Hang-Up Collections

Original Post: http://www.cassfashion.co.uk/hang-collections/

I recently came across a gallery called Hang-Up while exploring the ever great world wide web. It is located at number 56 Stoke Newington Highstreet and I have decided to share it with you guys as they currenty have an exhibition on called ‘Hang-Up Collections’ which seems pretty interesting.

“Hang-Up is a London based contemporary art gallery located in the vibrant and bohemian neighbourhood of Stoke Newington. The gallery presents a dynamic exhibition program of fresh and forward thinking work from our roster of artists, photographers and makers. We show both young artists at the early stages of their careers alongside established names from the art world. We tie it together by seeking out and showing only those who are inherently creative, artists whom in some way break the mould from the traditional, pushing the boundaries either in terms of their work, their message or both.  
Hang-Up Gallery is delighted to introduce the launch of a new series of exhibitions entitled ‘Hang-Up Collections’. Expect to see key works from leading international urban and contemporary artists alongside super-fresh releases and exciting rare finds from the Hang-Up artist roster. 
Adopting a slightly unconventional approach to the traditional exhibition format, new work will be added and removed throughout the exhibition duration allowing it to evolve and change over the weeks.  Whether it’s straight from the artist’s studio, a unique and rare piece from Banksy or from the gallery’s own private collection, Hang-Up Collections will promise to bring you something new, different and exciting each time you visit. 
The first ‘Hang-Up Collections: Volume 1’ will exhibit previously unseen work from talent such as Stanley Donwood, Mark Powell, Lauren Baker, Joe Webb, Russell Marshall, Magnus Gjoen, Mason Storm and The Connor Brothers, as well as rare pieces and one-offs from artists including Banksy, David Choe, Futura, Faile, Herakut, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Jeff Koons and Sir Peter Blake.” www.hanguppictures.com

I competely love finding new galleries, visiting interesting exhibitions and discovering new artists; especially in such an interesting part of town. So, hopefully I will manage to get around to the exhibition before it closes! Below are a few peices of work from Hang-Up’s website and they should be able to give you an idea of what sort of stuff you can expect from the exhibition.

Russell Marshall, Elvis Gun Cheque on Canvas.

Mark Powell, Carbon Emotion (KAR-ben).

Banksy, Toxic Mary Unsigned.

Chapman Brothers Supreme Skate Decks.

 

The Connor Brothers, End of a Dream

 

Exhibition | Blumenfeld Studio

I must admit firstly that I have probably been the worst blogger on the planet.

But during the time I have spent not blogging, I have finished my placement with Anna Kompaniets (I am now one step closer to becoming an embroidery extraordinaire) and I am looking forward to starting at Jonathan Saunders on Monday!(Yay)
*** You may have also noticed that I have updated my ancient mobile and I now have instagram !!!!!
(There are some pictures on the side somewhere, I guess if you want to follow me you can just click on one of the images or something?)

I have been kind of thinking about stuff and life in general and going into my third and final year of my degree (I seriously can't fucking believe how fast time has gone) I have been getting questions such as 'So, what are you going to do when you graduate?' pretty often. :||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

But not to bore (In answer to the question, if you hadn't gathered already I have completely no idea),
I have something nice to share with you all.


On Wednesday Anna sent me and the other intern Treeney off to see the Blumenfeld Studio exhibition at Somerset House.
(This also involved getting slightly lost, some sightseeing and an hours walk in search of chocolate cake)
Basically the exhibition was incredible! My Mum told me ages ago about this documentary on C4 called 'The Man Who Shot Beautiful Women', I obviously took the title way too literally and never watched it.
But, it turned out they had a part of the documentary playing at center of the exhibition, evidently its about Blumenfeld and not the bludgeoning massacre of which I had imagined.

The exhibition has already finished............ I didn't actually know that when I started writing and it does make this who post feel find of pointless now but hey, here is a little about Blumenfeld and a selection of his incredible images!

"Berlin-born photographer Erwin Blumenfeld (1897–1969) was one of the most internationally sought-after portrait and fashion photographers in the 1940s and 1950s. America’s leading magazines, including Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar hired him for his imaginative and highly individual shots. The show focuses on the little-known history of his photography studio at 222 Central Park South in New York. Around 100 colour photographs and originals of Erwin Blumenfeld’s works in fashion magazines provide insights into this key artistic phase in his life." Taken from here.

The Red Cross, Vogue March 1945

Eiffel Tower, Vogue Port Folio

Nude Under Wet Silk

Images taken from http://www.erwinblumenfeld.com
© 2012 - 2013 The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld

The Tate Modern | LICHTENSTEIN - A Retrospective

 

Today I took a visit to the incredible Tate Modern to have a look at an exhibition that it feels like I have been waiting an eternity for. I don't think I can explain just how much I have been looking forward to visiting this exhibition, and seeing such vast array of works from one of my favorite artists. I have only ever seen the Whaam! painting which you can see below, on the walls of the Tate a good while ago and more recently a collection of 3 paintings by Lichtenstein in Berlin. 

The exhibition was simply incredible. I spent over two hours walking through the 13 rooms in awe and splendor. I for one understand, like many, the difference between seeing a work of art in a book or on a screen and in the flesh, but the scale and the power of the works were more than what I could ever had imagined. The colours and the lines alongside the scale of some of the canvases are engulfing, and to those who have dismayed Lichtensteins 'plagiarised' paintings as art, they are incredibly emotional, inspiring and have an strong visual impact. 

I bought a book after the exhibition which shows an article from January 31, 1964 in Life Magazine which describes Lichtenstein as "one of the worst artists in America." I understand that perceptions of art were different at the time, but they must have looked at his paintings with their eyes closed.

This is the introduction to the exhibition from the Tate website;

"Tate Modern is proud to present a retrospective of one of the great American artists of the twentieth century.

Lichtenstein: A Retrospective is the first full-scale retrospective of this important artist in over twenty years. Co-organised by The Art Institute of Chicago and Tate Modern, this momentous show brings together 125 of his most definitive paintings and sculptures and reassesses his enduring legacy.

Lichtenstein is renowned for his works based on comic strips and advertising imagery, coloured with his signature hand-painted Benday dots. The exhibition showcases such key paintings as Look Mickey 1961 lent from the National Gallery Art, Washington and his monumental Artist’s Studio series of 1973–4. Other noteworthy highlights include Whaam! 1963 – a signature work in Tate’s collection – and Drowning Girl 1963 on loan from the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The artist’s rich and expansive practice is represented by a wide range of materials, including paintings on Rowlux and steel, as well sculptures in ceramic and brass and a selection of previously unseen drawings, collages and works on paper.

Room after room pays tribute to his extraordinary oeuvre, celebrating the visual power and intellectual rigour of Roy Lichtenstein’s work."

…at its best Lichtenstein’s work is sensational – his style may be controlled but the effect is vivid and seductive. ****
Ben Luke, The Evening Standard

Lichtenstein’s cool, dry wit retains its overtly uncomplicated eye-catching strength. But now the curators set out determinedly to show us something more.
Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times

Profound or simply effective, Lichtenstein knew how to make a canvas leap out at you. ****

Adrian Hamilton, The Independent

The exhibition is on until the 27th of May 2013, so you have plenty of time to head to the Tate and check it out. Also, pretty annoying for my blog.... but no pictures! 

Here is a an interesting video which will give you a little insight into both the exhibition,  and Lichtenstein himself.

I love looking at artists sketches and studies and seeing how they progress into a finished piece.

Drawing for 'Whaam!' 1963 © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein 

'

Whaam! 1963 © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

 "'Whaam!' is based on an image from 'All American Men of War' published by DC comics in 1962. Throughout the 1960s, Lichtenstein frequently drew on commercial art sources such as comic images or advertisements, attracted by the way highly emotional subject matter could be depicted using detached techniques. Transferring this to a painting context, Lichtenstein could present powerfully charged scenes in an impersonal manner, leaving the viewer to decipher meanings for themselves. Although he was careful to retain the character of his source, Lichtenstein also explored the formal qualities of commercial imagery and techniques. In these works as in 'Whaam!', he adapted and developed the original composition to produce an intensely stylised painting." 

Above text taken from the Tate website, www.tate.org.uk

I had also seen this magnificent scarf on in the Tate shop on their website and when I saw it in the shop I had to have it! Its based on Lichtensteins 1964 painting 'Oh, Jeff... I love you, too... But...'  

 

I also bought a book as I was eager to have a good read and find out more about Lichtenstein and his art. I decided not to buy the exhibition catalog as I prefer something with a lot of text and some pictures of the artist at work and his studio, so that you don't just get an understanding of the art but also of the artist himself which I think is just as important.

So, the book I went for was the catalog for an earlier exhibition in Milan in 2010. I haven't started to read it yet, but  I am looking forward to it!
 

Vhils: Devoid | Lazarides Gallery

 Vhils work is simply incredible.  I loved all the colours, layers, and textures. The pieces are visually stimulating and made using posters taken from the street, so I'm sure if you pay attention to whats going on around you, you will notice some familiar things hidden in the layers.

"Our youngest artist, the already prolific Portuguese-born Alexandre Farto's range spans from collage to portraiture. Of late he's taken to creating works purely from in situ materials, taking Vandalism as art to its logico ad absurdum conclusion. Advertising hoardings are torn to make fresh images, and plaster drilled away at until the remaining relief forms the work. He is, at the time of writing, experimenting with a cocktail of Quink ink and household bleach. But this is a long way from brutalism. Vhils art is poetic, complex, and ambitious, often focusing on the needs we have abandoned in favour of our wants, and the realisation that trading pleasure back in for happiness will be a less than straightforward exchange."

 http://www.lazinc.com/artists/vhils/   

Heres some infomation about the exhibition, you can read the rest here in the Press Release, 

 http://www.lazinc.com/content/pdf/2012-11/vhils-devoid-press-release.pdf

 Vhils: Devoid
30th November 2012 - January 5th 2013
Lazarides Gallery, 11 Rathbone Place, London W1

"Rathbone is proud to present the most comprehensive solo show to date from the artist Vhils: Devoid. In contrast to his previous solo exhibitions, the artist’s latest body of work will focus on the individual in relation to the overpowering force of urban environments and to the dominant noise created by the cities’ unidirectional line of communication. Devoid will culminate a series of projects executed in 2012 in Shanghai, Paris, the favelas of Rio and Lisbon.
Vhils has been exploring the complexities of the relationship between the individual, the urban environment and the ideological framework that sustains it since first taking up graffiti in the streets of his native Lisbon and has since gained huge international acclaim. Like other graffiti artists, Vhils learnt how to “read” the city, how to navigate its main thoroughfares and back streets, assessing the potential to strike and leave a mark. Yet, he soon realised the proposition contained in the urbanised space of the city extended beyond its physical territory, comprehending a vast cultural domain with ideological edifices rooted in the media, advertising, the designs of consumerism and the projection of public space."

 While in London Vhils has also been busy out on the Streets, and created this on Hewett Street in Shoreditch.

These two pictures are from here,,,,, http://www.lazinc.com/artists/vhils/  

Isa Genzken | Hauser & Wirth | Peace & Plastic Figures

 Hi all! If you have liked me on Facebook you will be aware of mine and Eerika's (http://eerikasblog.blogspot.co.uk/) adventure today, we had to meet this morning at 10:15 for a talk at the WGSN Headquarters near Piccadilly Circus. The talk was incredibly interesting and we were shown through the working of the WGSN website and how we as students cant make the most out of the information that is available to us. To be honest, due simply to its availability to us, (thanks to our amaze-balls uni) I had underestimated the importance of WGSN and to be honest didn't expect some of the brands that were mentioned would want anything to do with something that could alter their creative direction. 

But hey, that's why I am here. Learning!

So, returning to the main purpose of this post. We had a walk and took visits to several galleries (the rest will be covered in different posts, today or not depends on how hormonal my computer is feeling.) including Hauser & Wirth; which is always home to some incredibly interesting exhibitions, and is located on the super fantastic Savile Row. The exhibition was showcasing the works of Isa Genzken, I had no idea what was being exhibited and was very happy to find something (from an artist I admittedly had never heard of before) that was incredibly relevant to the idea's that I am trying to develop within my current project. I understand that I keep mentioning this 'project' and the only inkling I have given you about it is a post about triangles,,, ( http://aestheticsousveillance.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/triangles-are-my-favourite-shape.html  ) back in october... But I will have another post soon.

My head has been slightly overwhelmed and confused by it all, and that would have made for nothing more than a blog post that would have had me sent straight to a mental asylum.

Anyway,,,,,, here's some stuff about the exhibition from the Hauser & Worth Gallery Webpage. 

Yes, I like to leave the hard bits to somebody else. I'm a textile artist not an art critic. 

If you have the chance I would definately go and check this one out,,, I have released that I think I have said that in every single exhibition post I have done so far. I am sure after a while a bad one will come. And I can have a good rant and tell you all to stay away! :-) But for this one, don't.

"Isa Genzken

15 November 2012 – 12 January 2013,

‘I have always said that with any sculpture you have to be able to say, although this is not a ready-made, it could be one. That’s what a sculpture has to look like. It must have a certain relation to reality’
– Isa Genzken in conversation with Wolfgang Tillmans 

Inspired by the stark severity of modernist architecture and the chaotic energy of the city, just as much as by art history, the aesthetics of the great American artists of the Sixties and pop culture, Isa Genzken’s work is continuously looking around itself, translating into three-dimensional form the way that art, architecture, design and media affects the experience of urban life. From 15 November, Genzken will present an exhibition of new and recent works at Hauser & Wirth’s Savile Row gallery. Genzken’s totemic columns, pedestal works and collages combine disparate aspects from her many sources in seemingly nonsensical, yet harmonious sculptural compilations.

The bust of Nefertiti, an ancient icon of feminine beauty, is one of the most well-known and historically significant sculptures. In Genzken’s new series of sculptures, she appropriates plaster reproductions of this bust, which the artist first saw at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, gives them sunglasses and places them upon tall, white pedestals. She pairs Nefertiti with a reproduction of the Renaissance icon of feminine beauty, the Mona Lisa, whose famous portrait leans against the foot of each pedestal. Genzken then overlays her own self-portrait on to the reproduction of Mona Lisa, playfully inserting herself and her own practice into this multimedia exploration of the lineage of feminine beauty and the place of women in art history.

Genzken’s sculptures are precariously stacked assemblages of potted plants, designer furniture, empty shipping crates and photographs, among other things, arranged with the traditions of modernist sculpture in mind – traditions which are then manipulated by the artist. With this cacophonous array of objects, Genzken undermines the classical notions of sculpture and, in the North Gallery of Savile Row, re-creates the architectural dimensions of the artist’s beloved skyscrapers and the riotous colours of the city streets. Devoid of the weightiness and overpowering scale seen in the sculptures of her Minimalist predecessors, these works abandon notions of order and power, allowing the viewer to relate to the works’ inherently human qualities of fragility and vulnerability.

Both sculpture and photography combine and overlap in Genzken’s collages, whose dense surfaces are formed from the materials of the artist’s world: magazines, flyers, snapshots of friends, self-portraits and reproduced artworks. Genzken makes use of all surfaces of the gallery, including an on-going series of collages that span the floor of the space, like a pavement down a busy city street."

Text taken from  http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/1432/isa-genzken/view/

and to finish,,, if you want to show some support and appreciation for my blog head over to www.facebook.com/aestheticsousveillance , hit like and share! 

And if there's any thing you need to get off your chest mail me. 

Peace and Plastic Figures.

A splash of mayo?

Another draft lost in cyber space :-|

I always find myself going from not much to blog about, to too much to blog about. I guess that's when this happens.

This was an exhibition on Redchurch Street, I have no idea of the name of the gallery or the artists.

So, you can just look at the pictures.

 

Kate and Eva. Probably talking about the best pink nail varnish.

Ben Eine.

Kates super seductive fuck off and let me take my picture eyes...........

while wearing an awesome vintage dress :-)

A splash of Mayo?

Lets go to an exhibition. Or three.

I have made a list off all the galleries that I want to visit. For most all I have is the addresses, and no idea about any of the exhibitions they are holding.

So my plan for them is to just go and see.

After uni today I popped into the Whitechapel Art Gallery, I had seen something on Facebook (if you haven't seen my Facebook page, send your like over to www.facebook.com/aestheticsousveillance )  of a stuffed squirrel that was part of a current exhibition and was curious to go and see.
I found it, so tiny, down on the floor of the rather large room number 7.

I wasn't entirely sure how I should feel about this squirrel. But it really made me laugh.
I apologise if I missed the whole intellectual point, but my giggles caught the attention of the rather bored looking security guy standing near. We had a little chat and came to the decision that the squirrel possibly committed suicide due to the vast array of dirty dishes.

I mean a squirrel that has just commited suicide. That's the most halariously stupid thing ever.

And the little gun. Magic.

Heres a picture of the squirrel from the Whitechapel Art Gallery website,

Sure, I would have taken my own pictures of everything. If you were allowed. In terms of my own selfish blogging needs and with no thought for the artist, copyright sucks.

A real good picture of this would have made me very happy.

Heres some information from the website,

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan (b.1960) is known as the art world’s agent provocateur, using what seem to be stunts to address universal themes around the nature of dogma, power and death. This solo display includes one of his earliest works - a miniature family kitchen featuring a squirrel that has committed suicide.

The Opera Gallery is another on my list, they are holding an exhibition called Urban Masters, which sounds and looks (you check out the cataloge here) pretty awesome!

Here are the quotes and images I have copy and pasted from the catalogue,

especially for you if you are too lazy to go and look yourself :-)

“Art is about passing on references and creativeness. Most people

know that Banksy and Blek le Rat, the founding fathers of stencil

art, have inspired a generation of young contemporary urban

and street artists - making street art one of the most successful

genres of the century. But it is time we give this new generation a say,

and let them tell us their story, tell us who inspired them personally

and what made them the artists they are now.”

Jean-David Malat, Director of Opera Gallery London, on the

concept behind Urban Masters

“Urban Masters is a rare opportunity to view in one place works

by extraordinary artists from literally all over the world, from Latin

America, US, Europe and Australia. Coming from the graffiti and

street art scene, these artists pay tribute and reinterpret the Masters

that inspired them, with their own skills and techniques. Art

regenerates itself with breathtaking results.” Butterfly

“By definition anything visionary, ground-breaking or novel involves

risk. Facing and handling these risks opens the door to achieving

true creative innovation and personal fulfilment in art or in business”,

explains R. Matthew Fairfield, Founder and Chief Executive

Officer of ANV”, As underwriters who mitigate risks on a daily

basis, we see art and artists who take creative risk as perfect

examples of what is possible when risk and fear can be conquered.”

Banksy, Playmate of the Month 2000.

Brusk, Art History Lesson, 2012.

And a load more of the worlds best street artists, including Stinkfish who currently has an exhibition at The Highroller Society. Which I would imagine and as far as the pictures I have seen go, is worth a look. Check out there website, http://www.highrollersociety.com/exhibitions/espina/

Heres a picture from Hookedblog's Facebook page,

https://www.facebook.com/aestheticsousveillance#!/photo.php?fbid=10151073331101744&set=a.10151073330691744.430295.325677571743&type=1&theater



OBEY | Shepard Fairey | Sound & Vision Exhibition Opening

SO! Yesterday, the girls and I went to the Shepard Fairey's Sound & Vision exhibition opening at Stolen Space. We were around Brick Lane from about four. Umbrella ready, the rain worked in our favour as we only queued for around and hour an a half!  

The exhibition was incredible. While we were outside, we spoke to the bouncers and were anxious to know if we would get a glimpse of the man of the moment. We saw him enter the gallery and were overjoyed once we got inside and saw him behind the decks! 

The music really helped bring the exhibition to life, and stuck two fingers up at the normal 'lets have an intellectual conversation vibe' that you too often find in galleries. 

And there was plenty of free drinks going round, which certainly doesn't make people complain.

The artwork wasn't in short supply either. The whole space was packed with the most textural, intricate, amazing works I have ever seen. Eerika and I discussed how amazing Shepards works look in books and on the internet but in person there was so much depth to the images and were highly more beautiful and striking than the works we had originally fallen in love with. 

Once Shepard had warmed up the crowd after standing in the cold with some awesome tracks, Z-Trip took to the Decks with a mix of music and visual projections that really blew everyone away.

 Everyone in the exhibition was having a great time and it sure did look like Shepard was too.... after an incredible exhibition opening like that he should do.

This morning I was back at the exhibition space, and waited outside for almost two hours to get my hands on a couple of the amazing prints that they had displayed in the exhibition last night.

I most certainly couldn't afford any of the original work,,, but a few of those was just about doable. And it wasn't an opertunity I wanted to miss after admiring Shepards last Stolen Space exhibition poster while I was at the Lord Clifden last week.

So Shepard please don't leave it five years again,,,,, 

because I think this superb event has left us well and truly wanting more!