Juan Ford’s painting is a self-portrait about his journey through life. Describing the work, Ford says: ‘This journey is an odd one. A boy living in a satellite suburb, from an idealistic, bi-cultural family grows up and runs from that town as soon as possible. He studies hard at science and enrols in an engineering degree. Somewhere along the way he starts attending art school student parties, where they actually have girls in their courses. A year later he’s one of them himself. An art student, I mean.
the a[n]d blog
Atelier visit – Nixi Killick (Melbourne)
She has designed for Lady GaGa, Kimbra and has been named as one of the world’s top 100 independent fashion designers. But for Nixi Killick, who hails from Melbourne, Australia being classified as an artist or even a designer is not sufficiently accurate as she sees herself as an “imagineer”. Her psychedelic clothing designs create the perfect mix of art & design. Brought up by two artist parents in a rural setting, Nixi‘s work combines an incredibly vibrant mix of colors with an uncompromising drive to achieve her vision. Nixi Killick’s works sit outside any mainstream themes and when you think about it, to create something that looks unique is a huge achievement today.
Atelier visit – David Datuna (New York)
Ask me: “what does technology have to do with art?”, and I reply: “Ask David Datuna!”
Originally from Georgia, David Datuna moved to the USA over 15 years ago. In his series “Viewpoint of a Million”, David uses symbols such as national flags to question identity, memory and perception. His artworks are created with glass lenses that magnify how we see art and society, and illuminate elements of a country’s culture and history. David’s art is not the type you glace at and then move on – it draws you in and by its very nature demands that you interact. The interactive nature of David’s art, which encourages viewers to get close to each piece and really take it in – sets his work apart.
Art that provokes and challenges… – take a closer look…
Studio visit – JeeYoung Lee (Seoul)
Korean Artist JeeYoung Lee’s work plunges us into a world of fantasy and fairy tales. The final output of JeeYoung’s art is a photograph, but the process of getting there is far from the simple act of clicking a camera shutter. The setting of her works comprises only hand-crafted pieces. Prepared in her 3x6m studio in Seoul, each installation takes weeks and sometimes months to prepare. Lee’s final pieces are like snapshots of theatrical performances. Lee appears in each of her images, but never shows her face. Her work is meticulous and it needs to be… as she does not rely on the use of any photoshop software. A fusion of installation art, pop art, surreal landscapes and photography.
a[n]d – Freezelight – New Form of Art, Made in Russia
What would you do with a flashlight and a camera? Well, maybe you would come up with a scary photo for your grandmother… But some creative guys in Russia came up with a much better idea: they developed an entirely new form of art. They have called it “freezing the light”.
At first a hobby it became so substantial they now make a living from their creations. They were commissioned to create pieces for the Sochi Olympic games and their works have been exhibited in New York, London and St Petersburg’s Hermitage museum. It’s not often someone can make the claim that they have developed a new form of ART.
… and they showed the a[n]d crew some tricks with light… this is FREEZELIGHT from Russia… they are amazing!
a[n]d talk – Gilbert and George
Provoking viewers and making them question convention and taboos has been the mission of Gilbert and George’s work since they met at St Martin’s School of Art in London way back in 1967. Presenting themselves as “Living Sculptures”, Gilbert and George’s work is inspired by what they are confronted by in the streets of London. To them, the streets of London and the area in which they live mirror what’s happening in the world today.
The resentment of authority, rules and convention are core themes which run through their works. Large in scale Gilbert and George’s art works are thought provoking and challenging and are often underpinned by a dry sense of humor. Let’s see if you agree…
a[n]d Body Art – Russian Criminal Tattoos
For all the girls out there – if you happen to meet a good-looking guy from Russia, you might want to pay attention to his tattoos! If you think that a tattoo of the Joan of Arc looks sexy, think again. In the world of Russian crime, tattoos play a very important role in identifying your crimes and gang affiliations. As an FYI – the Joan of Arc tattoo represents a conviction for murdering a loved one for cheating. Aside from being very helpful to the police force in identifying the members of gangs, the art also happens to be quite impressive. It’s not often that art could get you “locked-up”, but you may want to display some caution when displaying your tattoos when you next visit Russia. Enjoy the art…and you never know when some information like this might come in handy… from Russia, the world of criminal tattoos…
a[n]d artist portrait – Naufal Abshar (Jakarta)
Naufal Abshar is one of Indonesia’s young emerging artists who creates vibrant narrative paintings in response to challenging socio-political conditions that he observes in his environment in Indonesia.
Using larger-than-life characters and vivid colours, Naufal sets out to make commentaries about what is awry in society through pictorial representations of laughter, and with a healthy dose of humour in its multiple forms.
We talked to Naufal during one of Jakarta’s art fairs and went to his studio. Have a look!
Kaff-Eine – Meet the artist
As they say…’the names have been changed to protect the innocent’. Street artists do in fact believe they are innocent – as they feel they are beautifying an otherwise barren urban jungle. So needless to say Kaff-eine isn’t the real name of our next caffeine charged street artist. From Melbourne, Australia Kaffeine is a member of the city’s increasingly popular street art movement. Her fame has grown to the point that building owners donate their walls for her to paint… Oh – and one more interesting thing about Kaff – is that she’s a trained lawyer…
a[n]d conversations – Simon de Pury about the power of media [3]
Truly impassioned and ‘obsessed’ by art, charming and eloquent, Simon de Pury has occupied many roles – dealer, collector, curator, auctioneer, entrepreneur. He is a real insider of the art trade.
Called both as the Mick Jagger and the Peter Pan of auctions, Simon de Pury has been devoted to bringing art to the public and turn the world onto art – all fueled by his own deep passion for the art world.
Last week, he presented his first book “The Auctioneer” about iconic ups and downs in his career.
Watch the third part of our interview, where he talks about how young artists can use media to promote their works and build their name.