Lost for words

I Volunteered as a sitter in the Stolen Space Gallery for Word to Mother's latest exhibition "Lost for words". I worked here I think 3 days a week for a fortnight which i really enjoyed. The space is great and very light and open so when the weathers good it's a very pleasant place to be. I am a big fan of WTM's work and have known about him for a number of years so when i had the chance to work here i jumped at it. The show "Lost for words" featured mostly paintings and mixed media collage onto found objects with a kind of rusted, seaside aesthetic as a head nod to the artist's Hastings roots. A full size rotting old dingy was even shipped in which had a cut out bottom, this along with some chairs and tables with their legs cut off slanted, effectively gave the impression that the floor was made of water. The prints for the show were onto vintage wood and came as part of a sealed package of sketches and other bits which were contained in hand built box from again, sourced old wood. It felt like a very personal and thought out exhibition as a whole which really adds to the experience.

I feel very passionately about the work and spending so much time in the space gave me a lot of time to enjoy it. All the materials onto which the pieces were painted have been sourced and collected over quite a period of time with a real effort taken over the small details which is great to see. They usually feature a mixture of melancholic characters with a kind of tongue in cheek hip hop background. These characters often are the basis of large forms combining architecture, clouds and landscapes in a kind of daydream-like mass of formulated elements. These span across the splintered driftwood etc bringing a beautiful textural element and set against elegant, hand painted typography which looks fantastic when all combined. The show's overall theme seemed to be a nostalgic trip back to a simpler time in youth. When your more concerned with what and who your going to be and not worrying about what you "should do".

The show sold out on the opening night.

Lyrics and type show

I went to visit a show called lyrics and type - the second verse. I’ts was the second installment in a series of shows hosted by the brilliant Melbourne based art and illustration magazine wooden toy quarterly. I'd bought and enjoyed a few of their publications before this so thought I had a pretty good idea of the style and standard of work to expect. The show was being held at the east gallery in bricklane, quite a neat little place. The theme of the show was that artists were invited to choose lyrics from a song which that enjoyed or had meaning for them and then incorporating the lyrics into a new piece of work for the show. It was a screen print show so everything there was easily and cheaply sellable, with the option of buying your favourite print in either 1, 2 or 3 colours depending on your price range. I thought this was quite a nice idea as it made everything a lot more accessable and affordable to your average student. Unfortunately, I get the impression that the works were not pulled by the artists themselves rather a team of screen printers in a kind of, mass produced production line, which is of course part of the beauty of the print medium however if I was going to buy a print it would be worth a lot more to me if it was created by the artist themselves.

Walking in I was immediately really enjoying the uniformed colour palette of white, blue and red which echoed through every work in the room. Framed against the white walls this looked really good and was very attractive to the eye. They had chosen to hang the prints with clips which looked all right for what it was or maybe a student exhibition but I would not expect to see work hung like this in some of the more professional establishments. I found the work to be a bit of a mixed bag. Interestingly, some of the artists which I knew prior to the show kind of failed to impress me as much as they had done in the past. Some works I didn't think were to a particularly good standard, which was disappointing because at first glance the show as a whole had a lot of impact. However, out of the midst's there were a few pieces which were really well executed and for me, seeing those up close made it worth while going. Overall I thought the exhibition was a partial success although I would love to see less of an emphasis on sell, sell, sell from the show in the way that all the prints wee A3, churned out by a team, it was obvious that they just wanted to sell out and make some money rather than being orientated to put on just a really strong show.

Steve "Espo" Powers and his community work

Steve powers grew up in Philadelphia in the 70's. At 16 he was enrolled at a local art institution but did not enjoy the practice his tutors were teaching him, being unable to relate to still life and life drawing. At this point Steve discovered graffiti art. As a movement, this point in time was ideal to begin painting pieces, work was now moving out of New York city and beginning to appear on a world wide scale. In his neighbourhood the scene was booming, with over 50 kids all beginning to write graffiti. Steve then continued to develop and paint his pieces in New York and Philadelphia under the pseudonym "Espo" for "Exterior Surface Painting Outreach" and between 84 to 99 was a prolific and commonly known street artist. Always interested and influenced by advertising and its similarities with graffiti Espo began to experiment by adding slogans and tag lines to his colourful pieces which controlled the rooftops and railway lines. He started to see a disappearance of the hand painted signage on coney island which had always been a great inspiration to him, the amusement owners were now favouring cheap plastic ones. And so, Espo offered to hand paint all the rides and amusements free of charge, which after their suspicious nature over receiving free work was put to rest, there was a great demand for his efforts.

Later Espo took a trip to dublin to paint a mural in what was one of the most dangerous areas during the conflict. Here he started to develop the work which would be what really brought him into the public eye, beautiful typographical slogans with very personal messages.

He next embarked on the "love letters" project which in essence were series of 50 murals to brighten up a neighbourhood in Philly. Legally comissioned by the council, Espo had to work with the local community to up with something which everyone would be able to genuinely enjoy rather than a stereotypical happy-clappy mural. The idea was that they were to be painted to look as though it was a rogue persons message, solely for the eyes of a loved one. So in that way even though it excluded everyone it kind of included them because they could to relate to the act of reaching out to one another. In 1999 and at the age of 31 Powers was arrested for numerous counts of criminal damage, following this he decided to exit his career as a graffiti artist and focused solely on studio work. He continues to produce work this way very successfully and puts on shows around the world to this day.

Szymon brodziak

Szymon's work exercises the beauty of form using often nudes or female models contrasted with harsh metal or powerful line in shape. Predominantly shot on black and white the work resonates elegance and sophistication when combined with his eye for perfection in composition. His scenes are carefully structured to heighten and enhance the beauty of the female form met with blocks of solid highlight or shadow, breaking up the frame and connecting the image as a whole.Because of this, his knowledge of lighting is key to Brodziak's practice.

There seems do be a central theme of women empowered or in command of the situation, they dominate all that is other, although, this can be met with a sense of humour and rediculousness which can prove quite charming. All of his scenes are shots are extremly rigid and static, the models are in highly posed and at times awkward positions creating strong geometric shapes. These are set against a stark contrast background tone to what to model is wearing or her skin pigmentation. I think this is what possibly makes the work so visually exciting and dynamic when combined with his daring compositional style, sometimes there will be a subtlety about it and sometimes it will leap out in your face, but always interesting and above all, beautiful.

Robert Rauschenberg

"The word that best defines Robert Rauschenberg’s achievements as a painter, printmaker, photographer, sculptor, theatre designer, performance artist, and technologist is - epic."

Robert Rauschenberg was born in 1925 in Texas to fundamentalist Christian parents. He served as a U.S marine in the second world war before deciding to go study art at the Kansas city art institute. The following year he moved to Paris to further his studies at the Academe Julian where he met his wife and they later continued to study at the Black Mountain school of art.

A few years later, he travelled across Europe and north america with the woman he was having an affair with. on their travels Rauschenberg created a series of collages and arrangements, these included boxes filed with found objects. When he returned to america he began work on his 'red paintings' which were painted newspaper and patterned textile on canvas. The same year he met artist Jasper Johns, who was very influential in his combine works. Later, Rauschenberg began experimenting with transfer paper, lithographs and various other printing techniques to create his combined masterpieces.

For me, Rauschenberg is a huge inspiration in my work. So pioneering in his practice to really push the concept how pieces could be created by integrating different disciplines in art like sculpture, painting and collage. I particularly enjoy the series of work which most encompasses this, the Combines. Here, sourced materials such as old furniture, paper and everyday items alongside painstakingly created objects were were used as a canvas on which to create stunning excercises in perfect composition. Heavy brushstrokes and areas of block colour seem to piece together perfectly and effortlessly, each element complimenting the next. He really enjoyed the process of creating his collages and paintings, with its freedom in the apparent simplicity of execution. What i find genius is how he has made them look often so whimsical in the arrangement of the different blocks and spaces, what at first glance can look Like a mess, when in fact they are highly balanced and precision placed. Key ingredients which make up a stunning end result. His subtleties in colour change and desaturated palette is so aesthetically interesting when laid on to the textures of these rough wood structures and surfaces.

Viktor Vauthier

Up and coming photographer viktor vauthier is a london based artist who i really enjoy following. His work is an intensely immersive choosing to almost exclusively photograph his friendship group and pretty, fashionable girls, styles of photography which i kinda enjoy. I get a good feeling when i look over his blog because i know although he probably receives moderate success he has not yet "made it" as a big shot photographer with his work still retaining that keen, amateurish feel. This is great because the work is still very raw, and you get the feeling that not every man and his dog are enjoying the pictures, but rather people who are down with their scene and in the know.

Its a glimpse into the personal lives and work of a pretty withdrawn and eliteist group of trendy London artists. They are pretty successful in their own right, but just slightly under the mainstream radar. These guys dont have blogs or websites and apart from occasional shows stay very much out of the limelight so to speak. In many ways i feel this works to their advantage, because it creates a kind of illusive-ness and tease as to when and where you will find there work. Artists having websites of their pieces just seems almost too try-hardy. So its very interesting to see snippets of what they're up to, unseen work and general lifestyle and fashion images.