INVURT

Tonight sees the much loved Secret Wars series hit Melbourne for round two of the Australian series! This battle style live art event pits some of the best artists from around Australia against each other in a no holds barred artistic smack down.

I’ve heard awesome things about this event from both its  overseas counterpart, as well as the Sydney events – we managed to catch up with Shannon McKinnon, Australias agent for Monorex and Secret Wars, to get the low down on whats already happened in the previous heat, as well as what they have in store for us with the Melbourne series …

Whats the history of Secret Wars, both overseas and here in Australia? Its been going on for a while, and you’ve been involved for several years – how has it developed in that time?

Secret Was started in London in 2006 by Terry Guy. It has pretty much been to  every part of the world and in its current format is in a 16 city European League “world cup” style draw. They are just about to hit the Semi Finals. Some of the cities included were Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Dublin and London. We are still in the early stages in Australia, but I have plans to get it operating on that scale – so far it’s all looking good.

You’ve had some amazing artists so far in the first part of the Australian series, can you tell us a little about the previous artists that were involved, as well as the winners of the heats and what the finale was like? Were there any major surprises?

The artists that took part in the Sydney Series were fantastic, especially because they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. JUMBO was the only the artist that had previously participated – he took part in the London Series. JOHN DOE and MIKE WATT knew about Secret Wars but the other artists; HOUL, BRIDGE STEHLI, AMUSE, MAX BERRY and CREON were new to the format. Everyone created amazing artwork and the battles were awesome. The grand final was battled out between Houl and Creon and the winner was decided by a crowd vote with Houl winning by 0.1 of a decibel. Each battle is unpredictable and you just never know who is going to win.

How did you go about selecting artists to battle it out in the Melbourne round? There is such a  huge wealth of talent here that it must have been a difficult selection process – do you already have artists in mind for a future event already?

Selecting artists for the Melbourne series was actually relatively easy, there is so much talent in the city and  I lived in Melbourne in 2008 and had met a few of the artists. As soon as I knew the Melbourne Series was on, I phoned and put it to them first. All of the artists said yes straight away. I must admit I was a bit nervous when I spoke to PHIBS but he didn’t hesitate. I’ve locked in the eight artists for the Melbourne series and it’s a stellar group of artists; Scale, Itch, Phibs, Pierre Lloga, Debs, Ken Taylor, Drewfunk and Braddock.

Some amazing work gets produced in the various heats and finals – what ends up happening with all of this great work after its completed?

Ideally we would leave the artwork up in the venue between the battles, but because we aren’t able to it will go into storage. The panels can be purchased if someone has the space big enough to display the artwork. We do take photos of each piece and then produce a limited edition set of prints for sale. The profits go to the artist. I am hoping that eventually we’ll be able to have a show and exhibit all of the Secret Wars artwork for everyone to see.

What do you think we can expect with this first battle between Scale and Bryan Itch, and what are your tips for who you believe will go the distance in the Melbourne series, and is there an underdog we should look out for?

I think we can expect some nerves, the first battle is always the hardest because people aren’t really sure what the environment will be like. However, I don’t think that the nerves will last very long and we will see some amazing artwork from both artists. As far as going the distance, I don’t like it when someone loses over another so it’s hard for me to say who to look out for – each battle will be great. The draw is on our website, and I’m looking forward to all of the battles.

You have plans for Perth, Brisbane and you’ve already done Threadbo – are there any limits to what, where and who you think you’ll work with in the future – is it an open field?

Yep, plans for both Perth and Brisbane, we start the next Sydney series in February. We are planning on getting over to NZ as well. Ideally, we’re aiming for an Australian wide battle. Talking with Terry in the UK, we have a loose plan to have a world championship in around 2 years time, which I am confident Australia will do great in!

See lots more info, videos and pics up at the Secret Wars Australia website, also sign up for their facebook page, and go check it out!

Sweet Streets keeps building up steam as it continues along its eventful program, and another awesome event of note is the upcoming Urban Intervention exhibition.

In partnership with the Yarra Sculpture gallery, Urban Intervention concentrates on “site specific installation, culture jamming, yarn bombing, guerrilla knitting and other public art forms that relate to an engagement, subversion, dialogue or interjection with the urban topography.”

They have coupled the event and exhibition with a google maps system in order to add context and historical notes and value to the art trail portion of the event and it really does look like a wonderfully unique and cool way to spend a Friday evening, wandering the streets and checking out some amazing guerilla-styled works.

“A Google map will be launched live on opening night. The map locates existing works by the artists on Melbourne’s streets. This open access, collaborative platform will enable the public to ‘tag’ the location of artworks on the trail and surrounding area. This project has the potential to produce an endlessly expanding web of connections between sites, artists and artistic interventions. Prospectively it could deliver an endlessly growing archive of Melbourne street art.”

Who: Mic Porter, Magnus McTavish, Nick Ilton, Will Coles, Junky Projects, Melbourne Light Painters, Van Rudd, Phoenix, Public Assembly, Yarn Wrap, Thomas C. Chung. The exhibition also includes an installation by Michelle Robinson, Lani Fender, DJ Element and David Murphy.
What: Urban Intervention Street Sculpture & Art Trail
Where:  117 Vere Street Abbotsford, VIC
Parking: Street parking is available (Melways ref. 44 D5)
Train: The gallery is next to Collingwood train station
Bus: There is a bus stop on the corner of Vere and Hoddle Street
When: Opens Friday 15th October 6 pm – runs til 23rd October – (closed Monday and Tuesday) – 12 – 5.30 pm

Check out the Sweet Streets website as well as the facebook event page for more details!

Last Friday night was the opening of Sweet Streets, the 2010 Melbourne street art festival.

I was there most of the night at the Awards exhibition helping out with the show (as semi-official red-dotter and general run-around-er), and got a glimpse into all the hard work that was done in the background for both the opening, and the next two weeks of the festival. The committee really needs to be congratulated for putting it all together – it was packed out and there were so many unique and amazing pieces in it. A special yo also has to go out to the other volunteers, who all did a great job too.

As a pretty shitty critic (You may have noticed that I tend to love anyone who puts anything up on walls!) I wont comment too much on the content, but suffice to say there wasn’t anything there that I didnt like, I picked up a piece from a favorite artist, loved another massive four panel work that had awesome robotech-ish spacecraft across it (that was a little out of my price range), that Junky Projects rules, that the music was great, the crew doing the live drawing was amazing, and that all the winners of the prizes were well deserving of their kudos – as were all of the artists involved.

Theres some more on the opening over at Melbourne Art and Culture Critic – I had the chance to meet and chat to the affable and friendly Mark, whose blog I’ve been a big fan of for a while, and we took a good look at the show together before the opening, and he sums it up nicely. I’m looking forward to the next installments over the coming fortnight, starting with both the show at the BSG on Wednesday as well as the film night on Thursday … not to mention all the other events and workshops happening!

So heres photos from Friday pre-show as well as the opening, with my oh so ultra awesome camera skills haha .. its on at 1000 pound Bend for the next two weeks, so get in there and take a look!

The layout …

Toy Mountain with the panel I mentioned in the background ..

The Hand!

Some of the awesome work up for auction at the charity event!

Crowded room …

Live art!

One of my favorite urban sculptors, hands down. Finished live art product, up for auction (excuse the crappy photo!)…

Sick night, sick art, sick festival.

Download a copy of the entire festival guide and get to it!

Following on from the recent solo exhibition by Perth artist Adrian Baldsing, the once-Mixtape-now-These Days gallery in Northbridge will play host to an amazing variety of prints by a whole host of talented Oz artists with their group show Print Nation – some definite favourites and some newer names also, its grand to see such a variety in the one show – These Days is starting to ramp it up!

Who: Gala Bent, Pedro Matos, Karl Kwansy, Justin Nelson, Bec Winnel, Murray Smoker, Sara McNeil, Roge One, Victo Ngai, Martin E Wills, Kaitlin Beckett, Charmaine Olivia, Aramas, Beth Josey, Jason Galea
What: Print Nation – An exhibition of limited prints
Where: These Days Gallery – 454 William Street, Northbridge, Perth, WA
When: Show opens 15th October @ 7pm and runs til late.

International battle for artistic kudos hits Melbourne next week, with the very first heat in the second Australian Secret Wars series. This event has a world wide following, and there have been some amazing battles carried out over the series so far across several continents, and this one will be no exception.

First up off the ranks is Scale vs Bryan Itch, and with only 90 minutes on the clock, both artists use black and white paint and markers on white walls to produce the best work possible, and both pieces are then voted for both by the judges as well as a crowd vote. Theres four heats in the initial competition, including Scale, Bryan Itch, Phibs, Pierre Lloga, Ken Taylor, Deb, Drew Funk and Braddock. Over the next few months, these guys will go through the heats and the into vs rounds of semi finals, until the final all out battle between the two finalists in April next year.

Seriously fkn cool – take a look at the AU YouTube channel and you’ll see what I mean – so get there next Wednesday.

Who: Bryan Itch vs Scale
What: Secret WArs AU – First heat
Where: 1000 £ Bend, 361 Lt Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
When: Wednesday, 13th October, starts at  8:30pm

Check out the Secret Wars AU website for more details, as well as this rounds event on facebook, the AU facebook page and the international facebook page.

Seeing any event involving Miso or Ghostpatrol is grand – I love the whole pop-up installation/exhibition thing also, and this one adds a bit of paper cathedral building, tattooing, animation, drinks and good times into the mix just to make it even better.

From Ghosxtpatrol:

“miso and I are building a paper cathedral, and tattooing inside it for free from sunset to sunrise, and making a stop frame animation while we’re at it.

It will also be a pop-up shop of sorts, a party, drinks, food. First come first served, with a breakfast date in the end for anyone who makes it to the morning. get to it.”

Who: Miso & Ghostpatrol
What: Sunrise to Sunset popup exhibition
Where: 124 Nicholsons Street, East Brunswick
When: Sunset, Saturday October the 9th, and runs until sunrise, October 10th.

Via Ghostpatrols blog

I don’t know how this one eluded me for so long, but it was only recently passed on to me – I think I kept getting confused with the very cool Lost + Found market in Collingwood and the events up in Sydney and Brisbane .. but, nevertheless, I am so going down to Docklands this weekend to check this out!

I’d list all the artists and designers that will be putting on stalls there, but it’ll probably be easier to check out this page – a lot of amazing talent, some familiar names, and some that I am itching to take a look at and find out more about.

Events like this make my day. Thanks to Kaitlin Beckett who let me know about it (and who will also be displaying wares at from her Curious Bestiary, alongside two other JAA artists, Caitlin Rigby and Aramas, and, oh, so many others …).

Who: Way too many designers and artisans to name.
What: Finders Keepers Designer Market
Where: Shed4 – Victoria Harbour, North Warf Road, Docklands, VIC
When: Saturday October 9th and Sunday 10th, 10am til 5pm

Check out the Finders Keepers website for even more info.

Busy Friday this week with the opening of the Sweet Street festival, and several other exhibitions – not least including a solo show from Melbournes Aramas at the Brunswick Street Gallery.

“Evanidus is a collection of paintings and sculptures looking at the vanishing of some the important things in our life; the passing away of memories, of loved ones and the environment around us; it is about mourning the evanescence of our connection with life and meaning.”

There is also a great little studio visit article that the team from JAA did with Aramas on their website, and theres some really beautiful in-process pics there too.

Who: Aramas
What: Evanidus solo show
Where: Brunswick Street Gallery, 322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
When: Opens 8th October @ 6pm, show runs until 21st October

I posted a fairly generic notice about this some time ago, but now that the festival is upon us its time to post again, this time with a little more detail. Sweet Streets is the new incarnation of the Melbourne Stencil Festival, reinvented by a new committee to traverse and cover all aspects of the street and urban art scene here in Victoria.

The guys and girls at the festival have been working hard to get everything running, and they have some pretty amazing things lined up for everyone, and just looking over it I’m really impressed by the variety, creativity and effort that has been put into it all!

The festival runs from the 8th to the 24th of October, and is really jam packed with what looks like an event for pretty much everyone, and it will be run over a variety of venues, so, heres the kinda really rough guide  …

Sweet Streets Festival Opening

October 8th, 6pm @ 1000 Pound Bend – 361 Ltl Lonsdale St,, Melbourne, Australia, 3065

The night to begin what is sure to be an amazing two weeks, and as the release says:

“It’s your first chance to see the works in the award show, as well as find out the winners of this years prizes. You can also grab a festival program on the night to find out what other events you can get involved with! (events are also posted on the Sweet Streets website)

The night starts at 6pm, with live performance by Great Earthquake and guest artist. Speeches and formal announcements will happen around 7pm. Then lets all kick back and party the night away with Dj Mike Zun!

This is a free event and perfect way to spend your friday night. So come on down and bring your friends to celebrate the opening of Melbourne’s street art event of the year!”

Theres an e-invite here on the Sweet Streets website, so download it and send it to all your mates.

Street Art Workshops & Master Classes

Undoubtedly the heart of the festival are the artist run education sessions that will be running over the two weeks that the festival will run for. A huge range of artists, designers and street art aficionados have pooled together with the Sweet Streets festival to play host to a wide range of workshops and master classes for anyone interested in finding out more about street art, or just to learn new techniques. There is everything from street art classes for secondary teachers, to stencils workshops, character design, yarnbombing and urban sculpture.

For a complete list of all the festival workshops you can be a part of, and to book your attendance, check out this link.

Festival Film Night

1000 Pound Bend – Thursday 14th October 7:30pm – Tickets $7 (+online booking fee)

Mark Holsworth, secretary of the Festival, well known for his impressive and often street-art supportive blogs, Melbourne Art & Culture Critic, has put together a cool night of street art short films “featuring four fresh short films about street art and by street artists – three of these films will be having their premiere screening.”

For more details on which films will be screening, check out this link – his selection looks pretty slick.

Sweet Streets at the BSG

Brunswick Street Gallery – October 13th @ 6pm – 322 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy – show runs til October 21st

The Brunswick Street Gallery in Fitzroy will also be playing host to an exhibition featuring artists from both sides of the Tasman during the festival, with a great range of talent such asl Cracked Ink (NZ) ,  Cinzah Seeyakem (NZ) , Liam Moore (NZ), PNTR (NZ),Rhys Burnie, Nate Gamble, Deb ,  Jo Waite, Megan Dell , Bados Earthling, Heesco  and KA’ …

“Through a small bookshop, squashed between two kebab shops, and up some narrow stairs, you will find the hidden gem that is the Sweet Streets at BSG exhibition.

Finding the place may be tricky, but it is worth the effort as Brunswick Street Gallery and the Sweet Streets Festival presents an amazing show of urban and street artists from Australia and New Zealand during the Sweet Streets Festival (8-21 october).

This cross-Tasman show will feature artists working in comic illustration, stencil, free-hand graffiti, screen-printing, mixed media, and painting.”

Pretty sure that this one is curated by Tessa Yee, who put together the amazing Urban Art 10a earlier this year. Check out more details on this show here.

Sweet Streets Fund Raising Auction

October 24, 2010 @ 6:00 pm -  1000 Pound Bend – 361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne, Australia, 3000

Closing off the festival will be a great fundraising auction, where a bunch of the artwork from the awards ceremony as well as some other unique items will be auctioned off to help fund the future of the festival, as well as charity.

“Help raise money for the future of Sweet Streets as well as the Collingwood Housing Estate Arts Community, and Anglicare Victoria – our chosen charities.

Featuring signed prints donated by Obey, the Award Show murals by well-known local artists including Deb and Drewfunk, and a range of unique works created especially for the Charity Auction, by local and visiting artists, through the facilitation of the Collingwood Underground Artists hub – active throughout the three weeks of the festival.”

Check out the link to the event here.

So, thats the very brief  kinda rough guide to the festival – but there is so, so much more detail that I haven’t covered, so make sure you check out these links:

Sweet Streets website
Sweet Streets facebook page
Sweet Streets on Twitter

Have fun, and see you at the festival – I’ll probably be doing other updates as the various events come round, so stay tuned …

Following on from last years showing of paintings in his great “Revenge of the Teddybugs” show, Jason Howe returns to Melbourne and the At Large gallery for yet another show, this time one laden with drawings, sketches and experimental animations.

“Returning from Sydney, fine artist Jason Howe conducts his 2nd solo
show at At Large Gallery Melbourne, bringing down his large portfolio
of over 200 sketches/drawings/doodles/characters/abstractions/ideas & designs for his paintings.

As you ponder his bold, fluid and flowing marker line drawings you
will see through to the ballpoint pen scribbles, which are the
origins, ideas and lines that spark a sketch.
Influenced by cartoons & animation, hip hop, the graffiti art
characters of Vaughn Bode & Kenny Scharf and contemporary American
pop surrealists Greg Simkins, Jeff Soto, Joe Ledbetter and Alex
Pardee his work will delight, humor, mess with your head & make your
mind wonder.

Drawn on a patchwork of recycled stickers, Jason breaks the
boundaries of the portrait/landscape style of his sketchbooks to
bring you a peak behind the scenes and behind the eyes of a
practicing, prolific post-pop hip-hop doodling surrealist.
As well as all original drawings being for sale, Jason will be
selling prints, hand painted shirts and caps and will also have a
showing of his experimental, colourful animated music clips.”

Who: Jason Howe
What: Fool Moon Toon solo exhibition
Where: At Large Gallery, 208 High Street, Northcote, VIC
When: Opens 6pm til 9pm, Friday October 1st. Show runs til 14th October

Check out Jasons website, as well as the At Large Gallery for more details on the show and the teddybugs themselves!

The folks at Nine Lives Gallery have a showing this Thursday of the second part of Sam Smiths Mad Dogs exhibition. His patterned and semi-chaotically rendered pieces always remind me of large scale etchings and woodcuts, but done with a cool tribal-esque style.

It’d be great to be able to get along to see this, so if you’re in the Brissy area, do it.

Who: Sam Smith
What: Mad Dogs, Part 2
Where: Nine Lives Gallery, 694 A Ann st, Fortitude Valley, QLD
When: Opens Thursday 30th September, show runs til October 10th

Via weAREtheIMAGEmakers and Sam Smiths blog. More details on the Nine Lives site also.

It’s great to see shows happening in Adelaide, and this time its a solo show by the renowned and somewhat infamous Sofles. This four day exhibition will showcase a variety of the Brisane artists work as translated to canvas.

“Notorious graffiti figure. Prodigious talent. Sofles has been both reviled and embraced by the media over his ten-year career, which began as a graffiti artist in Brisbane, Australia. After a well-publicized conviction in 2009, Sofles burst onto the scene with various sold-out exhibitions, collaborations with artists such as Anthony Lister, Ben Frost and Revok, and contracts with the likes of Red Bull, Myer, Adidas, and Toohey’s.

Returning from a tour of New York and Los Angeles, Sofles has chosen Adelaide for his first interstate exhibit, with new works on canvas featuring his signature mash up of aerosol, acrylics and oils, rendering evocative imagery in explosive colour. The progression from graffiti to canvas was a natural one, explains Sofles.

“Not much has changed, really. I’m painting every day, using the same tools, applying the same techniques, to a different platform, with a different audience. The work is finer, more considered, but my graffiti influence has been really well received.”

Sofles imagery is wide and varied, with collages of mind-bending abstraction melting into intricate form, perfect snapshots of the artist’s wild imagination. Sofles’ ability to create depth and detail with aerosol is unmatched, and combined with his bold use of colour renders pieces so distinctive they have firmly set Sofles reputation as one of Australia’s most watched contemporary artists.”

Who: Sofles solo show
Where: Bull n Bear Basement – 89 King William St, Adelaide
When: Show opens 6pm Thursday October 7th, until Sunday October 10th

You can check out more of Sofles work on his webpage.

Okay, so the word dynamo comes to mind when I think of Twoone, and now I’m just going to apply it to Thomas Jackson as well. Only a two or three weeks after their last duo show, they are hitting back again with yet another one – again at the Lo Fi Collective space.

This time they’ll be showcasing a series of Giclee prints of new water color drawings, typographic works, and more – knowing those two artists work, theres sure to be some amazingly cool stuff on display.

Who: Twoone & Thomas Jackson
What: Attic Antics duo show
Where: Lo-Fi Collective, 383 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst
When:  Show opens Thursday 30th September at 6pm.

Via Twoones blog.

The fine folk at Ambush gallery team up with Final Episode this coming Thursday with a launch party for Final Episodes online store opening. Cant wait to check out some of the threads on offer when it opens – but if you’re in Sydney, get on down to Ambush and check out some of the artists and clothing for yourselves.

“Final Episode is an online accessories store dedicated to design, and on September 30, 2010, it will be celebrating its launch with an exhibition by Sydney’s leading visionaries. Pop artist Ben Frost, graphic designer Jonathan Zawada, photographers Lyn & Tony and interactive design studio Canvas Group have each created a special piece of work for Final Episode, which will be exhibited along with market installations by stylist Maia Liakos. Live music will be provided by Hole in the Sky DJs.

Final Episode is an online accessories store committed to stocking labels that embrace originality, innovation and fashion-forward design. It has sourced brands from across the world that fit this concept, with the view that fashion is a tool to flaunt one’s individuality and express one’s sense of self.

From the website to the packaging to the launch concept, design is at the very core of Final Episode’s philosophy, and transcends into every aspect of the shop’s branding. Final Episode aims to merge the very best from the worlds of fashion, art and design and celebrate beautiful ideas.”

Who: Featuring Ben Frost, Canvas Group, Lyn & Tony, Jonathan Zawada, Hole In The Sky DJs. Accessories by Deadly Ponies, Natalia Brilli,  Borba Margo & Tristan Blair
What: Final Episode Online Store Launch Party
Where: Ambush Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo, NSW
When: Event runs from 6pm til 9pm, Thursday September 30th

Via Ambush Gallery & Final Episode

Woot! Timba Smits and crew brings the goods once more with the launch of Wooden Toy #7 – this time with a special focus on music from this amazingly produced and visually stunning magazine.

The time, creativity and talented design and editing that goes into this mag is second to none, and it belongs on everyones coffee table – and the launch for this latest edition looks fkn fantastic.

“At a whopping 225mm x 225mm, edition 7 includes 156 full CMYK coloured pages (including covers) on 120gsm Sovereign offset uncoated stock by K.W.Doggett and 300gsm Life Recycled stock by K.W.Doggett for the covers designed superbly by Ken Taylor www.kentaylor.com.au with individual stamp numbering featured on back. With only 5000 limited copies printed this edition comes complete in a superb 229mm x 225mm custom shaped TOYPACK package printed in 2 spot colours on 350gsm Enviroboard recycled by K.W.Doggett featuring designs by WASTE with a certificate of Authenticity, a 40 page Lyrics and Type Zine and a giclee artist print by WASTE www.wasteyourself.com

Featuring (in order of appearance) interviews and features on:
Miss Blimey (AUS) / Dirty Vinyl Pusher / The evolution of Music / Kitty, Daisy & Lewis (UK) / Score Wars / DJ Perplex (AUS) / Ken Taylor (AUS) / Tara McPherson (USA) / UK Beatbox feat. Beardyman, Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee & Reeps One (UK) / Lyle Owerko’s Boombox project (USA) / Waste Studio (UK) / James Sharrock (AUS/UK) / Elefant Traks feat. Urthboy, Jane Tyrrell, Hermitude & Unkle Ho (AUS) / McBess (UK) / The Dirty Dozen / Wax Tailor (FRA) / Musical Stalkers / Poster Peeps / Tim Minchin (AUS/UK) / Lyrics and Type 2 / Gone Stir Crazy plus heaps more hidden tracks and samples.”

What: Wooden Toy #7 Launch

Melbourne Launch
Wednesday September 29th
Opens from 630pm til 9390pm
Third Floor, Magnation
88 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

Sydney Launch
Friday 1st October
Opens from 630 til 10pm
Upstairs, Magnation
155 King St, Newtown

Via Wooden Toy Quarterly & Just Another Agency’s blog.

I’ve been aware of this show for almost a year now, and I’m really excited that all the launch details for Audrey Kawasakis shows at Outre gallery have now been released. Having been a fan for many years and watched her work progress over this time, there is this little hint of jealousy in me knowing that I am far from alone in my unashamed fandom – several of her prints adorn my walls, and I’m totally living in fear of having to eat mi-goreng noodles for a month, just knowing that this show is at Outre gallery the day after payday.

If you seriously haven’t seen Audreys work yet, you should – because you’re missing out on some beautiful stuff – and it looks like the lady herself will be at the Melbourne and Sydney openings at Outre gallery (alas, Perth), so heres your chance to give her the full kudos for her work that she deserves.

“Outré Gallery are extremely proud to be presenting the first major Australian solo exhibition of Audrey Kawasaki’s original paintings, rare prints and fresh editions in October / November 2010.

At once innocent and erotic, Audrey’s gentle and enigmatic visions of femininity have inspired a fan-base which is beautiful in itself … expect more of Audrey’s breathtaking girls and tender renderings.”

Who: Audrey Kawasaki
What: Tangled solo exhibition
Where: Outré Gallery

MELBOURNE OPENING 
Friday 22th October 2010
249-251 Elizabeth St
Melbourne VIC 3000
AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY OPENING
Friday 29th October 2010
13a Burton Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
AUSTRALIA

PERTH OPENING
Friday 5th November 2010
260 William Street
Northbridge WA 6003
(Outre: Sadly, Audrey will not be at the Perth opening in person – she apologises!)

Via Outre Gallery

We covered news of this show way back in July, but thought that as it  is opening this week, that we would post about it again – and include some special preview images for you that were kindly provided to us by the guys and girls at Metro Gallery.

Since it was announced, Anthony Lister, Rone and Vexta have also been added to its roster – rounding this show out to be set as one of the finest collections of Australian and international street art to be displayed here.

Cant wait!

“This show will be one the biggest collection of contemporary street art ever shown in Australia, and includes pieces by some of the most notorious internationally renowned artists including;

Blek le Rat: Blek is considered to be the godfather of stencil art, and has been producing street work for 30 years. He’s both a pioneer on the streets and in the transition to gallery work, and has inspired a generation of stencil artists. His signature Rat stencil that covered the streets of Paris in the 80’s is one of the most striking images in street art history.

Banksy: Banksy hardly needs any introduction, he’s by far the most sought after street artist in the world but has managed to stay defiantly anonymous.

Shepard Fairey: Shepard has risen from his humble roots as a teenage skater punk distributing homemade stickers via mail order and gone on to create some the most instantly recognisable visual imagery in recent art history, including the oft reproduced ‘Obey’ campaign and most noticeably the Obama ‘Hope’ image that became synonymous with the Democrat’s rise to office.

Nick Walker: English graffiti artist Nick Walker has been combining stencils with his freehand graffiti work since 1992. Nick initially turned to stencils as a means of introducing the realist elements of photography to his works, while still working with spray paint, since this point he has developed a massive international following of his work due to their wit and sense of tongue-in-cheek irony.

D*Face: Growing up in London D*Face was heavily influenced by 80’s American skate culture and punk rock aesthetics. As a teenager D*Face began incorporating these elements into highly stylised graffiti, developing a repertoire of iconic characters and imagery that are highly sought after the world over.

Swoon: Swoon’s work is indebted to both traditional craftsmanship and classic painterly technique, but her execution is entirely modern. It is this method of incorporating both age old techniques and contemporary graffiti practice that makes her work so compelling. She has contributed work to MOMA, Art Basel Miami, and the Brooklyn museum, and is widely considered to be a master contemporary print maker.

Above: Above is nomadic graffiti artist who has travelled around the world creating public art installations since 1995. His signature arrow can be found in more that 65 countries world wide, from stickers, to wheatpastes, to freehand graffiti, to wooden sculptures, Above is a force to be reckoned with.

HA HA: Melbourne’s own HA HA has risen as one of the most prominent figures in the city’s own street art movement. From his notorious Ned Kelly image that blanketed Melbourne in the early 2000’s, to his recent soft edge portraits that are comprised of up to 70 layers, HA HA has remained one of Melbourne’s most notorious street artists.

Hush: Hush is an English artist who spent a number of years in Japan working as a toy designer, his graffiti style unites these disparate worlds of Western decay, Eastern pop, and design elements. Drawing on the classic motif of the female form, Hush creates beautifully layered symphonies of colour compositions.

Stormie: Australian native Stormie has been producing street work since 1984. His dark depictions of contemporary urban life have seen him travel across the world, painting in London, Los Angeles, Berlin and Tokyo. Stormie’s personal style is entirely unique, and has earned him a cult following the world over.”

Who: Banksy, Blek Le Rat, Shepard Fairey, Nick Walker, Swoon, D*Face, Above, Faile, Hush, Stormie Mills, Anthony Lister, Ha Ha, Vexta, Rone, and more.
What: On The Wall – International Street Art Group Show
Where: Metro Gallery, 1214 High Street, Armadale, VIC
When: September 27th to October 17th 2010

Check out Metro gallerys website for more info.

The other day in my hypertextual wanderings I stumbled across an announcement that New York based illustrator and artist Sara Blake aka Zso, was having a solo show in Sydney – and was suitably excited to hear of it. Sara has done a huge range of illustrative and design work work with Curvy, Zen magazine, Village Voice,  amongst many others and its great to see a show by her on our shores!

“Named one of the Top 100 female graphic designers and illustrators in the world by Curvy magazine, art director, designer and illustrator Sara Blake brings her latest works to Sydney, for her very first Australia show. Blake’s work has graced magazines, fashion pages and products around the world including The New Yorker, Grey Goose, Condé Nast, Hennessey and Bacardi.

Her latest show, CONSTELLATIONS, reflects the vibrancy and excitement of the New York landscape with its colour, movement and texture. Using geometric lines and curves, soft and hard Blake captures the stories and world of women in her city. Stories about love, heartache, joy, independence, sorrow, loneliness and second chances.

“While the subject of much of my art is women, the art itself is really more about the world at large seen through these women. Just as there are dualities in our experience of life, and there are dualities in my personality, my work inadvertently has adopted some of these qualities visually.”

So if you’re in Sydney town and want to see some of her work in the flesh, go and check out her opening this Thursday at Surry Hills Friends Of Leon Gallery.

Who: Sara Blake
What: Constellations solo show
Where: Friends of Leon Gallery, 82 Marlborough Street, Surry Hills
When: Opening is Thursday 23rd September, 6pm til 8pm. Show runs until October 16th.

Via LeeLoo