Tues 8th May: NYC incoming images from Rosy Nicholas - Holton Rower "Pour Paintings"

                            

Thanks to Rosy for sending these amazing detailed photos from Holton Rower's Pour Paintings at The Hole on Bowery......... here you can see her travelling companion  Chrissie Abbott tripping out on the cosmic canvas!

Holton Rower:  Pour Paintings 

The Hole, 312 Bowery, NY 10012   April 28 – May 26th

(video taken from gallery website)

Tues 8th May: NYC incoming images from Rosy Nicholas - Ryan McGinley "Animals"

Rosy Nicholas is in NYC for the Freize Art Fair and has kindly offered to be our foreign correspondent by sending over some imagery from her time there.  Up first is the latest solo show by downtown photographer Ryan McGinley "Animals".  This is very different from his landscape work where he travels to remote destinations to blend human form into the curves of nature's form.  For this project he took a different angle, taking a mobile studio on an excursion setting up at  sanctuaries, zoos, and rescue homes to capture animals in a controlled environment.  Candy colour Colorama rolls have replaced ethereal waterfalls and blurry motion shots have become static like the blue budgie, Sienna Miller portrait commissioned by Vogue. This is certainly an example of prop styling I haven't  seen before - a marmoset in a muff?!   I imagine this was much more fun than all the shoots I have done with stiff fixed taxidermy creatures from "Get Stuffed"! 
"Animals" runs till 02 June at 83 Grand Street, between Wooster and Greene. 
Concurrently, the 47 Wooster Street space is showing "Grids" - an additional McGinley solo show 

Monday 7th May: Damien Hirst at The Tate Modern

As I have mentioned previously, all the major galleries in London have been taking it in turns to open their most ambitious shows to date, to coincide with The Olympic games coming to town this year.  Here is the one that has probably had the most cash thrown at / invested in it with an all encompassing retrospective of Hirst's grand scale works at The Tate Modern.   I missed Sensation the first time round so for me it was actually a final chance to see these pickled pieces.   I trawled round the group of Gagosian's on the spot trail earlier this year so I'm all good for dots and I just had a dose of the pills at British Design at the V&A.   However I couldn't miss witnessing this landmark show as I always regretted bypassing Sensation, so I headed down to the Supermarket Sweep of art on Bank Holiday Sunday.  Although it was a shoulder to shoulder, push and shove through the sheep ....... it was probably the most fun time to go, just to see the faces on children in the butterfly room.  For all the high-brow conceptual fine-artists who I've heard snubbing this "soulless" life's work I would like to say this - its got nice colours and kids like it - can't be too much of a bad thing.  Maybe there could have been a ball pool next to the elevated beach ball and we could have all got in together for a mental half hour and forget our adult sensible sensibilities.  
However "For The Love Of God" ironically is the title of the crystal skull and the phrase that will pass your lips when you see the cue waiting in line down the Turbine Hall to see it................ 

Sat 5th May: Lazy Oaf Press Day

New garms from our friends at Lazy Oaf!! 

Friday 4th May: GIRLS AND BOYS

Here are snaps from the studio of  Brett Lloyd and Edward Quarmby who have just launched a new periodical entitled "Girls And Boys".  Each tri-annual issue of the large format magazine will focus on the work of just one photographer shooting a subtely provocative vision of both sexes.  For the first instalment, Brett shot Flo and Gabe for their relaxed and energised personalities in addition to their mix of innocent and erotic appeal.  The A3 format has been designed to unfold into A1 posters for teenagers to dissect and stick on their bedroom walls turning a piece of printed matter into an accessible artwork.  Here you can see their own walls decorated with tests from previous shoots and plans from putting together the final magazine.   The carpark of our studio block was converted into a launch party last evening to gather together friends and colleagues to preview the first batch of copies with the bulk now being sent out to international stockists for the rest of the world to pick up, pull out and pin up...........

Friday 4th May: NOKI SHWOPPING

SATURDAY 5th MAY & SUNDAY 6th MAY 

10.00-17.00  "THROWN AWAY FASHION WITH DR NOKI"

M&S Sustainable Fashion Lab, Dray Walk Gallery, Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, E1 9QL

Dr Noki will run an interactive, fun and engaging workshop where obsolete items will be cut up and reworked into new designs.

Thurs May 3rd: "Bauhaus: Art as Life" at The Barbican

                                     
Think what you will of the impact of the Olympics coming to London but one indisputable positive outcome is the incredible strength in art shows across the captial.  Every gallery and museum has saved their best for the summer of 2012 to come out with all guns blazing to put on the ultimate showcase for residents and tourists alike.  I've been doing the rounds of all the major destinations, lapping up the marvellous array of pieces pulled in from international collections to complete curations.  Last evening "Bahaus: Art As Life" opened at The Barbican and I had that magic feeling of standing infront of some of my favourite imagery of all time - critical works I have only ever seen in books before.  Iconic, classic, important designs and personal photos / memorabilia from the school including Oskar Schlemmer, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Walter Gropius etc. have been amassed for this largest London show in the last forty years.  I won't say any more other than YOU HAVE TO GO........... not least just for the gift shop which is stocking Patternity tights specially commissioned, Corrie Williamson jewellry and Darkroom Store homewares.  Also put June 23rd in your diary for my accessories workshop in the day to make your own costume to wear to a Bauhaus theme party in the conservatory in the night!!
See Bauhaus: Art as Life at the Barbican for more details.
(Images top to bottom:  pieces in the show, Anna Murray wearing her own Patternity design tights, project sketchbooks by CSM BA jewellery students, items in the gift shop, my own Corrie Williamson earrings and Patternity tights I wore for the private view)