all kicked off on the Saturday with five talented artists, two large scissor lifts and a trunk full of Ironlak spray paint. The artists, Sear, Sirum, Dvate, Cam Scale and Deb worked on their pieces from early morning to well into the evening. Each artist was inspired by a preselected colour palet that was already laid out by Does who painted the mural on the back wall a few moths ago. Watching the progression of each piece was really enjoyable and seeing the end result of all the pieces fused into a mural was spectacular.

On the seven day the artists rested. The public wafted in and out of Sniders all day Sunday to check out the new work and we all just kicked back, drank beer and admired the art. Kirpy stopped by to add his stencils to a door way in the alley not only showing us his shear talent but also showing the intricacies that go into his work. We were happy to relax and watch Kirpy do his thing. By the end of the weekend the lane was complete. So make sure you add Sniders Lane to the tourist trail and why not stop off for a drink at Sister Bella too.

Enjoy the photos below © Chasinghosts.com as well as the interview with just another agencies owner Toby

You can view the full set of photos from Chasinghosts.com

Sniders Lane project

Sniders Lane project

GRAFFITI GALLERIES, STREET ART

Smug, Cheo and more

I was glad to find out about this exciting project pushed by Bruce McClure – showcasing some of the best in UK street art / graffiti talent with a distinctive inspired theme – ape.

Beyond the very well put together time-lapse videos, the concept is as motivating and is looking at encouraging a bit of friendly rivalry between cities like Bristol, London or Manchester.

Featured artists : Aroe (Brighton) | Smug (Glasgow) | Cheo (Bristol) | Eject (Manchester) | End of the Line (London)

Go to the Ape Street Art YouTube channel to view the videos and enjoy below our favorite – Choe from Bristol.

Below are also a the pics of the artists’ pieces.

Smug from Glasgow
Smug from Glasgow
End of the Line from London
End of the Line from London
Eject from Manchester
Eject from Manchester
Cheo from Bristol
Cheo from Bristol
Aroe from Brighton
Aroe from Brighton
Uncategorized

New prints just in!

We are thrilled to have partnered with the Curious Duke gallery and are now able to bring you awesome art.

Representing only the best UK emerging artist, Curious Duke Gallery aims to change the way you buy art work. Curious Duke is fast becoming the go to gallery to buy affordable original and limited edition art.

Curious Duke is housed in Curious Duke Gallery a 400 year old subterranean space on Whitecross Street in Islington. One of the most welcoming and unique gallery spaces you will ever encounter.

LISTS, PRODUCT DESIGN

7” sleeves you have probably never seen

They are all from what used to be the Eastern bloc. Yes that time where the West and the East did not talk to each other and while you may have wondered what could be happening on the other side, well we have part of the answer : some talented minds were making sonme great vinyls sleeves.

We have selected 5 for you below with the one right below being our favorite. Which one does it for you?

7'' sleeves design | Art-Pie

7'' sleeves design | Art-Pie

7'' sleeves design | Art-Pie

7'' sleeves design | Art-Pie

7'' sleeves design | Art-Pie

First seen on The Vinyl Factory

CONTEMPORARY ART

Linder Sterling: Collage and Montage

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John Stezaker once said of Collage that it  “is a yearning for a lost world and reflects a universal sense of loss”. Those sentiments are certainly reflected in the work of artist and radical feminist Linder Sterling (also known as Linder).

In her series Pretty Girls, Linder reacted to visual world she occupied, a society of inequality and the gender specific rhetoric. Linder used the magazines of the late 70’s and 80’s as her painters brush. Splicing images of naked women from pornography, and kitchen appliances from those awful home improvement catalogues, she created a curious and slightly disturbing, yet telling depiction on the representation of women of the time.

Looking back at these images from the 70’s and the post punk era it’s amazing how contemporary they feel. Is this due to the inherent nature of collage and it’s yearning for a lost world (as Stezaker put it). Or is it that in a time when we are bombarded with imagery on a daily basis that more and more contemporary artists and looking back in time in an attempt to decipher it all?

Guest post by Brian J Morrison 

 

DIGITAL ART

Jim Campbell: art and pixels

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A man runs. He falls down. He struggles back onto his feet and he runs some more. It’s a simple narrative. Even without much detail, you can understand what’s going on. Pause the video, though, and the scene isn’t nearly as clear. Movement makes up for the lack of other visual information. Your brain can read and understand a video at much lower resolution than it would need to make equal sense of a still frame.

Meet Jim Campbell, a former Silicon Valley engineer turned visual artist. Inspired by early Bell Labs experiments with pixelated images, and by his own engineering work with digital filters, Campbell makes art that toys with the human brain.

Much of the inspiration for Campbell’s current work comes from a story in that magazine, written by Bell Labs’ Leon Continue reading Jim Campbell: art and pixels →

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS