Art for Water: Millerntor Gallery 2017

Of all the things London spoiled me with, Street Art was one of the most vibrant. Rarely a week passed without a new great show opening around town. I still remember the very first KAWS show in London 2003, Banksy’s first exhibition at the Dragon Bar or Ben Eine painting his letters in Bricklane.  And who can forget the legendary group show Santas Ghetto on Oxford Street 2006 uniting the “Who is who” of the global Street Art movement like some arty Avengers?

Well, I am happy to report that Hamburg is getting it’s arty groove on as well with murals by 1010, LowBros and a vibrant Graffiti scene that has been spawning legendary writers and taggers like DAIM, OZ (RIP) and MOST just to name a few.

So I was more than happy to learn about the annual Millerntor Gallery event that transforms the football stadium of the Hamburg Soccer Club St.Pauli into an open air gallery over a long weekend to raise funds for their charity Viva Con Aqua

Already in it’s 7th year, the line up featured an international selection of fantastic Street Artists and Graffiti writers and thanks to an invite by local Graffiti Store Underpressure I was able to create artwork for their charity auction featuring 100 painted Minisubwayz trains who would get raffled away during the event.


In addition of having had the honour to submit some art alongside some proper Graffiti and Street Art legends I was able to support the Street Art School Hamburg during the gallery run.

Offering workshops to educate visitors about Street Art and let them have a go at painting and stencilling themselves, it was the perfect hands on experience to unleash their own creative genius after checking out the show!

Of cause I had a stroll through the show as well. Here are some of my personal favourite pieces from the art on display. 

For sentimental reasons I really loved the Bud Spencer piece by Spruehwairk… great execution as well! Following is works by Marc Jung x Marco Fisher, Gabriel Riquelme and Smith The One x Seher One. How dope is that skull?!

Music and talks were a big part of the experience so shout out to Hamburg artist Marambolage who decorated the stage area with colourful drops!

Another impressive piece was the Underpressure train wall. Over 100 artists contributed and for 75€ per lucky dip you could go home with a train full of original artwork. I still don’t know who got my train, so please contact me if you were the lucky one!

The Millerntor Gallery didn’t just attract artists and musicians so I was able to make friends with a lot of other DJs, Promoters and general movers and shakers as well. Big shout out at this point to the Ramba Zamba St Pauli Fanclub who ran the Kuttique stall. Fucking mentalists! Not only did they invite me to spin some tunes but suddenly the whole place became the backdrop for a Nigerian Pop Video. Crazy…

With all this energy all around me I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of art pieces as well. After walking past it a hundred times I had to pull the trigger and got this hand painted tray by MyntOne. I am a big fan of the Jukebox Cowboys Crew and his execution and colourway was just too fresh!

In addition to that did I pick up a lovely Felipe Pantone print and one of the awesome limited edition Millerntor Gallery Graff Beer mugs.

Tried to create my own limited edition Millerntor Gallery artwork as well but didn’t manage to finalise it in time… one day I shall finish them! Keep your eyes peeled!

So what more can I say: I had an absolute blast! I just love such events that connect the dots between art, music, people and social engagement. I shall put in some work to be able to paint a wall at Millerntor Gallery #8 in 2018! Until then…

http://millerntorgallery.org/en/

http://www.vivaconagua.org/home

http://street-art-school.de

 

London Gallery Crawling: Part 1

Living in London as a creative person can be a blessing and a curse at the same time: It’s absolutely fantastic to have the best of art, design and music at your fingertips, yet it can be mind-fryingly overwhelming as well.

It’s easy to develop full blown FOMO ( Fear Of Missing Out ) syndrome as the best of the best exhibiting their work in an seemingly never ending queue of awesomeness on a daily basis. It’s just really easy to get lost in the whirlwind of other people’s work and loose one’s own creative focus!

Still, with the right amount of self discipline ( erm ) it’s possible to get stuff done AND enjoy the richness of London’s creative scene. So please enjoy my little recap of exhibitions I checked out lately…

Maser: Orbiting on the Periphery / Lazarides Gallery

I always enjoy shows at Rathbone Place where Lazarides currently operates it’s main gallery. Home of many great exhibitions in the past, it’s one of the top galleries for Urban Art in London, check it!

As dedicated followers of my digital adventures know I am a sucker for bright colours and shapes. So great I stumbled into the show of Irish artist Maser purely by chance! I really enjoyed his paintings and took a good long look at his technique as he used a lot of different materials and interesting approaches to getting certain effects on the canvas…

Ahhhh colours…

Next…

The Connor Brothers: Wondrous Obsessions / Hang Up Pictures

Another heavyweight of the British Urban Art gallery scene, and conveniently just up the street where I live!

I feel Hang Up Pictures are curating more withered, darker looking shows compared to Lazarides and Stolenspace who do like their art rather eye popping, so having The Connor Brothers commission a selected group of artists to create work living alongside natural history artifacts, scientific objects and antiques just totally fit the bill!

Victorian Street Art you say? Hmmm… All I know is that no art show worth it’s salt is complete without an hawt female intern or gallery manager looking concentrated into a macbook 😉

And onwards…

Felipe Pantone & Alex Yanes / Stolenspace Gallery

Ticking yet another box: Stolenspace! Founded by D*Face in 2005, for me the gallery really helped Street Art upping the ante regarding the quality and the craftsmanship of work exhibited.

Did they take a page out of Obeys playbook creating Street Art with a high-end finish? Maybe, but I always enjoy checking out what’s on…

I really like the concept of joined exhibitions and the two gallery spaces at Stolenspace are perfect for that! On my last visit the first gallery was showing ‘Way-Out’ by Alex Yanes. I saw a bit of Barry McGee aka Twist in his work  and really enjoyed his painted wood sculptures, mixing lots of materials to add detail. Especially the finish and combination of characters and type really hit my spot. And his painted Boombox was just too dope!

The main space was dedicated to ‘Data Somersault’ by Felipe Pantone. What can I say: The pieces had my eyeballs somersaulting fo sho! The vision screwing patterns, rainbow colours and retro computer aesthetic really made me think this is the kind of art that hangs on the walls of Bill Gates or Max Headroom. The mix of 80ties gradients and stern black and white symmetry really rocks!

Next!

Phil Ashcroft: Fallout / Canal Projects

Always good to support local galleries! I never been to Canal Projects so it was awesome to check out a new art space. Especially when the very talented Phil Ashcroft has his paintings on the walls: Check it out, it’s on till 10th September!

I always liked a mix of acrylic paint and vector based aesthetic: Long time member of the Gamma Proforma Crew and Scrawl Collective Phil Ashcroft was rocking it and there were a lot of familiar faces and dope beats courtesy of Dj Monkphat.

Having a friend over from Germany who is really into art was pretty cool too! She wasted no time discussing post modernism with poor Phil… or maybe they just had chat about colour matching paint and scarves? Who knows…

Reppin’…

To finish this piece off with a bang:

Jeff Koons: Now / Newport Street Gallery

Last month was the time to FINALLY check out the gallery space build and curated by no other than Damien Hirst! What can I say… what a building: Designed by architects Caruso St John, the gallery spans 37,000 square feet and includes six exhibition spaces – one with a ceiling height of eleven metres – split over two levels. It hosts art from Hirst’s private collection is free to get in. Sweet!

Hirst is so rich, he can even afford a couple of  hawt interns / gallery managers looking into Apple products! At the same time! Plus security! Bling Bling!

For avid fans of Koons the NOW show has no surprises in store really. If this is Hirsts private collection he basically acquired the most iconic pieces from Koons catalogue: Floating basketballs, pieces from the Popeye Series, Cicciolina in the face photos and massive polished sculptures from his Celebration Series… 

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it! The space lends itself perfectly to display Koons work, especially the two massive sculptures on show. 

I just hope her boyfriend doesn’t get chrome envy…

Koons is just the daddy of Pop, with his porn pictures soiling the clean and innocent polish of his other work in the perfect amount. His re-creations of inflatable toys or the massive Play Doh mountain and chrome sculptures really express the joy of collecting and the visual power of cute toys. Looking at his work gives me the the same kick I get from marvelling at toys from my local toy store. Just in bigger. MUCH BIGGER. Something KAWS understood and applied to his own work quite perfectly.

I can only applaud the crispness of his work. Well done assistants, well done…

Upon leaving the gallery I spotted a stencil piece in a nearby tunnel, facing the gallery. A tribute by Banksy or just a miffed art critic venting? It shall remain a mystery…

Hope you enjoyed the show(s)… till next time!

Credits:

Lazarides | Hang Up Pictures | Stolenspace Gallery | Canal Gallery | Newport Street Gallery

Their 7″ vinyl weights a ton: Secret 7s 2016

That London hosts amazing exhibitions is no secret, but this exhibition hold some secrets itself! Kickstarted in 2012, Secret 7s picks 7 tracks and releases them on 7″ vinyl. Then selected artists, designers and illustrators create unique covers for the song of their choice.

The catch: The artist, the designer and the track stay anonymous so each visitor has to guess which creative messed around with which song!

Especially when it comes to the infamous sale day where all the sleeves get sold off for charity, having the right hunch can bag the vinyl lover an original artwork by a world famous artists for the price of £50!

The list of contributors is as eclectic as the selection of songs for the 7 inch vinyl: From total newcomers to big artists, Secret 7s prides itself to be open and accessible which I think is great. And not just because I managed to get to submit an artwork to the show 😉 

So many different approaches to customizing a 7″ cover! Trying to figure out the songs as a visitor is as much fun as designing a sleeve as an artist: It’s all about dropping enough hints to make the cover relevant to the song, but not too many that it’s too obvious. 

Name-dropping all of the artists featured would be impossible. The whole list can be seen here. Needless to say it’s great to share the exhibition space with friends like Daniel Clarke, Patrick Hanke, Mark James and Stevie Gee and personal heroes of mine like Pete Fowler and Swifty, just to name a few.  

As all monies will be donated to Amnesty International there is  no need to cling onto your cash: Get yourself a piece of affordable art and support a great cause! 

Wonder which songs are on offer? Tracks featured on vinyl this year: Chvrches / Clearest Blue, Etta James / At Last, Jack Garratt / Worry, The Jam / Art School, John Lennon / Imagine, Max Richter / Dream 3 and Tame Impala / The Less I Know The Better. Quite a range of musical styles!

To create the right vibe for the private view at creative space Sonos Studio featured artist and vinyl lover Pete Fowler and friends provided the soundtrack to the kick off of this years show with their 7″ vinyl  only selection while ice cold craft beers made the rounds. Cheers! Now I really have to get that amazing Turkish Funk record he played…

So head down to Secret 7s in Shoreditch and go on your own musical expedition into the unknown… and discover more than one visual treasure!

The exhibition runs from 8th of April till 1st of May 2016 with the Sale Day being on 2nd May! Open Tuesday till Sunday, 10AM – 6.30PM at Sonos Studio, 21 Club Row, Shoreditch.

http://secret-7.com/

Before I am off to the record store, let me say that Secret 7s is not the only project worth mentioning when it comes to fusing art and music on 7″ vinyl…

1) Waiwiyahttps://www.facebook.com/wiaiwya

I came across these great designed 7″ records during the Independent Label Market this year. Apparently Waiwiya is a singles club where a subscription gives you access to seven vinyl singles designed by seven amazing artists. What a fun concept! Check out their Facebook to find out more. 

 

2) 45/7 Vinyl Clubhttps://soundcloud.com/45-7-vinyl-club

Hailing from Hamburg / Germany, the aim of the 45/7 Vinyl Club is to connect 7″ vinyl lovers and present new eclectic 7″ mixes on a monthly basis via their Soundcloud. Every contributing DJ gets a unique hand painted 7″ sleeve by Secret 7s artist Patrick Hanke and they just celebrated their first limited release on vinyl:  A limited promotional only pressing of their “45/7 Theme” which already has a special place in my record collection!

 

3) Mondo Tees | http://mondotees.com

The illustration heavy hitters from Austin / Texas don’t only deliver when it comes to amazing and limited screenprinted posters, no they go all out too for their vinyl releases! These Batman and Superman 7″ vinyls are just a thing of beauty. Catch them if you can!

Solaris 100 at Meet The Artists

As a Designer, having personal projects can really help to keep the creativity bubbling. For me that’s DJing, writing this blog and doing a bit of painting and drawing. But what to do with all the physical output?

As I am very happy with my customized record covers I was just waiting for a chance to get involved with an exhibition to show the fruits of my work. When a friend of mine pointed at a call for submissions for a group show in East London I jumped at the chance to get my work seen live and direct on a wall in a gallery.

When I got the notification from the curator that I was in, my mind instantly started spinning how to present my work. As I am a big fan of the cross over of product and art I thought it might be fun to offer more things at the show than just my paintings. I always wanted to try out a bit of shoe customization so I thought that would be fun item to add.

After getting some white canvas shoes I was off to applying a dash of colour to them whilst still trying to keep them look crisp and not messy. On top of that did I wonder how to package them as the original shoes didn’t come with boxes. Some amazing leopard patterned tote bags I came across solved that issue, especially as I was able to print my logo onto them which I designed earlier.

To quote Hannibal from the A-Team: I love it when a plan comes together!

As my work was so heavily about records I threw another thing into the mix: Some limited 10″ records I designed for the British band Akasha awhile ago. The bold colourway and the orange clear vinyl inside really worked with the rest of my art and I hand customised them on top of that. Pure fire!

Some mini artwork rounded off the Solaris100 offering and I suddenly had my own little art store going! 

I just really enjoy getting inspired and running with it. Thanks to Athena Anastasiou for running MTA & Ryan Godwin for curating the event who was happy accepting all this extra artwork!

The show itself was great: A packed house, fresh artists on display, cold beers and amazing music provided by Tj Owusu. And when a designer like Peter Crnokrak is happy to model your new logo full on Zoolander style you know you did some good work! #bluesteel

Thanks again to the whole Meet The Artists team. Follow them on Facebook to be notified of the next shows in London! It was great to be part of this and I can’t wait for the next one. Until then: Keep on keeping on…

Royal Academy Summer Show 2015 Bloggers Evening

 Sorry not listening… on Instagram ok?

This Friday my blogging mentor Sara from hellothemushroom.com got me into the Instagrammers and Bloggers special preview night of the The Royal Academy’s Summer show, awesome! 

I was surrounded by smart phone addicted weirdos just like me… FINALLY no need to pretend to want to make eye contact, just straight up Instagramming! Bliss!!!

After a lovely free alcoholic beverage some facts were dropped. Firstly: The RA organises this summer show for 247 years now. Secondly: Everybody can enter their work globally and be part of the show. Thirdly: Every artwork is for sale so one can snatch him or herself an artwork by a future Hirst or Emin if lucky! 

Did you know that? I didn’t! You learn something new every day.

This year the show has been curated by Michael Craig-Martin, artist and lecturer who’s pupils went to to become some of the most famous YBA’s like Damien HirstGary Hume or Sarah Lucas.

We were warned that Mr Craig-Martin is quite fond of bold colours and that he even painted one gallery space in bright pink… well, fine by me! 🙂

After that announcement I was more than ready to hit the holy halls of the Royal Academy and after finishing the drinks the blogging crew spilled into the many galleries of the grand building…

The first highlight was the multicoloured psychedelic staircase. It was a bit like ascending to Asgard via the rainbow bifrost bridge…  ( yeah that’s a Marvel Thor reference )

How is the show itself you ask? Well, why don’t you check out yourself… it still runs till the 16th of August! Personally I found it hit and miss, but that’s just normal for a show this size. But with such a variety on display there surely is something up those walls for everyone… and some brightly coloured eye candy on top! Below some of my personal highlights…

The only drawback visiting an exhibition with a fellow blogger: The competition never sleeps! Check out her Instagram account @hellothemushroom

RA Summer Show 2015
JUNE 6 – AUGUST 16, 2015

Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House, Piccadilly
London W1J 0BD
Hours: Tue–Sun 10-6, Fr 10-10

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2015

Sprayed Exhibition at Gagosian Gallery

 Ok I take this… can you wrap it up for me please?

Saturday is the day to get stuff done son! It’s perfect for cleaning the flat, doing the shopping or grabbing fellow blogger extraordinaire Sara Doucette from hellothemushroom.com to check out the latest art shows in town!

As I am quite fond of everything involving aerosols the exhibition of choice this time was “Sprayed” at the Gagosian Gallery in Kings Cross.

Always loving being at the Gagosian… the space is great and really brings the best out of the art that has been curated. 

Whilst there were great pieces on show by artists like Koons, Warhol, Klee, Murakami and Polke I still missed the inclusion of legendary artists like Futura2000 and other early pioneers of aerosol art who went their own way reinventing what was perceived as “Graffiti”.

The reason behind this might be to avoid making this just another Graffiti exhibition, still I feel especially Futura should have been included. Same goes for 3D from Massive Attack who’s mixed media pieces would have fitted into the context perfectly. 

Still the show is well worth checking out and runs until 1st of August 2015.

SPRAYED 
WORKS FROM 1929 TO 2015
JUNE 11 – AUGUST 1, 2015

Gagosian Gallery
6-24 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JD
Hours: Tue–Sat 10-6

http://www.gagosian.com