Newsflash
Art gallery
2009 Artists
Tipped For The Top
SUPERSWEET isn’t going to the Oscars this year (something to do with integrity and MTV). Instead, we’ve put together our own awards list for the most innovative artists, designers and photographers who we see hitting the big top in 2009. Not so much ‘watch this space’ as watch it get painted…
Who: Katie Paterson
Tipped for: Contemporary art and crazed scientific experiments
If you asked Scottish artist and Studio 30 winner Katie Paterson whether art has limits—by forms, geographical boundaries, or anything—very likely she would reckon there’s nothing that could contain creativity and artistic experimentations. Of course, in her works, Paterson pushes out all the boundaries taking contemporary art to the extra-terrestrial level. Literally! Her works fuse art within the modern, global concept and at the same time disentangle—or perhaps destroy—what is already perceived as high art. Paterson’s aesthetics very much resemble scientific experiments involving the incredible transmission of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata to the moon and back and a self-playing grand piano on live phone line to an Icelandic glacier. Yes you might be able to eavesdrop ET and hear the glacier’s melting! Paterson’s ideas, methods and the end-results are original and daring, something that is real but also unreal—because it is unperceivable—by mere human ability. That is, the fragmented, interrupted version of the classical works, the whirlwind of science-fiction-meet-reality, the art disrupted by nature and recorded by scientific methods. If this sounds intriguing enough, stay tuned for Paterson’s upcoming exhibition at Tate Britain.
Who: Blu
Tipped for: Global recognition through that really long animated graffiti film Muto, getting ripped off by the BBC6 commercial
What do (almost) all the walls in the world have in common? Blu’s graffiti! Be it Berlin, London, Prague, Bologna, Malta, Sao Paulo, Milan, and many, many more, Blu has been there and has done some fine job on them walls. How would you recognise Blu’s graffiti? It’s relatively easy. Eye out for some grotesque animated paintings on derelict buildings. The graffiti can be a black-and-white, gigantic human body made of naked, rather slimy-looking men that devours a colourful human body, or a herd of identical men in identical clothes manacled together by gold watches and chains, or a parade of menacing tanks where dwells a normal family. The wall-master with dark humour? Obviously, yes! What else? Fierce social criticisms. Blu paints against capitalism that enslaves us, against the atrocity of wars and those behind it. To Blu, all those strips us off the essence of humanity and we as the victim metamorphose into the banal grotesque—ironically—ready to victimise others. Check out Blu’s series of graffiti animation on his website. If you like Robin Rhode, certainly you will love Blu.
Who: Christopher Copping
Tipped for: Innovative design projects in relative obscurity
Yes, we are familiar with art—whatever that is—we are also familiar with art galleries—wherever they are—but yes there are still handfuls of those who are not like us, those who claim to have too little time for such a thing as art but manage not to miss Eastenders or Big Brother. They—them—are the inspiration for Christopher Copping’s project. To the English-born artist, art is meant to be uplifting. It interrupts the mundane of living and liberates us—even briefly. What, then, did Copping do? He set up a gallery where people in their busy hours can come across by accident. That is, Copping scattered some Polaroid images on the street, waited for someone to stop by and look at them. He would take pictures of those people and expand the Polaroid collection in his street gallery. It is a lovely distraction for passers-by and it is art that takes a jaunty leap further from candid camera.
Who: James Johnson-Perkins
Tipped for: Nostalgically overrated culture sculpture, starting with his double-barrelled name
Not long before Louis XVI was beheaded, some French guy said ‘A child is the father of a man.’ Well, we cannot be so sure what he meant exactly but nobody would deny that one’s life is influenced by one’s childhood. This is rather obvious if you are loitering in any of James Johnson-Perkins’ exhibitions. What has Johnson-Perkins been showcasing around the globe? Troops of gigantic totemic Lego men, Lego plaques with retro statements and animations using 8 bit computer graphics and modernist geometric shapes. All are the colourful reconstruction of Lego robots, computer graphics and games from the 80’s. Et, voila, a strong sense of nostalgia! Based in Newcastle, Johnson-Perkins is, indeed, a conceptual artist and his works find life in multiple forms—Lego sculpture, two-dimensioned graphic mosaic, graphic animations, etc. Whatever it is, it’s a way of looking back at the pop culture, the thing that tremendously informs his artistic creation. The result? Art that is playful and unique and bring—tragic as it may sound—some of us back to when we were young.
Who: Nicky Deeley
Tipped for: Cult status and a dinner invite to Damien Hirst’s mansion
There is something about death, dying and corpses that artists find irresistible. Most recently, New Zealand born artist Nick Deeley showcases his works of dead and dying creatures at the Seventeen Gallery, London. It is an iconic, totemically charged sculptures of dead marsupials and serpents from whose dead bodies blossom the abundant flora. Flowers feeds on the corpses that begin to lose their life-like significance, it seems. Made from materials such as fabric, vinyl, steel, wood, plaster, rubber, flock and enamel paint, Deeley’s sculptures are marked by contrasting colour, ornate detail and the philosophy behind it. Indeed, the collection proposes the mystique of existence and inexistence, of life and death and the reproductive cycle in between. Death results in birth that is beautiful and serene, as Deeley seemingly suggests. Deeley’s body of works finds its emphasis on ritualism. Before, there was the Hummingbird Ceremony, the sculptural reinterpretation of the Native American myth.
Who: Coralie Bickford-Smith
Tipped for: The Penguin Hall of Fame
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a great publishing house must be in want of a talented book cover designer, is it not? Allegedly, when people think of books, their concerns will be on what is written down, but at the Penguin Publishing, Coralie Bickford-Smith reneges the idea. During her long hours in the printing room experimenting on colour, palette, and unique photographic methods, Bickford-Smith marries the words of wisdom with the aesthetics of design and print creating book covers that reflect their content, are coherent in their series, alluring to the readers’ eyes as well as to their intellectual craving. Bickford-Smith’s goal is to justify the existence of books as physical objects. Did she succeed? Yes, she did. Check out her Boys Own Books series, or her Gothic Red, or even the new limited-edition set of literary classics exclusively sold at Waterstones. This proves, people still judge the book by its cover, don’t you think?
Who: Samantha Hahn
Tipped for: A Liberties take-over
When you come across some dazzling prints and patterns in magazines, bags, or even on wallpapers, have you wondered who is behind all that magic? Who is it that draws some colourful luggage and puts it right next to an airplane that is turned upside down and then there is some cute little blue hat right next to stiletto shoes and sunglasses, and all in the creamy white background? Well, that person could be Samantha Hahn. Her works are commissioned by the design and living giants, such as Hallmark, Glamour Magazine, Craft Magazine, accessory designer Mary Jo Matsumoto. etc. Based in Brooklyn, Hahn is, needless to say, the true master—or, rather, the mistress—of surface patterns and illustrations, whilst her techniques vary from ink water colouring, hand lettering and photo incorporation. And, all is done in very fine detail. Some are mild; some are saucy, but above all else, they are all very, very classy.
Who: Liz Wolfe
Tipped for: Messy exhibits worldwide
If you’ve ever imagined a paradise with floating colourful, candy floss or a sea of delightful marshmallows, or a bit of both and some more, you are then not too far removed from Liz Wolfe’s photographic vision. Wolfe recreates and captures childlike surrealism and heavenly fantasy on camera. And it is all about sweet ‘n savoury colours, too. There is pink, yellow, orange, blue, violet, brown, peach, white—the list never ends! Wolfe’s work is nice—but there too are hints of naughtiness, a ‘Liz in the Wonderland’ touch. What’s that? Let’s say a head of a live bunny sticking out of the beach of multi-coloured sugar and marshmallows, and some glossy herring swimming amidst a field of daisy, or a mince-beef flower with rainbow gum, or even a jewelry-encrusted tampon! It does sound a bit unusual but you’ve got to admire the playfulness.
Who: Joshua Callaghan
Tipped for: The LA equivalent of London’s Soho House
What are utility boxes down your street like? Probably vandalised, or more likely, just very dull. Well, not in Culver City, L.A. where Joshua Callaghan was commissioned to beautify public utility boxes. Callaghan did not just paint the boxes and make them stand out. Rather, inspired by the photorealistic effect, Callaghan obscured the boxes, integrated them into the surrounding by covering them with state-of-the-art digitally printed adhesive vinyl. You may expect to find a utility box that is disguised in a row of palm trees or one with a car on that connivingly fills up the parking lot. Lo, and behold! These boxes become the piece of not-so-abstract art that, though it may not last as long as the Statue of Liberty, is utilitarian and, most importantly, resistant to the blazing L.A. sun. No, Callaghan’s creative works do not end there. He is also involved in VDO installations and so forth. The chameleon-like utility boxes are just among one of his best.
Who: Pierre Marie
Tipped for: Swatch swapping with Westwood and celebrity party planning
To some, artist Pierre Marie is yet to make a household name, but if you can recall the blurry, ghostly print works of carousel on Sonia Rykiel’s black silky gown from the Autumn/Winter 08-09 collection, you’ll know what we are talking about. The dress, very certainly, has nothing to do with Pierre Marie. The sweet and sinister artwork does. And, yes, thanks to Ms Rykiel who incorporated Pierre Marie’s prints in her runway pieces, his graphic works have now become internationally recognised. Anything intriguing before the Rykiel collaboration? Yes! Pierre Marie has contributed tremendously to the fashion industry. Melodie Wolf, Bernard Willhelm, and Pleats Please, to name a few, have commissioned him to design visual look-books and show invitations. Actually, Pierre Marie’s works range from graphic to photographic, from print works to illustrations, from magazine covers to installations to window designs, while his emphasis on surrealism that is coupled with soft, subdued pastel shades and wry wit makes all his works unique and truly likeable.
Images copyrighted to designers/companies. If you have found your photo on here and wish it removed then please contact the editor in the Contact Us form.
Words: Poonperm Paitayawat
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
--advertisement--
