London: Frieze Sculpture Park

November 13, 2016 butterfly

One of the many highlights of the Frieze Art Fair in London remains its sculpture park. Curated by Clare Lilley (Yorkshire Sculpture Park), Frieze Sculpture Park features 18 artworks spread amongst Regent’s Park, with a mix of 20th century classics and new works on show, from Claes Oldenburg, Jean Dubuffet and Lynn Chadwick to contemporary artists including Conrad Shawcross ( pictured above) and Nairy Baghramian.

The Frieze Sculpture Park outlasted the 5 days Fair and will remain on show until January 2017.

Claude Lalanne

Frieze Sculpture Park 2016
Claes Oldenburg Nairy Baghramian

Frieze Sculpture Park 2016
Henry Krokatsis Lynn Chadwick

Matthew Monahan

Fernando Casasempere

Jean Dubuffet

Zeng Fanzhi

View the full set of pics here

Frieze Sculpture Park
Until January 2017
Regent’s Park, London

Art Fair, London

London: Frieze Art Fair 2016 – Projects

November 5, 2016 butterfly

In parallel to the regular booths at Frieze Art Fair (covered) , selected artists have been commissioned to create unusual projects. Artist Julie Verhoeven intervened in one of its lavatories. Upon arrival, visitors are led by the pink and blue coloured carpets, only to get confused about what is going on in the facilities. Verhoeven’s project is called The Toilet Attendant … Now Wash Your Hands with the artist dressed as the attendant while all the lavatories have been decorated with fun features, from menstrual pads decorations in the men section to artistic poo painting palette.

While it is hugely entertaining and brings some much needed fun to the sometimes too serious Fair, it also mixes genders and highlights the invisibility of certain working groups and labour ethics. With the enhanced experience, visitors are leaving the playful installation with a big smile on their faces and sometimes taking away some felted poo.

Frieze Art Fair 2016

Wandering along the alleys of the Fair, Lloyd Corporation interventions (Carlos Ishikawa Gallery) presented random street vendors with Vuitton and Hello Kitty bags visitors .

Additional performances included a comedian miming different paintings expressions, foams where visitors were invited to interact with and relax.

In the Nineties Section of the Fair, with Air de Paris Projects, artist Pierre Joseph presented his series of “Characters to be reactivated”, living sculptures, moving or standing (not talking) with a policeman, a prisoner and a depressed Cinderella with her broom.

View the full set of pics here

Frieze Art Fair 2016
Regents Park
London

London, Shows

London: Lucy Sparrow – Shoplifting

November 3, 2016 butterfly

British seamstress Lucy Sparrow launches her latest solo show in London this November. Banishing banality, Sparrow invites you in to her makeshift store at Lawrence Alkin Gallery to lift whatever you can get away with.

Shoplifting is a collection of works that focus the spotlight on one of the most common everyday criminal acts. Inspired by the artist’s time spent working in a supermarket, this show takes a humorous look at themes of larceny including the most frequently robbed items in the UK and the types of people who lift them.

Lucy Sparrow - Shoplifting

Punters (honest and otherwise) can expect to see rooms overflowing with temptation – with new pieces in perspex frames and cabinets stuffed with hand-crafted felt items to tempt all types of people looking for a five finger discount (i.e. everyone).

Lucy Sparrow - Shoplifting

Statistics show that retail crime is on the increase, with the annual cost soaring to £613m in the UK last year – the biggest since records began – driven by criminal gangs stealing luxury goods to order. Shoplifting exists to prove that this is even more common than most people imagine. So put on a massive coat and make sure you’ve got some strong thighs, shoplifting has never been as bright, colourful and enticing as this. Remember, thieves will not be prosecuted.

Lucy Sparrow - Shoplifting

Lucy Sparrow – Shoplifting
Lawrence Alkin Gallery
Until 29 November 2016
www.lawrencealkingallery.com

London, Shows

London : Christian Hook @ Clarendon Gallery

October 21, 2016 butterfly

Christian Hook, 2014 Winner of The Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year just unveiled his new collection of paintings and exclusive editions, as well as the release of his new hardback book ‘La Busqueda’ at Clarendon Gallery in London.

The exhibition features his infamous portraits from the Sky Art Series with actress Sue Johnston, singer Mick Hecknall from Simply Red and professional footballer Fabrice Muamba.

Christian Hook with actress Sue Johnston

The paintings of Christian Hook are rooted in tradition yet brim with freshness and vitality. The past and the present collide in each piece, creating alternating perspectives on one subject. There is a fascination with classical art and the broken image combined with an exploration of time and motion through subsequent layers of transparent paint.

Working between London and Gibraltar, Christian Hook is fascinated in capturing time and depicting motion, time and the moments that occur between events, hence the use of multiple view points to depict a single subject: “We are always on the move, if not physically, mentally.”

His ‘Monologues’ series reinterpret the timeless bather theme by depicting a female figure at different phases during bath time. Monologue because bathing time is a moment of self reflection. Christian Hook also started collaboration with other artists to bring an additional element to the paintings. The painted subject comes alive with an ornate ladder sculpture and silver flip flops.

Christian Hook

Christian Hook also manages to capture the essence of a greyhound while it remains still for a millisecond, ready to spring and pays tribute to the Spanish Cartujano horse with a close study of the anatomy and its elegant movements.

Christian Hook

View the full set of pics here

Christian Hook
Until 29 October 2016
Clarendon Gallery
46 Dover Street, London, W1S 4FF

Festival, Shows, Toulouse

Toulouse: Bleu Bleu @ ‘Printemps de Septembre’ Festival

October 17, 2016 butterfly

We continue our coverage on the Printemps de Septembre Festival in Toulouse with the Bleu Bleu Project (named after a mythical bar in Toulouse attended by the young art scene), a multifaceted project curated by Manuel Pomar.

Originating from a scenario and the eponymous play by Stephane Arcas, the Bleu Bleu exhibition borrows the play’s decor and some of its texts. The Lieu Commun space has been transformed into a decrepit student apartment whith emblematic artworks from the 90’s borrowed from regional collections of contemporary art (FRAC). Historical pieces are exhibited together with other works carried out by a selection of graduates artists of the Toulouse Fine Art School (isdaT) and EBABX. In parallel visitors can enjoy live performances of members of the collective 330 + 1 who reenact certain parts of the play. A report on the youth and the upheavals of the world.

Bleu Bleu - Printemps de Septembre