Tag Archives: Studio visit

Studio visit: Hisham Echafaki

We stopped by the London studio of contemporary artist Hisham Echafaki as he prepares a new body of work with drawings, surrealist paintings,3D paintings and prints to be showcased at the Talented Art Fair opening this Friday.

His surrealist compositions show a real fascination for nature and the animal world through intricate symmetry and patterns with a trompe l’oeil effect.

Most intriguing are the 3D paintings. Using several layers of resin, Hisham Echafaki paints three-dimensional insects, that give the optical illusion they are taxidermy specimen embedded in resin. Each piece is a tribute to the beautiful intricacy and complexity of the insect world but also a critique of how humans are affecting and shaping evolutionary changes in animal species.

   

   

In parallel a series of prints from his famous Ballets will be released at the Fair and online here

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hisham Echafaki
Talented Art Fair
17-19 March 2017
Truman Brewery
London E1 6QR

Advertisement

Paris: Sowat – Studio Visit

SOWAT Studio Visit

From September 2015 to August 2016, French artists Lek & Sowat were the first Graffiti writers to become artists-in-residence at the prestigious Academy of France in Rome, the Villa Médicis. A mark of recognition for this atypical duo whose path has led them from the urban wastelands of the Mausolée project (covered here) to the underground ventilation shafts of the Palais de Tokyo (see more here).

We caught up with Sowat in his Parisian studio before he left for his residency and share  some behind the scenes pictures.

SOWAT Studio Visit     SOWAT Studio Visit SOWAT Studio Visit

Sowat thoroughly balances geometry, abstraction and alchemy, playing with the variety of reactions allowed by mixing china ink with chemical substances.
The vibrant colours provide a highly emotional impact to the works. Carefully chosen colour combinations of Blood and Light, Blue and Steel, Purple and Gold, Coal and Fire, evoke a universe, references, an invitation to dream, and seek to revive the ancient alchemical myth of transformation.

SOWAT Studio Visit     SOWAT Studio Visit
SOWAT Studio Visit

During his 12 months residency,  Sowat shared Ingres’ former studio with Lek, and created a new series of work that will be exhibited for his solo show ‘Tempus Fugit‘ at the Galerie Le Feuvre in Paris on 17 November 2016.

1-sowat-at-villa-medicis-photo-yulia-galycheva-custom

Thirty- nine large-sized works, scrupulously composed and staged in the gardens of the Villa explore his research into calligraphy, lines and movement, drawing as much inspiration from the engraved marble slabs of the Roman Codex as from Cholo Writing, the Latino gangs’ art from the Los Angeles of his youth, thus creating a tension between the primitive aspect of his work and the stone and plaster of antique statues.

6-sine-nomine-by-sowat-photo-sowat-custom11-sowat-sowat-mapping-the-la-villa-villa-medicis-a-locasion-des-350-ans-de-lafr-projection-par-spectaculaire-custom4-bis-repetita-by-sowat-photo-sowat-custom

Photos credit: Paris by Butterfly Art News, Rome courtesy of Sowat and Yulia Galycheva 

Sowat – Tempus Fugit
Opening 17 Nov from 6 PM
17 Nov – 17 Dec 2016
Galerie Le Feuvre
164 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris

Studio Visit: Mike Dargas in Cologne (DE)

Mike Dargas - Studio Visit

We dropped by the studio of hyper-realist painter Mike Dargas in Cologne, Germany ahead of his upcoming solo exhibition at Opera Gallery  in London, curated by Jean-David Malat and  opening on 6th July.

Mike Dargas - Studio Visit

Drawing his inspiration from masters like Dali, Caravaggio and HR Giger, Mike Dargas studied various techniques and since his youth developed a passion for realism, which he narrowed down to hyperrealism over the years.

A first look at Mike Dargas’ artworks, they can easily be mistaken for large scale photographs. Years of practice mastering the oil painting enabled him to create hyperrealist portraits with very intricate details. The German artist’s love for precision, in an almost obsessive manner, brings models to life under the brush stroke and draws one into a dreamlike world where time has suspended.

Like photography Mike Dargas loves to play with shadows, focus and depth of field to create mesmerising portraits. In his liquid-series, the photorealism of the dripping effect on the faces of his models is breathtaking and exults in sensuality.

Mike Dargas - Studio VisitMike Dargas - Studio Visit     Mike Dargas - Studio VisitMike Dargas - Studio VisitMike Dargas - Studio Visit     Mike Dargas Studio VisitMike Dargas - Studio Visit
Mike Dargas - Studio Visit    Mike Dargas - Studio Visit  Mike Dargas - Studio Visit        Mike Dargas - Studio Visit

View the full set of pics here

Mike Dargas – Opera Gallery
6 – 20 July
134 New Bond Street
W1S 2TF London

London: Miro’s Studio @ Mayoral

Miro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral

“My dream, when I can settle down somewhere, is to have a large workshop” –Joan Miró, 1938

60 years since Joan Miró’s studio was founded in Mallorca in 1956, the workshop has been reconstructed in London as an intensely immersive piece: an incredibly detailed work that mirrors the poetic environment of this leading avant-garde artist’s atelier. Featuring 25 of Miró’s paintings and drawings as well as copied everyday ephemera objects; the space has been rearranged as both installation and exhibition.

This studio was the first long-term residence for Miró , having lived in locations across Europe throughout his life and often travelling between two homes in Paris and Spain for example. Once established in Mallorca in 1956, the artist remained here, working here relentlessly until his death in 1983.

Miro's Studio - Galeria MayoralMiro's Studio - Galeria MayoralMiro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral    Miro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral  Miro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral

Initially designed by the artist’s friend and renowned Catalan architect, Josep Lluís Sert worked on it from New York by sending Miró a series of letters which are also included within the show; giving some insights into the development of the studio, but also into the great artist’s preferences, relationships and voice.

Miro's Studio - Galeria MayoralMiro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral
Miro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral
Miro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral    Miro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral
Miro's Studio - Galeria MayoralMiro's Studio - Galeria Mayoral

View the full set of pics here

Miró’s Studio
Until 12 February
Mayoral Galeria d’Art
6 Duke Street
London SW1Y 6BN.

Studio visit: RESO – Toulouse

Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)

While in Toulouse, we popped by the studio of French graffiti writer RESO
His graffiti letters and figurative style have adorned walls of numerous cities across the world for the past 20 years, making him one of the key French writers of his generation.

Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)Studio Vist: Reso (Toulouse)Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)

During the visit with other graffiti writers, we left our signature on the wall, while some writers went a little overboard…

Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)     Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)Reso Studio Visit (Toulouse)

View the full set of pics  here

When RESO is not busy taking a residency in Marrakesh at Jardin Rouge, he also curates with the Faute O Graff organisation recurrent graffiti jams and art exhibitions  in Toulouse like  Open Summer Festival  or Mr Freeze, which is currently running until 3 rd October 2015.

Mr Freeze - 50cinq

Check our previous coverage on Mr Freeze here