Painter, Pundit and Prankster Ron English presents Skin Deep, an exploration of the intersections, discrepancies and synchronicities of personal mythologies on display in our public personas. The exhibition presents multi-layered portraits of some of his most iconic characters, tracing the arc of their inner lives.
Often using his children as models, English chronicles the soul’s sojourn through Pop dioramas of fear and appetite, aspiration and rage. While paying homage to the great art before him, English maintains his very personal point of view, transforming the public to intimate and the universal to specific.
Using a mixture of imagery, medium and process referenced from great masters such as Warhol, Pollack and Picasso, combined with irreverent cherry-picking of populist totems from fast food to cartoons, English creates complex running narratives of his many alter-egos butting headfirst into the Grand Illusion, where unstated cultural norms are exposed and analyzed.
Burning Candy BURNING CANDY
Fight Fire with Fire
8th July – 25th August
Preview: 7th July
Fighting & Happiness, can they really go together? Well Chris Eubank used to talk about ‘the art of fighting’ and the cat & mouse scenerio endured by Police Departments and Graffiti Crews worldwide might just prove they can. Whilst London’s 2012 Olympics may appear to offer healthy competition, harking back to pitting one individual City or Country against each other, Burning Candy sense this one could be rigged and the only answer is to “Fight Fire With Fire.” The need to strike out or rise above conflict in a recreational sense is something that Burning Candy feel compelled to do. Their Art like most sporting events is defined by it’s location. Take the River Lea host to many a BC production, this may become more of an arena than the Olympic Stadium that it runs alongside. Burning Candy are coming indoors for a moment to take stock before the fight really begins…
Tony’s
68 Sclater st | London |E1 6HR
0203 5565201
Street Artist Bortusk Leer’s smiling and devious characters drawn and colored with a childlike mind continue to make people on New Yorks’ streets smile. As previous artist neighborhoods like Williamsburg are overrun with helicopter moms jogging behind strollers, the professional parents taking their progeny to playdates probably think the wheatpastes are the Universe’s welcome to their bundles of joy.
Actually, Bortusk’s demented and happy monsters predate many of the new arrivals and his googly eyed crew is now in many cities around the world, and more often these days galleries too. Mr. Leer sure gets around with these unruly companions who have a disarming way of bringing the hype all down a notch to the simple joys of swinging mindlessly on the monkey bars and giving Billy Blickstein a wedgy and pulling Danisha’s hair and sticking bubblegum up your nose.
On the occasion of his solo show now on view (extended to June 26) at Tony’s Gallery in Shoreditch, East London’s Don’t Panic conducted an interview with the artist and along with his answers they give us a good view of the multicolor mad man installations:
“I get to Bortusk’s playground just as the rain starts to fall. An Oompa Loompa lets me in through the main gate and guides me across the psychedelic courtyard. I take shelter under the peppermint trees and wait for my maniacal host to arrive. The walls are lined with weird, nu-rave creatures; a colourful assortment of monsters and mismatched porcelain dolls, watching through beady, fluorescent eyes as I wait for their master…“
War Boutique “Metropolitan Peace” (image courtesy of the gallery)
BANKSY | GROUND FLOOR GALLERY
It has been an eventful 6 months for renowned street artist Banksy. His highly contentious opening sequence for popular TV series The Simpsons an Oscar nomination for his documentary film Exit Through The Gift Shop – an event accompanied by the artist’s own unofficial awards campaign where his works mysteriously appeared on billboards and walls across Los Angeles. As well as the ever-present threats to expose his carefully guarded identity. Banksy’s continuing high profile has brought with it an explosion in international demand for his work. In response Andipa Gallery is pleased to announce BANKSY | WAR BOUTIQUE, an exhibition showcasing an un-paralleled collection of iconic and sought after paintings by Banksy, from the collection of Andipa Gallery, one of the largest in the UK. Original works on display will include Banksy’s Laugh Now, a unique painting depicting one of the artist’s emblematic monkeys, scaled-up to human size, set upon the panels of a wooden door. A rare work that succeeds in projecting all of the character and raw charisma of a street piece despite being a fully authenticated studio work. Girl with Balloon, one of Banksy’s most iconic images, which infamously appeared on the Palestinian side of the West Bank Barrier, and Custardised Oil, a work of satirical humour distorting traditional aristocratic imagery. Acoris Andipa, Director of Andipa Gallery, comments: “As the first gallery to put on a major exhibition of Banksy’s work on the secondary market, which attracted 25,000 visitors, we have witnessed the market for urban art continuing to expand and integrate into the mainstream. Works by urban artists are now beginning to be included in the collections of the most respected museums and public galleries worldwide, including MOCA, LA, who plan to put on the first major survey of street art to be shown in the US later this year. BANKSY | WAR BOUTIQUE will present an exciting opportunity for collectors to acquire original works by two mavericks of urban art – one just emerging onto the international stage, choosing to put on his first commercial exhibition at Andipa, and one already recognised as amongst the biggest names in contemporary art today.” Showing at Andipa Gallery from 9 June to Saturday 9 July 2011, in parallel with an exhibition of works by urban artist War Boutique, the exhibition BANKSY | WAR BOUTIQUE follows Andipa Gallery’s, recent exhibition of original works by Banksy in Gstaad, Switzerland. An annual show which attracted the highest number of attendees to date, from Geneva, Zurich and beyond, further illustrating Banksy’s internationally acclaimed position. WAR BOUTIQUE | LOWER GROUND FLOOR GALLERY From a rebelliousyouth growing up in Glasgow to the fractious student captured in the BBC 4 documentary: Goldsmiths: But Is It Art? to a ballistics expert with government security clearance but most importantly an artist, War Boutique’s work is as much about transformation as his life. Re-modeling the fabrics of war into installations for peace, the artist’s passion for textiles took him beyond his everyday work and into the realms of wearable art… with a cause. War Boutique’s textiles of choice are Kevlar and Dyneema designed to resist bullets; his form is the flak jacket emblazoned with Metropolitan Peace or the fully armoured chalk-stripe suit for the City Gent Soldier. The artist known as War Boutique has provided his work for photo-shoots with the late Alexander McQueen CBE as well as collaborating with the royal and military tailor, Gieves & Hawkes, to create City Gent Soldier. He has also provided artwork for some of the most renowned contemporary artists including the infamous street artist Banksy for his controversial Banksy Versus Bristol Museum show and YBA Sarah Lucas. Working for a body armour company on obtaining his degree in Textiles and Fashion Design, he has designed armour and uniforms from fabrics specially formulated for military use or the British, Egyptian, Indian, Pakistani and Algerian armies, as well as the Metropolitan Police, Italian Carabinieri and Mexico City Police. The arresting symbolic potential of these textiles led War Boutique to requisition and recycle uniforms, military and ballistic materials and use them in his art, to alert us to the creeping militarisation of our society, encourage us to work towards peace and remind us of our duty to realise this.
The Peace Pods, which have hung from trees and rafters from Tate Modern, Tate Britain, British Museum and Regent’s Park are places of respite for people to enter and feel and make peace. Designed so that its essential for the individuals inside to cooperate peacefully to avoid the destabilisation of the pod and inspired by the form of crinoline (a skirt stiffened with hoops used by courtly ladies) these works provoke us to question the necessity of war and to explore ways of experiencing peace. Commissioned by Gieves & Hawkes, City Gent Soldier (2005) wears a perfectly tailored suit using the finest Gieves & Hawkes cloth cut and sewn by their finest military tailors which functions as a fully protective bullet proof garment. It is the contemporary embodiment of the metaphorical ‘armour of God’ needed to stand firm against the villainous violence of today’s world. The City Gent’s accouterments are the breastplate of righteousness: a ballistic chest plate; the shield of faith: a ballistic briefcase; the sword of the spirit: an umbrella sword and the shoes for the gospel of peace: Special Forces boots. He has also produced child sized stab vests, for the Bak 2 Skool project – a reaction to child stabbings in Peckam – that when displayed in his carefully created mock-up of a Peckham shop front attracted swarms of parents from the local area requesting anti-stab vests to protect their children for the new school term. A sign of the times. Using textiles bullet proof ceramics, shells and bomb blankets as the conduit to express his ideas, “War Boutique symbolically transforms instruments of war and destruction into constructive items embodying creativity, peace and critical social commentary.” Society for Contemporary Craft.
If you decide to stay in the city this holiday weekend you can incite your imagination and feed your intellectual curiosity by walking the streets for the great out door gallery, or go inside to see great new stuff.
1. Happy 70th Birthday Bob Dylan (a couple of days ago)
2. “Paint It Now” Tonight in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
3. Miss Van and Gaia Double Bill at Jonathan Levine
4. Shai Dahan Solo Show in Gothenburg, Sweden
5. Melrose & Fairfax Saturday “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles”
6. FAILE SAYZ: PLAY WITH YOUR ART! Release Puzzle Boxes
7. DJ Mayonaise Hands Insightful Review of ELIK at Brooklynite
8. Narcelio Grud
9. FEIK in Brazil by Sampa Graffiti
Happy 70th Birthday Bob Dylan (a couple of days ago)
“Paint It Now” Tonight in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Paint It Now makes its NYC debut in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood (just north of Williamsburg). The show’s curators, Thomas Buildmore and Scott Chasse partner with Fowler Arts Collective for this Brooklyn-centric show, although Philadelphia and Boston represent.
Miss Van “Bailarinas” and Gaia “Succession” opened last night at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea in Manhattan. Miss Van has been painting since her teenage years in France and in Europe and Gaia is celebrating his recent graduation from MICA in Baltimore. Congratulations GAIA!
(images courtesy of the Gallery)
For more details on this show, times and address click on the link below”
Shai Dahan moved to Sweden last year and, wasting no time, he set up to work on his new art projects as soon as the plane touched ground. Today he invites all people that happen to be in Gothenburg , Sweden to come to the opening of his solo show “Things Come Undone” at the Artspace + Us Gallery.
Melrose & Fairfax Saturday “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles”
On Saturday the West Coast Street Art site Melrose&Fairfax invites you to attend the opening reception of their curatorial debut “What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles” at the Maximillian Gallery in West Hollywood, CA.
Street Art Collective Faile have released a set of six different Puzzleboxes to the public. When we visited their studio last year they were in the process of creating these fun, interactive fine art pieces and now they are available, with an app on Itunes to boot.
For information about the Puzzleboxes and to purchase go to:
DJ Mayonaise Hands Insightful Review of ELIK at Brooklynite
Narcelio Grud
Brazilian artist Narcelio Grud was filmed getting up all day in Manhester, UK where the only thing that really got in his way was a flock of adorable baby geese crossing his path.
An exhibition of new works by Los Angeles based artist RETNA will be presented by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida at the Old Dairy, London, from 9 June until 27 June 2011. The Hallelujah World Tour represents RETNA’s first solo UK exhibition.
RETNA’s work draws on an array of influences including Asian calligraphy, Incan and Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hebrew and Arabic script, traditional UK gang style graffiti writings and the tagging and graffiti seen in Los Angeles since the 1970’s . Within these traditions he has created a distinct and innovative style. RETNA presents 30 new works fusing a variety of different mediums including drawing, painting and poetry.
Yielding an unmistakable aesthetic, he has emerged as one of the most prolific graffiti artists in the contemporary art world. Since the mid-1990s RETNA has participated in over 30 international exhibitions, and his work was recently selected to feature in ‘Art in the Streets’, a major retrospective of street art at the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA. Gallery Director Jeffrey Deitch commented, ‘The approach to his work is so internalized that Retna doesn’t have to agonize, and think, what do I do next? He just starts in the upper left corner and moves across a surface. The only other artist that I know who was able to do that was Keith Haring.’
Retna was introduced to L.A.’s mural culture from an early age, and whilst still at school led one of the largest and most innovative graffiti art collectives in the city. He is best known for appropriating fashion advertisements and amplifying them with his unique layering, intricate line work, text-based style and incandescent color palette reflecting an eclectic artistic tradition.
Recent projects have included a solo exhibition, ‘Silver Lining’, during Art Basel Miami Beach at Primary Projects (2010); the world’s largest street level mural Installation, ‘Primary Flight’ (2010); a solo exhibition, ‘Desaturated’, at New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles (2010); a mural for the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse in Miami, Florida (2009); and ‘Vagos y Reinas’ at Robert Berman Gallery (2009).
This exhibition represents the second part of a three stop world tour of RETNA’s work, in collaboration with Bombardier Business Aircraft and VistaJet. As part of the project, RETNA will create a unique work on the tail of one of VistaJet’s Global Express XRS aircraft. The tour began in New York in February 2011 and will conclude with an exhibition in Hong Kong later this year.
Andy Valmorbida comments, ‘At the age of 31, Retna is able to identify himself as a rising star within the international contemporary art world, and is one of the very few artists I have seen who is able to stand next to such artists as Keith Haring and Jean Michel-Basquiat in terms of identity, stroke and gesture and will hold a key place as one of the major forces in the new movement of fine Street Artists.’
The Old Dairy is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm. Admission is free.
Opera Gallery London will be hosting “The Street Art Show” from June 17 to June 30 and will bring street art on posh New Bond Street.
The group show will bring together some of the most established street artists and young promising up-and-coming graffiti artists.
Alexandros Vasmoulakis, Banksy, Blek Le Rat, b., Alexone, Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, Seen, Ron English, Logan Hicks, Crash, The London Police, Nick Walker, How & Nosm, Saber, Roa, Swoon, Kid Zoom, Anthony Lister, Rich Simmons.
The preview night will be dedicated to raise funds for the UK Charity Action for Children.
The event is Free entrance and you can turn up at anytime during opening hours
Mon-Sat 10.00am – 7.00pm and Sun 12.00-7-pm.
Opera Gallery London Ltd
134 New Bond Street
London W1S 2TF
“Bortusk took a trip”
6th May – 5th June
opening May 5th 6-9pm
Tony’s gallery is delighted to present ‘Bortusk took a trip’, the first solo show by UK artist Bortusk Leer. Since bursting onto the art scene in 2007, Bortusk’s naively spray-painted and marker penned monsters have become a common sight on the streets of London and New York . For the inaugural exhibition at Tony’s, Bortusk Leer will present a site-specific installation alongside a selection of recent paintings and sculptures.
‘Bortusk took a trip’ invites the viewer into the inner reaches of Mr. Leer’s psychedelic mind and takes you back to the fun and carefree days of our childhood. Transforming the gallery space into his private playground, we are invited to experience it as an opportunity to step out of the doom and gloom of our daily routines. An exhilarating mixture between a funfair, cartoon and rave party feel, the show’s only intention is to put a smile on your face and brighten up your day!
Bortusk has named his style ‘art comedy’ and dedicates himself along with a growing team of admirers and pasters to spreading the smiley faced, lolling tongued, and googly eyed LOVE around the world….Bortusk’s heavily satirical work and recognisable paste ups using newspaper as the support and method of spreading his own message, highlights an ongoing concern to challenge the idea of traditional mass media and mass produced objects. These acts of mischievous sabotage using obsolete objects and materials represent in fact another unconventional choice of his to use low-tech procedures to emphasis the often ephemeral nature and lifespan of these randomly applied paste-ups within our urban landscape.
These garishly coloured characters have travelled by sea and air to reach walls as far away as Auckland , Alaska , Jodphur and Barcelona and catching a glimpse of one of these little creatures in a dark corner or grim alleyway always brings a familiar friendly face to these far-away lands. These characters always seem to make themselves at home in their surroundings, be it taking a yellow cab in the Big Apple or tucking into a bratwurst in Berlin .
Over the past 3 years Bortusk Leer has exhibited in several London based group shows such as The Alternative Philosophy at Leonard Street Gallery and Mutate Britain at Cordy House with an array of big names in the street art scene. During the course of these shows his work has strayed into the realms of video, collage and sculpture, re-awakening an interest in 3D and installation art. Also in 2009 Bortusk’s monsters were made into ‘Street Monsters’, a series of 2 minute animations which were commissioned by the BBC.
Bortusk Leer shows no signs of slowing down, currently working on his first solo show in New York and cooking up some plans for further television take over. This top hatted avenger is only just warming up.
LWB London West Bank (LWB) is a brand new gallery opening in London on
Thursday 28th. www.londonwestbank.com. It’s a great space so please come down and
support the team involved in converting the old bank on the corner of
Westbourne Grove, Chepstow Road and Pembridge Villas, W11. To get an
invite RSVP to guestlist@londonwestbank.com
As an opening night teaser London based Street Artist K-GUY will be releasing a his ‘n’ hers special royal wedding commemorative mini print to celebrate the big occasion.
Limited to 40 prints at only 40 quid a pop available on the night….
and as a little incentive the first 10 people through the door get a
free one.
Isaac Cordal …is a sculpture artist from London. His sculptures take the form of little people sculpted from concrete in ‘real’ situations. Cordal manages to capture a lot of emotion in his vignettes, in spite of their lack of detail or colour. He is sympathetic toward his little people and we empathise with their situations, their leisure time, their waiting for buses and their more tragic moments such as accidental death, suicide or family funerals. His sculptures can be found in gutters, on top of buildings, on top of bus shelters – in many unusual and unlikely places in the capital. This book is the first time his images have been shown in together in one book dedicated to his work. Many images never seen before Cordal’s concrete sculptures are like little magical gifts to the public that only a few lucky people will see and love but so many more will have missed. Left to their own devices throughout London Cordal what really makes these pieces magical is their placement. They bring new meaning to little corners of the urban environment. They express something vulnerable but deeply engaging. Left to fend for themselves, you almost want to protect them in some way, or perhaps communicate with them. Of course the 25cm high sculptures of people in everyday poses the artist creates in are not real, are they? Well you’ve opened a whole can of worms with that question. Yes, the little scenes in Concrete Eclipse are somewhat poignant but they do not invite you to weep passively for lost worlds you never knew. They are there to provide a one handed clap to shake you from your reveries and plug you back in to the world. So Cordall’s men in grey are a little message of hope in spite of their forlorn appearance and they are there to remind you that pessimism is not common sense, it’s just pessimism. So make sure you do something inessential today. Go on, the grey men don’t want you to.
To purchase this book click on the Amazon link below:
Kid Acne
‘Rhythm Is A Dancer’
By Kid Acne
1st – 24th April 2011
Private View Thursday 31st March, 6 – 9pm
StolenSpace Gallery
Old Truman Brewery
London
E1 6QL
Nearest Tube: Aldgate East
tel: 02072472684
email: info@stolenspace.com http://www.stolenspace.com
Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 7pm
Admission: FREE
StolenSpace is proud to present a new body of work from renowned UK
street artist Kid Acne. Featuring paintings on board and canvas,
installation work and also the release of a limited edition fanzine
and print.
This exhibition explores the relationship between graffiti and smoking
by way of introducing us to a new set of characters known as ‘Art
Fags’ – a play on words neatly personifying packs of cigarettes. Both
pastimes are seen as rebellious and
cool, which makes them particularly appealing to teenagers. Though
through repetition they become a compulsion, cause serious problems in
our adult life and are “filthy habits” hard to quit.
We can all see the similarities between graffiti and advertising – the
notion of occupying space to promote an idea, brand or individual.
Nowadays however, cigarette advertising is just as outlawed as
graffiti, though at their height of fashion
both were simply seen as the thing to do. Since the smoking ban,
smokers, like graffiti writers have been forced into the streets,
whereas Street Artists are embraced by the galleries and auction houses.
BKLN -> LNDN , Skewville is one of the High Rollers Now
If you lucky enough to be in London today, are looking for a good time, and are not afraid of possibly losing a limb go to High Roller Society and experience the art magic of Brooklyn Street Artist SKEWVILLE.
Apparently there is some kind of art show coming up on the west coast in April. Don’t know if you will be doing laundry or shopping for potted plants in the area at the time, but thought we’d let you know just in case you’re interested in this sort of thing.
Barry McGee, Houston Street and the Bowery, New York, 2010, photo by Farzad Owrang courtesy MOCA.
Art in the Streets will showcase installations by 50 of the most dynamic artists from the graffiti and street art community, including Fab 5 Freddy (New York), Lee Quinones (New York), Futura (New York), Margaret Kilgallen (San Francisco), Swoon (New York), Shepard Fairey (Los Angeles), Os Gemeos (Sao Paulo), and JR (Paris). MOCA’s exhibition will emphasize Los Angeles’s role in the evolution of graffiti and street art, with special sections dedicated to cholo graffiti and Dogtown skateboard culture. The exhibition will feature projects by influential local artists such as Craig R. Stecyk III, Chaz Bojorquez, Mister Cartoon, RETNA, SABER, REVOK, and RISK.
A special emphasis will be placed on photographers and filmmakers who documented graffiti and street art culture including Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, James Prigoff, Steve Grody, Gusmano Cesaretti, Estevan Oriol, Ed Templeton, Larry Clark, Terry Richardson, and Spike Jonze. A comprehensive timeline illustrated with artwork, photography, video, and ephemera will provide further historical context for the exhibition.
Os Gemeos With a Sharp Eye and Steady Hand and Dreamlike Imagination
Monica Canilao; You Light Up My Life
Have you ever found that perfect dinette set thrown away on the sidewalk, except that the veneer has been chipped off because the table was used as a vegetable cutting board, and two of the chairs are missing legs? Ever have a grandiose Aunt who sees the end coming and thinks that you would be the perfect recipient of her mid-century shlock loveseat or crusted poly lampshade? Ever explored a haunted house that is about to fall on you and crush you to death?
A look at this chandalier by artist Monica Canilao just makes you happy. She has some ideas about what you might be able to do with those things you involuntarily have to drag home from the street. She and some friends made a cool chandelier that has an audio component when it is rotated.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
Tony’s
