CHRISTIAN LEMMERZ – HYPNOSIS

Posted on 2010-09-20

For his first solo exhibition in China, the German-born sculptor Christian Lemmerz has created a large installation entitled Hypnosis, which seeks to confront us directly with our own life – and not least our own death.

Christian Lemmerz always engages with the major conditions of our existence in his art – life, death, love, religion, freedom, oppression – and his works are usually executed such that they try to stimulate a reaction from or a relationship with the viewer. Art should function as a provocative confrontation, thinks Christian Lemmerz.

In a grid from the ceiling hang hundreds of skulls in front of which the viewer can stand – one viewer to each skull. The skulls revolve and function as a fixation for the eye, while a hypnosis-inducing voice speaks slowly and penetratingly into the space and urges us to think about our lives – and about the inevitability of death, about death as a release. The question is of course whether the viewer dares to remain standing through-out the countdown from ten to zero

Exhibition runs through to October 31st, 2010

Faurschou Gallery Beijing
798 Art District
NO.2 Jiuxianqiao Road
Chaoyang District
Beijing
China
100015

www.faurschou.com/beijing

  

RENE GRUAU – DIOR ILLUSTRATED

Posted on 2010-09-20

A celebration of the renowned illustrator René Gruau (1909-2004), who created some of the most iconic fashion images of the 20th century. This exciting exhibition will showcase groundbreaking artworks including original illustrations for Christian Dior Parfums, vintage perfume bottles, sketches and magazines, as well as a selection of Dior Haute Couture dresses.

René Gruau’s bold lines and fluid style were perfectly in tune with the spirit of Dior, capturing the energy, elegance and audacity of the brand. His illustrations also tell of a special understanding Gruau had of Christian Dior himself, born of a close friendship between the two men. Gruau influenced the graphic style of a whole generation of fashion illustrators and the exhibition will feature specially commissioned pieces from six UK based illustrators, whose works will draw inspiration from the rich collaboration between Gruau and the House of Dior.

Exhibition runs from November 10th to January 9th, 2011

Somerset House Trust
South Building
Somerset House
Strand
London
WC2R 1LA

www.somersethouse.org.uk

  

FACES – EINE, ZEVS, D*FACE, ZAJKO, GOODALL, CEZAR

Posted on 2010-09-13

Conceived and curated by Electric Blue Gallery, Faces, extends the gallery space beyond its traditional white walls and out onto the blank canvas of eleven surrounding streets, creating an affluent new East End destination by day, and a free, international gallery of world-class contemporary art by night. Over a year in planning, by completion it will be one of the biggest permanent public installations in the world.
Contributing artists Ben Flynn, a.k.a. Eine, Dean Stockton, a.k.a.
D*Face, Jasper Goodall, Paris-based artist Aguirre Schwarz, a.k.a. Zevs and Rafal Zajko.

Opposite – Eine,“Alphabet Street’

Exhibition runs from September 16th to November 16th, 2010

Electric Blue Gallery
64 Middlesex Street
London
E1 7EZ

www.electricbluegallery.com

  

PAULA SCHER

Posted on 2010-09-13

Paula Scher has been working for some time on a series of large-scale map paintings and prints. Under the auspices of New York’s Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art programme, which funds artists to create permanent public artworks in municipal buildings and spaces. Scher was commissioned to create the murals for the two schools, Queens Metropolitan High School and the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School.
The two murals are located in an atrium and commons at the Metropolitan Campus and each cover approximately 2,430 square feet. One of the murals, a view of the New York metropolitan region with a focus on Queens, was completed this week; a second, of Metropolitan Avenue, will be installed in October. In the murals, New York City sprawls across the walls in vibrant color, wrapping around walls, corners and ceiling, creating a world in a room.

  

NYCHOS – HORRORSHOW

Posted on 2010-09-13

The Austrian illustrator and graffiti artist NYCHOS, who is mainly known for his prolific street art concept the RABBIT EYE MOVEMENT, kicks of his premiere solo exhibition, combining his original comic styling with heavy metal attitude.

Exhibition runs from September 16th – 27th, 2010

Pure Evil Gallery
108 Leonard st
London
EC2A 4RH

www.pureevilclothing.com

  

STANLEY DONWOOD – OVER NORMAL

Posted on 2010-09-06

Over Normal is the first ever solo exhibition by Stanley Donwood in the United States. The catalyst for the large works featured in the show is in Los Angeles, where Stanley began to notice (with equal parts amazement and distress) that the advertisements bombarding him on the multilane highways were made of seven basic colors, immediately grabbing viewers’ attention in a primal way. More recently, Stanley noticed a parallel between the use of those colors and an influx of spam emails that promised everything from more fruitful sex lives, to cheap foreclosed properties at the expense of someone else’s misery. The word’s that were used in the emails were formatted in the same fundamental way as color in the advertisement’s had been used: to grab unconscious attention and tell a story without the viewer knowing it. Marrying the immediate words used in these emails with the attractive and distressing colors of the advertisements, Stanley has produced a line of seven vibrant, original pieces for this exhibition.

Exhibition runs through to October 27th, 2010

FIFTY24SF GALLERY
218 Fillmore Street
San Francisco
CA
94117-3504

www.fifty24sf.com