London has its fair share of art fairs throughout the year, but ‘Pick Me Up’ is the very first contemporary graphic art fair of its kind.

Opening on Friday 23 April 2010 at Somerset House, London, the fair will showcase work by some of the most exciting designers and illustrators in the country – from talked about emerging talent to established artists leading the way in the graphic design field.

Visitors will also be able to pop into the studio, see artists at work, do a bit of shopping and browse new and interesting artworks.

Opening times: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Tubes: Charing Cross, Covent Garden, Embankment, Temple
Cost: £4.00 – £5.00

‘Pick Me Up’ runs until 3 May 2010, for more information, please click HERE

RED is a play about Latvian born painter and printmaker Mark Rothko (born Marcus Rothkowitz), the Abstract expressionist famous for his huge, primitive and often tragic canvas pieces depicting rectangular fields of color and light.

The play gives an account of the artist’s struggle to create a definitive work whilst labouring under the watchful eye of his youthful assistant.

“A moving and compelling account of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century whose struggle to accept his growing riches and praise became his ultimate undoing”.

Visit: www.donmarwarehouse.com for more details and ticket sales.

One such building is the former home of the Sierra Leonean Embassy, located at 33 Portland Place. This huge, Robert Adam townhouse was used by the African country’s diplomats from 1954 to 1998, before descending into substantial disrepair when the country’s exiled government ran out of money and no funds were available to run the London high commission. It has now fallen into the hands of a British entrepreneur who acquired the property under dubious circumstances (click HERE for article) and hires the venue out for film location, parties (namely by an exclusive swinger’s club), and this week, as an exhibition space.

This strikingly beautiful, shabby-chic Georgian residence couldn’t be a better setting for ‘The Embassy’, a site-specific project involving a number of artists exploring the abuse of power and its effects. 

The project is a collaboration from two galleries, produced and curated by Alex Dellal (20 Hoxton Square Projects) and Xerxes Cook (Zoom Art Projects). 

The idea for the show was initially formed after Dellal learnt how certain embassies are now using parts of their premises to promote their national artists. Alex wanted “to do the exact opposite by inviting artists from all over to recreate the national identity of an anonymous country”. Instead of having an embassy defined by artists’ nationality, the artists would define the embassy’s nationality.  

Dellal and Cook invited emerging artists Marco Brambilla, Terence Koh, Rosey Chan, Tom Gallant, Alastair Mackie, Oliver Clegg, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz, Bruce French, Henry Hudson, Michael Lisle-Taylor, Laurence Owen, Olympia Scarry, Karim Rabik and Hugo Wilson to take inspiration from the building and it’s former owners, whose country has a façade of democracy, but in fact whose political history depicts a quite different story with abuses of power, corruption and financial crisis.

The result is a breathtaking pop-up exhibition, less than a couple of minutes away from the madness of Frieze in Regents Park, and I’d say one of the main highlights in London Art week and a must-see show.

JB Pelham PR clearly did a good job on the preview night as the building was rammed with people desperately trying to get in and join the likes of Alexander McQueen, Meredith Ostrom, Jo Wood, Charlotte Casiraghi, Lilly Allen, Anouk Lepere, Jefferson hack, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Valentino, Andy Wong, Charlotte Dellal, Marc Quinn, Evgeny Lebedev and Oswald Boateng.

Guests were all floating around the building admiring works who spoke of themes relevant to the mismanagement of a country - greed, egotism, repression, theocracy, malnutrition, gluttony, tyranny and geography.

There were also performance artists who were hired for the evening to assume the characters of diplomats, busily and noisily tearing through the space on official business.

I went to see ‘The Embassy’ in the full light of day, after visiting Frieze a second time round. Every year I go to Frieze, full of expectation, hoping that I am going to see something that is going to blow me away and I always leave feeling a bit disappointed. However, my spirits lifted once I visited Alex and Xerxes’  offering.

On entering the building, I was greeted by Tyrone Wood (son ‘of’) who works with Xerxes at Zoom Art Projects, and handed a beautiful duck-egg blue catalogue with details of the 15 or so artists whose work was on display.

Ok, ok…so initially, I was a bit skeptic – some may say its easy to put on a show like this when one has family money and connections, but it was the informative and slickly designed catalogue forced me to take a closer look.  The intro by Xeres was enlightening and well written, coupled with photographs of the work by Igor Tolstoy – no doubt a descendant of the famous author, knowing that ‘crew’.

I was totally awe-struck by this site-specific, theatrical exhibition staged by two young men who are still very new to the art world.  The show, which mixes painting, sculpture and installation work, has been extremely well curated by Alex and Xerxes and engages perfectly with the extraordinary history of its location.

It is true to say that the stunning, multi-floor premises helps with the general sense of awe one has when viewing the exhibition, but it doesn’t detract from the work which is clever and engaging.

The painting below is Wolfe Lenkiewicz’s (b.1966) ‘Lincoln Eagle’ and is a modern-day spin on a Baroque allegory showing a plane-crashing into Lincoln riding an eagle with the face of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. Lenkiewicz’s canvases are often filled with a cast of characters, and a variety of symbols and icons taken from environments as diverse as Greek mythology and 1950’s pop culture.

Former serviceman  Michael Lisle-Taylor’s (b.1669) practice is predominantly sculpture based, but it also consists of modifying emotively charged found objects, already heavily emblazoned with the marks of their own history, such as his work below -‘Tournament of the Dirty Nurse’. This piece is an ornately embroidered boxing ring showcased in one of the building’s dark, back rooms still covered in the blood, sweat and tears from bouts that have taken place within it.

His other works – ‘Crossing the Line’ and ‘Black Night Squared Away’ are from an ongoing series of ceremonial uniforms modified into garments of restraint which explore the culture of the military.

A ‘history’ painting by Oliver Clegg (b.1980), littered with contrast, on a series of 10 old school desktops that have been taken apart and reassembled, takes pride of place in one of the side rooms on the ground floor. No attempt has been made to conceal the scratches and marks on the furniture’s surface – scuffs which hint at previous narratives in scholastic settings.

Laurence Owen’s (b.1984) military portraits of individuals with scrubbed out faces are depicted as shown in the painting below. It forms part of a group of 13 nameless pieces (only a serial number distinguishes them), that force the viewer the look at what the portrait represents, rather than the portrait itself.

Alistair Mackie’s (b.1977) model of Capitol House is made out of mud, straw and horse manure (an ancient building material still used in parts of African and the Indian subcontinent today), and explores how man interacts with nature and our often false ideas of ‘progress’. Alistair decided to depict The Capitol building using it as an emblem for the Western democratic system as a whole – one we have been conditioned to believe represents a ‘civilized world’.

Below is a still from Marco Brambilla’s (b.1964) chilling ‘Voice of God’ – a mock propaganda film which depicts a nostalgic view of idol worship and looks at contemporary society’s obsession with media. Brambilla’s powerful work shows documentary footage of 1930’s and 40’s fascist leaders Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin and their adoring publics, seamlessly layered and montaged together to the rhythm of a generic military anthem.

Ronnie Yarisal & Katja Kublitz’s (b.1981 and 1978) humorous, mechanized contraption entitled ‘Corny’ (see below), represents the libido and repressed sexuality of a country’s people – the absurd image of a bobbing coconut, perpetually driven by the wheel of a futile machine, intermittently rises to complete the word ‘HORNY’.

Other works include a set of sculptured lungs by Hugo Wilson (b.1982) in three stages of the pulmonary cycle – shock, agitation and panic entitled ‘Hyperventilation‘. To create this piece, a method called corrosion casting was used, a technique traditionally employed by the medicine profession to achieve specimens. During this extraordinary process, resin is injected into empty cavities within organs - spaces usually reserved for blood and air. The organs are then placed in acid for two weeks, which cases the flesh to slowly disintegrate leaving the remaining resin creating an exact copy of the previously negative spaces inside. Wilson took this process one step further by suspending the resin inside beautifully pristine glass vitrines.

There is also a set of photographs by Henry Hudson (b.1982) on display. These are caricatured portraits, one in black and the other in white, illustrating the transgression from purity to sin. The images depict real-life tableaux’s which portray the timeless cycle of corruption and lawlessness.  Hudson uses the same distinctive style favoured by Keith Haring and Boo Ritson, where painting the actual subject matter is used to blur the lines of illustration and reality.

Visit : www.20hoxtonsquare.com for more information.

The Embassy runs from 15 – 18 October 2009 @ 33 Portland Place, London W1B 1QU

The craziness of Frieze returns to London’s Regents Park  once again from 15 – 18 October, 2009. House in a bespoke structure, the world’s most influential contemporary art fair brings together 164 galleries presenting works by more than 1000 of the world’s most innovative artists. These are presented alongside a Frieze’s Sculpture Park, a programme of artist’s projects and a series of  talks and lectures.

This year also introduces ‘Frame’ and exciting section dedicated to solo artists from young galleries around the world that have been in existence for less than 6 years.

Even though the show is extortionately priced, thousands of people still clamor to see what has now become one of the worlds’ most popular art fairs.

Tickets are £20.00 on Thursday and Friday £25.00 at the weekend, so it may be advisable to pre-book on line.  Concessions are £15.00 or buy a four day pass at £60.00) See www.friezeartfair.com for details.

‘One of the few opportunities to get a truly representative picture of artists of the world’  The Times

Established in Clapham in 1994,  Studio Voltaire is the first and only artist-led gallery and studio complex in South West London. The organisation helps supports artists at a pivotal stage in their careers through a varied and ambitious public programme of exhibitions, collaborations, community projects, live events and off-site projects.

Studio Voltaire offers a much needed resource of affordable studios to London based artists, including two resident groups of artists with learning difficulties.

The organisation also runs a number of residencies for artists based outside of London.

“Studio Voltaire has become one of the most energising spaces in London. Its ad-hoc approach and knack for spotting young talent makes it a formidable presence on the city’s art scene.”
The Guardian

“Studio Voltaire has spearheaded the recent renaissance of London’s vibrant history of alternative spaces. Anticipating the exciting new leadership at spaces such as Chisenhale Gallery and The Showroom.  Studio Voltaire has become a South London lightning rod for artists, curators, critics and collectors.”
Stuart Comer, Curator @ Tate Modern

Visit the on-line shop where you can buy some great work by up and coming artists, such as this screenprint on white paper by Enrico David.

Untitled (Study for a mural), 2009
Produced by K2, London
Courtesy the artist and Galerie Buchholz, Berlin/Cologne and Cabinet, London

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The forthcoming exhibition features work by Henrik Olesen and is open to the public weekly from Wednesdays to Saturdays, 12 – 6 pm.  It opens from 9 October and is on show until 7 November 2009.

Support Studio Voltaire and visit them at 1a Nelsons Row, London SW4, 7JR

I spent yesterday afternoon visiting some of the studios during Lambeth’s ‘Wide-Open Weekend’ and came across some very interesting works…

Firstly, I discovered established Swiss artist Christina Neiderberger in Stockwell Road, Briton, who studied at Byam Shaw School of Art followed by completing one of two MA’s in fine art at Goldsmiths College in London.

Christina creates large scale work using a variety of mediums, most interestingly painting using oil, light-reflecting beads and varnish on the back of a glass or perspex canvas, shown below in this picture entitled ‘Cinderella Chandelier’.

Christina also produces interestingly kitsch-like images using a technique whereby she combs, brushes and trims colourful fake fur that she has laid flat onto a canvas, to create images of Disney like characters which she then sprays with copious amounts of fixative so that the ‘hair’ stays in place.

Tony Blackmore was also an artist who caught my eye and seemed to have a fair few visitors in his studio. He describes his work as trying to create ways to transform ‘plane materials’ by carefully folding paper and maintaining the continuity of the plane by not tearing or cutting.

Tony initially wanted to study architecture and decided on taking maths and science subjects for A-level.  He then gave up on Chemistry after a few terms and luckily, replaced it with Art after which he studied Fine Art Sculpture at the very well reputed Kingston University in London.

He says his initial inspiration for this project came from photographing modern canal architecture whilst on a trip to Amsterdam. He is heavily influenced by architects Le Corbusier and Zaha Hadid as well as the Technology University in Delft.

Perhaps though, there are some Asiatic influences which he may have acquired having spent 5 years in Hong Kong (after graduating from Kingston with a first class degree) and travelling through South East Asia, where the art of origami was born.

The skill with which these pieces are produced really caught my eye and the mathematical drawings Tom had displayed by this sculptural work were almost works of art in themselves!

Dana Sucking, who is a part-time lecturer at Kingston University and who studied at Chelsea College of Art, as well as in France and the US, shares a studio with Tom. Dana had produced some wonderful 3-dimensional works using epoxy resin and coloured glass paint, beautifully mounted on steel frames.

Then there was the Camille Brueton, whom I found a few doors down.  She had made some beautifully coloured map drawings from ordinance survey maps found in the  50′s.  Impeccably framed and conceived in pencil and gouache, the subjects were entitled fun-fair, swimming pool, ladies pond and reserved games area.

Focusing on architecture again, is the work of trained printmaker Ima Okon whose work was impressively featured last year in Creative Review’s Graduate Annual.

Ima is inspired by her faith and her interest in space and the passage of time. “My work takes on anthropomorphic qualities obtained through the process of applying and reapplying combinations of printmaking, photography, film, model-making and installation.”

Below are a series of mono prints Ima did featuring a cluster of tower blocks in the borough entitled  ‘A Time To Cast Away Stones, And A Time To Gather’. These were produced in an attempt to map and document the process of time and the visual transformations that it creates.

The project initially began when Ima took a set of individual photographs intermittently over five hours. Four of these photographs were then taken and each broken down into their four lithographic plates; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. These prints were then created by generating a pool of sixteen plates and by choosing at random four plates one from each colour and reprinting.

Ima’s photograph’s are also impressive, this one is entitled, ‘The Outward Appearance’

Adjacent And Touching, screen print

Here, Ima contrasts the scale, functionality and the repetitious layout of the tower block with the numerous identities of the occupants.  Look out for Ima, she’s definitely one to watch!

Fabia Claris was a lady I met at ABS Studios yesterday who produced the most incredible sculptural creatures out of found objects.

Fabia is a sculptor by training although drawing has always been central to her practice. After graduating in English from Cambridge in 1975 and doing a foundation at Central, she studied sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art from 1981 to 1983 before working as an apprentice to a master carver in York from 1983 to 1985. She subsequently studied anatomy at the Ruskin in 1991 and spent two years as a postgraduate at the Prince’s Drawing School from 2004 to 2006.

She had some beautifully executed drawings for sale in her portfolio but she is currently concentrating on her three-dimensional work.  I took some images of some birds she had created – in the photo below windscreen wipers and pieces of umbrella were used to make this Ibis.

Finally, I ended the day by looking into Nigel Grimmer‘s studio, a graduate in Fine Art from both Sheffield University, (BA Hons) and Central Saint Martin’s College of Art, (MA).

He had hung a selection of work from previous projects called ‘Roadkill Family Album’ and ‘Places I Call Home’ as well as a few pieces from a current project.

His work shows a series of photographs saturated in colour, constructed by using everyday objects and play-things. Nigel’s images suggest a fascination with private thoughts and quiet self-contemplation which I found to be both hilarious but at the same time tender and touching.

“Each work will evoke a different response from the viewer and Nigel generously invites us to collaborate in imagining its meaning. The titles that accompany each photograph challenges our reading of the images whilst providing an ironic twist” Joanne Lee, Senior lecturer, Nottingham University.

Nigel’s images are by no means original. They remind me very much of the highly popular work of artists Sloane Tanen and Stefan Hagen in a series of books they published in 2003 called ‘Life and Times of Some Chickens’ where they placed these bright yellow chenille chickens with pipe cleaner legs, amongst exquisitely crafted, miniature settings in a series of hilarious dilemmas. Whether playing the online dating game, dreaming of a better life, or dealing with uncooperative children, the chickens encounter everyday troubles and triumphs in a series of books called ‘Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same.’

Although Nigel’s images are along the same lines, they have certainly made me interact and engage with the work, which can only be a good thing!

Oh…and one last thing…I came across this studio with no artists in it and the door wide open.  I was gutted as I wasn’t able to find out whose work this was.  Walking into this working space was like walking into a magical kingdom…The only clue I had were these names on the door…Please get in touch and tell us more about your work!

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“Lambeth Wide Open 2009 is an exciting new event to showcase the unique talents of artists working in Lambeth.

Led by a group of local studios in partnership with Lambeth Arts, Lambeth Wide Open is a platform for artists in the borough to market their work to new audiences and to build Lambeth’s brand as a creative and cultural destination.

The event will see artists opening up their studios to the public from 12 to 6pm and will include the following artists’ studios: ASC studios, Red Gate Gallery and Studios, Whirled Art Studios, Bainbridge Studios and Gallery, and Parade Mews Studios.

Lambeth Wide Open has been timed to coincide with the Wandsworth Artists’ Open House to enable visitors to enjoy artwork across our shared boundaries.“  Lambeth Council

The gallery’s longevity is testament to its success and over the past thirty years, Klassnik has developed a reputation for displaying the kind of work that is not made anywhere else.

The most well know installation shown at Matt’s was probably in 1987 when artist Richard Wilson flooded the gallery with used engine oil in his iconic work 20:50. This piece was subsequently acquired by Charles Saatchi and I remember seeing the work at County Hall on the south bank, where it dominated one of the gallery’s oak pannelled rooms.

More recently, the gallery has shown the likes of Willie Doherty, Susan Hiller and Mike Nelson to great critical acclaim. 

Matt’s Gallery has been cited as “the most heroic art space in London” by the Sunday Times Culture Magazine.

The gallery exists to support artists with the time and space to take risks, and to be bold enough to be different.

Show your support and visit www.mattsgallery.org for up to date information about its projects, and to read a synopsis about the current work on show, an interesting sculptural installation called ‘Hotel’ by artist Paul Carter that disrupts the architectural features of the gallery.

Matt’s Gallery can be found at 42-44, Copperfield Road, Bow, E3 4RR and is open all year round from Wednesday to Sunday 12 pm – 6 pm.

There seems to have been a few articles in the newspapers recently about Peckham challenging Hoxton with regard to its ‘up and coming’ art scene, but to me this really is old tat…

East London once synonymous with social and economic deprivation and an outpost for budding enfants terribles, has long stopped resembling what it used to be.

I know the area is an established part of London’s gallery circuit, but property developers have taken advantage of its popularity and although the regeneration of the area is not a bad thing, its charm and character seem to be lost and Tracey Emin’s beloved East End has become the first port of call for tourists and a popular destination for post-work drinks.

 Now enter Peckham, a downtrodden South London neighbourhood with a very different vibe. An area which to most people means “urban dereliction, gun and street crime”, but it also happens to be a vibrant and culturally interesting place, not yet on the tourist trail where an alternative art scene has always flourished.

Historically Peckham has attracted artists due to its large studio spaces, trendy galleries and controversial street art.

A few years ago, Southwark Council invested millions of pounds into Peckham (believing it would revive the urban community) and commissioned a number of artists such as Zandra Rhodes, Andrew Logan and famous local residents Anthony Gormley, Tom Phillips and Sokari Douglas Camp to create works of art to improve the surrounding area – which they did with gusto.

At the moment however, the current focal point of the Peckham scene is situated behind a defunct Woolworths on top of a neglected 7-storey car park, set back from the main drag of Rye Lane.

This is temporarily home to Hannah Barry Gallery’s ‘Bold Tendencies III’ show and Frank’s Café & Campari Bar designed by Paloma Gormley and Lettice Drake.

The pop-up café/bar/restaurant sharing the location with a modern art exhibition, is actually one of the exhibits and it’s obvious that it’s the restaurant, not the art, which is the main draw.

When visiting Franks, it’s clearly the London skyline with breathtaking views including the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Gherkin which add to the place’s achingly cool vibe and its distinct sense of fun. When you’re there it feels like you’re a million miles away from the city centre and yet, this place is right in the heart of things.

To get to Frank’s you have to enter a rather gloomy looking car park off Rye Lane – I drove up to the 5^th floor then decided to take the lift up for the remainder of the journey – big mistake…

My first thought was not “I wonder what Frank’s Cafe is like,” but more, “I wonder if anyone will find me if the lift doors don’t open”…It turned out the lift wouldn’t go any higher and I walked the rest of the way pausing at the various art installations littered across the car parking space.

I reached Frank’s as dusk fell, the roof-top looked magical and the place was buzzing. Imagine the Shoreditch  House roof terrace without the pool or any of the five-star frills. Instead, you get the most spectacular view of the city and a chance to potter around the latest art installations provided by the stable of artists at Hannah Barry Gallery.

The collaboration with Hannah Barry Gallery, is the brainchild of rather glamorous offspring who look a bit like the cast members of ‘Skins’. The crew are made up of the eponymous ‘Frank’ grandson of famous foodies Mark and Arabella Boxer, Paloma Gormley (daughter of Anthony) who designed the bar’s tent-like structure, and design guru Stephen Bayley’s daughter Coco, who helps out in the kitchen. (The menu by the way, is compact, serving unpretentious, good quality, simple, picnic-type food that is just delicious!) Luckily, despite the huge success of the place it has not gone it the artist’s heads, and they’re all remarkably approachable, and quietly confident.

This whole idea and project came about when a group of south London art students took it upon themselves to set up their own shows. They felt divorced from the more established routes into the art world, with all the bureaucracies and systems that are in place, and decided to set up their own way of doing things.

Initially, they began holding a monthly ‘club night-meets-gallery space’ evening at Corsica Studios in Elephant & Castle, which began last November and have since put on a range of shows and an art-only exhibition,  called Frontiers, in the Elephant &  Castle shopping centre.

Having no money has had to force the students to think of a completely different way to get their work seen by the public, and with instant communication via social networking  sites, it has enabled the popularity of what they’re doing go from nowhere to somewhere.

The current Bold Tendencies III is a great exhibition, because its not just art on a wall in a gallery, but it forces you to interact and to become involved with the work. The sculpture park on the roof as well as the exhibits on the spacious floor below has helped Bold Tendencies III to become south London’s must-visit destination this summer.

And it’s not just in Peckham that these artists are causing a stir… Hannah Barry, the most established and influential of the Peckham set enterprisingly took local artists from London to her much publicised and very well received Peckham Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Although it is outside the official competition the whitewashed studio beside a canal on the Via Garibaldi has attracted visits from some of the art world’s most influential players.

Hannah Barry is excited by the Peckham artists she shows (enthusiasm is key to being a good gallerist), with 22-year-old James Capper receiving the Jack Goldhill Award for sculpture at this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  His industrial-size works currently sit inside Barry’s London gallery, housed in premises called the Bussey Building – a hub of around 60 artist’s studios.

Peckham has historically always been a great place for artists to work because of the cheap studio spaces, however getting people down south has always been a bit of a problem. Poverty and the resulting crime are persistent problems in Peckham and many are cynical about what good art initiatives do, but perhaps the opening of the East London line next year which will link Peckham to Dalston, Whitechapel and Hoxton may open up a few doors. I just hope it doesn’t damage Peckham’s charm and ‘adds’ rather than takes away from this interesting area.

NB: Sadly the end of September marks the closure of Franks, open from Thursday to Sunday, 11am – 10 pm. Bring cash and don’t miss out…visit now and take in the stunning city vistas in the most unlikely of surround