SHEPARD FAIREY – SOUND & VISION

Entitled Sound and Vision, the exhibition title is taken from the David Bowie song of the same name. Bowie has been a major influence on Fairey, because he was able to master music and visual presentation with equal virtuosity. Music is an artistic medium that Fairey reveres almost more than he does visual art. He comments: “Music is visceral, but also has the additional powerful layers of the lyrics, with their content and politics, and the style, politics, and personalities of the musicians themselves. No matter how much I love art, or try to convince myself of its relevance in society, the fact remains that music is much more able to reach people’s hearts and minds.” The artist hopes to be able to induce in people, even a fraction of the emotion that hearing a new song or listening to a familiar one can evoke.

Sound and Vision, will incorporate a diverse array of mixed media works, which embody both the political and social influences on Fairey’s work, particularly that which is directly inspired by music. It is not only David Bowie, but also the Sex Pistols, Roxy Music, Gang of Four, the Clash and Metallica which have had an impact on Fairey’s work. To encourage viewers to experience an interaction between music and art, the artist will provide records from his own collection as well as customised vintage turntables to enable viewer listening. This section of the show is complemented by a display of eighty works which have the same 12×12” dimension as an LP sleeve. The artist will therefore use both sound and vision to connect with his audience.

Exhibition runs from October 19th to November 4th, 2012

Stolen Space Gallery
Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery
91 Brick Lane
London
E1 6QL

www.303gallery.com

JEFF KOONS – HUMANKIND BEFORE ALL

Neither Koons nor his art can ever stay static : his oeuvre is like a quivering organism, ceaselessly buzzing with life, producing ever new and more surprising, vivid forms.At Almine Rech Gallery, Jeff Koons is presenting a selection of seventeen works from the past two decades of his production ; recent, and less recent works will be brought in together with brand new works : works from the Celebration (1994-), Popeye (2002-), and Hulk Elvis (2005-) series, will be seen with a few works never yet seen in public, such as a pair of paintings from the artist’s latest series Antiquity (2009-2012).

There will also be new works or hybrid works that combine elements from these past various groups. In many ways, then, this exhibition at Almine Rech offers a crisp and precise selection and a summary of some of the iconic paintings and sculptures that have come out of Koons’s studio, and, at the same time, it introduces a ‘new, new, new’ Jeff Koons, one who, ironically, looks towards the dawn of humankind : the exhibition offers us a juncture between past, present and future, but also enables us to penetrate deeper within Koons’s ever more fascinating, and effervescent universe.

Opposite – Hulk (Friends), 2012

Exhibition runs from October 9th to November 17th, 2012

Almine Rech Gallery
20 rue de l’Abbaye Abdijstraat
B-1050 Brussels

www.alminerech.com