Without a doubt, Melbourne street art would not be what it is without the talented Drewfunks work adorning our walls.
Over the past ten years, Drew has produced a massive body of work – both on the walls, and in the gallery. His style is instantly recognisable, his fusion of Western and Asian culture pervading its presence. Now, Drew is taking that work and placing it into a book for all to enjoy – and its a must have for anyone interested in both Drews work, and Australian art in general.
“Drewfunk & No Vacancy Gallery QV are proud to present the launch of Oriental Funk, the debut self publication by Drewfunk.
Oriental Funk follows the creative evolution of Drewfunk and his work over a ten year period from 2002-2012, documenting his work from the streets to the studio and everything in between.
Join us on Friday 18 January from 6pm – 9pm for the official book launch and signing, as well as an exhibition of new and old works.”
Amongst the show, will be an installations, and whole heap of news work, as well as hidden gems from Drews archive showing a snapshot of his works progress over the past decade.
Seriously can’t wait for this one, its going to be epically good – and can’t wait to get our hands on the book!!
Who: Drewfunk What: Oriental Funk Book Launch & Exhibition Where: No Vacancy Gallery QV, 34–40 Jane Bell Ln, Melbourne When: Shoe opens Friday 18th January, from 6pm til 9pm and runs til January 27th
Here’s something different, and something for all you mixed/multi-media fans – if you are a fan, then there’s a pretty good chance you might have already heard of Nick Thomm.
For those of you who haven’t, Nick is the founder of The Drop studio as well as the co-founder of SRC783 magazine – he’s also a damn fine designer and artist and does some really intriguing shit by combining his passion for digital, traditional and printing into a melange of awesome. All in all, its hugely modern, different, and it pushes boundaries – its shit we love.
"After recent public showcases in London and Hong Kong, Nick presents Monochrome. A solo exhibit of works blending digital, print and traditional art forms to create a unique collection of mixed media artworks."
Who: Nick Thomm What: Monochrome solo show Where: No Vacancy Gallery, 34-40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne When: Show opens Thursday 4th October, 6:30pm til 9pm, and runs til 14th October.
Totally excited for this one! No Vacancy in collaboration with Illustrators Australia have put together this awesome collection of 60 works by 60 amazingly talented different illustrators, designers and artists. We’re loving the theme – as the name suggests, each work is based on a representation of God, with the exhibition featuring creations of a deeply mystical and personal nature – super interesting.
The show features the talents of Melbourne based creatives, some known to us, as well as some new faces, and it’s looking to be quite the journey into the realm of faith and fable, with just the right amount of humour and sarcasm included!
The medium on which the artwork will be based is what intrigues us the most …
“The idea behind this exhibition is to provide each artist with a standard size baby doll. The artists are then asked to convert his or her doll into a deity. The artists are welcome to use any medium or technique they like to convert their doll into a God.”
Curated by ex- Illustrators Australia president, and drawing fiend, Daniel Atkinson, it will feature the works of illustrators such as Ben Ashton-Bell, Sonia Kretschmar, Andrea Innocent, textile designer Sarah Strickland, fine artists Kirsten Perry and Stephen Ives to name just a small handful!
Creepy/cool/quirky dolls on display? Gotta check this one out.
Who: Over 60 of Australias coolest illustrators, curated by Daniel Atkinson What: Little Deities group show Where: No Vacancy Gallery, QV, 34 – 40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne cbd When: Show opens Thursday 8th March, from 6pm til 9pm, and runs from the 8th to the 18th March
It seems that last weekend Sugar Mountain festival has spawned an extra special treat for Melbourne art lovers – in the form of a duo show featuring Brooklyns Maya Hayuk and San Franciscan Kyle Ranson.
Having produced some work for and at the festival, they will be aiming to display a selection of their works at No Vacancy Gallery at QV this coming Friday. The Sugar Mountain site had this to say about the artists:
"MAYA HAYUK is obsessed with symmetry and nourishing color played out in what might be views from the Hubble Telescope, airbrushed nail art, Ukrainian Easter eggs, chandeliers, mandalas, rorschach tests and/or holograms. Embracing sexuality and spirituality via symbolism evocative of radiantly woven geometries and beckoning parted orifices of the body, her work tries to decode a process towards continuity and wholeness while striking chords of pathological optimism.
With an encouraging hippie mother, KYLE RANSON began to draw and paint in early childhood and by the time he was in high school he was taking life-drawing classes at theLyme Academy in Connecticut. He attended three semesters at the Maryland institute, College of Art and then dropped out to immerse himself in the arts and music scene inBaltimore. In 1994 he moved to San Francisco and became a part of the underground punk scene in the mission and has slowly become a pillar of the San Francisco art world."
Both are fantastic artists, and it will be a fantastic show – expect lots of colour, lots of geometry and lots of fun.
Who: Maya Hayuk & Kyle Ranson What: Yes! Duo show Where: No Vacancy Gallery, QV, Swanston Street, Melbourne (Entry via Jane Bell Lane) When: Friday 20th January from 6pm til 9pm, show runs til 27th January. There will also be a workshop running, "Drawing Games Will Set You Free" on Saturday, 21st January from 1pm til 4pm ($25)
Next week from the hands of one of Everfresh studios own, Makatron, comes an imaginative and illustrative universe on canvas ‘Mother of Millions’ with a collection of his new works, hosted by No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne.
Makatron, who is an emerging Melbourne artist, has been around the world and back many times, plying his trade and honing his craft using a variety of media, from acrylics to aerosol and oils.
“The themes and inspirations of Makatron’s work are as eclectic as the media he employs, but they tend to reflect a few signature dichotomies. The name “Makatron” itself is a paradox, combining a prefix meaning “from” (carrying connotations of place, history, tradition, and regeneration) with a suffix that suggests the machine-like, the virtual, the promise and threat of technology
Makatron’s work, too, often pulls in opposite directions. His street art is by its nature rooted in a particular place, inscribing itself palimpsest-like as an element in a site’s history, yet it also reflects the artist’s own nomadic existence, consciously participating in a global culture with a significant extension in the virtual realm. Similarly, his work is preoccupied with the interface between humans, beasts, nature and machines, reminding us that in a digital age, human nature itself is becoming ever more machine-like.”
Ever more present in this new collection, is the artists beautiful escapist world – to which we are brought to the brink of in order to ponder it all with an objective eye, like a looking through a child’s viewfinder. These works are an illustrious combination of the organic and synthetic – or mechanical, incorporating into each piece naturalistic patterns and shapes bouncing of the humanistic qualities within.
Makaron is an artist inside an artist. His mediums alone speak of a truth, and strength, that blends well with any subject. He is more than capable of attaining artistic equilibrium on each venture, whilst keeping us, the audience’s, attention – no matter our tastes. One can only gander a guess at the title but to us it speaks volumes; the very earth-like projection tells of the mother, ‘mother earth’. And of “millions” being all things, including us and that which surrounds us.
Come and see for yourself what this diverse artist has got for us now. Don’t miss this, or you’ll be kicking yourself…to the moon and back!
Who: Mike Makatron What: Mother of Millions Where: No Vacancy Gallery – 34-40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne (Fed Square Atrium) When: Opening Night Friday 21st October from 6pm til 9pm. Show runs til 30th October 2011Check out the Facebook Event and Makatron’s Website for more details – psand for a sneak peak, have a squiz at Makatron’s Trailer for the show
With fantastical illustrations of vivid creatures and detailed tribal nuances, Niors work is always a joy to behold. His characters, animals and beasts always feel as though they are a part of a vaster story – and with Kinkajou, Nior breaths life to this idea and introduces us a glimpse into the land that these creatures inhabits
"To accommodate the oversized human population more and more lands are taken away from wild animals. The natural habitats are snatched away from these species, leaving them only a small portion of the land, which they once roamed freely. Welcome to an unknown kingdom where a selection of spectacular creatures have made their land. A place ruled by the last Kinkajou. Nior presents a set of paintings and sculptures that combine unique creatures of all shapes and sizes with tribal patterns and colours. In search of Kinkajou."
Colourful, wonderfully executed and with a federation of storys told by each image to form a whole, Kinkajou looks to be another gtreat show from an artist whose work just goes from strength to strength. If you’re around Melbourne tonight, head down to Federation Square and see it for yourself.
Who: Nior What: In Search of The Kinkajou solo show Where: No Vacancy Project Space, The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne When: Show opens Thursday, September 1st from 6pm til 9pm and runs til 18th September
Melbourne design duo Pandarosa (Ariel Aguilera and Andrea Benyi) are back this Thursday after having spent four years in Germany. They’ll be presenting with their new and explosive show ‘Invisible Cities’, transforming No Vacancy Gallery into their own incredible world of mediums; illustration, painting, photographic documentation.
This mega design duo have been impressing the world with their collaborative works for over a decade, and we are delighted to get a chance to see the fruits of their labour with their first Melbourne solo show in over five years!
“Inspired by their European relocation over the last 4 years & the great visual tales of Italo Calvino in ‘Le cittá invisibili’… The exhibit aims to transform the gallery space into a personal ‘journey’ of memoirs, where points of views are examined & meaning distorts between viewer, object & possessor as they interact.
The space separating these recollections & their narrative aims to interrogate the individual meaning of the ‘journey’ & reconfigure what the significance of such expeditions are to each of us, regardless of the destination.
The City exists and it has a simple secret: it knows only departures, not returns’ – From Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.”
Who: Pandarosa (Ariel Aguilera and Andrea Benyi) What: Invisible Cities Where: No Vacancy Gallery – 34-40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne When: Opening night Friday 25th August 6-9pm. Show runs til 5th September 2011
The other month, the majorly talented Stephen Ives had a show with a whole bunch of cool custom toys, aptly named “TOY” at No Vacancy – amongst the show, were several other two dimensional pieces, that fascinated us. So, upon seeing news this morning that Stephen has been working on a drawing orientated exhibition, 36 Views Of My Latte, we thought it was pretty cool!
“Since TOY, I have been sitting in a local cafe warming myself and drawing, a pleasant way to spend winter. Here is the end result, 36 Views of my Latte, a loose whimsical show exploring all my varied themes and styles, pencil, ink, wash, collage … all works are unframed paper (so cheap), plus there will be super high quality limited edition prints (even cheaper) for those of you who miss out on the originals.”
We interviewed Stephen just before TOY, and loved getting a heap more detail on his work – and his drawings are just as charismatically cool as his sculptural work, so this is yet another great reason to get down and check out No Vacancy next week.
Who: Stephen Ives What: 36 Views Of My Latte solo show Where: No Vacancy Gallery, 34 – 40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne, VIC When: Show opens Wednesday 13th July, 6pm til 9pm, and runs til 31st July.
Okay, so we don’t catch all of them – and we don’t know how we didn’t hear about thisin time, but in the general chaos of everything that was going on last Friday night it slipped by us, alas. From all the photos up on the No Vacancy facebook page, it looks like it would have been a really, really great night!
We’re huge fans of the Mexican street art scene here, so we’ll just have to get in there during the week to check it out – and if you want to, it closes on the 5th of June, so you have time to get down there!
“The exhibition ‘Mi Casa Su Casa’ will showcase contemporary Mexican culture like it’s never been seen before in Australia, and what better place to do it than right here in Melbourne, the culture, design and street art capital of OZ.
One country, two very different worlds
On this occasion, two of the most important aspects of Mexican culture will be on show and you’ll see how they have an undeniable influence on the work of the two artists: Óscar Reyes and Watchavato. They are the Central and Northern Regions of Mexico respectively. Both were born, raised and became completely immersed in the world around them which is now embedded in every single aspect of their work. It is through this interesting duality by means of photography, personal objects, music, street art, experimental design and of course their original artwork, the visitor will be able to grasp the very essence of these two completely different, yet fascinating worlds that have emerged from within a single country.
Oscar Reyes and Watchavato, two Mexican low-brow artists from two very different regions (central and northern Mexico respectively) are coming to town—bringing with them an insight into the extremes of Mexican culture in an eclectic exhibition of original artwork, photography and objects from their personal collection.”
Who: Reyes and Watchvato (Mexico) What: Mi Casa Su Casa duo show Where: No Vacancy Gallery, 34-40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne, VIC When: Show opened last Friday, and will run until this Thursday, 5th June.
Another busy week comes to an end, and all of us here are full steam ahead with a bunch of projects and fun shit. Busy busy busy, cool cool cool.
We have a great art session happening this weekend in Perth, with Dibs, ToniTone, Poise, Deej, NVS and Suloh putting some licks of paint up on a dance studio. Makatron and Gore are painting a wall across the road from our studios at the moment, and in a few short weeks we’ll be transforming the inside of the whole Rival Revolution studios complex with the help of a lot of talented people … lots of cool shots and video to come for sure.
So its still full steam ahead on everything … the new site design is still coming along steadily (when I have time to work on it … sorry, spare time? What? When?) but we’ve now fully assembled our core team and are raring to go – maybe its time we did introductions?
Starma – is our new event and general office manager, I’ll be palming all that kind of shit off to him, he’s much better at it than I am. FacieB – is one of our new writers, and she’ll also be working closely on the first of our side projects that we’ll be announcing pretty soon .. Leah – another of our writer extraordinaires, she’s already done a bunch of pieces, and we love her laid back style! Peach – is the creative director of .. yep, another side project we’re setting up that! She’s also a generally amazing office assistant. Crutch (Lisa) has just come on board this week to work on our NZ section – that’ll all be starting up next week, hopefully! Mel – will be helping us out occasionally with a bit of writing and photography in amongst her work with her Baby Trees project Lara – is our new official Melbourne event photographer, so expect a bunch of shots from around here real soon (if anyone interested in coming on board for other cities, just let us know!)
I mostly wanted to introduce them as a thankyou for all the hard work they’ve put in so far, and all the hard work that’s soon to come. It’s a great team, with an incredible amount of passion and talent (and patience with me), and I’m really stoked to be working with all of them – please make them all feel welcome!
Anyways! Enough of all that bullshit from me – here’s the wrap!
News and Miscellanea …
Obviously this weeks big thing was all the feedback from the Carbon Festival – we did a full wrap including a bunch of links and the live blog transcripts here. Great event, and, really, keep an eye on it for next year – you’ll want to go.
Stupidkrap studios have updated their website, and they’re including more news, interviews and such to go along with their online store – really enjoying what they’re doing with it, and looking forward to seeing me to come! We need more of that kind of thing down here – kudos guys!
Now, completely out of the ballpark, but this is the wrap and miscellanea, and its the only place we ever put this stuff! I have to put in a plug for one of our favourite bands, and good friends, Freak Technique who are playing at Red Bennies in Melbourne this Sunday – they’re amazing, go see them. – and as long s I’m mentioning shit outside the box, also go and check out pics of the new Qubic store that just opened up, totally fresh – gunna have to stop by there next time I’m over that way …
Also, don’t forget to check out the full listings of all the shows happening this weekend and into the near future on our Calendar! Also, don’t forget to like our page on facebook, we do a lot of out-of-blog updates, news and pics over there!
That’s all from us for this week, have a great weekend all!
Along with all the street art and graffiti that we love to endlessly cover, there are then those artists who don’t fit the usual mold, that we love just as much.
Artists such as Stephen Ives, with his incredibly detailed customised toys come sculptures – made from the mutated and bonded parts of the discarded, unwanted, new, old and found playthings, are in a popular position these days – their works able to easily traverse genres. More so, however, artists such as he and their creations are often able to subliminally touch upon our inner psyches – to which everyone, no matter the type of art, or even their degree of love for art, can easily identify and respond to with a myriad of emotions. Who can not see, for example, an image of Winnie the Pooh, all decked out in religious attire, and not wonder at the symbology contained within such a visage?
Stephen Ives does new things, and consistently allows his work to follow a modernistic, urban influenced bent, continuously breathing a splurge of transformed consumeristic creativity into the blood stream of this thing we call art.
Its for all those reasons, and more, that Invurt approached Stephen on the eve of his latest show at No Vacancy – TOY, to get the low down on his work and to get an insight into the ideas and themes he works within when putting together his creations – and did we mention that his sculptures are just really cool? So, read on, and enjoy rummaging around in Stephens Ives unequivocally metamorphosised toybox …
Ages ago we saw a really cool post up at Nice Produce with a studio feature on artist Stephen Ives, and a segment on his Honey Bee Wars that he had put together – at the time, we thought it was awesome– but having just checked the Everfresh blog this morning, it looks like it might be outdone by his next show, TOY.
Stephen creates custom toys out of the cut up, mutated, technically implemented and all together warp parts from other toys – and his creations lend an air of the surreal to familiar icons.
“In the 1970’s a toy was essentially a toy, then came Star Wars and the world of child entertainment changed forever. ‘You saw the movie now buy the softdrink’…books, board games, computer games, figurines, costumes, t-shirts, pyjamas, cups, confectionery, fastfood, lunchboxes, theme parks, tv shows, reality shows (shows about reality shows), musicals, mobile phones, computers, designer gadgets, cars, lifestyle choices, Life… marketing gone wrong (or maybe right?), where does the child end and the adult begin? Is it about toys or are we being toyed with?”
Can not wait!
Who: Stephen Ives What: TOY solo show (customised toys and sculptures) Where: No Vacancy Gallery, 34-40 Jane Bell Lane, QV, Melbourne When: Show opens Thursday April 7th from 6pm til 9pm, and runs til 19th April
Via Everfresh. Check out the No Vacancy website for more details on the artist and the show.
For the past few months, Drewfunk has been steadily, and diligently, working away in his studio on a new body of work – an ink centric collection that takes his familiar creatures into new directions, with variations of repetitious, but never repetitive, patterning and forms.
With his highly anticipated Black Lingings solo outing opening this week at No Vacancy Gallery, one of our new team members, Mel Balkan, managed to grab some of Drewfunks valuable time in the lead up to the show. The conversation that ensured was both hilarious and informative, revealing a deeper side to a talented artists humourous, and yet sagely adept, views on life, art, society, and everything in between …
A huge plethora and a bit of a whose who of artists from across Melbourne, all condensed into an amazing display of prints that you can meander through, purchase and put up on your walls. This is the upcoming print exhibition, Fit To Print, from No Vacancy, and we’re looking forward to checking it out – the show itself will include a whole bunch of print making demonstrations on the weekends as well, in the QV square.
“This December, No Vacancy Gallery and QV Melbourne present FIT TO PRINT a one-off exhibition and weekend printmaking demonstrations to be held in QV Square that showcase Australia’s finest emerged and emerging printmaking artists. In total more than 40 artists’ will present different print techniques and processes including – Screen- Printing, Linocut Printing and Gocco Printing – with featured works making for the perfect gift this Christmas.”
Who: Adriana Bernardo, Andrea Innocent, Ann Gee Neo, Aramas Ridge, Belinda Kemp, Ben Carollo, Bonsai, Beastman, Brooke Williams,Caitlin Sherwood, Cat Rabbit, Cat Macinnes, Catherine Campbell, Charotte Lance, Cougar Flashy, Edouard Mouy, Elise Hurst, Emma Leonard, Eugenia Tsimiklis, Eveline Tarunadjaja, Fee Harding aka Burntfeather, Gary Seaman, Gemma Jones, George Whelan, ghostpatrol, Glen Smith, Hayley O’Connor, Heesco, Jake Stollery, Jennifer Cossins aka Red Parka, Jeremy Ley, Jessica Tremp, Jessica Charlotte, Jessica McCausland, Joel Zika, Kaitlin Beckett, Katherine Hepworth, Katie Houghton-Ward, Katja Mouvlin, Keren Dobia, Lashna Tuschewski, Lauz Rigbye, Lazerfist, Leif Podhajsky, Leigh Rubin, Liesl Pfeffer, Mark Silipo, Max Plumley, Michael Fikaris, Michael Hawkins, Miso, Natasha Sim, Nathaniel Kiwi, Niels Oeljten, Noah Seldom, Raph Banks, Ria Green,Robot Academy, Ruby Aitken, Sally Shand aka Ragdoll Illustrations, Sarah Mair, Sarah Hankinson, Scizzorface, Sera Hocquard,Simon Attwooll, Steph Pryor, Sylvia Jeffriess, Tom Vincent, Toni-Anne Dowd, TWOONE, Vidad Narayan What: Fit To Print – No Vacancy Print Exhibition Where: No Vacancy GAllery, Jane Bell lane, QV, Melbourne – and the QV square on Sundays. When: Show opens Thursday December 9 and runs til to December 23
Demonstration info:
On Saturday December 11, QV Square will host an interactive Screen-printing Demonstration. Exhibitors from the FIT TO PRINT exhibition will demonstrate the screen-printing process in a marquee in QV Square. Screen-printing pushes inks through a blocked out stencil imposed on fine woven mesh to create a sharp clean image onto a chosen material such fabric and paper. Works of art will be on sale and are priced from $20 to $200. (See image from Robot Academy).
Sunday December 12, QV Square will host an interactive Linocut Printing Demonstration. Exhibitors from the FIT TO PRINT exhibition will demonstrate the linocut process in a marquee in QV Square. Linocut is a printmaking technique where a design is cut into the linoleum surface with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller and then impressed onto paper or fabric. Works of art will be on sale and are priced from $20 to $200.
Saturday December 18, QV Square will host an interactive Gocco Printing Demonstration. Exhibitors from the FIT TO PRINT exhibition will demonstrate the Gocco printing process in QV Square. Gocco printing uses the exposure of flash bulbs to thermally transfer an image onto a screen where inks are then pushed through to leave the stenciled design on a chosen material. Again, works of art will be on sale and are priced from $20 to $200
Grand news. We’re all big fans of Ghostpatrol (and if not, you will be) so its great to get word that he will be having another solo show, Warp Points & Seed Vault Save Points, at No Vacancy Gallery in a few weeks time! Very much looking forward to seeing what he’s been working on for this show.
Who: Ghostpatrol What: Warp Points & Seed Vault Save Points solo exhibition Where: No Vacancy Gallery, Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne (Jane Bell Lane is off Russell St between Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale Sts leading into QV) When: Opens 6pm 16th September. Show runs til 26th of September.
Also check out Ghostpatrols Deathtron mountain for a whole bunch of bits and pieces from the man himself – one of our favorite blogs, as well as the No Vacancy website.
Another of Melbournes adopted sons, Acorn, will be holding a new solo exhibition, Planetes, come August – and, as ever, we’re excited about the show (When are we not excited? Its just too much effort not to be, to be honest).
Acorn does some beautiful work, with amazingly detailed characters and scenes of colour-washed images in pen and ink. Each one seeming to always to lead the eye towards a more detailed story for every moment you look upon them. With a bunch of shows, publications and a well deserved fan base, its always a pleasure to see new work by his hand.
“The word “planetes” is greek for “wanderers”, just as planets do, wander across the sky. The drawings presented in this show portray nomadic peoples roaming, gathering, and socializing in a seemingly endless forest where all possibilities are considered. drawings from the forest series are an ongoing project, and they themselves are always expanding, evolving, changing with experience and time.”
“Originally from the west coast of North America, Acorn has been working and living in Melbourne for over two years. With a focus on using traditional mediums, Acorn has spent most of his drawing time developing his craft with an ensemble of pens and inks. The characters and patterns in his work stem from no single culture or religion, but are part of an ongoing focus for creating something unique all together, an endless task.”
Who: Acorn What: Planetes solo exhibition Where: No Vacancy Gallery, 34 – 40 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne When: Opens August 12th, 6pm – show runs until August 23rd
Invurt webzine provides information on AustralAsian street, urban, illustrative, graffiti and other genre defying, nu-contemporary art to readers around the world. It specialises in events and artists who are working, displaying and visiting Australasia – particularly with a focus on exhibitions, live art and other events the artists are partaking in.
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