Tuesday, September 27

paper-cut-project.


I remember coming across these works by Atlanta-based duo Amy Flurry and Nikki Salk a few months back.

I was tickled with delight. Their whimsical paper-cut fashion wigs ticked all my boxes: imaginative, absurd, elegant, exquisite. It was all "yums" and "yeses" and gasps of surprise as I flicked through their creative compendium.  Fueled, in their own words, by an "appreciation of the grace and nuance of this humble material", these constructions felt like a true celebration of the page; arts and crafts on the next next level.

Looking at them again now, I'm still marveling at the sheer wonder of these head-topping arrangements. Using only the plain white sheet the girls have achieved Brancusi-esque cranial sculptures that twist, lift, and blossom with gravity defying articulateness. Some glisten like the hard laquered shell of a beetle, others resemble the teetering excess of a freshly piped wedding cake. Their animal themed masquerade pieces are also worth noting for their exceptional scissor skills.

Ahhh, now this is what I love about design. Where I see a potential grocery list, others see this stuff. Fantastic.








With completed collections for Hermes, Cartier and Katie Spade, these two are well on their way to some deserved recognition. Do take some time to explore their lovely website, itself an observance of the pleasing simplicity of white and black.

Visit Paper-Cut-Project: http://www.paper-cut-project.com/main.html

all images ©  paper-cut-project

butter.


By Eda Akaltun (based on Yevgeny Zamyatin's We)


Do you like butter? I like butter. Some say you can tell if you like butter by tinkling a buttercup under your chin to see if it glows yellow. Another option is to go to butterbutter.co.uk and see if you flush with excitement.   

Here you’ll find a sumptuous offering of illustration, photography, collage, and decorative arts. That’s because Butter is an east London based art collective, comprised of Eda Akaltun, Eleanor Meredith and George Lewin, all ex-St. Martins types. Sounds rote, but its not. Expect sci-fi prints with dystopian wit, achingly likeable post-pop collage, mildly unnerving tea mugs, and bleach browed blondes making out. 

Check it out.

Eda Akaltun 

From "We"

From "We"

From "Invisible Cities"

From "Invisible Cities"




From "Everybody's Talking"

From "House of Gold"



From "House of Gold"


Eleanor Meredith 

"An infringement of personal space"


 

From "Facial Insincerity"

From "Touch Me! Plates"



From "Touch Me! Plates"



From "Touch Me! Plates"


George Lewin

From "Ollie and Charlotte"

From "Ollie and Charlotte"

From "Ollie and Charlotte"





Visit The Site:


all images © George Lewin, Eleanor Meredith, and Eda Akaltun

finally... fish bar.


It lurked behind closed curtains for months, but the mysteries of Fish Bar have at last been revealed. Turns out this ex-chippie is now home to an exhibition space co-run by photographers Philipp Ebeling and Olivia Arthur.Its a well presented, open gallery whose stained wood walls, exposed white brick and back-lit ceilings speak to the rustic minimalism of its creators own photographic aesthetic.   

Their inaugural show is Father and Son, a double feature comprised of works by Indian-born Pablo Bartholomew and the amateur photographs of his father, Richard. It’s a surprisingly compelling project, with Pablo’s photographs capturing his voracious youth in 70’s Delhi, and his father’s languid portraits of artist friends and family life two decades earlier providing a poignant narrative of kinship. 




It’s all very bohemian and really quite a treat. Click here for Pablo's own photographs of the show.  

Find Fish Bar at
http://www.fishbar.ph/


all images ©  Pablo Bartholomew

Wednesday, September 21

nail art at the sassoon gallery // vyner street.

Stassja Mrozinski


When your first thought is fake nails, your second thought might be cat fights, bitch slaps, or sassy gossip. Well that’s exactly what went down ‘round London the past few weeks in the world of high brow low brow artistic fusions, with two London galleries scrambling for the honour of curating the first ever show of contemporary nail design.

The under-the-radar Sassoon Gallery at the heart of shellac-savvy Peckham did manage to open a week before Vyner Street heavyweights DegreeArt got their “Nailphilia” on display in time for fashion week... but hey! We'll not let such quibbling get in the way! Everyone put their claws away in the end and celebrated what really mattered, the dirty great boatload of fierce talons on offer at both locations. Two fabulously presented shows that put the emphasis on what really matters. HOT NAILS.

Standouts included works such as:

Jiggery Pokery
Garudio Studiage




Nicky Carvell

Nicky Carvell

Sam Biddle

Sue Marsh
Sue Marsh

Sophie Harris-Greenslade

Nailphilia, Fashion Nails
Sophie Hanson


Visit:

Sassoon Gallery. 213 Blenheim Grove. Peckham. SE15 4QL

Degree Art. 12A Vyner St, London E2 9DG


[ all photos taken by Charlotte ]

Tuesday, September 13

richard hamilton.

Patricia Knight II, 1982

So today marks the death of the oft-called "father of pop art".

Actually, he wouldn't really have called himself that. He recently denounced the term, saying it better describes "Elvis Presley and rather vulgar American imagery of ice cream cones or hamburgers".

Well, all right then Rich, but your work does in fact feel like pop; albeit cleverly sidestepping out-and-out vulgarity while still remaining healthily provocative.

I believe a brief retrospective is in order.

Born, London. 1922.  Early sketches display his skill as a draftsman (he was trained as an engineering one during the second world war), and a propensity towards playful abstractions of form.


from Reaper, 1949

from Reaper, 1949

$he, 1958



The artist studied and worked in London before founding the Independent Group at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in the 1950's; where he, along with several artists, helped to kick of the Pop Art movement. By this time we see his characteristic use of collage to, rather humorously, thrust the zeitgeist of contemporary culture upon the canvas

.

Just What Is It that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?, 1956 

Adonis in Y Fronts, 1963


Interior II, 1964

The Solomon R. Guggenheim, 1964




In later years he developed a fondness for photographs, often appropriating snaps from the press and doctoring them up a bit. He had quite a relationship with this one, which depicted Mick Jagger handcuffed to his art dealer buddy Robert Fraser, just after the two of them had just been convicted on drug charges.


Swingeing London, 1968
Stage Proof 1, 1971
Stage Proof 4, 1971
Stage Proof 5, 1971
Stage Proof 13, 1971
Stage Proof 19, 1971




In the last couple of decades his work has had a decidedly more political edge, getting itself mixed up in issues like war, Thatcherism, war, Tony Blair...


The Treatment Room (Installation), 1984

The State, 1993

Shock and Awe, 2007


Fabulous stuff, as we can see by now. So well done, Mr. Hamilton. You will be missed.

[And do keep an eye out for his upcoming retrospective exhibition. Supposedly coming through London, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Madrid in 2012.]


A Dedicated Follower of Fashion, 1980
Marcel Duchamp, 1967