Uncategorized

Elissa Franceschi EP Launch at Nothing Hill Arts Club

Elissa Franceschi | Art-PieIntroducing Elissa Franceschi, a prolific songwriter with a distinctive powerhouse vocal who has built a reputation based on organic, grass roots promotion and haunting live performances. Having previously performed in some of the UK’s most famous venues (Brixton Academy, The Roundhouse, Astoria and Wembley Arena – supporting Paramore and You Me At Six), Elissa spent the majority of 2012 performing all over the UK with her live band, and being teamed up with the country’s top songwriting production houses (of Jessie J & Ellie Goulding fame) to co-write for other artists.

The release of ‘Devoid of Rue’ on 24th June 2013, the follow-up EP to Elissa’s three independent album releases ‘Touch’, ‘I Hold My Breath’, and ‘Into The Light’. Recorded and mixed by Matt O’Grady (You Me At Six, Don Broco, Deaf Havana), ‘Devoid Of Rue’ was funded without label support but instead through a successful fan-funded Pledge Music campaign, where Elissa gave fans exclusive access to bonus tracks and videos, opportunities for one-of-a-kind experiences, along with live updates which gave fans a unique interactive look at the process of making the EP. The embedded stream can be found here;

The record is an evolution of songwriting for Elissa, giving new listeners a taste of previous albums in the beautiful piano-and-vocal-only track ‘Oceans’, and existing fans something new in the form of the rockier ‘Outside My Body’. With additions of atmospheric ‘Chasing Something’, epic ‘Dust’, and the anthemic brand new single ‘All These Days’ – this EP really showcases the exciting and emerging talent Elissa Franceschi has become.

Elissa saw even greater success in 2012 as the first artist hand-picked to perform at the London 2012 Olympics as part of the Emerging Icons search for the UK’s best unsigned talent, and saw her track ‘Rainbow On Fire’climb Number 14 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart through word of mouth alone. Now, 2013 has seen Elissa scale new heights with recent single ‘Salt’ being voted as ‘Track Of The Week’ on the Radio 1 Review Show with Edith Bowman, beating global superstar artists Beyoncé, will.i.am, Justin Bieber and 30 Seconds To Mars; while also hitting Number 1 on the National Student Radio Charts.

What – Elissa Franceschi EP Launch
Where – Nothing Hill Arts club
When – 25/06/13 from 7pm

More from the artist
elissafranceschi.com
facebook.com/elissafranceschimusic
twitter.com/elissa_f
youtube.com/elissafranceschi

PREVIEW

Group show at Signal gallery – Mixed doubles

In our first group show in the new Paul Street space, we are presenting four very interesting artists whose work links and entwines in very winning ways. It’s a fine match between the abstract and figurative ends of the painting spectrum.

However, this is not a one sided game, but an exploration of overlapping skills and techniques, that will make excellent viewing, if not producing any obvious winners.

Dan Baldwin
Of the two strongly figurative artists in the show, Dan Baldwin is best known to the UK. His dynamic and intricately subtle paintings are a familiar and respected part of the contemporary/urban art scene.

Joram Roukes
Joram Roukes is a new name to the UK. Roukes large-scale oil paintings have a sense of fantasy and humour that is superficially akin to Baldwin’s work. However, there is a more robust and serious purpose to these works, which gives them a powerful and dark effect.

Joram Rouke

Andrew McAttee
The absence of any familiar figurative imagery seems to create an unnerving sense of emptiness. This is indeed joyous and decorative work (Power Pop Art as the artist calls it), with a childlike directness, but somehow there is still a sense of a void, giving the work an edge.

John Squire
His artwork first came to public notice with the very popular Pollockesque album cover designs for his band. Since then, his work has been paired down and has become generally abstract in form.

When
10th February Private View.
11th February – 5th March open to public.

Where
Signal gallery – 32 Paul Street London, EC2A 4LB

Words by Signal gallery

PREVIEW

Precious Damage Copyright X Numskull at Red Bull studios

The concept of this show is simple : Two Artists – One Hundred Works – One Night Only

Each artist will be producing 50 works on cardboard mixing paint, paste and print which will fill the exhibition space creating a collage installation.

Each piece will be for sale at just £100 and will be taken straight off the wall when bought so it can be taken home with you when you leave.

precious-damage-zero-gallery

When: 17/02/2011
Where: Zero Cool @ Red Bull Studios
155 – 171 Tooley Street, London Bridge
London, United Kingdom

ART-PIE

REVIEWS

Flying eyeball exhibition & pop up show – Gallery 27

2 Comments

I got a flyer telling me about that exhibition – ‘Flying Eyeball presents Exhibition & Pop Up Shop’ when I went to the Lock Up exhibition last week (will post about it soon). I looked again at the flyer and after reading the artists line-up, Goldie, Ben Allen, Shok 1, etc. I could not wait but to be there.

On my way now with a friend to the Gallery 27, based in Mayfair. As I was trying to find my way (I lost the map I had printed earlier) I looked around to see only shops selling very expensive things or people in impeccable suits. I then thought, why Mayfair? An old looking and smelly warehouse in Dalston would surely suit a lot more that sort of exhibition (Dalston, Shoreditch – trendy spots, everyone knows that and agree) but I quickly realised that no actually Mayfair is spot on and is a sign of what  Street Art has become and where it stands today in the vast contemporary art world: it is everywhere and appreciate by more and more people everyday.

I am actually pretty sure some of these people if not at least one (in impeccable suits) I stumbled across tonight may actually have thought or event bought a reproduction of a Banksy’s piece which is now hung in their study or in the loo. We need to give a bit more time though to see that piece hung on the living room next to a Rembrandt or a Monet, let’s be realistic.

I am now in the gallery and my first thought is asking whether I can take pictures (to post on this blog!) as I glance at that piece from Goldie right to the left when you come in. The girl I asked was having her takeaway and had to ask the manager who was downstairs who also got a takeaway but had to… anyway to make it short, I was allowed. Continue reading Flying eyeball exhibition & pop up show – Gallery 27 →

OPENINGS

Four cities at Black Rat Press gallery

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.

CONTEMPORARY ART, REVIEWS

Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery

Ben Levy | Young masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art_pie
By Ben Levy

“Young Masters” is the latest show from Curious Duke gallery and is now in full swing. We went down to check it out what the group show has to offer.

If you have never been to the gallery, your first impression, as you step in, might be that the gallery is tiny but keep walking on and head downstairs where the main exhibition area is. The place is actually big enough to host a decent amount of work from several artists. “Young Masters” present us with artwork from 11 different artists.

What strikes you right away is the diversity of works that this show offers – you will encounter steel sculptures from Sam Shendi as well as amazing BIRO drawings from Mark Powell. You are greeted by ben levy’s portraits which always try to transpire current political, racial or sexual issues the artist cares about by using well-known pop references such as McDonalds.

Head towards the stairs and find yourself facing with an odd sculpture made of steel which will catch your curiosity. Head downstairs and find scattered around the place several other pieces from the same artist. Sam Shendi’s sculptures use bright colours, often red, yellow and blue and the shapes are straight ones. You cannot walk past them and not stop and have a closer look. We particularly like “Freedom Of Speech” which consist of three small boxes, one yellow, one red and one blue all showing you a face where the freedom of speech os broken down. Simple but clever.

Oil on canvas has been a technique that has been around almost forever and the show via Richard Goold and Danielle Hodson gives the visitors eyes something to look at again and again. Danille Hodson portraits are somewhat quite traditional but with sometimes a twist – “Piggy” is a perfect example, the face depicts a pig instead of a human face. Richard Goold on the other hand does surrealism and does it well. If you like Dali, you will like this artist.

Richard Goold | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-Pie
By Mark Powell

2 more artists caught our attention. Kate Knight and Mark Powell.

Kate Knight watercolour on canvas pieces are soft and delicate and will seduce the romantics out there although her subjects can sometimes be awkward. You will find yourself in from of series of encrusted blackened heart which for some reason comes across as beautiful. Maybe the metal leaf added on all Danielle Hodson pieces have got something to do with it.
Mark Powell drawing technic is mind blowing. Armed with only a ballpoint pen, his drawing are just so detailed and realistic, you wonder how much time it must take the artist to get these drawing done. We also appreciated that the artists use unusual support such as a 1853 letter/envelope or an antique map of France.

If the show tells you anything is that there are still out there, talented artists that keep their creativity up by using good old painting or drawing techniques, oil on canvas often wins you over I must say.

Exhibiting artists: Andrea Tyrimos| Ben Levy | Dannielle Hodson | Darren MacPherson | Hannah Downing | Kate Knight | Kareena Zerefos | Mark Powell | Otto D’Ambra | Richard Goold | Paul Don Smith | Sam Shendi | Sue Young Lee

SAM SHENDI
Sam Shendi | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-PieSam Shendi | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-Pie
Sam Shendi | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-PieSam Shendi | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-Pie

Richard Goold (left) | Danielle Hodson
Richard Goold | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-Pie Danielle Hodson | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-Pie

Kate knight
Kate Knight | Young Masters at Curious Duke gallery || Art-Pie

Mark Powell

BLOG, FEATURE, STREET ART

Happy Easter, related street art and graffiti around the globe

Aww Easter… Always a good time, not so much for the religious aspect but rather more for the bank holiday weekend and looming indulgence of chocolate bunnies and eggs.

Another thing to look out for are many Easter-themed street art and graffiti works. We browsed the web and compiled a small collection for your eyes only.

And for those who don’t know what Easter is, this below is for you – thanks Wikipedia

Easter,[nb 1] also called Pasch[nb 2] or Resurrection Sunday,[nb 3] is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, described in theNew Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.[5][6] It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

N.B: the image above is by Interesni Kazki

Click any pictures below to enlarge or launch the slideshow

Easter | Art-Pie ghetto-easter-graffitieaster__by_scorpionblaze-d3eudn2

happy_easter Easter | Art-Pie Easter | Art-Pie

 

Easter street art | Art-Pie Easter | Art-Pie Easter | Art-Pie Easter | Art-Pie

PREVIEW

Maxime Angel – Let My Eyes Be Your Mirror at C4RD

Centre for Recent Drawing presents the first UK solo exhibition of artist Maxime Angel. Through a highly physical and performative relationship to her drawing practice, Maxime Angel mines a deep held fascination with human sexuality and mortality in her intensely beautiful yet disturbing works on paper and card.

Angel’s personal interaction with her medium and her ability to project the internal and external machinations of the artitst’s body onto the 2D plane create a deeply visceral viewing. She lies, sleeps, smudges, interacts, destroys, scars, crumples and lives with her work, upon which she inscribes her fears, experiences and realities. Thus the drawings become an artifact of her life, laid bare in an intimate exchange of imagery and symbolism that sees the viewer not only connecting with Angel but reading something of themselves in the work.

The fragile nature of the medium reflects the works powerful grasping for fleeting beauty, as young vitality morphs into decay. Angel deploys these images as a metaphor for AIDS and our constant slide towards death, although she regards the act of drawing as itself a way propagate life, a Dorian Grey like exorcism of the inevitable.

Maxime Angels work traces a long and complex historical line of queer drawing, from tattooing to gay erotica, yet cannot be described simply as pornography. Her erotic illustrations mesh together both personal and cross-cultural references in uneasy yet sublime cohesion, while her beautiful and complex compositions recall traditions of Vanitas and still life. In doing so she subverts and utilizes the gay sub cultures, religion and pop iconography that have so influenced her life, exposing and exploring perceptions of gay narcissism.

Capturing what Angel describes as the ‘perfection in decay,’ these works entice the viewer with a rich visual language which is at once highly distinctive to the artist yet ultimately recognizable and truthful. We are reminded of our own mortality, but also of the cyclical and uplifting nature of life.

Maxime Angel will be working on a large site specific drawing in the gallery space in the weeks leading up to the show- feel free to come visit and watch Angel’s process on 28-30th April and 5-7th May 12-6pm. The show is curated by Paul Kindersley.

Words by Paul Kinderseley

Where – C4RD | 2 – 4 Highbury Station Road, Highbury Islington, London.

When – opening reception on Tuesday 10th May 2011 from 6 – 8pm. The exhibition will run from 11th May to 17th June 2011

PREVIEW

Dale Grimshaw at Signal gallery

Dale Grimshaw has got a fine art education which meant that he has been difficult for him to be accepted in the streets as a graffiti artist but long ago was that time, Dale Grimshaw seems to plain sailing his style, his own.

His new show, Semi-detached is the expression of monsters and victims, making reference here to his violent father and the tensions this created in the household. Dale Grimshaw are full of that tension, the whole composition and combination of human and animal gives the tone of what it must have be like at home.

Dale Grimshaw – ‘Semi-detached’
6th October – 29th October 2011
www.signalgallery.com | 32 Paul Street | London, EC2A 4LB

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS