Matt Small and Zac Walsh have a two-man show, This Is Us, opening on Thursday at Signal Gallery. Matt is one of my favorite painters in the UK, so I’m really looking forward to seeing his new work.
ukadapta have organized a group show in Tokyo that opens this week. Should be good. The line up is a varied of British urban art with Best Ever, D*face, Word to Mother, Luc Price/Cyclops, Matt Small and more.
Sickboy
More info from ukadapta:
Adapta Gallery’s third curated project will be held on November 12th – November 29th 2009, with a show in Tokyo called Close Encounters. The show consists of 8 British-based artists, including Best Ever, Cyclops, D*Face, David Bray, Matt Small, Sickboy, Word To Mother and Vesna Parchet.
The variety of work on show is eclectic, and that is precisely the reason why we chose them in the first place. From D*Face’s two-dimensional graphic art to the rich textures of emerging artist Vesna Parchet’s styled character-based paintings, a plethora of mediums, emotions and messages are employed for the viewer to digest.
This particular show is very close to our hearts as we are finally able to put together an amazing line up of artists to produce works for our Tokyo readers and Japanese collectors to see in person. We have been interviewing and working on projects with so many talented British creatives over the years and to finally curate our own show in Tokyo for our main audience is a true honour.
On the opening night, we will also have special guests: Usugrow, Jeff Soto, Shohei Takasaki, Yoshiki & Nagayama also showing their works.
Close Encounters
Exhibition venue : Time Out Gallery, Liquidroom 2/F, 3-16-6, Higashi, Shibuya-ku,Tokyo
Opening Date : 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, 12 November, 2009
Exhibition runs : 13 November 2009 – 3 December, 2009
In case you happen to be in Tokyo, there is a map on the show’s website.
Vensa Parchet
D*face
Best Ever
Photos courtesy of ukadapta
The last time I mentioned the Represent show was towards the start of October, so if you happened to forget about Thursday’s opening, I’ll forgive you. But if you’re in London and you don’t make it to Represent before the show closes November 11th update: the show has been extended and now closes November 20th, well I’m just not so sure.
Represent has been curated by Matt Small and it’s a show of portraiture. Matt is one of the artists and people that I most respect, so I was curious to see what this show would bring. You figure that a talented painter should be able to identify other talented artists. Well Matt definitely can.
The line up includes some names that I’m familiar with like Swoon, Best Ever, Elbow-toe and Case, but there were plenty of people I was either less familiar with or whose names I had never heard before like Peter Michael and Yuko Nasu.
While I can’t say that every painting was a winner, it the most refreshing show I’ve seen in London all year and maybe the best group show.
Matt Small
Of course, there were two original paintings from Matt Small in the show, including this one which is the first time I’ve seen him paint glasses.
David Walker
I like this piece by David Walker just enough to not call him on for using paint drips to look “street.” Sometimes drips make a painting look better. I would be curious though to see what this painting would be like without the drips, the girl could have more of that really cool metallic look which is sort of hinted at in this piece but overshadowe by drips.
Swoon
This is one my all time favorite pieces by Swoon. It’s certainly in the top 5 pieces on wood that I’ve seen. I don’t have the cash or wall space for this, but I hope it finds a good home.
Best Ever
Okay so the name might be a bit presumptuous, but the duo Best Ever get better with every painting.
Case
Sometimes it feels like I’m the only person in the world who realizes how amazing Case can be. This painting, Rosemary, is even better in the flesh. So many photo-realistic graffiti writers just end up making portraits of dead hip hop stars or doing commissions for Nike, but Case actually has an artistic mind behind his talents.
Represent is at Blackall Studios on Leonard Street, London and closes on November 11th update: the show has been extended and now closes November 20th. Get there while it’s still open! I may even go back for a second look.
All photos by Ian Cox
A really solid line up for Represent which opens November 5th at Blackall Studios in London. The show highlights portraiture and includes some of my favorite artists like Matt Small and Swoon. Should be good.
Been waiting for this video to be released for a while now. Matt Small, Part2ism and Best Ever painting at Cordy House in London. Loving the in-progress shots of Matt painting.
Via Dr LoMAX
Two gallery shows to mention today.
First, a show that surpised me. Last time Jaybo had a solo show in London, it wasn’t for me. Naturally, I didn’t rush to see Jaybo’s new paintings at Signal Gallery. Earlier this week, I made it over and I have to say I liked this new work much more.
Still not something I’m super pumped about, but at least I enjoyed stopping by, and there were one or two portraits of girls (like the one above) that I could see on my walls at home.
And the second gallery I need to mention is one that I’m very curious and excited about. As Black Rat Press closes up shop for the summer and the Matt Small paintings come down from the walls, you will still be able to find work from Matt and fellow BRP artist Luc Price over in New York City at Glowlab. July 30th is the opening of X: The Multiples Exhibition at Glowlab. Here’s the PR on that show:
Glowlab is pleased to present the group show X: The Multiples Exhibition, bringing together thirteen artists producing works linked via their mode of production. The artists included have published, screen-printed, photographed, performed and sculpted pieces that are identical either in manufacture or concept. The show’s title refers not only to the mathematical function of multiplication, but also to the crossing of aesthetic, commercial and conceptual boundaries when art is made in multiples.
So basically, Matt and Luc are showing screenprints. Matt’s prints are always as lovely as his paintings, which is exciting, and I have no idea what Luc is going to do, as his recent gallery work has been so different from his street work as Cyclops, and he has never done a print (to my knowledge) under his real name before. Looking forward to the pictures.
Let me be the first to acknowledge that, seeing as I spent the weekend in Los Angeles, I am the last person who should be writing this post. That said, RJ himself would have done a fantastic job covering the London shows that just opened so I feel there needs to be at least some mention of them on his blog.
Below are a handful of images from Ways of Seeing (Swoon, Matt Small, Brian Adam Douglas) at Black Rat Press and Scratching The Surface (Vhils) at Lazarides Rathbone. All photos come courtesy of Ian from Wallkandy.
I was very excited about the show at Black Rat, and, as expected, the three artists delivered a strong body of work. Matt Small’s multi-paneled piece is amazing (sorry, no picture! Go to Ian’s flickr!) and I’ve heard particularly good things about Brian’s pieces from those who saw them in person. My only disappointment was that, although the space was beautifully lit, the show lacked the installation component I had been hoping for.
Matt Small
Swoon
Brian Adam Douglas
Now to Laz, where Vhils’ London solo debut simply looks incredible. As if it weren’t already obvious, Alexandre has now made it clear that he is going to be a very important artist for our generation.
Let’s say you own Black Rat Press. You want to do a group show with three of your artists who challenge people’s preconceptions about painting and street art. Who do you choose?
That’s right. You bring together Swoon, Matt Small, and Brian Adam Douglas (aka Elbowtoe).
Swoon is a female wheatpaster who spawned an entire school of street art in New York City, and she spends her time building rafts and crashing art festivals.
And any art critic who says urban artists don’t know how to paint doesn’t know Matt Small. A few years ago, Matt was a runner up for one of the top prizes in the British art world.
Elbowtoe has had a presence on the street art New York City for years as part of the school of lino-block cutters that Swoon influenced, and now as Brian Adam Douglas he is making intricate collage works that look more like impressionist paintings than thrown together magazine clippings. For me, the collages can be hit or miss, but when they work, they really work.
Well that’s exactly what “Ways of Seeing Is,” BRP’s next show which opens on July 2nd.
The official word from Black Rat Press and some photos after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s part two of my video interview with Matt Small. It’s from his recent show, “Youngstarrs” at Black Rat Press in London. The show is up for another week, so you can still catch it if you haven’t seen it in person yet. There’s some really beautiful work which Viddler’s image quality does not show off properly at all. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check out Part One of this interview as well.
The audio is poor, so there is a transcript below the video.
RJ: So how do you choose who to paint?
Matt: Well I got my film camera…
We talk about how I only brought a cheap video camera.
Matt: Yeah so I film people with a video camera and I do it at a nice discreet distance. So in a way it’s a bit naughty, but what you’re doing is you’re getting them unaware and you’re capturing them in their own natural way of being. You know what I mean? [inaudible] Because I film them and people assume an identity. We all do that. We all… I’m doing it now. So we all assume an identity, and we stop being ourselves as such. We put out what we believe we want people to see. I bypass that by filming you, without you knowing. And then I can just go through that and find ones that I believe in [inaudible] and I’ll get that person. So there are all just like kids on the street. And, as sinister as that might sound, that how I’ve got them. One of the kids here, he was from a place called [inaudible] estate in North London. He’s sitting there, and I just filmed him. He had that beautiful look about him. [Inaudible]. I just that was very telling of the kids that are growing up in that particular area. They’re growing up in a tough estate and [inaudible] and who knows what lies ahead.
RJ: What’s the process to paint one of these, the actual painting though, once you have the image?
Matt: Once I have it? Well I’ll film, sketch, and then I’ll build up the sketch on metal and I’ll use oils and use that to build up tones and then I use [inaudible] I’ll get loads of emulsions paints which you see [inaudible] different tones of paint that I use and then I scratch it on. And I’ve got a little tool that I use to smear the paint around and it creates a sort of collidial process where all the paints mix and it’s like being in a realm of chaos because what I’ve just done is before I painted a very conventional painting: a very nicely done picture. Every time I do that it’s me protesting against traditional portraiture. It’s me saying “damn the way that [inaudible].” And it’s quite liberating. I’ve just destroyed this picture that [inaudible], and then I’ve got to try to get it back. The way I [inaudible] to bring it back as a different picture. Almost like it’s been reborn into something that I would like to think is progressive and it’s saying a bit more than that picture before. What it was before was something that doesn’t represent me or what I’m trying to say about art and about the world. And when I destroy it and bring it back, it is something that is me and it does speak about the world. I think that’s what makes it really interesting personally. Because each time I do one of these paintings, there’s a little story behind it. And it’s a story that sort of speak about me as well as a person. I think that, as an artist, if you’re an artist then you really want to make sure that a picture is coming from you, and it’s you talking and that’s there in these pictures.
A little over a week ago I had the chance to see with Matt Small and we spoke about his show Youngstarrs, which is currently on at Black Rat Press in London. Here’s part one of that interview, the rest will be coming online in the coming days. The audio isn’t great, so below the video you can read the transcript.
Also, for some great pictures of the show, check out WallKandy’s flickr set.
Transcript:
RJ: Okay, so we’re here with Matt Small at Black Rat Press for what’s the show called?
Matt: It would be called Youngstarrs.
RJ: Right. It opened last week, and I guess you’re gonna explain to us some of the paintings.
Matt: Well, the show, Youngstarrs, kinda I wanted to do a project about kids I suppose. At the end of the day, these kids are us. Because that’s who we are: big kids. I just thought I thought it would be lovely to have this huge theme of young people. Young people that are living and growing up in today’s society. These young kids who walk round up the roundabouts and they’ve all got their futures ahead of them. You know whatever in the end, whatever negative things, so many worrying stories about what’s happened with our youth and we worry about where they’re gonna be. I’ve got a young child myself, he’s seven. He’d say that’s your formative years. You know that’s really where you become who you are as a person. That’s where [inaudible]. That’s where futures start to really kind of, you know, to be cemented and such. As well as [inaudible] you really kind of becoming you as a person, which is like: do we believe that, [inaudible] we can tell with the recession and [inaudible] and this crime and do we think that our little kids are gonna be down in the scrap heap or do we just see them as these beautiful little angels like “young stars” as such? They’re like stars in the sky. They’re shining bright and that be me is what I think that my little kid, that’s what I thought of him. I can’t see him in a negative way, I can’t see his friends in the negative, I can’t see their futures in anything but the positive, a positive termed vernacular, because I think that that would be failing them. And I’m getting sick and tired of The Daily Mail and all those sort of papers that just talk about how everything’s terrible and the world’s gone to pot because I can’t think like that. So that’s more than your [inaudible]. That’s in the same vein as like, the concrete people, and I’ll do my best to sort of make my kid’s future as bright as possible and I think that’s the [inaudible] in kids. That’s the potential of them all. I think that that should be giving the right message that I’m trying to say, and it is saying that we’ve all got stories, we’ve all been somewhere, we’ve all wanted to have something different in our lives and [inaudible] sometimes takes us to where we don’t wanna be [inaudible] everyone’s got a story. And I’d like to think that when people look at this they sort of see themselves in them. These little young people. It’s like, well, I had the whole world ahead of me, and my story is still continuing but things I might have wanted to do or things that I think I can’t do, I didn’t get the chance, or I wish that this didn’t happen. I might be this place. Or I just think it’s really interesting to think about these children who, they are us. They got the world ahead of them. I think of these as self portraits. They’re all me. I was that little kid once. I don’t know why what happened to me [inaudible] there’s things I could have done I didn’t do it because of life’s little scenarios and what we thought we couldn’t achieve if someone’s saying you can’t do it. And that’s what I’m saying, life starts to inform your mind and tell you what you can and can’t do and I just think, I don’t want that to happen around my kid. I think each one of these kids has got the potential to become world leaders and something incredible [inaudible]. It doesn’t matter if they’re from dodgy or a bad estate or bad area or they’ve got bad things happening around them. They’ve got the chance to grow in a positive place. These are the young stars.
RJ: So it’s sort of like right before, or right as they are sort of realizing that the world might not be that perfect place, but at this point, it still is for all these people.
Matt: It’s totally that. That’s what I see. Like within contemporary London (for me) or wherever you live. You think that these kids are gonna be all savvy and they’re gonna be all different to how we were when we were as little kids. They’re not. They’re still playing tag and they’re still very cheeky and funny and they haven’t been burnt yet. They haven’t had their fingers singed. They’ve still got a lot of energy and a lot of potential. I think that’s exactly what I see every day. As I say I’m at my child’s school. I see that.
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