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 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 Penny Cropper on August 17, 2010
One of our newer Surry Hills favourites and sister store to the most highly excellent Paris Texas, Bourke street shop The Candy Store is turning one this September and sure has picked a great way to celebrate. They’re introducing a bunch of new labels to the store, having handpicked them from Fashion Week earlier this year, with standouts including Karla Spetic, Ellery, Konstantina Mittas and Micahel Lo Sordo.
Candy Store and Paris Texas owner Annette Verrusio has been fostering young Australian design talent for years with this kind of thinking, and we hope she keeps at it.
Check the website and blog for news on how the they’ll be celebrating the introduction of these up-and-comers to their stable.
candy store, paris texas, surry hlls, annette verrusio, karla spetic, konstantina mittas, ellery, michael lo sordo
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 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 July 27, 2010
All you Melburnians, listen up and listen good! For the first time ever, the creative cats behind Finders Keepers will be hitting Melbourne this Spring/Summer. Combining elements of design, art and fashion into 150 talented stallholders, this heralds their biggest market yet. What’s more, entry is free and open to all. So say yes to this bit of local lovin’.
Melbourne’s Finders Keepers markets will touch down on October 9 & 10 at Shed4, Docklands. Interested stallholders can apply online until August 27 via the Finders Keepers site.
melbourne, finders keepers, design, art, fashion, market, stallholders
Posted by Penny Cropper on July 21, 2010
A celebration of the sung and unsung heroes we adore the guts out of. Gary Bigeni, as recommended by favourite folk #1 Tanya Stevanovic.
Dubbed “the one to watch” going into his debut at Fashion Week 2010, Gary Bigeni is turning heads in the Australian fashion world. Having previously designed for Josh Goot and already stocked at iconic Sydney boutique The Corner Shop – owned by his mentor, Belinda Seper – Bigeni is no stranger to success. But at just 29, he is eccentric, adorable and, in fact, only just getting started.
A Sydney native and graduate of East Sydney TAFE, Bigeni says designing is in his genes, and he has been doing what comes naturally for as long as he can remember.
“I was always creating things as a kid; I went from high school to design school then straight into starting my own label. I used to have a collection of Barbies that I used to design and make hand-sewn garments for – all day, every day. I was never happy with the options Barbie had. It has always been in my blood to create pieces for people to wear.”
Of his designs, Gary says his secret is in the detail.
“I design art forms that have their own clever structural secrets: soft but tricky hems, interesting panelling and intricate design techniques are present in every element of my collections. My vision is to create new shapes and interesting silhouettes. I draw a lot of inspiration from everyday life.”
Although the trademark Bigeni craftsmanship is present, as ever, in his SS-10 collection, Gary says the range is very different to previous years.
“I only wanted to offer colours in the collection and take out black to give it a fresh approach. I also introduce more woven and tailored elements to offer different textures and fabrication. The shapes are more to the body.”
gary bigeni, fashion week 2010, SS-10, design, fashion
Posted by Audrey Lee on July 2, 2010
The designer folk at Dosh have been at it again, getting all collaborative on us.
This time, they’ve hooked up with Pedal Consumption, a cycling and push bike-culture website which produced a smooth, racing-striped design; the Semi-Permanent Design Conference, which asked young creatives to submit a design for a competition, the winner of which, Stephanie Foti, gets her cute design immortalised on a Dosh wallet; and Stab magazine, the surf magazine whose resulting Dosh wallet is funny, quirky and colourful.
Check them out, we think they’re worth a look-see.
dosh, design, wallet, pedal consumption, stephanie foti, stab, semi-permanent, art
Posted by Penny Cropper on June 25, 2010
Sydney Design 2010, a 16-day festival of all things contemporary design, wants us to spin them a yarn. The theme of the festival, which starts on 31st July, is ‘tell us a story’, and will be showcasing some of the stories and ideas behind design until the 15th August.
Beautiful storytelling is often made even more delightful by beautiful clothes and at the festival’s headquarters at the Powerhouse Museum, an exhibition on the 50-year partnership of husband-and-wife team Bruno and Hazel Benini, gives us both in one pretty hit. Creating the Look: Benini and Fashion Photography, follows the Beninis’ process of fashion photography, from styling to composition to design. Together, Bruno, a photographer, and Hazel, a stylist, created some of the most elegant fashion photography in Australia, and the exhibition promises to give an insight into the stories of those images.
If you’re after something more hands-on, you can get your craft on at one of three craft and design-recycling workshops. The age-old arts of knitting and cross-stitch are covered, with Nikki Gabriel teaching us how to magically transform simple knitted shapes into beautiful clothes in Knitting Construction, and Tamara Maynes showing how to use cross-stitch in interior design in Craving Cross Stitch. Meanwhile, Felt My Tote will show us how to turn an old knit jumper into a brand new tote bag. Skills, no doubt, we could all use.
design, fashion photography, hazel benini, bruno benini, sydney design 2010, nikki gabriel, tamara maynes, powerhouse museum, cross-stitch, knitting
Posted by KB on June 4, 2010
Winterland, Sydney is on the lookout for stallholders.
The Winterland Markets will be curated by Finders Keepers, so you know they'll be good, but we think it is worth noting that the selection criteria for stalls is quite different to that of the Finder Keepers AW and SS markets. The girls are on the lookout for all manner of things such as art, vintage goods, food, plants and music. Basically, as they explain it on their site, "As long as it's winter based product, it is high quality and well presented."
Check out all the details for potential stallholders on the Finders Keepers website.
For the rest of us, get all your details on this wonderfully wintery festival at the CarriageWorks website.
winterland, finders keepers, carriageworks
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on May 11, 2010
Gen Art, a long standing supporter of emerging designers, filmmakers and musicans, has been forced to close its doors this week after 16 years.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we are are posting this. After struggling for the past 18 months since the economic crisis, Gen Art has finally succumbed to the recession,” Gen Art Founders Ian and Stefan Gerard wrote on the organization’s website.
Gen Art afforded countless creatives the opportunity to showcase their work including Zac Posen, Kevin Bacon, Adrien Brody, MGMT, DMN of Run DMC, Rebecca Taylor, Tanner Hall and Whitney Port.
Here’s to Gen Art, we here at Kluster will continue to carry the torch and give a voice to emerging talent around the world.
gen art, emerging designers, emerging filmmakers, zac posen, mgmt, adrien brody
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on March 23, 2010
Typography is something that most people take for granted but for some, the curves and shapes of words are an art form. Artist Niels Meulman a.k.a ‘Shoe’ has carved a niche market with his work as a calligrapher, typographer, graffiti artist and designer.
‘Calligraffiti – The Graphic Art of Niels SHOE Meulman’ offers up a visual feast with a side of witty banter. It features some of the worlds’ best typographic works as well as an essay by renowned writer Adam Euwens.
The book gives insight into the inspirations behind each of Shoe's works. To describe Not on a Road, 2009 he explains "This title was taken from a crappy GPS device. Grand-touring on the Autobahn, it would keep on displaying 'Not on a road'. It is an adequate description for people without purpose."
Can’t get enough of all things font? Check out our interview with Brooklyn-based typographer Jessica Hische.
niels meulman, shoe, typography, graffiti art, art book, jessica hische