27 November 2010

Marks and stencils open for business




The 2010 Christmas shop from pictures on Walls is called marks and stencils. It opened yesterday at 1 Berwick street soho. Today the above Anthony micallef print is released in an edition of 100.

09 November 2010

07 November 2010

London art fair special ticket offer


The London art fair at the Islington design centre is always worth a visit.  They are currently offering two for the price of one deals on tickets.

Special Ticket Offer - Book Now, Save Money and Win Afternoon Tea for Two at the Connaught

Get two tickets for the price of one if you book before 21st November, saving you £17.50.
You will also be automatically entered into a competition to win Afternoon Tea for Two at the Connaught in Mayfair. Enjoy afternoon tea in the cosy and friendly Espelette with sweeping views of Mount Street and Carlos place. The winner of the prize draw will be notified by London Art Fair by 15 January 2011. Terms and conditions apply.*

Tickets cost £11 (plus £1.50 booking fee) and include a copy of our 2011 Fair Guide.** Tickets on the door will be £15.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE

Or call 08448 480 136. Please quote LAF3 when booking online or by phone to receive your discount and to be entered into our exclusive competition with the Connaught.

05 November 2010

Anticipation at Selfridges

Just a couple of days left to see this interesting show at the ultralounge in Selfridges.  I would definitely recommend a trip. 

I particularly enjoyed the paintings of Gareth Cadwallader.  All details here and below:

Uber art curators Kay Saatchi, Catriona Warren and Robert Dingle have teamed up to create the now annual art exhibition, Anticipation.

The group exhibition is a culmination of the time Saatchi, Warren and Dingle, who have between them over 40 years experience in the art world, spent scouring 250 of London’s graduate art shows and studios in order to handpick the most exciting emerging talent.

21 artists have been selected to appear in Anticipation, which will be hosted in the Ultralounge, Selfridges London.

The curators made their decisions based on whether the artists showed the creative and intellectual potential to continue producing thought-provoking work for years to come.

Anticipation provides the artists with a platform to present their work, which includes film, painting and photography and sell it, with all the proceeds from all sales going in to their own pockets.

The exhibition begins on 8 October and runs until 7 November.

29 October 2010

Murakami at the Baltic

It's been a while since I checked the Baltic Mill website but they have some fresh new Takashi Murakami prints on their shop.  Definitely worth a looksee.

27 October 2010

Carpe Diem - New Christian Marclay edition

Here is a new edition from Christian Marclay at the white cube.  Looks fun.  All details below

Christian Marclay's practice often revolves around the manipulation of sounds and music. 'Carpe Diem' is an instrument which resembles a time piece, but instead of being a working watch with mechanisms and a clock face, the artwork is a flat silver reflective face, with ball bearings within, creating a jarring, jangling sound much like a rattle or defunct tik-tok.

'Carpe Diem' was released in conjunction with the opening of Marclay's most recent exhibition at White Cube, which features the 'The Clock', a video work edited from thousands of fragments of films to create a 24-hour film, shown in real time. It is constructed out of moments in cinema when time is expressed or when a character interacts with a clock, watch or just a particular time of day.

2010
Edition of 40
Sterling silver, steel ball bearings, leather
25 x 3 x 0.8 cm


£ 950.00 +VAT
 

New prints at the whitechapel

Hot on the heels of my last post the whitechapel has released some more prints including a set of four prints to coincide with the Walid Raad exhibition.  Click here to see and buy.

25 October 2010

New stella vine originals

I know I've mentioned them before but you should check out Stella Vine's website for great originals by her at affordable prices.  There are a couple of lovely ones on there at the moment if you are quick.

24 October 2010

Last day of affordable art fair

Don't forget today is the last day of the affordable art fair in battersea park. Go check it out.



23 October 2010

Whitechapel Gallery releases a host of new prints

The Whitechapel gallery has released a whole range of new prints recently for our delight and delectation, and mighty fine they are.  Nip over to their shop to have a look at the new editions which include releases from Jeremy Deller, Jaime Gili (pictured), Simon Patterson, Donald Urquhart, Peter Peri and Mark Titchner.  Also they have released a print by Saatchi favourite Chantal Joffe which is a quite stunning screen print.  That doesn't seem to be on the site yet but they were showing it at multiplied so it must be on the way shortly.

I'm back

Yes I know it has been a bit shaky and yes I know I should really keep the content of this more up to date but after a diet of art in October - Frieze, Multiplied, Moniker, Hells Half Acre etc. I feel newly enthused to post more on the blog.  Hope you enjoy it.

Although I will continue to post mostly on the contemporary art scene in London I also plan to give you the reader heads up on new contemporary art editions being released, especially in the run up to xmas.  xx

05 June 2010

Art car boot fair tomorrow

Don't forget the art car boot fair tomorrow in brick lane.  Promises to be another great one, and the weather should be fantastic.  As usual there will a fantastic line up of artists including Peter Blake, Gavin Turk, Bob and Roberta Smith, Martin Creed, Billy Childish etc etc.

WELCOME TO THE 2010 ART CAR BOOT FAIR!
Sunday 6th June, 12-6pm
146 Brick Lane E1


One of the most exciting and diverse days on the summer calendar
, Trendhunter
This hybrid artfair and carboot sale promises myriad bargains and distractions, Flavorpill
The funkiest car boot fair around, Wall Street Journal
This hippest of hip car boot sales is set to get your engines revving, Urban Junkies

The 2010 Art Car Boot Fair is gearing up to be the  art world’s summer playground with lots of artful dodging and weaving, bartering and frivolity than ever before and serious art bargains to boot!
New! This year! A Wrestling Ring centrepiece featuring bouts of old school wrestling interspersed with some arty in-fighting and inbetween-bout secret auction thrills as this year’s crowds snap up Lucha Libre inspired original artworks from the UK’s most famous artists, the freshest talents and the coolest trend setters. Plus we’re upping the stakes with lots of artful games and gaming.

Over sixty exciting pitches with regular booters Sir Peter Blake, Gavin Turk, Bob & Roberta Smith and Pam Hogg joined by Martin Creed & his band, Billy Childish, Pete Fowler, Oliver Guy Watkins, Ian Dawson and Jessica Albarn, for this year’s fresh and feisty take on what is already gearing up to be the hottest day of the year! Plus! Myriad entertainments from Gabby Young, Revere, Marawa, and the ultimate fun generators The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club! Cool cocktails from The East Room, and epicurean delights from The Bath Pig, La Grotta home made ices, Mrs Marengo’s art cakes and St. John Bread & Wine!

Paintings in Hospital

Here is news of a great auction coming up at the end of June for a worthy cause.  All the details below.  Click here to see pics of the artwork being auction.

A contemporary art auction in support of Paintings in Hospitals
Tuesday 29 June 2010 – 6.30pm to 8.00pm
Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London W1S 1SR
(auction at 7pm)
RSVP to mail@paintingsinhospitals.org.uk or contact the charity on 0207 407 3222.
Lots will be on view at Bonhams from Sunday 27June (11:00am to 3:00pm) and on the following two days from 9.00am to 4.30pm. Absentee bids will be accepted until 5.00pm Monday 28 June.
Paintings in Hospitals is grateful for the support provided by Bonhams.

01 May 2010

Beyond The Street book publishing soon

Just a quick mention for a great project that is finally coming to fruition after much hard work from the two editors.  Beyond the street promises to be a bible of street art with an exhaustive list of contributors.  Well worth a read.

Here is a link to the Gestalten site where you can find out more.

Bridget Riley at Whitechapel

Here is a great Bridget Riley print, if you have the cash, published by the whitechapel gallery.

All the details below

Screenprint on paper
151.1 x 106.7 cm sheet size (hxw)
158 x 115 cm framed size
Edition 1-5 out of total edition of 50
£7000 (including framing by the artist’s preferred framers).

14 March 2010

Affordable Art fair review

So I went today and thoroughly enjoyed the electic mix of work there, despite there being a number of stands I just walked straight past knowing they would not be to my taste.

Standout pieces of the show, in my opinion were by Katrin Fredriks on the future tense stand (pictured).   I think this artist is very talented and look forward to seeing more of her stuff in the future.

I also really liked a lot of the work on the Victor Felix stand, especially one work by Alex Kanevsky.

Thirdly I have always liked Vanessa Smith who exhibits with Mark Jason gallery and the works at the show were no different.

13 March 2010

Affordable Art fair this weekend

This weekend sees the affordable art fair in Battersea Park, where all artworks are under £3000.  It's a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, although it can be very busy indeed.  I also find quite a few of the stands quite dull. 

26 February 2010

Time out banksy poster

Time out magazine in London will feature Banksy on the front cover.  The magazine hits newstands on 2 March 2010 and you can buy a poster of the cover artwork here.

All the details below

The renowned, yet elusive, graffiti artist Banksy has created the cover of the March 4th issue of Time Out London magazine.

Through strong links with the magazine and in anticipation of his forthcoming cinematic debut, 'Exit Through the Gift Shop', Banksy himself approached Time Out. This photo shoot, a mixture of self-portraiture and his trademark use of spraypaint, is unlike anything he's ever done for a magazine before and may never be repeated. In addition to the cover, Banksy conducted a rare and revealing interview with Time Out London's Visual Arts Editor Ossian Ward.

Exclusive to the Time Out shop, we have printed a large poster (682mmm x 515mm) of this week's magazine cover. Our cover posters always sell out quickly - so order this set now before the supply runs out.

Own the collectors edition poster, only available here for £10 +PP

(Contrary to some internet rumours these street posters are NOT signed!)

23 February 2010

Banksy Exit through the gift shop film

I can't wait to see the Banksy film Exit through the gift shop that goes on general release on 5 March 2010 at cinemas round the country.  You can see it first though on special screenings in the Leake Street tunnel made famous for Banksy's amazing Cans show.  Click here

20 February 2010

Case at the signal gallery

 

I'm not a huge fan of the photo-realist spraycan artist Case from the Maclaim crew but he does have a loyal following and I have to acknowledge the ability of the guy.  Make your own mind up by seeing his show at the signal gallery. The show is being run in conjunction with my good friend Frankie from CampBarbossa.  You should check out frankie's website if you haven't had a chance recently.  The show is on until 6 March 2010.  Details below.

Signal Gallery in association with Campbarbossa, are pleased to announce the forthcoming solo show by the renowned German artist Andreas Von Chrzanowski AKA ‘Case’.  Following on from successful solo shows in Los Angeles and his homeland, his first London show will be an exciting event. As well as producing works for the gallery, Case will be painting a number of large street pieces across East London.

Case has been producing spectacular street pieces for a decade, primarily as a founder member of the celebrated German street art group, the Maclaim Crew. Specialising in a heightened form of photorealism, several of the artists in the Clan have moved onto working individually and producing fine art works for the Gallery. Case has taken this route too, to great acclaim. Developing the pioneering photorealist spray paint style of the group further in his own works, Case has produced a series of stunning detailed paintings that have made his work much sought after by galleries and collectors alike.

In his solo show at Signal Gallery, ‘Never Odd Or Even’, Case is taking his inspiration from the fantastical world of Alice Through The Looking Glass.  This imaginative landscape, where nothing is quite what it seems to be, suits Case’s style like a glove, enabling him to let himself go with his imagery. Using characters and scenarios from the story he is able to anchor his paintings to a familiar illogical thread. Quite the equal to Lewis Carroll in his bizarre view of reality already, the combination of the two creative forces promises to produce fireworks.

Based in Frankfurt, Case studied art restoration and conservation and has a broad knowledge of art history and painting techniques. Despite this he has moved away from traditional painting mediums and is considered to be one of the leading exponents of photorealist spray painting - indeed he is credited for developing the style and methods in the first place. His work has been exhibited in galleries Internationally including several prestigious group shows here in London.  He is one of the new bright lights on the Urban Contemporary Art scene, with not only the technique to produce gallery quality works, but with a great ‘street’ reputation to boot.

Siesta of the soul limited edition print by Chris Ofili

To coincide with the major Chris Ofili show at the Tate they have released this limited edition print which is available here.  All the details below

Produced exclusively for Tate by Chris Ofili, this limited edition of 500 features a new work of art entitled 'Siesta of the Soul'.
Printed using a digital pigment print on Somerset 300gsm photo paper.
Individually signed and numbered by the artist.
The print has been made for individual purchase and sales are limited to a maximum of 3 per person.
Dimensions 100.4cm x 56.8cm
 
For a limited time countereditions have also reduced the price of the Ofili print they are selling to £600 as well.

"Aur yr Haul yn y Bore" by Gethin Wyn Jones

I really like this little foil stamped print by Welsh artists Gethin Wyn Jones. And at $18 it is a bargain.  Available here.   Here are all the details:

Gethin Wyn Jones' "Aur yr Haul yn y Bore" ("Gold of the Sun in the Morning") is a four-color foil stamp print. The artwork's edition number has been blind-debossed into the lower corner of each print. The artwork has been foil stamped on an archival blue 270gsm printmaking paper. 

14 February 2010

Louise Borgeois print at the serpentine

If you  have the folding stuff this Louise Borgeois print now being sold by the Serpentine Gallery is a must have.  Here are all the details

Louise Bourgeois
Janus, 2008

Janus, 2008
Drypoint engraving printed on cloth, stitched in lower right
36 7/8 x 16 3/4"; 93.6 x 42.5 cm
Edition of 20
© Louise Bourgeois

An exceptional opportunity to collect an important work by one of the world’s most influential artists. Louise Bourgeois Serpentine Gallery 40th Anniversary Limited Edition.
On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the Serpentine Gallery is delighted to announce an exclusive signed, limited edition print, generously donated to the Gallery by the internationally acclaimed Louise Bourgeois, an artist approaching her 100th year.
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois has been a central figure in the Serpentine’s 40 years of world class exhibition-making. In 1998 the Gallery staged a landmark exhibition of recent works, many of which later formed central parts of Louise Bourgeois, the seminal retrospective which toured to Tate Modern in 2007. In 1985 the Serpentine held an exhibition of drawing and sculpture by Bourgeois and Alice Aycock, which attracted a record number of visitors to the Gallery.
Bourgeois began drawing as a child. She explains: ‘Drawings are thought feathers, they are ideas that I seize in mid flight and put down on paper. All my thoughts are visual. But the subjects of drawings are often not translated until several years later. As a result, there are lots of things that appear in drawings that are never explored further.’ In the 1940s, Bourgeois worked at Atelier 17 with Stanley William Hayter, one of the 20th century’s most important printmakers, where she further explored her interest in the drawn line making etchings and engravings. The figure of Janus, the Roman god depicted with two heads facing in opposite directions, references what the artist describes as the ‘kind of polarity we represent.’ The figure is a recurring motif both in Bourgeois’ sculptures and works on paper.
Louise Bourgeois was born in France in 1911 and is now regarded as one of the most important artists of the last 70 years. Living and working in New York, Bourgeois has been the subject of solo exhibitions across the globe. Between 2007 and 2009, her major retrospective has been exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Tate Modern, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC and the Serpentine Gallery.
Serpentine Gallery Limited Edition Prints offer the opportunity to buy artworks by some of the biggest names contemporary art. All profits support the Serpentine Gallery's world renowned programmes.
To purchase a Limited Edition created by Louise Bourgeois for the Serpentine Gallery please contact:
Alia Al-Senussi, Serpentine Development Associate
+44 (0) 77 955 11 458
aliaa@serpentinegallery.org
The Serpentine Gallery’s 450 individual donors provide income of £1.5 million, which ensures that the Serpentine Gallery is open seven days a week and remains admission free. We offer donors priority purchase on all of the Serpentine’s Limited Edition Prints as a benefit of these schemes.

Members of Individual Donor Schemes receive privileged advanced access to buy a print from midday on Friday 12 February until 10am Tuesday 16 February 2010, on a first-come-first-served basis. After this time it will be made available to the public. Purchases during this period can only be made by telephone to: Alia Al-Senussi +44 (0) 77 955 11 458

New Harland Miller and Candice Breitz prints at White Cube

The white cube has just added a number of new prints to its store, including a series of Candice Breitz prints (below) and the Harland Miller print pictured above.

13 February 2010

Au Secours art for Haiti

Regular readers will recall I posted about this show last month.  Well things are going well and there is now a website to visit

Go check it out and donate if you can :)

Faile and Bast at Laz

I'm very excited to see the faile and bast show that opened on friday at Laz.  By all accounts it is a great show and should be something very different.  Here is the blurb:

To kick-start the 2010 programme, Lazarides is proud to announce that Faile, Brooklyn’s infamous collaborative duo are bringing their unique vision to London. Featuring long-time collaborator, Bast, the two floors of Lazarides Greek Street gallery will be taken over for a truly experiential exhibition.

Haunts of 80s populist culture inspire the distinctive conceptual show formed by signature elements from Faile and Bast's career. Interaction with the Arcade installation will be encouraged among gallery visitors along with the added bonus of being able to purchase Faile & Bast artworks for a mere £2, unless that is, you want to use them to play the game, intrigued?

And, in conjunction with the exhibition in Greek Streeet, over the road Lazarides’ Rathbone gallery presents 'A Decade Of Faile' featuring selected highlights of their work from 1999 - 2009. Come down and check out the madness at Greek St and take a fun lesson in Faile history at Rathbone.

For more information please read the press release.

SHOP at Lazarides open Monday - Saturday 11 - 7pm | 8 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4DG | 0203 214 0055 / 66

Lazarides Rathbone open Tuesday - Saturday 11 - 7pm, 11 Rathbone Place, W1T 1HR | 0207 636 5443

www.lazinc.com | www.shopatlazarides.com

Steve Powers at POW

I'm really liking Steve Powers new print for sale at Pictures on Walls for a very reasonable £99.  I reckon these will look great in the flesh.  Here is a pic of the street piece that the print was adapted from:

 

Check out more details of the project Powers worked on "A love letter for you" here.

More stella vine originals

Since christmas Stella Vine has been pumping out small pencil drawings on her website and they have been selling out super quickly.  But if you are quick you can pick up one of the two currently available.

06 February 2010

Elidh Crumlish at eyeston

New works by Elidh Crumlish are for sale at eyestorm.  These were released a few hours ago and a few of them have gone already.

03 February 2010

William Wegman double print for sale

If you hurry you might pick up one of these prints by american photographer William Wegman.  The edition comes in a variety of sizes and was released earlier today.  Some of the edition is already sold out.  Head over to 20x200 to land this.

01 February 2010

New Gary Hume print at Other Criteria

I love this new Gary Hume print at othercriteria. Shame it is so damn expensive though.  I enquired about the price and was told £1950!!

30 January 2010

Phillips De Pury contemporary art evening sale in London

The catalogue for this auction on 12 February 2010 is definitely worth a look.  I really like this piece by Elmgreen and Dragset.

Josh Keyes print for Haiti

The hugely talented Josh Keyes has released a new 10 x 8" print at a price of $30.  From the proceeds of sale 50% will be donated to charities working in Haiti.  The print is for sale until 2 February 2010 and the edition size will be determined by the number of prints sold in that time.  At the moment they've sold 1515 prints.   Head over to tinyshowcase to buy yours.

26 January 2010

Pierce Casey Solo exhibition


Irish artist Pierce Casey writes to tell me of a solo exhibition entitled "Surrounded By Colour". It opens tomorrow- the 27th of January, with drinks being served from 6 to 8.30, the exhibition itself will continue on until the 22nd of February.   The address is- The Barbara Stanley Gallery, 279 Upper Richmond Road, Putney London SW15 6SP and more info is on their website

25 January 2010

Michael Landy at South London Gallery


The ever resourceful artist Michael Landy has a new exhibition opening at the South London Gallery this Friday entitled Art Bin.  A fascinating concept and an exhibition I will certainly be attending.  Here is the info


29|1|2010 - 14|3|2010

Michael Landy transforms the SLG into 'Art Bin', a container for the disposal of works of art. Over the course of the exhibition the enormous 600m³ bin will gradually fill up as people discard their art works in it, ultimately creating, in Michael Landy’s words, “a monument to creative failure”.
Landy famously destroyed all his possessions in his 2001 installation 'Break Down' and this major new work also raises issues around disposal, destruction, value and ownership. 'Art Bin' foregrounds the role of subjectivity in the attribution of value, as well as the significance of emotional attachments. Exposing the ultimate power and influence of both perceived and actual monetary value, the work also questions the relationship between ownership and authorship. 'Art Bin' toys with the role of art institutions in making and possibly breaking careers, acknowledges their important role in the art market, and makes reference to the derision with which contemporary art is sometimes treated.
Anyone can apply to dispose of art works in 'Art Bin', but only those works accepted by Michael Landy or his representative will be allowed into the bin.
From 7 December 2009 anyone can apply to dispose of art works via a dedicated website at www.art-bin.co.uk. Deliveries will be taken at the SLG from 7 December 2009 by prior arrangement, and from 29 January – 14 March 2010 works can be brought to the South London Gallery to be disposed of in 'Art Bin' from Tuesday to Sunday, 12-6pm. Michael Landy or his representative will decide which works go into Art Bin and not all works will be accepted.
www.art-bin.co.uk

24 January 2010

Au Secours - Art for Haiti


An early heads up for this event on Sunday 21st February at the Blackall Studios, Leonard St EC1 which will be a fundraising auction for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.  Artists confirmed so far include Remi Rough (who is doing a sterling job organising it), Lucy McLauchlan, Will Barras and a number of others.

Here is the facebook group.  Apparently a website is coming soon!

23 January 2010

New shows in February

After a relatively quiet start to the year late January/ february is looking a very promising month for shows in London.  I will try to feature as many as possible of them here. 

Starting with the big boys Tate Britain has a new Chris Ofili exhibition opening on 27 Jan.  All details here and press details repeated below.  I also enjoyed reading this article about Ofili in the Indedepent . 

Chris Ofili’s intensely coloured and intricately ornamented paintings are on show at Tate Britain in a major survey of the artist’s career that brings together over 45 paintings, as well as pencil drawings and watercolours from the mid 1990s to today. One of the most acclaimed British painters of his generation, Ofili won the Turner Prize in 1998 and represented Great Britain at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003.
Ofili has built an international reputation with his works that bridge the sacred and the profane, popular culture and beliefs. His exuberant paintings are renowned for their rich layering and inventive use of media, including balls of elephant dung that punctuate the canvas and support them at their base, as well as glitter, resin, map pins and magazine cut-outs.

Ofili's early works draw on a wide range of influences, from Zimbabwean cave painting to blaxploitation movies, fusing comic book heroes and icons of funk and hip-hop. For the first time, these celebrated paintings are presented alongside current developments in his practice following his move to Trinidad in 2005. While adopting a simplified colour palette and pared-down forms, his recent works continue to draw on diverse sources of inspiration, and are full of references to sensual and Biblical themes as well as explore Trinidad’s landscape and mythology.

Definite highlights include No Woman, No Cry, 1998, a tender portrait of a weeping female figure created in the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and The Upper Room 1999–2002, a darkened, walnut-panelled room containing thirteen canvases depicting rhesus macaque monkeys. Each is differentiated in bold colours, and individually spot-lit. 

17 January 2010

Sothebys Catalogues available to view

The Sothebys day and evening contemporary art auction catalogues for their february sales are now available to view online here.  Some interesting stuff.

16 January 2010

Counter Editions


The wonderful countereditions have such a great range of prints available.  I'm a huge fan of many of their artists and the service is excellent.  Orders are dispatched quickly and the packaging is second to none.  And no I'm not on a commission!  I particularly like the work they have for sale by Gary Hume (pictured) and Gillian Wearing at the moment.  If you haven't checked out the site for while then I suggest you should :)

15 January 2010

Alan Davie at Gimpel Fils



 This exhibition should certainly be worth going to.  Hard to believe that Davie is 90 years old!

Some details here and press release below

Alan Davie
Night Gems
22 January - 6 March 2010
Private View: Thursday 21st January 2010, 5-7 pm

“Marks become signs which can convey meaning from their magical evocations”
- Alan Davie

To celebrate Alan Davie’s 90th birthday, Gimpel Fils is delighted to present Night Gems, the first in a series of exhibitions taking place this year that will chart the career of this extraordinary artist.

Comprising works made in the last two years, Night Gems demonstrates Davie’s unwavering commitment to painting. In his thesis, Towards a philosophy of creativity published in 1997, Davie spoke of the necessity of letting go of material concerns and embracing the intuitive possibilities that can be found in natural states of being unhindered by external anxieties. This ‘letting go’ of exterior concerns in order to tap into hidden, mystical interior worlds has been Davie’s life-long project and significantly, he has never been afraid to change his style or painterly technique in order to achive this goal.

Davie’s clean, flat geometric style, familiar since the 1970s is here counterposed by a series of small oil paintings on board, executed in short staccato daubs of colour, perhaps a more volatile form of pointillism. There is a sense of frenetic engery in these paintings, different from the youthful exbuerance found in earlier works: dynamic coils of energy waiting to be unfurled are discernable in the tightly wound spirals of ....For a Birthday, while the dense and crowded areas of patternwork in Wheel Bender bristle with potential energy straining for escape.

Shamanism, mysticism, alchemy and magic are concepts closely linked to Davie’s work. These ideas are manifested in forms reminiscent of a Bhuddist prayer wheel, a crescent moon, the Hindu God Shiva garlanded with a snake, the geometic forms of Hopi basketry. And whilst these forms can all be found in this exhibition, also on display is a series of blue-black paintings suggestive of night meditations, depicting shapes only half comprehended, shrouded as they are in a cloak of darkness.



This exhibition is the first of a number of displays in 2010. Other exhibitions will take place at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds; Callendar House, Falkirk; Kings Place Gallery, London; and Northumbria University Gallery, Newcastle.

Alan Davie’s artwork can be found in numerous international public collections including Tate Collection, London; The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; and Museu de Arte Contemporanea, São Paulo.

14 January 2010

London art fair


I went along to the London Art fair and enjoyed my trip. There are plenty of different styles and pieces to see and although there was quite of lot of somewhat uninspired and rather boring art for my taste there were some gems mixed in.

I particularly like the huge Susie Hamilton canvas on the paul stolper stand, recognisably by Susie Hamilton but her work is changing quite a lot.  She remains one of my favourite artists.  One day I will get a big piece by her to go with my (very small) RCA secret postcard.

I was mesmorised by the Mauricio Ortiz painting on the Eyestorm stand and loved some of the work on the Mark Jason stand.


I also enjoyed seeing the work at quite a few of the galleries that were exhibiting in the project space, particularly the Bearspace gallery in Deptford which had an eclectic mix of very limited edition works by up and coming artists, many of which I liked.

Is it me or did there seem to be more editioned work (and galleries selling editioned work) over originals now?  Also there was quite a lot of gallery flipping going on.  I saw at least 2 galleries who had the recent print that Bridget Riley released with the Whitechapel gallery and they were asking for 4 to 5 times its original cost. 

Bargain of the fair is on the Advanced Graphics stand.  They are selling a smallish Albert Irvin screenprint, edition of 250, for £250 plus VAT.  It is to celebrate the release of a book of all Irvin's prints which is released in September and for that price you also get a signed book and an invite to the private view so that "Bert" can dedicate your book.  An absolute steal I thought.  I was very tempted...but resisted.   My friend who I went to the fair with bought one though, and elected to have it John Jones framed for £125 plus VAT.  Not a bad price at all.

10 January 2010

Where to buy fine art prints in the UK


Here is a little non-exhaustive list of places where you can buy fine art prints in London, the UK and online.



Art Galleries (Non-Commercial)

Of course most art galleries now have some commercial arm but by this I mean those galleries which are publicly funded. These galleries are often a very good source of limited edition prints.



The tate gallery - at the moment has some nice prints by Glenn Brown (pictured) and others

The Whitechapel Gallery - - Cheap limited edition prints by well established well known artists.

The Serpentine Gallery - another excellent source of limited edition prints.

The Baltic Gallery -  often has a good selection of murakami and chiho aoshima prints for sale

The Freud Museum -  Can’t actually be bought online but two excellent portfolios of prints

The Hayward Gallery again not yet available online but a good source for limited edition prints 


Milton Keynes Gallery –  another one where you will have to actually visit the gallery – but worth it.


Modern Art Oxford -  Some great prints in stock here too.

Royal academy -  In addition to posters the royal academy often has limited edition prints by its academicians for sale in the shop.

Art Galleries (Commercial)

There are literally hundreds out there selling limited edition prints so I will just set out a few that have a significant online presence

White cube - / Some surprisingly reasonable editions from this top London gallery

Counter editions – - very reasonably priced prints by leading contemporary artists

Eyestorm –  – a wide range of prints by up and coming and well established contemporary artists.

09 January 2010

London Art Fair Next Week


The london art fair starts on Wednesday of next week at the Islington Design Centre.  This is one of my favourite fairs of the year with plenty of exhibitors and a good range of stuff for all tastes.  I will no doubt post more about the fair having gone.

08 January 2010

Richard Wilson 20:50 back at Saatchi Gallery


Back at the Saatchi Gallery is Richard Wilson's amazing installation which consists of used sump oil and steel.  If you didn't get to see it in the Saatchi gallery's previous homes now is you chance to see it again, and it is well worth it.

07 January 2010

Haunch of Venison


For a top end london gallery Haunch of Venison has some very affordable limited edition prints by a range of contemporary artists including Hew Locke, Mat Collishaw, Polly Morgan, and, pictured, Keith Coventry. 

I think these are very good value.

Here are all the details of the Coventry print

Keith Coventry
Crack Pipes
2008

Edition of 200
Signed and numbered by the artist
One colour screenprint on 310gm Somerset Tub sized paper, glazed finish with one deckle edge
Image size: 26 X 18cm
Total size: 38 x 30cm
© Keith Coventry 2008

06 January 2010

Small Stella Vine originals on her website


Stella vine frequently releases small affordable originals and super limited edition prints on her bigcartel site and there are some good little pieces on there at the moment, including this one entitled Kate.  They tend to sell out quickly so if you want one scoot over there now.

Robert Sample at Signal Gallery


Robert Sample's new solo show opens at Signal Gallery on 8th January 2010. Should be worth a good look.

Here is the press release

Robert Sample is a young artist with a very contemporary view of the past.  He explores, by the use of many traditional figurative methods, a world that has strong visual references to earlier masters and styles, yet is very much rooted in the present. In his forthcoming solo show at Signal Gallery, we will have the chance to see his most recent fine body of work.

The Signal Gallery solo show is called ‘The Removal’. The title is intended to be both ambiguous (implying loss) while also specifically referring to the primary of the sources of inspiration for the show.

Robert has spent some time working with a company who carry out house clearances. He has been involved in clearing out the belongings of old people who have died, but had no one left to carry out this difficult task for them. This has made a deep impression on the artist, finding the casual sweeping away of whole lifetimes possessions, however apparently valueless, a heart wrenching experience. The artist’s response to these experiences and ideas finds artistic form in the Signal Gallery show as a series of intense paintings on reclaimed plywood.

‘The Removal’ will be Robert Sample’s first solo show. However, he has shown in a large number of high quality group shows in London including shows at Black Rat Press and the Leonard Street Gallery, as well as in Barcelona. The show at Signal Gallery promises to be a fine example of that rare thing, a collection of unapologetic figurative works, which do not rely on irony or nostalgia to create a strong impact.

05 January 2010

I'm Back!!

Evening all, it's been a very long time since I posted anything on this blog but my new years resolution is reinvigorate it with news of exhibitions, print releases, art fairs and other goings on in London and on the internet.

First post it to recommend the show of 4 hugely talented painters at Madder 139. The show is called Pretty Baa Lambs and features the paintings of Guy Allott, Sam Douglas, Peter Jones and Julian Perry. Go check it out. It's on until 17 January 2010. Press release here.