Category Archives: Shows

Toulouse: Open Summer Festival

June 12, 2015 butterfly 4 Comments

For the 4th year running, the Open Summer Festival invited twenty international artists in Toulouse at the new creative hub Cinquante Cinq / Espace Cobalt. Outside the exhibition space, guests enjoyed live painting sessions with a Graffiti Jam, but also relaxed with a good summer feeling including barbecue and music. We also bumped into artists from the Toulouse scene like Tilt, 100Taur.

Invited artists included: Babz – Katre – Twopy – Moner – Arnem – Meyer – Druid81 – Most – Heis – Fasim – Royce – Taroe – Grems – Opera – Gomer – Dashe – Reso – Demon – Panks – Azek – Sherio – Redy – Ofusk – Smice

Inside the Espace Cobalt an exhibition displayed a series of drawings by the participating artists as well as a video projection of shorts film as well as the documentary ‘Banksy in New York’.

View the full set of pics here

Shows, Videos

Cannes : Daniel Arsham – Future Relic 3

May 26, 2015 butterfly

American artist Daniel Arsham is presenting his third instaltment of his ‘Future Relics’ series at the 68th Film Festival in Cannes. The short film features actress Juliette Lewis

In parallel to the screening an exhibition ‘Future Relic 3‘ is displayed at the Club Albane at the Marriott, presenting relic items from the film industry era including film camera, microphones to videotapes.

Daniel Arsham - Future Relic 3 Cannes

View the full set of pics here

London, Shows

London: Angela Bulloch – New Waves Digit @ Simon Lee Gallery

May 21, 2015 butterfly

After successfully showing at the Tate, Kunstmuseum Bonn, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Canadian born contemporary artist Angela Bulloch is currently showing “New Wave Digits’ at Simon Lee Gallery.

Conceived and designed within a digital imaging program, futuristic stacked columns and geometric sculptures with electronic glow populate the gallery space.

Her interest in cybernetics (the integration of the human subject with technology) is apparent in her body of work: from the exhibition title , playing with the ambiguity of the word ‘digits’ – implying fingers, numerals or data, to the anthropomorphic sculptures , suggesting bodies or parts of bodies. Two of the sculptures entitled ‘Anima’ and ‘Animus’ make reference to Jung’s theory of archetypes: the male and female qualities that we subconsciously attribute to inanimate objects.

Some of the works also offer some interactivity and playful effects. The flat planes and angles of each sculpture appear to animate as one moves around them, creating a disorienting illusion of shifts between two and three dimensions.

In parallel to the exhibition, an outdoor sculpture in steel has been revealed on Mount Street, Mayfair, at the entrance to Mount Street Gardens.

Angela Bulloch - New Wave Digits

View the full set of pics here

Angela Bulloch

Until 30 May 2015

Simon Lee Gallery

12 Berkeley Street

London W1J 8DT

London, Shows

London: Magda Danysz – The London Project

May 18, 2015 butterfly 1 Comment

After Paris (since 1999) and Shanghai (since 2009), French gallery owner Magda Danysz is opening a London exhibition space for the next 4 months in the North of Soho. The ‘London Project‘ is set to be a unique experience into contemporary art.

Within the last decade, Magda Danysz Gallery has been presenting artworks by emerging and talented artists who have since became key players of the international scene of contemporary art, such as OBEY, JR, Space Invader, Vhils, Futura, Erwin Olaf or Prune Nourry or Chinese rising stars such as Yang Yongliang and Liu Bolin, among others.

The London Project is a continuation of iconic projects curated by the Gallery such as Les Bains Douches in Paris, back in 2013 (covered here), or Look Through in the historic Bund18 building in Shanghai, in 2014. Magda Danysz London’s exhibition space aims at hosting regular shows presenting painting, sculpture, photographs from various and renowned artists.

The current artists on show in London include Sten & Lex (IT), Zhou Hongbin (CH), L’Atlas (FR), Jonone (USA), Stephane Bisseul (FR), Bai Guanghua (CH), Blek Le Rat (FR), Futura (USA), Alain Delorme (FR), Gael Davrinche (FR), Zhand Dali (CH), Peikwen Cheng (CH), Feng Fangyu (CH), YZ (FR), Yang Yongliang (CH).

With a large set of basements and vaults, the exhibition space is also devoted to a secret artistic project, giving carte blanche to major and iconic artists as they take over each and every inches of the space for unique collaborative artwork. The opening revealed creations and in-situ installations by French artist Yz, as well as UK artists Remi Rough, Pure Evil and Crossie.

With live artworks over a period of four months, the London Project will organise private visits for a limited public to witness the creative process and the various techniques before being fully unveiled at the end of this project.

Magda Danysz - London Project

View the set of pics here

Magda Danysz – The London Project
61 Charlotte Street
London

London, Shows

London: The Art of Politics & Blek Le Rat Interview

May 7, 2015 butterfly

Coinciding with the General Elections in the UK, Lawrence Alkin Gallery is presenting a group show entitled ‘The Art of Politics‘ until 23 May, featuring paintings, sculptures , drawings and ceramics by international artists including Blek Le Rat, Nick Walker, Ben Eine, Peter Kennard, Darren Coffield, War Boutique, Jacky Tsai, Carrie Reichardt, Pablo P Casio.

The Art of Politics The

View the full set of pics here

Interview with Blek Le Rat

At the opening we caught up with the Godfather of stencil graffiti, Blek Le Rat who started out in 1981 in the streets of France, for a few questions. Some of our pictures have also been published in the Independent

Why did you choose the rat as your signature?

I like that the word ‘Rat’ is an acronym of ‘Art’. At the same time rats are an integrated part of the urban landscape. There are about 2 millions people living in Paris while there is the double amount of rats. It’s a very organised society, and sometimes more ‘human’ than us as they tend to help each others. They adapt and survive to any situation.

Can you explain your creative process?

When you create an artwork you have to reveal yourself, it’s a part of your soul. The biggest inspiration is death and what surrounds it. I use photos and images that moves me and turn them into stencils, and then work multiple layers or spray paint background until the desired result.

But overall I have been sharing the same imagery for years because the public needs time to assimilate and understand.

For this show it was about Politics.

I don’t believe in Politics since a long time. I used to belong to a political movement in my youth when I was studying architecture. I find that the political propaganda just make people dumb. When you vote, it’s like signing a blank cheque for 5 – 7 years for someone you don’t really know. Then you realise that you voted for someone who didn’t do what he promised. That’s why I don’t believe in politics.

I tried to illustrate this in my work. In one of my canvas there are some messages like ‘Vote’ and ‘Repeat after me You are free’, but it’s all a farce. I believe more in the Anonymous movement, who shares his views through the web and actions, even though we don’t know behind the scene if this is not also a movement manipulated by government. I find there is more freedom of expression.

What are your next projects?

I’m heading off to Dubai to work on a couple of projects and then I have an exhibition coming up in New York this October.