Ayden Galleries in Tinseltown, downtown Vancouver hosted Tangled Wires, a show curated by the talented Indigo hosting a plethora (10 to be exact) of local talent. Continue Reading →
Tangled Wires: an Art Show
Indigo Goes to Capetown: A Reminiscence
Photograph by Rowan Pybus (@makhuluct) of Makhulu Productions
Indigo, a beautiful creature known for her sincerity, creativity, work ethic, and of course art has recently returned from a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, for a project called A Word Of Art, where she witnessed both rural and central townships in the surrounding area first hand with her paintbrushes.
She has shared here experience with the world to view on her blog, Indigo Goes To Cape Town which only highlights a small fraction of the experience she has had there, so I suggest to dig around the site for a while.
One of her projects was to paint a few walls at a home, called Percy Bartley House, where she did an outer wall portrait of one of the oldest, and most respected residents at the home. This may not be a big deal normally, but this house happens to be a residence for boys who have faced severe adversity, giving them a safe place to learn and grow with the necessary support to do so.
Photograph by Rowan Pybus (@makhuluct) of Makhulu Productions
Photograph by Rowan Pybus (@makhuluct) of Makhulu Productions
Photographs are courtesy of the artist (@indi_gone) , and Rowan Pybus (@makhuluct) of Makhulu Productions.
Read more about Indigo here on our previous artist profile.
Artist Review: Remi/ROUGH
Remi/ROUGH just finished a trip to Canada, his first ever, and to no other than Vancouver at that. Yes, this is where I’m at. Yes, I met him. Yes, he’s a major cool chap. Yes, his art is amazing.
The pure mix of straight edges, with complete slur of all emotion mixed with symmetry, and then displaced with layered chaos is amazing.
He came to Vancouver to do Unintended Calculations, a mix of spraying the Moda Hotel walls in downtown Vancouver, as well as showing at Becker Galleries, located on Granville Island. The show was curated by the talented Indigo, who herself is an amazing artists becoming a global figure. I’ve taken some photographs of the event held at Becker Galleries.
Remi/ROUGH’s work leaves a lot up to the imagination. There are many angles to approach it, for myself, I feel. One can embrace it from chaos inward to straight and stiff edges, or the other way around: straight stiff to chaos. Maybe the correct word is not so much chaos as one would think.
Remi/ROUGH has been part of the Graffiti scene for a very long time. One of the fathers one might even say, so needless to say he is looked up to by many, many people. Artists, punks, rebels, musicians all alike; and with just cause, he is a great guy.
While talking with him, he gave me the certain awe that most people who have been doing their thing for a while, proven themselves, give me. It’s like a ‘yes, I’m just doing my thing, and I’m great at it, and I love it, and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy it too cause that’s why I do it’ kind of feeling. Or maybe that was just the English blood in him… Hard to tell.
The above piece is a collab put on the walls of a gallery with System, another artist.
To be honest though, it’s work like this that inspires me. There isn’t one thing that a person can pinpoint that does it, it’s a mixture of all things combined. How does one enjoy the drips any more than one does the edges? And how can you ignore the raunch feel of anger that is evoked in pin pointing an exact thing that inspires? Maybe it’s not anger at all, maybe it’s just something akin to capturing fireflies.
To me, it’s a body. It’s a figure, it’s a feeling. It’s not just one thing. It’s everything. Does this make sense? How does it make you feel?
The photo above is Remi/ROUGH doing work with Jaybo Monk. I have done a profile on him recently for he is also one inspiring fellow. Two legends, two icons, two people that will be talked about for many many years to come.
I am honored to have met Remi/ROUGH and I look forward to seeing his future work.
All pictures are to the best of my knowledge taken by Remi/ROUGH unless otherwise noted.
Artist Review: Jaybo Monk
You get pieces of art that are pretty close replications of real life, evoke a sense of 3D, and really give a feeling of something that you can see happening. Well, Jaybo Monk touches briefly, in little corners of his paintings on these elements, fits together pieces that really make sense on their own, but what I find are his strongest suits are that he pushes the freak into what one would feel is quite natural and ordinary; freakishly and radically awesome.
It really is works of art like this that inspire me. Where does it come from? Where has it spilled forth from? What was on your mind? How did you get those strokes? How did you blend there? Did you create this from space? Those are just the first few that come from looking at the above photograph. Lord only knows how many more would come if I could actually behold one of them in front of me.
From what I’ve read, Jaybo is from a strong graffiti background, he grew up in France, but ran away from home to settle in Germany, Berlin to be exact. His biography on Circle Culture will take you into more detail, but its very interesting to hear how he has shaped the scene of that area from the ground, grass roots up.
A friend just told me, because I was lamenting about how far away my art is from this, that to get to the point where my art speaks like this, it takes many many hours, days, years of work. I optimistically put the fear of never getting to this point out of my mind and push on. Another friend once told me that if I spend to much time looking at all the other works out there, I’ll become overwhelmed with how much there is and start getting dizzy. I think that’s how I’m feeling right now. This is just such an amazing body of work Jaybo has.
Just wow. You know? wow. Shading, contortion, vivid body parts mixed with spaces of plain white. Ease and confusion. Words just keep flowing. Comprehension doesn’t follow suit. I found a great interview done by Remi Rough at Graffuturism, where I got the final picture of Jaybo from. But the interview does reach some interestingly quirky points, but mainly showcases some of Jaybo’s brilliant works. Maybe you’ve seen some of them before? Maybe it’s just in your dreams…
Also, the mixture of materials that he uses. To me, it looks like theres oils, water colors, pens, and spray paint? It is just confusing to me. Amazingly confusing. So much does it speak that its confusing.
I hope this opens up new doors for you as it has me, finding or learning of such style, such works just inspires me to the point of utter madness, a circling spiraling into madness that I can’t stop smiling about until I’m upside down and…
What do you think about Jaybo?
Here are a few videos to watch Jaybo’s process from Urban Art Core
This one is from Urban Art Core as well
Artist Review: Indigo
Some of you may know her as a stencil artist, some of you may know her as a graffiti artist, some a dancer, and some of you will simply know her as the artist. All these combined, what do we have? A great person and an inspiration to nearly everyone within her reach; oh yes, she does reach far.
Me, as an observer, would define Indigo as a relentless worker who cannot say no. You can see it in her eyes (or hair)! It’s a drive that only people filled with life carry with them, like a little gerbil in a cage, tirelessly running on its little spin wheel. Time, location, hunger.. these are things that do not effect these types of people, and Indigo is definitely tested; starving artist she be.
Her artwork is graceful. You know the feeling you get when you watch an eagle soar through the air? Kinda like that. It just has a being, an existence to it. A natural essence that seems to say: “Yes, this is how it’s supposed to be, can’t you see?”
This artist is also an incredible writer. Read for yourself some of her blog posts. Her stories put you in places. I like those kind of stories, I like those kind of places, a realm of reality that you know exists there, or has existed in the past, but you’re just taking a break with a cup of tea right now on your dreaming to take you there.
One of her latest projects has been the wooden boxes and shelves that you see here. She touches on her thoughts of why she has started this project on her blog.
Indigo once told me when we were in discussion about stenciling (maybe illegally, maybe not): “It’s not just making the stencil cool, it’s about placement. You don’t just stick a little stencil in the middle of a giant wall, it just doesn’t fit.” These words just make sense for all art. Whether it’s stenciling on a wall, or in a collage, pasting onto a sign, dancing to a song, or painting on a canvas if it doesn’t fit, it’s not a proper piece. Yes, granted many artists push these boundaries to new levels that expand the mind to immeasurable heights, but you still look at it and go: “My that looks easy,” or: “My that fits there.” Her art fits there.
Her artwork is easily available through her Cargoh storefront, but I mention this because they have just created a artist bio video of her, thats simply brilliant.
One of her recent projects is curating an art show at Becker Galleries in Granville Island here in Vancouver, you can see a bit of what to expect with this video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq6k_2djVZs&feature=player_embedded]
Her next venture is a 4week stint in South Africa where she will be part of many great projects that range from desert festival group paintings, to teaching youth the art of expression, to showing in a few galleries that you need to follow her blog to stay updated on!
Note: All photos are courtesy of the artist.
Artist Review: Hazel Dooney
I have recently stumbled upon (no not using stumbled upon) the artwork of Hazel Dooney. To say the least, its inspiring. Hazel is from Sydney, Australia and has artwork on her website from 1995. From reading as much as I can of her blog, I understand why she claims she’s: “emerged as one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most controversial female artists.” This much is evident when her latest blog post starts off: “I am not a ‘joiner’. I am not a ‘people person’. I am solitary, prickly, and on most days absorbed in my work. I don’t like to be distracted. I don’t respond well to those who try.” Oh how this makes me squirm!
Her enamel stuff, one of which is shown above from her Dangerous Career Babes album, is not her stuff that I love the most. A brief background on enamel: highly toxic and a carcinogenic material. The works of hers that I am awed by are her watercolor stuff. Its raw, very imaginative, and very free.
Her latest series is Flesh Eaters. I have taken a few of her pictures here that are the least provocative, yet still highly contagious. I highly suggest you go to her site to find more of her work, for I personally am in awe of this stuff. It’s just amazing. It reminds me of a the old statues with no arms and heads but just busts.
Hazel has received a lot of publicity from her highly suggestive and sexually extroverted works of art over the years, being banned from showing at certain galleries, which in reality only makes her work more stronger and interesting to the public; which is a good thing.
I have read on her blog that a lot of her work is being sold to China. I’m not sure what it means, but I really do associate the top enamel work with art that one would expect to see coming out of there. Its very precise, very exact, no errors, which is also why it shocks me to see them in contrast with her watercolors, or sketches. It’s very interesting to see such contrast.
From what I have read on her blog she is an extremely powerful and strong woman. She isn’t afraid to search what her mind can bring in a realm that most people blush and shy away from: Sexuality, nudity, feminism, and soft porn. To me, having an image, having a voice, having your own niche to sit in and dig deeper into the confines of (pop) cultures stereotypes or limitations is what artists are meant to do. Being able to spread the boundaries between what is thought, what is real, and what is something you have never dreamed of before is something I admire in an artist, and I definitely gravitate towards. This is what makes me sit in awe and amazement at the end of the day, and this is what Hazel does.
Her watercolor stuff, which I have only showcased one of, is simply amazing. When I sit looking at a raw blank canvas, this is what I wish would be accomplished. The colors are brilliant, and run in an amazing blending pattern that isn’t smooth, isn’t natural, but leaves so much up to the imagination its unreal how inspiring it is.
I hope you can find inspiration, as I have, from this work, for I’d like to ask you: what thoughts come to your mind when you look at them?
Artist Review: CT
Today I’m going to showcase a dear friend of mine, CT. He’s been painting for a while now, and his stuff is stunning in a strict kind of way. Usually I’m more into abstract messy stuff, but this is really good, solid work that I like, so you get to see.
These are the three photos that I have, you can contact me if you’re interested in buying anything.
How do you like the works?
Artist Review: David Choe
Sometimes you come across things that just make you think to yourself: “I need to step on the gas, shift into a gear higher, let my mind free from all constraints, and become more totally awesome than I already am.”
Looking at art by David Choe does this for me.
His interest in not only in abstracting the normal, but in blending that with colors and angles that make you feel like your in a weirdly distorted mirror room simply amaze me.
I’ve just recently read an issue of Juxtapoz magazine, where he was featured, and guest edited the entire issue. It is chalked full of art, thoughts, reminiscences, history, and antics of David that inspire me in their own right, let alone the art that graces the pages.
Who really knows where an artist starts, I guess it would be some time between your parents deciding to not use a condom, the sounds you hear in the womb, and the influences you have at the time of puberty, but for David, it seems he’s grown up on a steady diet of graffiti, porno’s, and mixed media. Looking at his website, you’ll find he uses every type of medium possible: oils, mixed, walls, sculptures, fotos, and drawings… which I guess is what an artist should and does create with.
Gambling problems, sticky fingers, women, kindness, and amazing dedication to living a life for the sole purpose of exploring your mind seem to be David‘s characteristics; which inspire me a lot.
I don’t think its that he just uses a lot of different mediums, or that he has exceptional talent, or that he’s not trying to fit into a type of style, but its that he tries with the vigor of a porno star with everything that he tries; he lives, breathes, fucks, drools, and smells of art… and I love it.
Check out his stuff, be influenced, and tell me how much you adore him just like I do!
Oh, and by the way, he’s a world wide traveler, but in LA from all that I can gather at the moment.