3D is spreading fast in the movie industry and everyone seems to embrace that technology and I certainly am. But I appreciate even more when it comes into some illustrated art.
Meet Dutch freelance artist Ramon Bruin and his new series of astonishing 3D pencil drawings. I do not need to say much about those, they are just out of this world. But what I would say is that these were made only with pencil, yes just ordinary pencils. Ok add a touch of genius from the artist and boom, see below.
The year: 2001, the place: Buenos Aires, Argentina, the event: a terrible economic crash.
The outcome and most probably the best one: the explosion of the street art scene. Artists as a reaction to what was happening started to paint the streets and for some of them in a rather large scale.
Buenos Aires Calling is the show Graffitimundo presented at Pure Evil with the aim of bringing a feel of this scene to London.
I got very excited when I heard about this show as I know how much Argentina and the whole Central and South America street art scenes have been buzzing in the recent years.
I walked into Pure Evil and saw those stencils on the wall and thought ‘hmmm another set of stencils, I have seen it all before’ but looking at them closer and especially those from the artist rundontwalk and I was actually liking what I was seeing.
By Rundontwalk | Click to enlarge
Rundontwalk uses an intricate graphic in his stencils (strangely reminding me of the back on those chairs I have got at home) which apart from being a certainly noticeable technique skill, gives another dimension to the works. The tiling sort of effect reminded me of Paul Normansell’s way of painting.
On of the pieces using this intricate technique is ‘Influenza’ representing a pig wearing a mask which the artist painted in reaction of the panic that followed the swine flu outbreak. Great effect with great colours.
Click to enlarge
I did appreciate the other stencils from other artists but really liked these tiny pieces of art full of colours on oddily shaped pieces of wood representing even querky characters or abstracts. I found a ressemblance with BASHER’S world of characters.
Stencil technique has been embraced by a very large number of artists these days like in Argentina and if the technique is pretty much the same worldwide, I felt that this collective of artists and more generally South and Central american artist really want to put accross a message and do not just do stencils where esthetic is what only matters but their meanings too.
Nothing wrong with wanting to put out there a cool looking Goldie type stencils but it is nice to know that some artists really try to engage their audience by trying to deliver a message to them.
This show really managed to transpire how much the Argentinian street art scene is vibrant and not ready to die just now, oh no.
Colours, colours, there are loads of them, shapes, representations are everywhere like street artist right now in Buenos Aires and surroundings. Feels good.
The much hyped Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition opens at the National Gallery from today with a seven room exhibition. The display is ideal for those who adore the technicality of the line and the workings of an artist , with many drawings and paintings by Leonardo and his pupils on display.
Its build up has been felt for many months, ever since its advance booking opened in May 2011 – a long seven months before its actual opening day.
With its future opening date released then came the capped visitor numbers announcement, with the gallery saying it would restrict visitors due to an, ‘unprecedented demand’. Today (9 November) The Evening Standard has reported how the tickets have sold out until mid-December. The pressure for this display to deliver to its global audience is immense.
The exhibition brings together an impressive collection of international loans never before seen in the UK, from the Queen, America, Poland, France, Scotland and from Art Fund acquisitions.
One difference with this exhibition from others is it the first to be dedicated to Leonardo’s aims and techniques as a painter. Don’t expect reams of glorious huge paintings, though there are a few pretty ladies, curly haired men and angels.
The whole display focuses on Leonardo as an artist, his technical skills and his teaching skills, showing how his works were often finished or copied by his pupils, and in some cases edited. In particular it concentrates on the work he produced as court painter to Duke Lodovico Sforza, in Milan in the late 1480s and 1490s.
As well as finished pieces, each room is peppered with Leonardo’s preparatory and experimental sketches.
The final part of the exhibition, a few mintues walk away in the Sunley Room features a near-contemporary, full-scale copy of Leonardo’s famous ‘Last Supper’, on loan from the Royal Academy. Seen alongside all the surviving preparatory drawings made by Leonardo for the ‘Last Supper’ it makes for an interesting viewing, but seems rather ‘tagged’ on to the exhibition.
Pieces to stop by:
The Musician (1486-7) Room 1 – An unfinished portrait demonstrating Leonardo’s skill in positioning of the face creating a life like portrait with depth.
Portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza (1493) Room 2 – Get your fill of opulence with this lavish picture showing a traditional Milanese style dress, with Leonardo’s profile technique on full view.
The Lady with an Ermine (1498-90) Room 2 – This piece is centre stage of the room and shows off Leonardo’s portraiture and colour skills. The lady almost leaps out of the canvas due to her 3/4 turned pose and the black back background, giving her a 3D quality that soon become sort after by Leonardo’s pupils.
Studies of the Nervous System (1485-8) and Studies of the Human Skull (1489) Room 3 – This is one of many anatomical studies in this room, and they took my breath away. He’s used hints of shadow and light to depict tiny features of the human body. The skull looks perfect in minature form and these observations were no doubt the ground work for his future paintings, making figures seem as real as possible. It astounds me how these delicate sketches are over 500 years old.
The Virgin of the Rocks (1493) Louvre and Virgin of the Rocks (1491/2-9 and 1506-9) National Gallery Room 4 – These pieces are obviously the focal point for this room and essentially a key point for the exhibition. They are on show together for the first time and are intended to show Leonardo’s difference in style and views of painting and art. The earlier piece is very rich in colour and could easily fit into a church altar piece. The second is restrictive in its colour palette and the figures are more sculptural with a porcelain quality.
The Burlington Cartoon ( 1499-1500) Room 6 – This lively large piece in charcoal seems to move as you move around it. The unfinished aspect of the piece almost makes it work more, it stands out in this room. The figures are fluid and contemporary, it’s a break away and step up from Leonardo’s meticulous anatomical studies.
Room 7 in the Sunley room has a handy time line of Leonardo’s artistic career, with significant events and works. This would of been suited to have at the beginning of the exhibition, putting this display into context even more, especially for those less familiar with his pieces. The room feels tagged on, an afterthought. It’s interesting to see the workings that may have gone into this work, and then the copy of the Last Supper is astonishing to see in its grand scale.
Head along to this exhibition for a peek into Leonardo Da Vinci’s undoubted skill as a technical drawer and creater of astonishing life like works, which capture humanity and idealised beauty in all its forms. He perhaps saw himself as a creator and observer of humanity, what’s key from the exhibition is that he was always striving for improving his skills and thankfully we get to see these still today in this exhibition.
‘If the painter wishes to see beauties that enamour him, he is the master of their production, and if he wishes to see monsterous things.. he is their lord and god.’
The exhibition is open now: 09 Nov 2011 – 05 Feb 2012 Mon – Thu, Sat, Sun 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM; Fri 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM Closed Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, Christmas Day.
We visited this show just after a quick walk through the famous Hosier Lane in Melbourne CBD. The walls of the Lane sport some of Ears original stylings and give you a great point of comparison between Ears older work and his new body presented in this series.
Ears, artist name of Daniel O’Toole, has used a pallet of pastels and more expressive lines to create variations on the characters that have become synonymous with his style over the years.
Allot of people aired concern that a move by Ears towards a fine art aspect may deter allot of his fans, yet when you see the show in person the concepts have translated onto canvas extremely well.
On my way again to Pure Evil gallery. This time I was there to see Remed and I felt particularly excited about this one as the artist was born right from where I am myself from – Lille (France).
Location: Moda Hotel in Vancouver
Artist: collaboration between Scott Sueme, Joker, Remi/Rough and Augustine Kofie Context: For the Unintended Calculation show coming up
Modern Panic is our forth-coming exhibition, showcasing the work of provocative artists from around the world, from infamous prisoner Charles Bronson, Bolivian enfant terrible and coca-leaf artist Gaston Ugalde, taxidermy artist Iris Schieferstein, who’s hoof boots have been sought after by the likes of Lady Gaga, the provocative Kira O’Reilly, Tank Girl comic artist Rufus Dayglo and over 50 others!
Modern Panic is a well needed look into the worlds we inhabit and is designed to shake the viewer awake through a bewildering bombardment of the senses.
Modern Panic is a sequel to the popular Panic Exhibition we held in 2009, which featured the founding members of the Panic Movement (formed in the 1960’s by Fernando Arrabal, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Roland Topor), next to the new wave of controversial modern artists.
During our Private View on Fri 3rd June, we will be presenting a Panic Happening: Many artists will be spontaneously creating their art live in a 3 hour ‘Panic’ inspired happening, consisting of performance art, site specific characters, live sonic sounds, and plenty of interactive installations. ‘The Aftermath’ of this panic happening will then take the form of the exhibition.
Panic Movement (Mouvement Panique) was a collective formed by Fernando Arrabal, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Roland Topor in Paris, France in 1962. Inspired by and named after the god Pan, and influenced by Luis Buñuel and Antonin Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, the group concentrated on chaotic happenings containing performance art and surreal imagery, designed to be shocking, as a response to surrealism becoming petite bourgeoisie and to release destructive energies in search of peace and beauty.
Royal Mail is to release a unique series of stamps, the theme : Space. This is to marked the 50th anniversary of Britain’s first contribution to space exploration—and Britain’s launch of its first satellite.
Osborne Ross is behind this set of stamps which depicts The Sun, Saturn, Saturn’s largest moon Titan, the Lutetia asteroid, Venus and Mars. The images featured were from European Space Agency missions.
Get yours soon, the release date is on 16 October 2012.
The 2014 edition of the football World Cup has now been on for almost a week and it has already been labelled as the better edition of the last 20 years.
While most of us have been enjoying great goals from the safety of our couch, brazilian street artists have taken their art to the city walls of Brazil, mainly Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo to remind us of the dark side of the Great game as they put it.
Artist: Paulo Ito Where: Sao Paulo
The mural shows a starving, crying child with only a football on his dinner plate serves to highlight the vast expense of hosting the World Cup when the money for food, schools and hospitals is needed so much.
“There is so much wrong in Brazil that it is difficult to know where to start,” Ito said. It seems the beautiful game has a dark side.” says Paul Ito
FIFA is not the most welcome and loads of artists ask the football association to go. Cranio is one if them it would seem. One of his mural shows a suited man throwing a sack labelled “public money” down the toilet.
Artist: B.Shanti from the Captain Borderline crew What: Anti Copa Mural Project organized by Colorrevolution and Amnesty International Where: Rio de Jainero (Brazil) Dedicated to all brasilians who lost their home during the brutal eviction.
But not everything is negative, take a look at this street view project from Google showing you panoramic views of (happy) street art from Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo amongst others.
The much hyped Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition opens at the 
