Berlin, Interviews/ Studio visits, Shows

Studio Visits: BLO (Berlin)

July 6, 2013 butterfly 1 Comment

We visited the studio of French graffiti artist BLO, based in Berlin, as he prepares for his upcoming solo show “La Petite Mort” at Open Walls Gallery opening tonight.

La Petite Mort examines euphoric isolation of the artist, steeped in BLO’s past movements throughout the public sphere, from 1998 in the French Graffiti scene. This show has all the destructive elements of his youth – yet now he attacks his symbolic ancestors, from the Virgin Mary and Child to the Bleeding Heart.

BLO (DMV) works with many juxtapositions in his dream-like images of damage. Negating the iconic pin-up of the graffiti scene, he labours intensively over androgynous women with mechanical limbs and lead pipe bones. The sculptural curves of the paintings mirror the heavy reflex of gesture seen in the other monochrome illustrations, that are ripped from their static respite to play on a series of wooden panels and stretched cotton throughout the show.

Full set of pics here
View the online catalogue here

BLO

“La Petite Mort”
Open Walls Gallery
Stattbad, Berlin
6 July – 27 July

Madrid, Street

Mulafest: The largest wall of Spain (Madrid)

June 27, 2013 butterfly 1 Comment

To celebrate the second edition of MULAFEST, the Madrid Urban Trends Festival, street artists are currenly painting a gigantic mural of 1,800 square meters, the largest wall of Spain.

Featuring Aryz, SAN, Herbert Baglione, Okuda, Sixe Paredes and Suso33, the mural is an explosion of colours.

Aryz provides some criticism on consumerism, while Okuda, Sixe Parades and Susso33 create a central mosaic from the big bang to the explosion of human population. Lastly the duo SAN and Herbert Baglione explore the symbiosis between humanity and technology.

View all the pics here

MULAFEST
Feria de Madrid
27 – 30 June 2013
Map

London, Shows

London: The Many Faces of David Bowie

June 21, 2013 butterfly

We attended the opening of “The Many Faces of David Bowie” at the Opera Gallery London (previewed here) where contemporary and street artists pay tribute to the iconic rock star.

Participating artists include: Lita Cabellut, David Mach, Joe Black, C215, The London Police, Mac1, Jimmy C, Kid Zoom, Mr. Brainwash, Kan (Da Mental Vaporz), Juan Barletta, Hisham Echafaki, Jef Aérosol, D*Face, Marco Lodola, André Monet, Nick Gentry, Zoobs, Eduardo Guelfenbein, Paul Alexis, Jean-Paul Donadini, Richard Young.

All pics from the opening here

The Many Faces of David Bowie
21st June, 2013 – 31 August 2013
Opera Gallery London,
134 New Bond Street,
London W1S 2TF

Interviews/ Studio visits, London

Studio Visits: Hisham Echafaki

June 18, 2013 butterfly

We recently had the chance to visit pop-surrealist painter Hisham Echafaki‘s studio. Using acrylic and oil paint, the London-based artist loves exploring symetry and patterns, as well as depicting animals in a surreal environment, as shown in his kufic and butterflies series.

We were fortunate to document some of the painting process of his Anthropomorphic Bowie pieces as he prepared for the upcoming group show The Many Faces of David Bowie at the Opera Gallery London.

Here are some of his surrealist series:

View the entire set of pics by Butterfly here

London, Shows

Preview: The Many Faces of David Bowie (London)

June 14, 2013 butterfly 1 Comment

From June 21^st, Opera Gallery London will be pleased to present a collection of David Bowie-inspired art, in parallel to the Victoria and Albert Museum milestone retrospective “David Bowie Is“. The group exhibition “The many faces of David Bowie” will offer a contemporary vision of ‘Bowie Mania’ with one-off masterpieces including tributes from some of today’s leading contemporary and street artists.

Paying homage to the iconic rock star with a creative juxtaposition of styles and techniques, it will showcase each artist’s unique interpretation of David Bowie’s unprecedented influence and inspiration on their lives.

David Bowie has endorsed the exhibition on both his official Facebook page and official website.

The participating artists are: Lita Cabellut, David Mach, Joe Black, C215, The London Police, Mac1, Jimmy C, Kid Zoom, Mr. Brainwash, Kan (Da Mental Vaporz), Juan Barletta, Hisham Echafaki, Jef Aérosol, D*Face, Marco Lodola, André Monet, Nick Gentry, Zoobs, Eduardo Guelfenbein, Paul Alexis, Jean-Paul Donadini, Richard Young.

VIEW THE CATALOGUE ONLINE

Hisham Echafaki – Anthropomorphic Bowie