Posted by Asha Katz on September 1, 2010
East London’s Pure Evil Gallery exemplifies contemporary art’s evolution from the revolution of 60s Pop Art. Against one of the city’s edgiest and most fashionable backdrops the space houses the bold statements of street artists from all over the world, bringing together the political, controversial and romantic.
The work of Austrian street artist, Nychos will grace the walls this September. Pen this date in your diary to avoid regrets: Thursday 16th September.
And don't forget to head down this Thursday for the First Thursdays private view.
Pure Evil Gallery is at 108 Leonard Street, East London EC2A 4XS Ph. 020 7729 2866.
pure evil gallery, nychos
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 31, 2010
Inspired by the once-popular swanky bars from the 90s, the folks at Peer Group recently launched a new bar on the Darlinghurst, Sydney block. LO-FI, also home to an innovative gallery space, LO-FI Collective is a six-month initiative showcasing the best of Australia’s prolific creatives on a weekly basis. Local artists will also be joined by a few of their international counterparts.
The event highlights include featured works by one of Sydney’s most influential street artist Numskull; Japanese photographer, editor and creative director of CexWork Yasumasa Yonehara, and Sydney photographer and Kluster studio mate, Yimmy Yayo.More...
lo-fi collective, peer group, numskull, cexwork, yasumasa yonehara, yimmy yayo
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 27, 2010
Last week we took a breather from the daily grind for a much-needed creative boost at the Museum of Contemporary Art Spring season preview, an annual spring event featuring talents from around the globe. This year, MCA will be hosting three eye-opening exhibitions. Here’s how the calendar is shaping up:
As we previously announced, Primavera makes its 19th comeback, ensuring the work of new young artists from across the country can be seen by an audience. Seven exciting talents have been taken under the wing of this year’s Guest Curator, Katie Dyer. Through a diverse and an inventive approach in the form of painting, sculpture, photography and performance, the works explore themes such as social relationship, natural environment and the re-interpretation of past precedents. Happening now to 21st November.
Levels 1 and 2 of the gallery feature series of works including Alasdair McLuckie’s The highest mountain peaks, right before dawn, Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Wrong Solo and Akira Akira’s Spillberg (black) No. 1.More...
museum of contemporary art, mca, primavera, agatha gothe-snape, akira akira, alasdair mcluckie, catherine rogers, lauren berkowitz, joni taylor, runa islam
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 27, 2010
After a successful sell-out show, King For a Day Melbourne artist Meggs is wasting no time moving on to yet another esoteric installation. Based on the song of the same name by Alexisonfire, Sons of Privilege contains a series of artworks largely inspired by the lyric, ‘We don’t want to be slaves to the sons of privilege’. According to organisers, the collection is an exploration of personal freedoms and liberties, blind patriotism and political provocation.
Sons of Privilege opens to the public tonight at 6pm.
LO-FI Collective is at 383 Bourke St, Darlinghurst, Sydney.
king for a day, meggs, alexisonfire, sons of privilege, lo-fi collective
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 20, 2010
Last Wednesday night saw the launch of Paddington Alive at The Australian Centre for Photography. We stopped by to get an eyeful of local art and design, including Robyn Beech's London Calling, Zeitgeist Becomes Form curated by German fashion photographer, F. C. Gundlach, and The Birthday Suit, a clothing label by Sydney artists Técha Noble and Emma Price of The Kingpins. Australian fashion with a splash of red was the name of the game here, with guests conforming to the event’s dress code.
In its second year as part of the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival, Paddington comes “alive” in this six-day public event to recognise the local talents and celebrate the cultural diversification that has made it the fashion hub of Australia. The festival has an awesome line up all ready to be consumed and relished by both the young and young at heart. Highlights include the Fringe Bar Emerging Designer Market dedicated to a new generation of works from rising fashion cats in the local scene, and the William Street Laneway Festival, which features an array of its unique boutiques and champions the fashion and music community – and that’s only a tiny fraction of the itinerary.
Paddington Alive runs until August 28. Visit their website for an official list of events that runs throughout the festival.
paddington alive, the australian centre for photography, london calling robyn beech, zeitgeist becomes form, the birthday suit, rosemount sydney fashion festival
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 18, 2010
Belinda Jackson, a creative jewellery designer of unique talent, passed away at a tender age of 29. Her life may have ended way too early, but the memory of her continues to live on.
As a way of commemorating Belinda’s artistic achievements, Primavera will be presenting its 19th annual exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney. Founded by the MCA, Dr Edward Jackson AM and Mrs Cynthia Jackson AM and the rest of Belinda’s family, the exhibition is a celebration that gives rise to emerging Australian artists who are of 35 years and under.
Primavera invites Katie Dyer, Curator of the National Art School, Sydney, as this year’s Guest Curator. With creativity and individuality being the common language, Katie’s selection highlights a collective range of wily imaginative work by young budding artists. If Belinda were here, she would have been proud of these young lads.
Get set for Primavera opening this Thursday, August 19 through to November 11. The exhibition is part of the MCA Spring Season 2010, and is located on level 1 and 2 of the museum.
belinda jackson, primavera, museum of contemporary art, mca, dr edward jackson am, mrs cynthia jasckson am, katie dyer, national art school sydney, mca spring season 2010
Posted by Petra Zlatevska on August 17, 2010
A Nevada boy at heart, photographer Just Loomis´career has taken him to New York, via Milan. In between photographing shoots for Harpers Bazaar and snapping various music icons, including Madonna in the early 80s, he met the man who would take him on as an assistant and, in the process, became a life-long friend: Helmut Newton. Spanning more than thirty years, Just´s body of work- ethereal portraits of characters that embody the hopes and broken dreams of the American way of life - are now published for the first time in As We Are by Hatje Cantz. In an Australian exclusive, we talked to Just about what inspires him and his work as he shares some of his personal archive with us. Check out the gallery Just hand-picked exclusively for Kluster.
Covered: Working with Helmet Newton, understanding American history and observations of Australia.
Petra Zlatevska: As We Are documents more than just 30 years of your career accomplishments – a career producing images that reflect the Zeitgeist of American society. June Newton was quoted as saying, “No one is doing Americana like Just”. Do you consider yourself a photographer naturally drawn to capturing American subjects and themes or an American photographer simply photographing images and people?
Just Loomis: That´s a great question, I think the latter. I lived in Europe for four years (during the 80s). Since moving back to the US from Europe, I came back and took a lot of photographs of where I live. So obviously those are American photographs. However, I don’t consciously set out to do an ‘American photograph’ - I don’t do that. I am simply drawn to things that I see and that I connect with. I recently took a to Paris and other parts of Europe and I realized that despite the years I lived in Europe and this recent trip, I don’t know a lot about living there or about European culture; it is a culture that truly isn’t mine. I have a greater understanding of American history, American people and children, how children grow up and the things that they go through. I feel I understand this better than what European adults or children experience. We have a different set of issues we deal with here in America and I am very in tune with that.
PZ: Your photo subjects, whether in fashion, documentary or portraiture, have that sense of timelessness. How do you manage to capture that in a single shot?
JL: I think it has to do with something that I am drawn to and that is a fairly consistent thing that is inside of me. It has to do with many, many years of developing what I want to look at, what I feel is interesting and what touches me emotionally. Certain things really draw me in, these are fairly simple things, I guess that’s where the consistency comes from. I am glad that people say timeless, although I don’t particularly try to do ‘timelessness’.More...
just loomis, helmet newton, as we are
Posted by KB on August 16, 2010
You may know Biddy Maroney and Sonny Day of design duo WeBuyYourKids from the screen-printed Popfrenzy posters that painted the town red some four years ago. Or perhaps you know them for the artwork they’ve produced for bands like Deerhunter, Blonde Redhead and Les Savy Fav. Maybe you’ve been spooked by their renderings of witches, snakes and black cats at one of their exhibitions at gallery haunts like Monster Children and China Heights. If you’re not familiar with their work, this is your chance to become acquainted. Presented by Cockle Bay Wharf and curated by aMBUSH Gallery, Project 5 is an urban arts initiative aimed at supporting the arts through pop-up painting, music and auction events. WeBuyYourKids chat to Kluster about their involvement, which may or may not involve a dog, a knife and a whole lot of black paint.
Covered: Phat Space, Washington, old horror movies and skateboard graphics.
Joanna Lowry: What is Project 5?
Sonny Day: It's a live art event designed to raise money for charity and a good excuse to have a beer afterwards.
JL: How did you get involved with Project 5?
SD: It was the terms of my parole. We've been involved with Bill Dimas and John Wiltshire from Ambush Gallery in one way or another for the last few years. They asked and we said yes.
JL: What are you going to be doing as part of Project 5?
SD: That's a great question, I'm not sure yet. But most likely it'll involve a dog, a knife and a whole lot of black paint.More...
we buy your kids, project 5, ambush gallery, cockle bay wharf
Posted by Liz Niland on August 16, 2010
Sydneysiders; leave this weekend’s battle between that redhead and those red togs behind in the ballot box and get thee to Cockle Bay Wharf for Project5 - a pop-up combination of live beats and paint-while-you-wait art.
aMBUSH Gallery has recruited top artists Anthony Lister, Meggs, Ears and Webuyyourkids to work live on the Promenade to the cranking mixes of the Future Classic DJs. In support of the Information & Cultural Exchange, the pieces will then be auctioned on October 14 with all proceeds going to charity.
Project5 starts 6pm-9pm Friday, and continues over Saturday and Sunday 12-3pm.
future classic djs, cockle bay wharf, sydney, ambush gallery, anthony lister
Posted by KB on August 9, 2010
Long has the badge of “art” been bandied around the music festival site, sometimes resulting in extraordinary experiences, other times leaving us feeling a little lack lustre… Too many inflatable gnomes, not enough excellent art… (Not that that we don’t love an inflatable gnome here or there!). With the Splendid program we see a real investment, drive and development of the possibilities of this cross-disciplinary, site-specific opportunity for art bumping right up into the music festival world.
Splendid is a creative development partnership between Splendour in the Grass, Australia Council for the Arts, Lismore Regional Gallery, NORPA, and Arts Northern Rivers. The program is developing emerging artists in creating new experiences for festival audiences. Originally, 10 artists were selected for an intensive professional development and creative brainstorming program. Over the course of a year the artists generated ideas, challenged perceptions (including their own) and worked with industry protagonists, festival producers, technical and legal restrictions, budget possibilities. From the 10 artists, three final works were developed and installed at the festival. These were Carl Scrase, The Generative Power of Opposites; Lauren Brincat and Mish Grigor, Where the Party Is; and Lauren Brincat and Dominic Finlay-Jones, The Best Time Ever.More...
splendid, splendour in the grass, arts
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 4, 2010
With winter drawing to a close, Object Gallery greets the new season with an exciting and vibrant line-up. The Spring Series, which kicked off last week, provides a 10-week forum that allows for individual exploration and innovative exchange in all forms.
You know the local design sphere has come to fruition when more of our homegrown studios are stepping into the field, and one of the event’s many highlights is Big, which features some of these independent studios responsible for Sydney’s ever-evolving artistic landscape. Also dropping in is Design Now 2009 winner, Anthony Hamilton-Smith, where he will be leading the nation’s fervent foodies and cyclists on an adventure with ride-on dinner. Kino Loves Object, part of a global filmmaking network, is an event dedicated to bring out the Spielberg in you, so get your creative
juices flowing and start sending in your films.
With so much going on this spring, one thing’s for sure, we know where we’ll be.
For a detailed layout of the program, log on to the Spring Series minisite and find out more.
object gallery, the spring series, big, ride-on-dinner, kino loves object, anthony hamilton-smith
Posted by Audrey Lee on August 3, 2010
Pull up your creative socks and bring along an open mind for Melbourne Art Foundation’s Art Week. Dedicating an entire week to art functions, lectures and music - not to mention the highly anticipated biennial Melbourne Art Fair, an exhibition which takes the form of 80 galleries and 10 project rooms - the event brings together a collection of all things contemporary and unique. Highlights include the launch of the Melbourne Art Foundation Commission, a live broadcast by RRR, the Music Music Music! Fair Shake and a display of more than 3,000 artworks worth eyeballing. Go, look, see and get inspired.
Melbourne’s Art Week is on from August 2 to 8. For full program details, check out http://www.melbourneartfoundation.com. The Melbourne Art Fair kicks off at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens, on August 4.
melbourne art foundation, art week, melbourne art fair, melbourne art foundation commission, RRR, music fair shake