This weekend, the 23rd and 24th of July, Whitecross Street in London is host to this year’s Whitecross Street Party. Last year featured artists like Dr. D, Filthy Luker and the Burning Candy crew. Expect more street artists at this year’s event including Milo Tchais, Shepard Fairey (probably not the man himself, but something from him) and Ronzo. There’s also an indoor art exhibition. Here’s the flyer, and there’s more info on the party’s website:
Photo by Keri.flickr
With the launch of Ronzo‘s latest solo show, “Crackney’s Finest,” Vandalog thought it would be a good idea to get to know the mastermind behind the roach pizza man and Crunchy. Here are some pictures of the opening night as well. And if you haven’t gone to see it yet, get your arse down to Brick Lane ASAP.
How did you get into art in the first place, eventually evolving into your aesthetic today?
When I was little I just always wanted to draw and paint. Later on in school it seemed to be a good career choice as it was the only thing I was really enjoying plus I wasn’t good in anything else but art class. I think the result of my aesthetics today is a mixture of all the stuff that influenced me on the way, my own ideas/ things I think would be cool to do and the ‘Ronzo Credo’ which is: innovate – don’t imitate. I like my work to look a bit different to the generic perception of ‘Street Art’. That’s how I ended up with the look and feel we see now.
Ronzo‘s second solo show at London’s StolenSpace Gallery, Crackney’s Finest, opens on Thursday evening, and Ronzo sent over a couple of photos of the show coming together…
The show is going to include paintings, collages, prints and sculptures. While my favorite artworks from Ronzo are his diorama paintings, I think most people’s favorites are probably the giant sculptures like these…
Crackney’s Finest opens at StolenSpace on Thursday and runs through November 28th, so get there quick.
Photos by Ronzo
A lot of events have been happening this week, most likely so that everyone can make a last minute push in shows and such before the holidays. Then we have nothing to write about. Gotta love when a whole industry shuts down for a month or so.
Anyways, so here is what has been going on:
Ever since I lived in London two years ago during study abroad, I fell in love with countless street pieces that are sadly R.I.P. Yet, one of my favorite pieces still stands above the Village Underground in Shoreditch untouched and unscathed by vandals and the elements. Ronzo’s Crunchy the Credit Monster stands as a symbol of the recession overlooking the now gentrified Great Eastern Street, although to me, he still looks like a baby Reptar from the Rugrats (which is actually what I thought it was before I researched the piece). Recently, Ronzo and company released a video finally explaining the making of the adorable sculpture.
CRUNCHY – The Credit Crunch Monster from Ronzo on Vimeo.
This Wednesday, Dreweatts hosts their latest urban art auction in London. This time around it’s called “Urban Contemporary.” Honestly, I’ve avoided posting about this auction until now because while there are some highlights, the lowlights are awkward and disappointing to write about.
Lets start with the positives. Some of works that I’m really liking (in no particular order):
Lot 89: Point Blank by Martin Lea Brown. 67cm x 167cm. Estimated £3,000-5,000. This painting looks okay online, but is just so nice in person.
Lot 72: Musas by Sam3. 91.5cm x 61cm. Estimated £700-900. An interesting painting for the price. It amazes me how cheap a Sam3 original can be. Though I suppose his work is best experienced outside.
Lot 64: African Fence by Rowdy. 91.5cm x 61cm. Estimated £900-1,100.
Lot 47: Studio Critics by Sweet Toof. 91.5cm x 61cm. Estimated £2,000-4,000. Sweet Toof is a painter. He’s a graffiti writer. He’s a street artist. He’s a print-maker. What is he? He’s talented.
Lot 49: Cruncy – Pity of London by Ronzo. 40cm x 40cm Plinth. 106cm x 40cm. Estimated £1,000-1,5000. Apparently this is the only Pity of London sculpture that didn’t go on the streets. So it’s something kind of special.
And now the things about this auction that epically disappoint me. The things that made me not want to write about this auction at all. In no particular order. And there are others lots in this sale that were very disappointing to see at auction, but I’m not going to list them all. Hopefully this gives you a taste.
Lot 13: Self Portrait by Adam Neate. 167cm x 123cm. Estimated £15,000-20,000. Almost everyone I know believes that Adam Neate’s pieces like these should be kept out of auction at all costs. Even if this reaches the high estimate for the piece, it will only serve to further damage the market for his paintings. And in my opinion, Adam is one of the most talented British painters working today, so I’d like to see the market for his paintings recover.
Lot 9: Morons by Banksy. 76.5cm x 56cm. Estimated £3,000-5,000. Every “urban art” auction seems to have at least one Morons print.
Lot 17: Untitled by Seen. 60cm x 70cm. Estimated £600-800. I don’t take issue with this painting. I definitely take issue with how Dreweatts has handled the artwork in their sale. In the catalog, this painting is upside down. Luckily, that’s been fixed online. But when I went to see this piece in the flesh at the auction house last Thursday, it was hung sideways. That, or it’s now sideways online (but given that the central icon of the piece is a Seen tag, I’m guessing that the tag is meant to be read left to right, so the online image is correct and it was hung sideways). Either way, that’s more than a little bit upsetting.
Lot 63: Number 5 by Herakut. 80cm x 100cm. Estimated £2,000-3,000. Another great painting that Dreweatts has just handled poorly. Again, it’s online and in the catalog sideways (and possibly hung that way in the auction-house as well, I can’t remember)! Now, given the content of the painting, I can see how somebody might not be sure which way is up. In fact, you’d have to look at the painting for more than half a second to realize that it might be sideways. How did I figure out that the piece is sideways? There’s an image of the piece online. And it was originally part of a tetraptych, so you know that the image I found online has the painting hanging the right way. Could Dreweatts have missed this? Sure. Except that lot 62 is a painting from the same tetraptych. It amazes me that nobody at Dreweatts took the 30 seconds of research that it took me to figure out which way this painting is meant to hang. Epic fail.
So that’s the Dreweatts “Urban Contemporary” auction. It takes place on Wednesday April 21st in London, and you can bid online.
Back in January, Ronzo put up some sculptures in London of his credit crunch monster. Now he’s put together a film of him installing the sculptures. Although I mentioned these sculptures when they were first spotted, the film is kind of funny, so I thought it worth sharing:
Ronzo’s Pity of London – Part 1 from Ronzo on Vimeo.
Ronzo is back with a new version of Crunchy, the credit crunch monster. The latest version was put up as a celebration that the UK government has declared the recession officially over.
Via UK Street Art
Ronzo recently put up his latest creation “Crunchy” (the official mascot of the global financial meltdown) on top of Village Underground. Very cool. A 21st Century chimera.
Via UK Street Art
