Tag Archives: Lawrence Alkin Gallery

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: 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.

View the full set of pics here

The Art of Politics
Until 23 May 2015
Lawrence Alkin Gallery
London

London, Shows, Uncategorized

London: David Walker – A Blank Canvas is a White Flag

November 21, 2014 butterfly

Lawrence Alkin Gallery is presenting brand new works by David Walker at the Hoxton Gallery in London. The show entitled ‘A Blank Canvas is a White Flag’ features sculpture, photography and printmaking, made in collaboration with RYCA and Schoony.

David Walker & RYCA

Working only with spray paint, his signature multi-layered colourful portraiture has evolved through different techniques. For his ‘Pour Paintings’, David Walker created portraits by literally pouring paint onto canvas.

A medical cabinet displays a series of colourful multilayered fragments, results of years of spraypaint accumulation. These are featured in his new photographic series.

The main body of new works in the show titled as ‘arrangements’ are made of single portraits created across multiple canvasses each with their own self-contained colour theme and nuance, from monochrome to photorealistic sections.

On this collection of works, Walker comments:“The arrangements are a way for me to revitalise my process, the different coloured backgrounds suggest different approaches and colour logic to each, seeing both the individual and the whole. This is what I want the viewer to experience- first acknowledging the portrait in its entirety – then as the eye moves across each canvas the image is decoded and in some instances its elements become abstract.“

View the full set of pics here

David Walker – ‘A Blank Canvas is a White Flag’
Until 30 November 2014
Lawrence Alkin Gallery
9 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AA