Hush at Scope in Miami

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Hush was in Miami at Scope showing new works with Corey Helford Gallery before his solo show with them in LA in May. This is not my favorite by Hush, but to be fair the work probably comes across quite differently in person. I think his stronger pieces are the ones with more intricate, closer-knit collaging; similar to the collaging in the wheatpaste of the last picture.
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Photos courtesy of Hush

Hush – Sirens at Metro Gallery Armadale

I finally got down to see Hush‘s show Sirens at Metro Gallery in Armadale yesterday. I couldn’t make it to the opening, so I’m glad I didn’t miss this show.

I’ve been a fan of Hush for a while now and seeing his work up close makes me love it even more. His pieces combine Japanese Geisha and Russian Babushka dolls, tags and torn raw surfaces and dripping paint to create a mesmerising effect. I stood and looked at the main wall piece for ages admiring the detail. Clearly the Melbourne art community also love his work, the entire show sold out in days.

From the Metro Gallery website:

Metro Gallery is proud to present ‘Sirens’, the first solo exhibition in Australia by UK artist Hush. Described as a ‘sensory assault’, Hush’s work is a visual treat, a layering of colours and a fusion of anime, pop-infused imagery, graffiti and graphic design.

Fascinated by Asian graphic novels and inspired by the likes of Mimmo Rotella, Roy Lichtenstein and Sir Peter Blake, Hush has a unique style that has led to worldwide acclamation. He was recently recognised in London Independent’s list of ‘Top 20 Up and Coming Artists’.

‘Sirens’ continues the artist’s style, effortlessly fusing traditional Eastern art with Western traditions of action painting and graffiti. Inspired by the portrayal of the female form in art, the artist depicts Eastern-like women set within backgrounds filled with layers of rich colour. Patterns, ranging from geometric repetition to florals reminiscent of delicately decorated vases, are not solely confined to the background but often take on a new dimension, forming graceful kimonos, hairstyles or headpieces. Tagging and graffiti transition from street art to the studio, to form part of these patterns.

Hush has continued to evolve his style with this new offering, creating deeper, richer pieces than anything he has produced before. “I’m stripping pieces down, over complicating others to show a complex body of work to educate the viewer and bring them deeper into the process of making the work.”

Photos by Lukey

New work by Hush and an upcoming solo show

That flared tag is chilling. Hush gave us this as a little sample of what we’re to expect at his upcoming solo show in May at Metro Gallery in Melbourne. The show will be displaying a large body of his work and wide range of techniques. RJ and I frequently debate Hush’s work since we have strong opinions and fairly different tastes, but even he liked this one. What do you think?

Check out that detail

Photos by Cleo la Vel, courtesy of Hush

Christmas group shows that aren’t at POW

Sweet Toof and Mighty Mo. Photo by Alex Ellison

This week seems to be the week of pre-Christmas art sales in the UK, or at least attempts at pre-Christmas art sales. In London, there’s the Taking Liberty’s pop-up shop open now through the 21st with a great group of political charged artists and 10% of sales going to Reel News as well as Season Ticket an “underground art fair” in Shoreditch from High Roller Society and Alex Daw opening on Thursday. Over in Newcastle, Unit 44 have a big party planned to celebrate their 1-year anniversary, also on Thursday, with new work from artists including SheOne, Hush and Stormie Mills. With Pictures On Walls‘ annual Christmas show being cool (keep an eye on their homepage for print releases this week) but allegedly nothing like the “good old days” of their Santa’s Ghetto events (not that I would know, as I wasn’t there then and I’m not in London now), it seems that a few groups may be trying to rekindle those once warm and fuzzy feelings of Christmas cheer around street art, or they know that people like getting art for Christmas.

Here are fliers for all these show… Personally, I’m most excited about Season Ticket…

Photo by Alex Ellison

Hush and OneThirty3 Projects’ installation

Earlier this month, Hush and OneThirty3 Projects held an installation at Hush’s OneThirty3  space in Newcastle, UK. The show featured a new installation by Hush and the works of photographers and film makers documenting previous installations in the space by artists such as Titifreak, Paul Insect, Sickboy, Herakut and Gaia.

 

Photos courtesy of Hush and OneThirty3

Secrets and Sins – A look back at Sickboy’s Heaven & Earth

Despite an afternoon of heavy rain last Thursday, a large crowd was on hand to watch security struggle (literally) to open the doors of the Sickboy’s 3 day London show – Heaven & Earth.  However that delay, plus the relatively slow name checking procedure, mattered for no one as they caught a glimpse of the collection of visual delights that lay beyond.

First up, upon peering into the large open room your eyes were drawn to a caravan standing proudly in the far corner.  Kitted out in the famous red and yellow Sickboy colours, it soon became apparent that this was actually the bar dishing out a variety of booze, and not surprisingly a large queue quickly formed.

But whilst your gaze initially descended upon the brightly coloured mobile holiday home come drinks dispenser, it was impossible to ignore the plethora of meticulously-detailed paintings, riddled with their religious undertones that covered the walls.  Appropriately titled with names such as “King of Undesire”, “Critically Zen”, “Forget” and “Forgiven” these colourful masterpieces encompassed Sickboy’s own notion of heaven and earth. Fantastically detailed with sickly looking characters, rockets, angels, tags, trains, and the odd temple, this body of work was exceptional and a perfect example of how a street artist can translate their work from street to gallery. In fact many other artists should take note!

Prior to the show Sickboy allowed his website visitors to confess all, and get any sins they may have committed off their chests.  Promising to display each and every one, these unedited misdemeanours were projected onto a big screen for all to read.  I rather enjoyed the West End drug dealers who admitted to lacing their wares with a bit of laxative to ensure a messy end for their clients.  And of course there were plenty of sexual references to teachers and their daughter’s, girlfriends and their mum’s.

For all those last minute sins, or for those that just couldn’t think of one before the show opened, a large confessional booth equipped with a priest was on hand.  Although to be honest I am not sure how many visited the booth to confess or to just explore and view more of Sickboy’s artwork which adorned both the outside and in.  Maybe if the priest was hidden behind a screen some may have been more forthcoming, I certainly found it a little weird to just be stood in a small room with another bloke, let alone go ahead explain any times I may have misbehaved.

Whilst the show was billed as one based around four major installations, I personally felt they seemed to blend into each other and consequently it was hard to see each as individual entities.  However I have to admit that that was not necessarily a bad thing and the fourth and final of these installations was perhaps the one I was most looking forward to – a collaboration with 12 of Sickboy’s fellow artists and friends. It came in the form of a series of wooden bricks, a medium Sickboy has visited before, which were then stacked to form a wall. Designs and editions varied but I was most taken by the Word to Mother and Paul Insect collabs and a couple of the Conor Harrington’s. From a sales perspective the installation certainly seemed popular, but it may have just been the due to the sheer size of the space that I felt it became a little lost, maybe it was the fact that the bricks were not over the top.  Nevertheless I really liked the concept and execution of the individual bricks.

In short this was Sickboy at his best and by far my favourite show of the year so far, and I am sure that many in the packed out venue will agree.  This was street art meets gallery, street artist becomes fine artist. It’s just a shame it only lasted 3 days.

For more information about Sickboy head over to his website, and make sure you check out the gallery section as Ian Cox has done a much better job, that I have, of taking photos of each of the pieces from the show.

Photos by Shower.

Sickboy’s Heaven & Earth

Best known for his iconic red and yellow ‘Temples’ sprayed onto walls and wheelie bins worldwide, Sickboy returns this Thursday (November 3rd) with only his second major London solo show. Personally I’m quite suprised it is only his second!

Inspired by semiotics and symbolism, Renaissance paintings and the surreal landscape workings of artists like Hieronymus Bosch, this new body of work promises to demonstrate “a deeper development of the artist’s visual vocabulary.”

A celebration of earthly sins and heavenly fantasies, the show is to be comprised of four major major installations, including a walk-in confessional booth and an additional exhibit of confessions from members of the public anonymously revealed before the show.

But for me I am most looking forward to seeing Sickboy collaborating with a who’s who of eminent artists on a third element; D*Face, Eine, Anthony Lister, Paul Insect, Vhils, Conor Harrington, Xenz, Word to Mother, Will Barras, Eelus, Mudwig and Hush.

With the final surprise installation to be unveiled on the opening night, this show sounds like one not to miss. But be quick as it only lasts 3 days, located at Dray Walk, 91 Brick Lane, and ends on Sunday 6th November!

For a bit more info about the show and for those of you who would like to know more about Sickboy then I recommend 3 interviews he has recently completed with Londonist, The Playground and Zeitgeist Magazine.

Video courtesy of Sickboy. Photos by Viktor Vauthier.

Herkaut installation at Onethirty3

Onethirty3‘s most recent exhibition – Herakut – opened it’s doors for one night only on Thursday. Both Hera and Akut had spent the week painting the space in Newcastle’s Hoults Yard which is fast becoming a hub for street art in the North East. The German duo’s work paid off, the walls looked incredible and a great night was had by all. The highlight for me was Akut’s photo realistic paintings which used the colours from the previous Paul Insect/Sickboy exhibition to enhance the work.

Photos by Ben

Big things at White Walls and 941 Geary

Roa in Mexico City

White Walls Gallery and 941 Geary, sister galleries in San Fransisco, have two interesting shows opening in April.

Starting on Friday, 941 Geary will open an “indoor mural” installation, aka lots of artists painting the walls inside the gallery. Eine, Roa, Chor Boogie, APEX, Casey Gray, D Young V, Skinner, Hush and Blek le Rat have contributed or will contribute to the project as it continues to evolve over the course of a few weeks. So that could either be really cool or a complete mess. We’ll see. Here’s to hoping it works well.

Over at White Walls, Roa is installing a solo show. That show opens on April 9th. Roa’s recent installations in London got glowing reviews almost across the board, so this large solo installation will be one not to miss.

Photo by Roa