Too often I see an artist releasing a new mass produced screenprint, pulled by a large print house, and with little or no input from the artist themselves. As a result, I rather enjoy seeing the process an artist goes through to produce a piece of work, be it print or original. It is almost refreshing.

Recently Remi/Rough team up with David Shillinglaw in David’s north London studio to paint this lovely colab canvas. And whilst doing so, posed for a few nice photos of them at work…

Check out more shots and the finished piece after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

Surge, Gaia, Stormie, Remi/Rough and in The Underbelly Project

UPDATE – LOCATION CHANGE: The Underbelly Show has moved to 78 NW 25th Street in Wynwood, Miami to accommodate the large scale of the artwork in this show.

The Underbelly Project is back. Last year, I posted a lot about the project where 103 artists from around the world secretly painted an abandoned/half-completed New York City subway station. After that initial burst of press here and around the web, The Underbelly Project organizers stayed silent. With only occasional vague tweets from a mysterious twitter account and the appearance on Amazon of an upcoming book about the project. Yesterday though, The Underbelly Project announced that they will be participating in this year’s Basel Miami Week madness with a pop-up gallery in South Beach Wynwood.

The organizers of The Underbelly Project and The Underbelly Show, Workhorse and PAC, have this to say about the show:

Workhorse: The New York Underbelly was an important chapter for us, but the story hadn’t been comprehensively told. The Underbelly Miami show gives us a chance to present the broad scope of documentation – Videos, photos, time-lapses and first hand accounts. The project is about more than just artwork. This show gives us a chance to show the people and the environment behind the artwork.

PAC: While the experience each artist had in their expedition underground can never be captured, it is my hope that this show will highlight some of the trials and tribulations associated with urban art taking place in the remote corners of our cities. Too often the practice of making art in unconventional venues remains shrouded in mystery and I hope this exhibition will shine a faint light on those artists who risk their safety to find alternative ways to create and be a part of the cities they live in.

35 of the 103 artists from The Underbelly Project will be exhibiting art in The Underbelly Show, plus video and still footage of the artists at work in the tunnel. Here’s the full line-up: Faile, Dabs & Myla, TrustoCorp, Aiko, Rone, Revok, Ron English, Jeff Soto, Mark Jenkins, Anthony Lister, Logan Hicks, Lucy McLauchlan, M-City, Kid Zoom, Haze, Saber, Meggs, Jim & Tina Darling, The London Police, Sheone, Skewville, Jeff Stark, Jordan Seiler, Jason Eppink and I AM, Dan Witz, Specter, Ripo, MoMo, Remi/Rough, Stormie Mills, Swoon, Know Hope, Skullphone, L’Atlas, Roa, Surge, Gaia, Michael De Feo, Joe Iurato, Love Me, Adam 5100, and Chris Stain.

For this show, the space will be transformed into an environment imitating the tunnel where The Underbelly Project took place, right down to playing sounds recorded in the station while The Underbelly Project was happening.

If you absolutely cannot wait until February to get We Own The Night, the book documenting The Underbelly Project, a limited number will be available at The Underbelly Show in a box set with 9 photographic prints and the book all contained in a handcrafted oak box. Additionally, you will be able to your book signed by the artists participating in The Underbelly Show.

The Underbelly Show will take place at 2200 Collins Avenue, South Beach, Miami 78 NW 25th Street, Wynwood, Miami. There will be a private opening on November 30th, and the space will be open to the general public December 2nd-5th, with a general opening on the 2nd from 8-10pm.

Photo by RJ Rushmore

I have got to admit that this piece is one of my favourite walls of the year, if not my number one favourite…

Native Australian duo, Dabs and Myla have crashed head on with Remi/Rough and this explosion of colour is the result. Old Street has never looked so good!

Photo by Remi/Rough

Three pieces by Jordan Seiler

Stormie Mills asked some of his favorite artists to paint three self-portraits from different perspectives. The result of that brief is For, Against, the Truth, a show opening this week at Linton & Kay Contemporary  Art in Perth, Australia. The show includes Vandalog regulars Remi/Rough, John Fekner and Jordan Seiler, as well as Kenton Parker, Jaybo Monk, Matt Doust, Marco ‘Pho’ Grassi, Jade Palmer, Amanda Lynn and Darren Henderson.

Photo by Jordan Seiler, flyer courtesy of Remi/Rough

Outside In Magazine. Picture by Oi.

Following in the footsteps of the fantastic VNA Magazine, comes Outside In, the product of an up and coming design graduate from Winchester University.  Documenting street art, design and illustration, this non commercial art magazine is debuting today, Friday 17^th, at 3pm British Summer Time!

Running as an edition of 155, with 55 special edition copies, the magazine boasts illustrative duo Static as its feature artist.  Adding interviews and features with Miss Bugs, Lifestyles of the Poor & Unknown, Remi Rough, Dale ‘vn’ Marshall, Slinkachu and Ben Slow, I’m sure you will agree that for just £6* you can’t go wrong!

*Standard edition price… Or for all you big spenders, the two special box set deals offer you signed photos and hand finished prints by Static.

Check it out on the Oi website here.  Personally I’m quite looking forward to seeing what Remi has to say and reading the feature on Slink.

Picture by Oi Magazine

Unit 44 in Newcastle opened last week for their first show, a two-man show with collaborations between the UK’s Remi/Rough and Australia’s Stormie Mills. Unfortunately I haven’t made it over to Newcastle myself, but word is that Selected Moments is a big hit. Looks pretty cool. Here’s a portion of the show:

And their mural outside of Unit44:

Photos courtesy of Unit 44

Opening tonight is Selected Moments at Unit 44 in Newcastle. The show features the individual and collaborative works by Remi/Rough and Stormie Mills. I am really sad I cannot be at the show because these artists combined aesthetics are incredible when put together and is going to be one hell of an exhibit. So head over tonight and check it out. In the meanwhile, check out these photos sent to Vandalog of the pair working behind the scenes as well as one of their finished pieces.

All photos by David Bilbrough

Here is a video following the artists who participated in the group show Unintended Calculations recently in Vancouver, BC. Featured are Augustine Kofie, Jerry Inscoe, Remi/Rough and Scott Sueme.

Dreweatts is holding their next Urban Contemporary sale on Wednesday, April 6. Whilst I continue to struggle to understand why works by artists such as Lucien Freud, Russell Young and Damien Hirst are included in a sale with the aforementioned title, there are certainly a few lots that are both worth taking a look at and actually fit the sale’s theme. These include eight Banksy prints and one of his Family Target canvases from 2003 (est. 30-50k GBP),  a cool Martha Cooper photograph of Shy 147 precariously balanced between two train cars as he paints (est. 1200-1800 GBP), a haunting Guy Denning canvas (est. 3-5k GBP), a Jonathan Yeo Leaf Study (est. 4-6k GBP) and a really beautiful Adam Neate Self Portrait on cardboard (est. 8-12k GBP). The Neate is probably the highlight of the auction, at least in my opinion. It’s my birthday on Friday if a Vandalog reader out there is feeling generous. I’ll take you out for a drink next time you’re in LA to show my gratitude.

One of the more interesting aspects of this sale, however, is the final group of works, which will be auctioned in aid of Haven House Children’s Hospice. The twenty-five lots that comprise this section were curated by 15 year old, London-based Liam Patel. I don’t normally reprint press releases, but the text below sums up Liam’s endeavors fairly well so I recommend reading it. Stand-out works include those by Mantis, Herakut (pictured above), Remi/Rough and Matt Small.

Liam Patel has been collecting Urban Art since he was 12; now at the ripe old age of 15 he has brought together an extraordinary group of 25 cutting-edge lots to be sold at Dreweatts’ Urban Contemporary sale on Wednesday 6^th April, to raise money for the Haven House Children’s Hospice.

Unable to do physical charity work for his Duke of Edinburgh Award because he had a broken arm and shoulder, Liam decided to ask some of his favourite artists to donate their work to raise £10,000 for the Children’s Hospice, which offers vital support to children with life-limiting conditions and their parents. Liam then approached Dreweatts to host the sale in their central London branch at 24 Maddox Street W1 and they were only too happy to help by offering the venue, and any extra expertise.

‘I came up with the idea to curate an Urban Art charity auction as the Haven House Children’s Hospice needs to raise around £2m each year to provide fantastic support for children and their families.  Even though I won’t be able to raise that amount, every little helps.’ Each piece comes with a certificate of authenticity from the artist and estimates range from £100 to £1,200.  The group to be sold for the charity includes works by the likes of Matt Small, Schoony, Handiedan, Mantis, Nick Gentry, Herakut and Arkiv Vilmansa all of whom were delighted to be able to help by donating the proceeds of their pictures.

- Elisa

Image via Dreweatts‘ Urban Contemporary catalogue.

At the end of May, Hoults Yard, Newcastle will see the invasion of England’s Remi/Rough and Australia’s own Stormie Mills. The indoor show may not open for months, but I’m sure you will get to see some of their outdoor work sooner. Talented artists individually, they also surprisingly work well as a team despite their contrasting styles as evident by their wall in Miami and placement of their pieces in The Underbelly Project. This is definitely a show to get excited about.