The Parasol unit presents: Los Carpinteros, the multidisciplinary duo
The Cuban art collective, Los Carpinteros, will be holding their first major show in the popular Parasol Unit Foundation for contemporary art, in London. The duo will exhibit their large-scale sculptures and installations
The Cuban art collective, Los Carpinteros, will be holding their first major show in the popular Parasol unit Foundation for contemporary art, in London. The duo will exhibit their large-scale sculptures and installations.
Made up of artist collective Marco Castillo and Dagoberto Rodriquez, Los Carpinteros have been working together since the early 1990s. They live and work between Madrid, Spain, Havana and Cuba, and have showcased their work all over the world. Focusing on the intersection between art and society, the group unites architecture, design and sculpture in comical, surprising and inventive ways.
Drawing on personal experiences, their work is often described as ‘interrogative art’. They chose to examine the relationships between art and society, form and function, practicality and frivolousness.
The Parasol unit will include the duo’s installations, sculptures, watercolour drawings and film screenings. The ground floor will be devoted to their larger works, such as the installation Tomates 2013, in which 200 real tomatoes will be splattered against the gallery walls. The piece aims to evoke feelings of compassion and sensitivity surrounding the topic of a political revolution.
The exhibition, curated by Ziba Ardalan, founder and director of the Parasol unit, will also include a series of watercolour drawings and small-scale prototype models. The watercolours bid to display the prosperity of possibilities. These paintings are a crucial aspect of how Los Carpinteros work, and act as a pivotal discussion between the two artists.
The gallery’s intention is to offer a fertile space for artists, so audiences can explore and question contemporary art and the way in which the chosen artists work creatively. The Parasol unit encourages interactivity, asking their audiences to push the boundaries of art, and support artists throughout the exhibitions.
Los Carpinteros will be exhibiting at the Parasol unit from March 25th, until May 24th 2015.
Food for thought | Europe’s best designed restaurants
Here is a list of six brilliantly designed and accessible restaurants within Europe that have perfected their menus and design principles and will certainly have you coming back for more
When it comes to dining, in a continent surrounded by some of the most exciting culinary landscapes in the world, the well-versed foodie is definitely spoilt for choice. But it doesn’t take much to realise that the design of a restaurant will often have a far bigger impact on your dining experience than the food itself. Many foodies I know will deny the importance of ambience for their satisfaction, but décor for the restaurateur is quickly becoming a number one priority, and a priority that’s showing how we don’t always have to go for the often over priced, is-that-even-a-portion-sized restaurant, to fine, dine and wine. Here is a list of six brilliantly designed and accessible restaurants within Europe that have perfected their menus and design principles and will certainly have you coming back for more.
Short days, long winters, cold nights... The Danes know how to combat Denmark’s seasonal gloom with the art of hygge and its much talked about New Nordic cuisine, but it all comes at a price, and a price that’ll have you reaching deep into the pockets of your feather down jacket to foot the bill. But not at Höst.
Founded by the restaurant group Cofoco together with the local architecture and design duo Menu and Norm Architects, Höst is a traditional new Nordic restaurant, located in the heart of Copenhagen in the neighbourhood of Nansensgade with a modern twist. The restaurant has already won three international design awards including the World’s Best-Designed Restaurant and Best European Restaurant at London’s Restaurant & Design Awards.
Decked with its bare wooden furniture, subtle grey walls and soft lighting, Höst strips everything back to basics to complement the simple delights of Nordic cooking with a touch of modernism, resulting in something aesthetically and mouth wateringly delicious. Their menu includes dishes such asSmoked Trout with cauliflower-puré and pickled mushrooms with truffle and Norwegian lobster, juniper-pickled carrots, sea.buckthorn, juniper cream, hazelnuts and browned butter.
De Kas | Amsterdam
Adopting an environmentally friendly lifestyle whilst eating out might be easier than you imagined. In 2001, chef Gert Jan Hageman converted an eight-meter high greenhouse and former 1920s Municipal Nursery into a self-sufficient restaurant, which has been the source of inspiration to all grow-your-own-foodies since.
De Kas restaurant sources all of its own ingredients in the restaurant’s surrounding gardens and farmland nearby. With produce picked only hours before it is served, the restaurant has a three-course, Nordic inspired, fixed menu that changes according to the season and its availability to ensure that you are graced with a meal that promises to be fresher than fresh.
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3, 1097 DE | +31204624562 | info@restaurantdekas.nl
Dishoom - King’s Cross | London
One day, an eccentric old Irani Café (born circa 1930, Bombay) made a long trip from Bombay in 1970 to London in 2010… Three years down the line and Dishoom have opened its third restaurant in King’s Cross, with an even better Bombay inspired design. Formally a railway transit shed dating back to the 1850s, the restaurant pays homeage to Bombay’s Irani cafes and is reminiscent of Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus that once passed between Britain and the Empire (London and Bombay).
Owned by cousins Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, Dishoom re-invents this period of Indian history in a beautifully designed space sprawling across four floors, furnished with colonial-style bentwood chairs, ornate tiles, ceiling fans and colonial styled décor. The restaurant has a reception and bar on the ground floor, a basement bar, a first floor dining room decked with curved seating overlooking a private dining area, and a chef’s open kitchen on the second floor where you can watch your food being prepared.
Chicken thigh meat steeped overnight in garlic and ginger, a vegetarian Paneer tikka marinated and gently charred with red and green capsicums or the Irani cafe favourite, Lamb keema and peas are just a few of the fine dishes Dishoom has to offer.
020 7420 9321 | 5 Stable Street, London N1C 4AB
Fame/Katerschmaus – Kater holzig | Berlin
Set in an old soap factory on the upper floor of the graffiti covered, art infused KaterHolzig complex, Katerschmaus is an open kitchen-restaurant turfing out great German inspired cuisine, boasting impressive views of the Spree right on the water and better still, with its own rooftop bar. With a menu that changes weekly, expect Argentinian steaks, abruzzo truffles and a culminating sugar boost that will settle your taste buds and have you ready to re-enter the revelry downstairs.
Oh, and no photos allowed, you’re cooler than that.
Holzmarktstraße 2510243 | fame@katerschmaus.de | +49 30 510 521 34
Kronenhalle | Zurich
A haven of art and comfort, Zurich’s Kronenhalle is a restaurant and bar with an astonishing display of 20thcentury art by the likes of Chagall, Mirò, Picasso, Braque and Matisse, that all belonged to one man, silk magnate Gustav Zumsteg. Since its opening in 1924, the restaurant has always been a refuge for art and allegedly a haven for figures such as Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti. Today its elegant menu complements the restaurant’s interior; minced veal ‘kronenhalle’ style, Chateaubriand and mousse au Chocolat to name a few.
The restaurant continues to attract an eclectic mix of people and is quickly becoming a hip hangout for Zurich’s students and its creative elite.
Rämistrasse 4, 8001 | +41 44 262 99 00
Nose2tail | Copenhagen
Valkendorfsgade 22, 1151 København K
Introducing, ‘Copenhagen’s first sustainable gastro pub’, a cosy, candlelit haven for all meat lover’s, set within the Kødbyen area of Vesterbro in Copenhagen –the ‘Meat Packing District’ - and in what was a former butcher’s house.
Inspired by the British phenomenon River Cottage, the restaurant prides itself for using locally sourced produce and evolves around sustainability, using every part of the slaughtered animal (hence its name, nose to tail) to minimise waste. The menu is divided into three sections, the fish, entrails and the animal. No hidden agendas just honest, tasty, eco friendly food that gives a modern twist to the pub classics. Organic free range pulled pork, organic burgers made from free range beef, deviled organic free range eggs, to name a few. And if that wasn’t enough, the restaurant houses a great selection of local, Danish beers too.
Valkendorfsgade 22, 1151 København K | +45 33 93 50 45
Ben Oakley Gallery to exhibit at the London Affordable Art Fair
The Ben Oakley Gallery is showing off its artists at the London Affordable Art Fair. The gallery, which specialises in unique, one off contemporary art works, limited edition prints and fine art, will be showcasing its carefully selected pieces at the fair in Battersea this March.
The Ben Oakley Gallery is showing off its artists at the London Affordable Art Fair. The gallery, which specialises in unique, one off contemporary art works, limited edition prints and fine art, will be showcasing its carefully selected pieces at the fair in Battersea this March.
The team will be taking some of their Ben Oakley charm to the show space by installing a replica of the gallery to the project space in front of the venue. They promise 1940s wallpaper, a large collection of curiosities and a selection of paintings by artists such as, John McCarthy, David Bray, Matteo Giuntini Bobby Tonge, Jo Peel, Ray Richardson and, of course, Ben Oakley.
Originally opened in 1999 by Will Ramasay, The London Affordable Art Fair aims to make art as fun, accessible and affordable as possible. With 112 galleries showcasing an array of unique artworks from over 1,100 artists this year, there will be something for everyone.
With work from the much-anticipated Project Space Collective, Ben Oakley Gallery and the Come Fly With Me exhibition, the fair is set to be both interactive and inventive. A creative hub for creative minds, they invite visitors to fall in love with art and most importantly, become an art collector.
What started as one venue and 10,000 visitors has now evolved into an international phenomenon, the Affordable Art Fair now runs in cities such as Amsterdam, New York and Milan, to name a few. With over 1.6 million people walking through the fair’s doors, it has undoubtedly made its stamp on the art world.
The Ben Oakley team will be at the fair from the 11th till the 15th of March
Painting and Perception with Artist Lina Tharsing
With a portfolio consisting primarily of painted works, Kentucky-based artist Lina Tharsing demonstrates a propensity for creating dreamy compositions that exist somewhere in-between realism and surrealism
With a portfolio consisting primarily of painted works, Kentucky-based artist Lina Tharsing demonstrates a propensity for creating dreamy compositions that exist somewhere in-between realism and surrealism.
Taking inspiration from sources including antique books, anatomical drawings, botanical illustrations and Life magazines from the 40s and 50s, Lina’s works engage with a variety of themes and ideas including nature, the loss of it, and the intersection between imagination and reality.
Exemplifying her ability to decontextualize and reconstruct situations in her work, the artist’s recent series Making a New Forest is based on a collection of old photographs depicting the construction of displays and dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History; going beyond the immediate suggestions of reconstruction of a destroyed environment that the paintings connote, Lina’s works also address the complexities of perception, inviting the viewer to look through a window onto other worlds and landscapes, across place and time, and to find their own truths:
“My paintings, like the dioramas that inspired them, manipulate our perception of reality and force us to question our own place within the confines of time and space.”
Also remarkable are some of the artist’s early mixed media works, such as the visually engaging series Collages compiled out of old polaroid photographs; the series Walgreens Film Camera demonstrates Lina’s ability to capture moments in time, the images containing much more than what is visible at first glance, alive with unknown possibilities that speak to each viewer individually.
Named a superstar of Southern art by Oxford American in 2012, Tharsing’s work has been shown widely across the South-Eastern United States; she continues to live and work in Kentucky, with some of her recent work including collaboration with the Lexington Art League community supported art project.
Named a superstar of Southern art by Oxford American in 2012, Tharsing’s work has been shown widely across the South-Eastern United States; she continues to live and work in Kentucky, with some of her recent work including collaboration with the Lexington Art League community supported art project.
Don’t Ask Why - Ask Y Not?
International Women’s Day may have just passed, but Sweet ‘Art and London’s Espacio Gallery are keeping femininity at the forefront with their upcoming aid exhibition Y Not?
International Women’s Day may have just passed, but Sweet ‘Art and London’s Espacio Gallery are keeping femininity at the forefront with their upcoming aid exhibition Y Not?
Exploring everything from femininity to feminine identity and women’s day, the event will focus on the female form, gender identity, feminist issues, social and political issues and constructs, personal accounts, and perspectives.
Contributing artists, regardless of what gender they identify with, have been invited to celebrate, critique, challenge, ridicule and reflect notions of femininity in our society and internationally.
Launched in 2012, Sweet ‘Art are a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of upcoming and established artists; they will be partnering up with Lensational, a creative organisation involved in the emotional and economic empowerment of women through the provision of photography training and equipment.
Also partnered are The LMP Gallery, set to host a parallel show across the pond in Austin, Texas - the two spaces will be exchanging 5 artworks to exhibit during the show run in a display of international solidarity and connectedness.
The private view will take place on Thursday 2 April from 6-9pm, and promises to be an evening of thought provoking fun with welcome cocktails courtesy of Courvoisier along with the usual Sweet ‘Art freebies and surprises!
Y Not?
Espacio Gallery
31 March - 5 April 2015
Private View: Thursday 2 April 6-9pm
Courtney Barnett; Harsh, honest and new
Debuts are often overlooked by many as a stepping stone to greater things. Not for Courtney Barnett; her harsh lyrical wit and simple guitar riffs have already earned her a large following and critical acclaim.
Debuts are often overlooked by many as a stepping stone to greater things.
Not for Courtney Barnett; her harsh lyrical wit and simple guitar riffs have already earned her a large following and critical acclaim.
Her album Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I just Sit is being presented to the public in what is probably the most unusual and artistic manner ever attempted by a PR company.
Marathon Artists is holding a public session in which the audience can experience the visual and audial talent of her album; using an eclectic mix of objects, music and space to represent an archetype for Barnett’s development. The exhibit is based on the song Kim’s Caravan which is in turn centred around a real caravan on Phillip Island, Australia. To represent this, there will be a caravan near Truman Brewery whereby members of the public can enter the structure and interpret the space inside as part of Courtney's album.
Forget surround sound or 3D, this incorporation of sound, sight and metaphor gives a heightened meaning to the phrase ‘unique experience.’So what will a viewer and listener experience in this small caravan? They will be encompassed in her world , surrounded by the objects that helped her develop as an artist and represent the point she has come to.
The album will play on continuously, and the caravan will represent a world in which Courtney herself is part of, having just left. You will be surrounded by her favourite and influential books, piled onto shelves and on top of an old fashioned record player. Walls will display posters that inspired the album title, as well as objects like a taxidermy fox will be sleeping on the bed, which will soon be the focus of her next single. All this very much echoes Barnett’s work; an exploration of self, a blunt telling of her experiences and being, a very stark reality into the mind of a brilliant and thoughtful young woman. The eclectic nature of the room also forms the claustrophobic feel of the album itself.
It will, the creators hope, lead the public to engage with their surroundings by ‘filming the space, record themselves sitting there listening to the album and take photos with the props.’ This will, once shared on social media, promote the album and discussion on what is ultimately, an album focusing on self-reflection and thought.
This will then, if all goes to plan, lead to a twitter hashtag, where people globally can experience the exhibit in real time. Whether you live in Australia or not, or even know of Barnett, this is definitely a new, inclusive idea in campaigning and advertising that deserves to be checked out.
“SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT”
Rocket Girl Label: Eclectic Indie sounds at its best
Rocket Girl, a London based label that boasts one of the most eclectic rosters in the British music industry, emerged in 1997 as the brainchild of still owner Vinita Joshi
Rocket Girl, a London based label that boasts one of the most eclectic rosters in the British music industry, emerged in 1997 as the brainchild of still owner Vinita Joshi. In the years prior to Rocket Girl’s founding, Joshi worked in turning an emerging, Essex based rock scene into Ché Trading; a label that transformed the nomenclatural brilliance of Animals That Swim, Tripmaster Monkey and Bardo Pond into a string of releases. Rocket Girl continues this strong early venture into the odds and ends of indie music.
At the other end of the numerical and style spectrum, Pieter Nooten works with Rocket Girl in composing solely from his laptop. Born in the Netherlands, Nooten’s quality is rooted in a minimalistic style of composition that builds a real sense of tenderness with each layer, underlying piano and violin with fuzzy electronic touches. Nooten’s work is not limited to a string of releases, foremost of which is the 2013 release Haven, or even his place in exemplary 90s synth pop group, Clans of Xymox. His expansive back catalogue is regularly re-worked live and backed by the video works of Miryam Chachmany, who's conceptual pieces can be found in galleries from New Mexico to Amsterdam.
Generally understood as skirting round the peak of the curious fame of cult stardom, Television Personalities are a Rocket Girl signing cheerfully ripping up the manual of indie conventuality. Not only with a musical style that unashamedly mixes neo-psychedlia with pop and punk, but with a colourful history that has taken in addiction, homelessness, numerous line-up changes and a couple of nervous breakdowns. Not to be overshadowed by their personal lives, Television Personalities can also boast some truly wonderful records amongst their obscenely large discography, most recently A Memory Is Better Than Nothing.
Füxa (pronounced similar to the colour fuchsia) are a Detroit lo-fi outfit that pay testament to the longterm outlook of Rocket Girl. Formed in 1994, Füxa have worked with Joshi since their first LP, 3 Field Rotation, was released on Che in 1996. Their sound is more likely to be located to the East Coast, treated guitars and vintage synths blending together in a drone more reminiscent of Michigan grunge than the rich heritage of their hometown. Füxa’s swift accession to cult status shows such a cultural fusion to be no bad thing.
One of the labels most intriguing signings is Arms. Based in London, Arms represent the kind of band formation more often seen in the super-group heyday of the 70s. With five lead singers and four nationalities, Arms are six-strong collective formed of out of work solo artists who felt “that the collective sum of their parts could be best utilised as a single unit.” Testament of the group’s successful cohesion can be found in their pin-point lyricism, crisp production and recent LP, Are We All In This Together?
Rocket Girl
TOY, A psychedelic update
This isn’t a tribute band to the great eras past; this is an updated, interesting and totally re-invented perspective on the idea of rock and post-punk invention
TOY, a rising band on the rock and psychedelic scene, made a significant breakthrough last year with their new song It’s been so Long.
Bursting through in a wave of 80s nostalgia and an updated beat, this is a song that paves the way to a new era in today’s music. Say goodbye to the angry four chords of the Noughties and hello to the mellow tones of Tom Dougall, alongside rippling strumming and an interesting manipulation of backing vocals.
This isn’t a tribute band to the great eras past; this is an updated, interesting and totally re-invented perspective on the idea of rock and post-punk invention. Electric pianos have not sounded this cool since 1989; and this band hits a hard punch to the criticism of modern music. This band proves you can be new different and relevant while drawing on the ideas and forms of the past.
The album Join the dots is a bit like an Klimt painting; it is dazzling, outrageous and undeniably beautiful, while unashamedly bringing what worked from the previous genre and leaving what didn’t. The musicians, especially guitarist Dominic O’Dair and bassist Maxim Barron perform with a fluid talent and ear for tempo, while the dark softness of the vocals contrasts with the metaphoric lyrics.
Every song is different; you time travel from a dark concert in the late eighties to the strange lucidity of sixties indie concerts. There are even elements of goth from the nineties somewhere in the collage of ideas and forms, that actually work really well. It sounds overwhelming, but, as much as it shouldn’t, it really works.
One member, Alejandra, the phenomenally talented keyboard player, stands out as bringing a great deal of mystery and depth through her formulaic but unusual interpretation of electric keyboard and synth melodies. She adds not only a brilliant update on the breakthroughs of the past but a strong identity. to the work of the band
We spoke to her about her experiences working in the band and the genre.
When and why did you start playing?
We started playing a few years ago, we all have played instruments individually since we were very young, but as a band we have been playing for at least 5 years.
What are your fondest musical memories in your environment around you?
My fondest musical memories would definitely have to be with my mum, she had a great record collection which we used to
listen to together in different situations. It was never forced, music was just always going on in the house. It was just normal.
What was the first tune(s) you learned?
Well, I am the synth player in the band. I don't think I have ever tried to learn tunes like a
guitar player would do. You just have to get used to your machine, experiment and see what happens!
Which musicians do you admire?
There really are many, in different genres, eras, bands... I guess the first who comes to mind is Lou Reed, he is very important, but naming just him would be limiting myself, there really are many many many...
Describe your first instrument.
My first instrument was a Spanish guitar that I got when I was 6, I still have it and has holes and cracks everywhere, but it's a classically built guitar and it still sounds better than any non electric guitar I've ever heard.
Which sounds/visuals/artists/albums give you a real buzz-how do you stay inspired?
I stay inspired by making music, I get inspired by any record, artist I listen to that means something, I get inspired by playing together, by anything meaningful really, I don't think there is anything specific or tangible.
What is a day in the studio like?
We play through ideas, develop songs, practice songs we know already, or just see what happens, we always have a great time, it'd be pointless otherwise.
Nick Waplington/Alexander McQueen: Working Process opens today at the Tate Britain
Working Process is a major photography exhibition which provides a unique insight into McQueen's satirical and aggressive Horn of Plenty Autumn/Winter collection from 2009, as captured by artist Nick Waplington
Five years on since the death of Alexander McQueen, one of the most prolifically talented fashion designers of our time, Working Process, which opens today at the Tate Britain is a major photography exhibition which provides a unique insight into his satirical and aggressive Horn of Plenty Autumn/Winter collection from 2009, as captured by artist Nick Waplington.
The exhibition which features a selection of around 100 large and small scale photographs across seven rooms, is a celebration of the deliberately provocative last collection produced by McQueen, including never seen before images taken by the acclaimed British photographer.
As an iconoclastic retrospect of his career in fashion, Horn of Plenty focused around the concept of reworking and recycling, pulling vintage silhouettes and fabrics from the archive to be remastered, recoiling old ideas from previous seasons. The designer described his collection as a: “punked up McQueen It Girl parody of a certain ideal, of a woman who never existed in the first place.”
Designed during the recession, the collection was born out of the ideas we were “living in a mess.” From the couture silk clothes ironically designed to look as if they were made from bin liners and broken records, to the catwalk set out of broken mirrors and discarded elements from the sets of his past shows, the collection was a huge operation which was designed to provoke shock and fascination.
Working with six large format cameras, a process which Waplington described as “frenetic”, the photographer, who is known for centring his work on issues of class, identity and conflict and mixing different forms of photography, was entrusted to capture the intense and theatrical working process of production of the garments, from the drawing stage right through to the show, capturing a raw, unpolished side of the fashion industry.
He said: “It was important for me to capture the downtime in the studio and then be ready for those moments of excitement when everything kicked into gear again. I was very conscious that I would include every stage of the process, and that I would take pictures of everyone working in the studio right though to the interns.”
From the inception in McQueen’s Hackney studio, to the grand finale in Paris six months later on the 9th March, Waplington’s photographs emphasise McQueen’s involvement from start to finish with every piece. As noted by Susannah Frankel, Fashion Editor of The Independent: “it’s very unusual to watch a designer go from kneeling on the floor cutting a pattern, to pinning that pattern on a model and fitting it down to the last detail.”
Juxtaposing the candid images of McQueen’s working process, Waplington visited Veolia’s land field site on the A12 also significantly in East London, as well a recycling plant in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and a recycling plant in the Negev desert in Israel, to make what he described as “theoretical pictures of the waste ground.” Used throughout the exhibition to create a powerful commentary on destruction and creative review, the artist observed that the photographs developed the project from what would have been a fashion documentary sequences of pictures, to a true work of art.
The project finished in November 2009 and was finalised by McQueen 3 months before his death. In conversation with The Tate, Waplington said that he now feels he is “looking after part of his legacy with this work”, something he describes as a strange situation to be in.
The exhibition runs until the 17th May and coincides with the Victoria and Albert museum’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty fashion exhibition.
All images© Nick Waplington/Alexander McQueen: Working Process Courtesy of Tate Britain
GALLERY FIX 5 Contemporary Galleries in Berlin working with fresh, emerging talent
This year it’s all about Berlin, the German capital of trendsetting and creativity, and with it, a dynamic expanding art scene, rivaled by few other cities in the world
This year it’s all about Berlin, the German capital of trendsetting and creativity, and with it, a dynamic expanding art scene, rivaled by few other cities in the world. And with its influx of art spaces and galleries, the city is show casing some of the hottest, youngest emerging talent for us to discover, and better still, before their meteoric rise to the top.
Here is my list of five contemporary art galleries showcasing diverse, cutting-edge material and the work of a generation not afraid to challenge the nature of art in the digital realm.
BERLINARTPROJECTS | Recharged Reality
Founded in 2006, Berlin Art Projects promotes and supports the work of recently graduated, emerging contemporary artists based in Berlin and Istanbul.
Their up and coming show Recharged reality will display the work of six emerging international artists, Daniel Harms, Ulrich Riedel, Yasam Sasmazer, Eda Soylu, Claudia Vitari and Meike Zopf in a series of drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures that comment on the duality of everyday objects and how our own perception of these objects are shaped by our own thoughts and experiences.
Don’t miss recently graduated Eda Soylu and her beautiful rendition of Dying Flowers, expected to make an appearance towards the end of the show.
‘Recharged Reality’ | 14. March – 23.March
DUVE Berlin | LARSEN
Founded in 2007 by Alexander Duve and Birte Kleemann, DUVE Berlin is a gallery based in Kreuzberg, which has gained a reputation as a leading space for emerging conceptual and minimalist artists at the cusp of their peak. The gallery also exhibits concerts and screenings.
Opening this week, artists Lucas Jardin and sculptor Jean-Sébastien Grégoire will be exhibiting their first German show, LARSEN. Expect a display of large-scale installations, nature and all things modern.
LARSEN | March 6 - April 11, 2015
Johann König Gallery | Alicja Kwade
Situated within the art infused district of Kreuzberg and founded by gallery owner Johann König in 2002, the Johann König Gallery is a contemporary art space for emerging and established artists of a mostly younger generation. The gallery currently represents 27 artists that use a variety of mediums ranging from sculpture and painting, video and photography to performance to sound, which provoke, question and challenge the spaces of the otherwise white walled gallery.
Currently exhibiting are the works of Polish berlin-based artist Alicja Kwade whose works mix art with science to question theories of time, space and light.
‘Etwas Abwesendes, dessen Anwesenheit erwartet wurde’ | 28. February – 18. April 2015
Galerie Nordenhake | GATHERED FATES
The multicultural district of Kreuzberg is one of the trendiest art spots in the city and home to Galerie Nordenhake. Originally founded in Malmo in 1973 and with spaces in both Berlin and Stockholm, Galeria Nordenhake is committed to exhibiting contemporary art in various mediums, with an international focus on both established and emerging artists.
Currently exhibiting are the works of Ignasi Aballí, Mirosław Bałka, Gerard Byrne, Ceal Floyer, Spencer Finch, Hreinn Friðfinnsson, Georg Herold, Sofia Hultén, Zoe Leonard, Meuser, Helen Mirra, Sirous Namazi, Mikael Olsson, Michael Schmidt, Florian Slotawa, Johan Thurfjell, Not Vital and John Zurier, curated by Ignasi Aballí.
January 17 – March 7, 2015
Gallery Taik Persons | Displacement
Gallery Taik Persons is a contemporary art gallery representing established and emerging artists who use photography as their primary medium. Founded by Timothy Persons in 1995 in Helsinki/Finland, the gallery relocated to Berlin in 2005 and continues to display the works of those who make up The Helsinki School.
On March 13, Gallery Taik Persons will present Displacement; the first in a series of curated group exhibitions by young artists Kalle Kataila, Jaana Maijala, Tanja Koljonen and Mikko Rikala, working with (and around) the medium of photography. Maya Byskov and Terhi Tuomi will curate the exhibition.
Not to be missed are the works of Kalle Kataila and his visuals of man tarrying in the face of nature.
March 13 – April 25, 2015
Spring Festival Awakening
Synonymous with dreams of scorched earth, sun warped vistas and crushed beer cups, a short trip away from our overcast shores will find a desire to unfurl a tent unencumbered by drawn out winters
As much as the British festival scene is one inexplicably bound to the fairer months, synonymous with dreams of scorched earth, sun warped vistas and crushed beer cups, a short trip away from our overcast shores will find a desire to unfurl a tent unencumbered by drawn out winters.
In Tilsburg, The Netherlands, a city otherwise known for its 10 day long gay pride funfair and as the country’s former wool capital, Roadburn festival delivers the world’s foremost selection of psychedelic, doom and avant-garde metal. Now in its sixteenth year, Roadburn succeeds not only in fulfilling its mandate of pushing the boundaries of “left field, sonic pleasures’, but also in booking the most eclectically named line-up imaginable. This year’s roster achieves nomenclatural brilliance through stoner metal outfit Acid Witch, Italian prig-rockers Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin and blackened death champions Goatwhore.
Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival
Way out West and on the weekend of the 13h of March, the small town of Nederland, Colorado will host the 14th annual Frozen Dead Guy Days. The festival is conceptually based on the story of Bredo Morstøl. At the start of the 90s, Bredo posthumously found himself in California after his grand-son Trygve flew him across the Atlantic in a cryogenically frozen state. After several years on ice at Trans Time Cryonics, Bredo decided to bridge the middle management gap and set up a facility of his own in Nederland. A couple of visa failures and a house eviction later, and word of Trygve’s corpse, located in a small, unpowered shack, leaked to the public and became a sensation. The subsequent rallying around of the aptly named “Ice Man” led to the town’s sponsored upkeep of the corpse and the initiation of the Frozen Dead Guy Days. This year’s festival highlights include Coffin Racing, Costume Polar Plunging, live music, a frozen t-shirt contest, Ice Turkey Bowling, Brain Freeze Contests, a parade of hearses, the Frozen Dead Poet Slam and the now infamous, Frozen Salmon Toss.
National Pyrotechnic Festival
In the southern Mexican town of Tultepec, the first half of March is dedicated to honouring the towns booming fireworks industry. In celebration of St John, patron saint of the pyrotechnics guild, the National Pyrotechnic Festival is two weeks filled with firework displays and firework based events. As well as a strong selection of regional food, attendees will witness the Castillo de Torre, a musical firework competition fought between 7 display teams, and the Pamplonas; a take on the Spanish bull running event in which 300 bull shaped wagons rumble through the town, firing rockets and roman candles at the hoards of scrambling onlookers.
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
And in conclusion of the rich, overlooked months of the spring festival scene, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival offers the perfect transition into the summer month of May. Alongside the Folklife Village, its cowboy bullwhip weavers and handcrafted accordions, this year’s festival offers a particular focus to the influence of Louisiana native American culture in the shaping of New Orleans. With music from Elton John, The Meters and Gurrumul, the lineup is also phenomenal.
Life, Love and the Galaxies: Colouring with Natalie Foss
Norwegian illustrator Natalie Foss’ out-of-this- world portraits and pictures are an exploration of the delicate intricacies of life, love and the galaxies in which all of these beautiful things transpire
Perfecting an aesthetic that successfully communicates feeling and expression through coloured pencil on paper, Norwegian illustrator Natalie Foss’ out-of-this- world portraits and pictures are an exploration of the delicate intricacies of life, love, and the galaxies in which all of these beautiful things transpire.
Frequently juxtaposing bright, contrasting colours with brooding and turbulent subtexts in her work, Foss skilfully creates images that linger long after they have been viewed. From an exploration of the life of an animal outsider in The Urban Shadow to Addiction, an allegorical work depicting the similarities between love and drug addiction, Natalie’s work exhibits an urban edge and youthful cool, no doubt attributable to the various subcultures from which she derives inspiration.
After completing two years of study at Norway’s Strykejernet School of Art, Natalie went on to achieve a BA in Illustration at London’s Kingston University. Although currently based in her hometown of Oslo, prints of Natalie’s work are available for sale on her website; she is also an artist featured on Print All Over Me, an independent website dedicated to the production of original clothing items that ships all over the world.
Working on commission, one of Natalie’s recent projects includes a poster and t-shirt design for New York five-piece pop band Lucius, an undertaking which exemplifies the illustrator’s ability to seamlessly lend her style to a wide variety of subject matter.
Natalie Foss’ name can proudly be included alongside the likes of Hattie Stewart and Lizzie Stewart (no relation!) on the growing list of outstanding talent in the contemporary global art and illustration scene.
Natalie Foss
Catching up with Rachel Kennedy from FLOWERS
UK based trio Flowers released new album Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do earlier this year. As the band gets ready to start their UK tour we have a chat with Rachel (vocals, bass synths) on piano songs and her love for music
THE BEGINNING
I started playing piano when I was about 4, and have played music ever since though on a variety of different instruments.
I loved singing along to music with my mum in the car on long journeys or even just home from school... She always had loads of Dolly Parton, Nina Simone and Tom Waits CDs in her car, and all the Tarantino sound tracks, so it was always stuff like that. Also my dad is an amazing classical cellist, and I used to go stay at his flat on weekends, and I loved waking up listening to him practising the Bach cello suites on Sunday mornings.
FIRST LYRICS
"C The Cat"... Followed eventually by "D The Dog" (the first consisted of playing LOTS of "C" notes on the piano... You can guess the second!)
FASCINATED ABOUT…
I just always think it's amazing how someone can write a song and it come out so good... I don't even know how we do it when we write a song we like ourselves! It always seems like magic to me.
MY INSTRUMENTS
My first instrument was my piano... I still have it today, had to get a winch to get it out of our old flat into this one through the window! It's over 100 years old now so it sounds very soft but it still sounds bell-like and beautiful. Currently my favourite instrument to play with is a Fender Jazzmaster... I'm really bad at guitar but the neck on the Jazzmaster really fits my hand well and it just sounds great so it's helping me get better at guitar, along with lots of help from Sam!
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO…
We go through periods of listening to different albums over and over, so the answer to the question is always different... But the last few days we've been listening to Closer by Joy Division lots, as well as Ramones (we always listen to lots of them) and Evans The Death's new album which we think is brilliant.
STAYING CREATIVE
For me anyway that's not really a conscious thing or something I have any control over even... I feel like I've always had bursts of feeling very creative and wanting to make something (not always music necessarily), and some days I just don't feel like it. I never try and force it because if I'm having an uninspired sort of day and I try and make myself write a song or paint a picture it won't come out so good. Luckily, most days we feel like writing songs so we have a lot of them!
A DAY IN THE STUDIO…
Mostly our home is our studio so we just sit down with some tea and have fun making noises and eventually a song comes out! We usually write them very quickly and record as we're writing so that all happens very quickly and spontaneously. Once the song is recorded the process of mixing starts (which mostly falls to Sam as he's much more technically apt than I am) and that's a very concentrated few hours and usually we end up with big headaches and tired eyes, but also with a new song to be excited about.
MUSIC IS…
Pretty much everything. Music and the people (and dog) I love are my whole life.
LAST WORDS
We're on tour tomorrow, and very excited about it!
TOUR DATES
Tue 3 March - BRIGHTON - The Prince Albert
Wed 4 March - FALMOUTH - Shipwrights
Thur 5 March - BRISTOL - Roll to The Soul
Fri 6 March - MANCHESTER - The Castle
Sun 8 March - BIRMINGHAM - Hare and Hounds
Mon 9 March - NEWCASTLE - The Cluny
Tue 10 March - YORK - The Basement
Wed 11 March - LEICESTER - Magic Tea Pot
Thur 12 March - RASMGATE - Music Hall
Joanna Piotrowska’s Other Family Albums
Polish photographer Joanna Piotrowska creates intriguing staged images, deeply embedded with meaning
Winner of the MACK First Book Award in 2014, and among one of three winners for the first Jerwood/Photoworks Awards this year for FROWST - the unsettling and uncomfortable familial inspired album - Polish photographer Joanna Piotrowska creates intriguing staged images, deeply embedded with meaning.
“Interested in psychotherapies within the family structure, particularly focusing on the inequalities of power between individuals,” the London based artist who achieves her shots through experimentation, explored the oppressive and sinister side of family life in her thought-proving body of work, which was inspired by dance and performance and the German therapist Bert Hellinger, who is best known for his theory and practice of Family Constellation therapy.
FROWST captured intimate family scenes, including two adult brothers lying together on a Persia carpet wearing only white briefs, and black-clothing bodies of two embracing women, which as Mack write suggest the “atavistic overlap of mother and daughter.”
Working in black and white, as in her words it is related to the act of documentation, the photography is intentionally nostalgic for lost moment of happiness. The artist also often uses flash as she notes it “flattens the image, merges bodies with domestic interiors, objectifying them.”
Other projects using the medium include the honest series of portraits “Never is a long time” which featured in the winter 2014 issue of Dazed, capturing the “controlled chaos” and “defiant optimism of a Latvian rehab centre.”
Piotrowska’s works have been internationally exhibited in Ireland, Spain, Poland, Russia, France, Latvia and in the UK. The artist began her photography education in Warsaw in 2004 and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2013.
This march she will be exhibiting at the photography and art gallery on the second floor of the Science Museum, London.
Fahamu Pecou: Challenging Masculinity in the Media
With his painting All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals recently featured alongside those by the likes of Gustav Klimt and Jean-Michel Basquiat on the fictional set of new American TV show ‘Empire’, Fahamu Pecou is an artist well on his way to achieving similar status in the real art world
With his painting All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals recently featured alongside those by the likes of Gustav Klimt and Jean-Michel Basquiat on the fictional set of new American TV show ‘Empire’, Fahamu Pecou is an artist well on his way to achieving similar status in the real art world.
Working primarily through the medium of paint, Pecou utilises his own image as a black male to comment on contemporary representations of black masculinity as it is commonly depicted in hip-hop music and entertainment, satirising the over-inflated egos, explicit wealth, and bravado in his work:
“I appear in my work not in an autobiographical sense, but as an allegory. My character “Fahamu Pecou is The Shit!” embodies the traits typically associated with black men in hip-hop and juxtaposes them within a fine art context. This character becomes a stand-in to represent the ideals and ideas of black masculinity and both the realities and fantasies projected from and onto black male bodies.”
Exploring this territory breeds questions of what happiness and fulfilment actually are, skilfully tackled in recent exhibition ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ in New York’s Lyons Wier Gallery:
Pecou’s work asks “Who are we minus the labels and attachments of popular culture? What does "happy" actually look, and feel, like?”
The artist’s most recent solo show was at the Museum of Contemporary art of Georgia, a series of studies exploring the ability of black males to succeed in modern society; entitled ‘GRAV•I•TY’, the paintings used the fashion trend of ‘saggin’’ as an allegory to comment on contradictions of mobility, access and agency for young black men.
Other notable projects by the artist include a series of conversations that took place in the spring last year; entitled interSessions, Pecou invited figures from the hip-hop community to dialogue with figures from the art world on issues on a range of subjects related to the arts and entertainment, and their impact on popular culture and society.
Also working as a performance artist, writer, and scholar, Pecou is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Institute of Liberal Arts Emory University in Atlanta.
Fahamu Pecou Art
Lea Colombo, A Self-Taught Photographer
Since relocating to her dream city of Paris aged 19, 22 year old South African native Lea Colombo has captured the atmosphere and essence of the fashion frontline, from London to New York, Paris, and Milan
Since relocating to her dream city of Paris aged 19, 22 year old South African native Lea Colombo has captured the atmosphere and essence of the fashion frontline, from London to New York, Paris, and Milan.
The self-taught photographer whose work “represents a vast collection of ideas, feelings and scenarios,” has brought us key moments and details from backstage and the runway since her debut in 2012.
As the resident fashion week photographer for Dazed & Confused, Colombo is the artist behind the authentic shots of models in the midst of backstage chaos. Famous images include the Jacquemus S/S14 show which caught models on a smoke break outside, whilst other shows have included Maison Martin Margiela, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander Wang, Jeremy Scott, Dior Homme, Prada, Lanvin and Balmain.
Her distinctive edgy cinematic photographs, which are saturated with colour, shot only using natural light, have earned her the recognition as one of the greatest young photographers in the fashion world, and ranked her at number 46 on the dazed 100 shortlist for redefining style and youth culture in 2015.
Inspired by “life itself, people, everyday surroundings and the joys of traveling,” Colombo’s photography stretches from landscapes, intimate portraits of models, skateboarders in Moscow, to haute couture fashion, often juxtaposing between chaos and stillness.
Based on her stunning backstage photography, the artist is highly in demand for editorial work. She has collaborated with the likes of POP Magazine, Elle UK, TANK Magazine, V Magazine, V Man and Interview Magazine, and says she is inspired by 90s fashion photographers Mario Sorrenti, Craig McDean, Nick Knight, and David Sims.
AIAIAI, Branko and the ‘Real Booty Music’ project
Described as ‘music made by the booty – for the booty,’ Copenhagen based headphone company, AIAIAI, have combined music and the movement of the ‘booty’ for their new collaborative project
Described as ‘music made by the booty – for the booty,’ Copenhagen based headphone company, AIAIAI, have combined music and the movement of the ‘booty’ for their new collaborative project.
The aim behind the project was to provide AIAIAI headphone-users with a new music, brought to them in a unique way. The Danish audio designers created new, inventive technology that essentially allows dancers to play music along to the rhythm off there rear-end.
From the heritage of bass-driven club culture, where booty-shaking is a fundamental component, AIAIAI wanted to explore if it was possible to change the perception of twerking.
Their creative approach and technology-driven concept allows the music to ‘do the talking.’ They teamed up with producer Branko, from the successful tropical bass band, Buraka Som Sistema. Allowing him to use the movements of buttocks to produce the final product. By using a dancer as his instrument, the final track was created shaped by the dancers twerking styled movements.
At the centre between high-brow and low-brow, technology and music, serious and all together eccentric, this project is all about that feeling you get when you hear a beat and just can’t stop moving. It’s one for the music lovers, and movers.
ArtEZ Academy of the Arts presents: Tessa Groenewoud
Tessa Groenewoud graduated from ArtEZ Academy of the Arts, Arnhem, specialising in footwear design
Tessa Groenewoud graduated from ArtEZ Academy of the Arts, Arnhem, specialising in footwear design. She has a strong interest in product design, material manipulation and attentions to detail, and is currently interning at United Nude, in China.
What inspired you to become a footwear designer?
Initially, I was interested in product design. I really like the aesthetics of product design, and then during my time at school I started becoming interested in shoes, and their functional properties.
What techniques do you prefer to use when designing?
I think the appeal of my shoes comes from the techniques I use, and the practicality of the piece. I have a fascination with form transformation, when something changes when you touch it or turn it inside out. It’s very important that it is not merely about the aesthetics – they come from the functionality.
What makes your work unique?
I think my work is minimalistic; I use a lot of graphic lines and industrial details, I feel this style makes me stand out.
You have worked with a variety of materials, one of them being leather. What was it about this material that attracted you to it?
For my ‘Craft the Leather’ project I used vegetable tanned leather, I used this material because it had the capability to be manipulated when wet. I folded the material into shapes, and because of the thickness of the material it held this particular shape, which worked extremely well for this project.
For your ‘Assemble’ project each shoe represents a technique based on the principle of connection, shape memory or compression – how did you incorporate these elements into your designs?
The shoe is about the connection between industrial parts, I thought I could use this to combine the shoe with the wedged heel. I really like the traditional leather, combined with a high-tech plastic material. This project was really about the construction of the shoe.
What techniques/styles would you like to explore next?
I’m really interested in injection molding and silicon printing. I think in the future I would really like to develop my own collection, and it would be interesting to develop these techniques.
What motivates you to design?
Nowadays, shoes are not only about the look of the shoe, it’s about different forms of producing shoes and how practical they are. It’s really motivational for me, as I am so interested in the practicality of shoes.
Daniel Keller : An omnipresence of the digital in our daily lives
Berlin-based American artist Daniel Keller creates spatial and sound installations that fuse art and technology to speak to the visibly forming prognosis of a culture where technology replaces manpower
At a time when technology seems to be filling the minds of a generation that has become so accustomed to being constantly connected, Berlin-based American artist Daniel Keller creates spatial and sound installations that fuse art and technology to speak to the visibly forming prognosis of a culture where technology replaces manpower. Mixing the urban city with the suburban landscape, Keller also uses the internet as a platform to display his performances and interventions.
Central to the work of Keller is the concept of the ‘prosumer, an idea put forward by Alvin Toffler who in examining the progression of new pioneering technologies, recognised the increasing similarities between the roles and objectives of the producer and consumer. These ideas of progress and technological disruption sit at the forefront of Keller’s most recent works and successfully consider the views of the ‘prosumer’ artist.
I was drawn to Keller’s Freedom Club Figure (2013), the elegantly poised figure of a female mannequin and hand-made rucksack of technophobic mail bomber Theodore Kaczynski. Serving as a visual representation and exploration into the seminal essay published by Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy on, ‘Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us’ (2000), Keller skillfully merged natural forms with man-made materials to highlight the opposing values of a mass producing, consumer driven society and a non-materialistic, nature-fixated self-consciousness.
Personally, I think that Keller’s overlaying of a rucksack onto the female body could also reference nature’s undervalued contributions to the dynamics of modernity. These spaces for technologies derived from nature’s landscapes, after all.
Keller’s juxtaposing of natural forms and technology is also evident in his mixed media, sculptural installation for the ongoing project Absolute Vitality Inc. Created by the Aids-3D duo Daniel Keller and fellow artist Nik Kosmas, the project provided a series of pioneering initiatives that challenged man’s relationship with nature and his surroundings. The result was a scintillating display of LED back-lit chrome lettering planted in a growing wall of shrubberies, analogous to the man-made structures that delineate the spaces of our otherwise natural landscapes.
Daniel Keller is currently exhibiting his new series of works titled The Future of Memory at the Kunthalle Wien in Austria. The exhibition explores the omnipresence of digital media in our lives and draws upon the modern methods of communication that are increasingly becoming shaped by the virtualisation of our interactions.
Exhibition February 4 – March 29
Daniel Sannwald: Mesmerizing us one image at a time
German born photographer Daniel Sannwald is an experimental image-maker. His work explores multimedia platforms, blurring the lines between film and photography
German born photographer Daniel Sannwald is an experimental image-maker; his pictures have been published in I-D, Dazedand Vogue. His work explores multimedia platforms, blurring the lines between film and photography.
After attending The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, he pursued a career in photography by sending a hand written letter to Dazed’s, Nicola Formichetti, who first published his work.
His experimental methodology does not abide by the standard rules of photography, so much so, that he doesn’t even own a camera – choosing to borrow from friends and play around with digital, analogue and cinematic methods.
Whilst Sannwald’s technique may differ from other fashion photographers his work sends a direct message through the use of mesmerizing colours that harmonize, producing images that are difficult to ignore.
His digitalised attitude to photography embraces the real essence of the subject, captured with dream-like qualities, whether it is the beauty of a model or the movement of the subject. However, he has openly admitted that what we see is not the result of hours on Photoshop, but created with broken scanners or old cell phones.
The images he creates stand out in this fast paced digital era, by clinging onto the attractiveness of the topic. They reflect the story of the unpredictable, and are loaded with sophisticated arrangements, just by focusing on the simplicity of a crease in a garment, for example.
Sannwald works impulsively, he uses surreal techniques and explores countless styles for photographic and video work. Whilst he experiments with the bizarre and innovative, his next project might take on a more classical style.
His roles as a director has seen him create films for Westfield’s AW2014 Campaign, in which he opted for a clean, monochrome slant – to capture the pursuit of perfection in men’s fashion. Yet his latest cinematic venture, Campers SS2015 Campaign juxtaposes this idea, using exposed colours to give it a new digital vibe. Both reflect a love for dance, something Sannwald used as inspiration.
His latest work with Antidote Magazine for their SS2015 digital issue, featuring supermodel Gigi Hadid, screams high fashion. From the clean shapes of the models’ postures, to the bold colour palette used. The fluidity of the magazine cannot be faulted; it captures the real essence of iconic photography, something Sannwald unquestionably possesses. His work is, simply put, completely breathtaking, in that ‘I can’t stop staring,’ hypnotic kind of way.