INVURT

Its been a busy week in terms of exhibition announcements and various bits of news – looks like everyone is doing end of year shows, and its awesome to see so much happening in the lead up to the x(pissup)mass season – the more the better, as far as we’re concerned. So, heres just a general wrap of whats coming up in the next week, and a few cool things we’ve seen around the blogsphere …

Exhibitions

• Melbourne - Dirtfish has a show opening tonight at Artboy Gallery. We had a cool interview with him here.
• Melbourne - The A3 Small Art Show opens up on Wednesday 17th at For Walls gallery – there are so many great works in this show, its unbelievable! Its all for charity as well, so check it out.
• Sydney - Go Font Ur Self has started its run of shows with its Sydney exhibition as of yesterday – it’ll be in your town soon!
• Sydney – Perth artist, talented illustrator and crazy-detailer Alexandra Lekias has a solo show opening at Friends Of Leon next Thursday, the 18th.
• Brisbane - Spare Parts opens up tonight at the Brisbane Powerhouse, this show looks fantastic, lots of customised prosthetic limbs on show from some amazing artists!
• Brisbane – the amazing Vexta, who we talked to a few months ago, has another solo show opening tonight, the 12th, in New Farm – she’s rad, so check it out.
• Perth – Great little group show opening tonight in the form of All Of This Will Be Yours Some Day – go check it out.
• Perth – Dont forget that the Chopping Block is on this weekend, as a part of the Norfolk Lanes festival down in freo – lots of street and urban art goodness both on display and being produced!

Various bits and pieces

• Kami & Sasu have been working on a wall at Melbourne Central this week in the leadup to their exhibition, which should be finished tomorrow according to the guys at Nice Produce
• I’m sure you’ve all heard of it already now, but details were released in the past week or so about the Underbelly Project in NYC – a 100 plus artist project carried out in an old abandoned subway station – incredible news and pics coming out from it. There are also some great writeups about it on Images To Live By and Vandalog. Cant wait to see the doco for this one.
• I’m a little unsure of the details on it, but it looks like the Salvation Army, of all people, an organisation that in the past has actually run support programs for graffiti artists, is now taking Sydneys Westsyde Connection gallery and studios to the High Court in order to have them remove a mural that was done by street artists from the backyard of their gallery. They have a petition up, so you should go and sign it and show your support. All I can say to that is for shame, Salvos, for shame.
• Totally loving this new Bliss n Eso video for their single Addicted – fkn wicked display of animated graff from two of the best, Askew One and Deus – and theres a behind the scenes clip here.
• This Life posted up a cool interview with Nate Gamble, about art, tattooing and graff – big fan of Nates work, and the This Life blog, so go read it.
• I haven’t done a wrap for a little bit, so I didn’t mention this when it was released two weeks ago, but if you’re reading this blog then you have to go and read issue #23 of weAREtheIMAGEmakers – if you love this kinda art then its a must – it’s been a source of inspiration for me for some years now.
• Bridge Stehli rocks, and so does her body-paint Graff on Graffers series – check out part #7 here.
• Theres also some cool pics from last weeks Petro solo show opening at Backwoods up on their site
• Theres also a whole bunch of wicked pics from the opening of the seminal Space Invaders exhibition at the National Gallery in Canberra the other week, over at the Everfresh blog.

Thats it for this week, I think! – hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ez.

Okay, only a few more to go (backlog is killing me today!) … and this one is for the 2010 Oz Stencil Art Prize. This prize is in its second year, and has sourced a bunch of amazing stencil artists from across Australia. Oh Really have done a great job as well from all the preview images of finding a diverse range of finalists!

From the press release:"

“There’s something magic about stencil art. It’s a little bit retro and yet it feels so new” says ASAP Director Jacinta Walpole. “Whether it’s a simple design that stays in your head, or a detailed photo-real stencil with an exhaustive number of layers. The concept is simple, and yet the art of it isn’t.”

One of the key aims of ASAP is to recognise and reward Australian stencil artists and this year’s art prize will feature 20 finalists exhibiting their stencil artworks at Oh Really Gallery.

The range of stencil artists includes a number of established artists such as Canberra’s E.L.K who recently exhibited alongside the Parisian ‘Godfather of stencil art’ Blek Le Rat through to the likes of 16 year old high school student James Ottaway in Tasmania. All artworks are for sale.

“Nearly everyone has seen a Banksy stencil” says Walpole, “But not everyone is as aware of  our own stencil artists. This art prize helps raise the profile of Australia’s talented stencil artists.”

Among the many different stencil styles, methods and mediums – the not to be missed list includes: E.L.K’s detailed stencil of singer Saul Williams, Ralf Kempken’s intricate 3D stencil of his son carved into a canvas, Robyn Cross’s quirky dog portrait ‘Where’s Leon’, Jak Rapmunds edgy urban styled ‘Life’s better in 3D’ and 23rd Key’s self portrait “Grind on my Face’  sprayed onto a skateboard.”

Who: 23rd Key, Robyn Cross, Shanta, Ralf Kempken, Boo, Rhen Dodd, sYKe, Nick Hore, E.L.K. , AAAGHH!, Nicholas Baxter, Jak Rapmund, Shaggy Bat, Ilia Kokalevski, Danny Guinsberg, Tom Deacon, Melanie Foster, James Ittaway, Poncho Army, cecart
What: 2010 Australian Stencil Prize exhibition
Where: Oh Really Gallery, Sydney
55 Enmore Road, Newtown
When: 6pm, Thursday 11 November 2010

Via Oh Really and the Australian Stencil Art Prize website

I had news last week of an upcoming exhibition by Perth artist, Alexandra Lekias, coming up at Friends of Leon gallery in Sydney. I wasn’t familiar with her work prior to seeing it last week, but I sure am now. I think I’ve mentioned before that we’re particularly enamored here by the huge range of illustrative-ish styled work coming out these days, and Alexandras work is no exception – she has some stunningly detailed and colourful work.

Definitely an artist to watch, and if you’re in Sydney next week, get down and check out her show.

Who: Alexandra Lekias
What: Lifelong Baby Teeth solo show
Where: Friends of Leon Gallery, 82 Marlborough Street, Surry Hills, NSW
When: Opens 6pm, Thursday 18th November – show runs til 5th December

Check out the Friends Of Leon gallery website for more info, and a sneak peak at some of Alexandras work.

The guys at aMBUSH are a damn hard working bunch, and are always putting on quality shows – and their shows that they do in conjunction with other areas of the wider street and urban art community are always up there in the coolness stakes.

Their work with the Changing lanes festival in Newtown was great, and now they are presenting a final exhibition in conjunction with the festival to present a bunch of works done throughout the festival for auction – yep, very cool.

“The very first Changing Lanes Festival saw the streets of Newtown spring to life with people traveling from all corners of Sydney to dive head first into the artistic, musical and creative output of our city. Sydney’s street art culture was celebrated through the creation of a paneled mural, completed by local street artists Max Berry, SMC[3], EARS, Gem Lark and Vars.

On Thursday the 4th of November MAPS Entertainment will present a final exhibition of the Changing Lanes paneled mural at aMBUSH Gallery. Members of the public will be able to bid in a silent auction, with all proceeds going to FBi Radio. Additional works from artists Max Berry, SMC[3], EARS, Gem Lark, Vars, HOUL, Syke, Chad Drake, Skel, Tulsi, Bennett and Sprinkles will also be exhibited and available for purchase. The exhibition will include performances by FBi Radio DJs.”

Who: Max Berry, SMC[3], EARS, Gem Lark, Vars, HOUL, Syke, Chad Drake, Skel, Tulsi, Bennett and Sprinkles & FBI Radio DJs
What: Changing Lanes Festival exhibition & fundraiser
Where: aMBUSH Gallery, 4a JAmes Streetm Waterlook, NSW
When: Thursday 4th November, 6pm til 9pm

Via aMBUSH Gallery

Sydney based artist and creative extraordinaire Numskull has a show coming up at the Lo-Fi Collective space in the first week of November with “The Weird Machine”

“This highly anticipated solo show will feature paintings in mixed media on canvas, wood, custom made signs and installation pieces. This show will also be the release of a set of limited edition prints by the artist.

‘The Weird Machine’ invites the public into the nonsensical world of Numskull. A sometimes confusing collage of bold, detailed and distracting imagery and an exploration of the blurred lines between real life experience, and dream states. Numskull’s new collection of work explores of the effects of modernity in a world where we are constantly pestered and bombarded with uninvited visual material. Advertising, signs, false heroes all dominate our environment, this is his response.”

Who: Numskull
What: The Weird Machine solo show
Where: Lo-Fi Collective – 383 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst, NSW
When: Show opens @ 6pm 4th November, and runs til 6th of November

Check out the Lo-Fi website for more info, and join up at the Facebook event page.

Following up from his last solo show here in Melbourne, and on the continuing busy run of murals, book launches and shows, Phibs is set to have his next solo show at the Oh Really Gallery next week with Contra Posita, an “exploration of the different faces of one thing.”

Sweet.

Who: Phibs
What: Contra Posita solo show
Where: Oh Really Gallery, 55 Enmore rd, Newtown, NSW
When: Show opens Thursday 28th October @ 6pm, runs til 8th November

Check out the Oh Really website for more info.

.. and its quiet, and then its busy. Today I saw and got word of about four or five openings coming up in the next two or three weeks, so I’ll get to them in the morning – but, before I rush off to go and help out at the Collingwood Underground tonight, I wanted to get this one up as it will be opening at the LoFi Collective gallery tomorrow night!

Loving all these massive plethora of short run shows at Lo-fi – wicked idea and such a cool concept. Really have to get up there and see at least *one* show there soon …but this one, curated by Josh Roelink – very cool.

“An artistic celebration of the
other side of life.

Every single being alive on this planet right now will one day cease to exist – will one day die. The majority of those beings will not know this until it’s happening, but human beings are different – we have awareness of our eventual demise. It’s something that every human being has to deal with on a daily basis, whether through denial or acceptance, and it’s one of the driving forces in our lives despite it being camouflaged and mostly hidden away in the humdrum of modern life.

This exhibition is about the way we deal with our own mortality. Over 25 of Australia’s best tattoo and visual artists explore the world behind the thin veil.”

Who: Over twenty five tattooists and artists.
What: Morte Group Show
Where: LoFi Collective, 383 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst, NSW
When: Opens Thurs 21st October 6pm at

Check out more info, and a bunch of preview images at the LoFi website – (just wish there was a list of the artists there because those previews look amazing!)

Even though my dreams of being a pro-kick ass skateboarder were curtailed early in life due to a complete lack of co-ordination and a general fear of bodily harm as a result of a broken hand, I still love anything to do with skateboarding.

Opening on Thursday night, Ambush Gallery in Sydney are presenting Beg, Borrow, Steal – a celebration of skateboarding culture and creativity via photographic exposé.

“‘’Beg, Borrow, Steal’ is a photographic exploration of the people, places and the creations behind the D.I.Y skateboarding movement as viewed through the eyes of Tristan Still.

Skateboarding and photography have shared an intertwined history in Tristan’s life since the age of sixteen. Armed with a Pentax Spotmatic F (on permanent loan from his father) and sharing a cheap and nasty Kmart skateboard with his close friend Lynch, Tristan’s foray into the world of skateboarding and photography began.

Driven by a passion for exploration, skateboarding embodied freedom and raw energy, and at the same time provided shapes that were full of tension and beauty and could be captured in time by the lens. To Tristan, photography and skateboarding begged the question – what
is possible? In the past fourteen years, Tristan’s yearn to explore and learn has led him to squat skateparks in Spain and the Netherlands, to employ the use of the world’s largest mobile Polaroid camera, to exhibit a solo show at the Australian Centre for photography and, in recent years, to teach photography and digital imaging at the University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts.

Often synonymous with anarchic ideology – an affront to government, authority and corporate endorsement (i.e. those who will tolerate skateboarding as long as they can make money from it) – D.I.Y. skateboarding has promoted autonomy and self-sustainability by fueling new creative endeavours into unused places. It aims to recycle the built environment, including old factories, vacant lots and abandoned high-schools, and transform them into new spaces of true creative energy. The truly dedicated even transform their lounge rooms, kitchens and bedrooms into skateboarding spaces to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Looks rad.

Who: Tristan Still
What: Bed, Borrow, Steal solo photographic exhibition
Where: Ambush Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo, NSW
When: Show opens Thursday 21st October @ 6pm, runs til 30th October

Via Leeloo. See more details on the Ambush Gallery website.

It has to be said, that one of my favorite parts of doing this blog is opening up an email reply from an artist, and reading the replies for the first time – and when its one of many artists who I have admired and followed for a time, its especially fun.

Sara Blake is one such artist, and, when I stumbled on the news that she was doing a solo show in Sydney the other week, I threw a whole slew of questions I’d been interested in asking since I first saw her work in Curvy and Yen Magazine – and, though busy as she was opening her show,  traversing the country and seeing all there is our continent has to offer, she had no problem squeezing in a plethora of interesting answers – which, unashamedly, has increased my love of her work just that little bit more …

(more…)

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.

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

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

Not one, but two exhibitions are opening this week at the Boutwell Draper gallery in Redfern, with Ben Frost and James Jirat Patradoon showing works across their walls from this coming Thursday.

Two great shows from two great artists, both opening in the same gallery, on the same night – grandness.

Who: Ben Frost. James Jirat Patradoon.
What: Ben Frosts “The Art Of Noise” & James Jirat Patradoons “Heartaches” solo exhibitions
Where: Boutwell Draper gallery,
When: Shows open Thursday 23rd, and both run until October the 23rd.

See Ben Frost, James Jirat Patradoon and the Boutwell Draper websites for even more details.

Via the Opening Hours

Perth, Sydney and Melbourne are in for a massive treat over the next two months, as the rapidly rising and incredibly talented stable of artists at Perths Last Chance Studios hit the road with a showcase of their work.

If you haven’t seen or heard from at least one of the artists involved with Last Chance over the past eighteen or so months since their inception, I’d have to shake my head in your general direction – because Daek, Kid Zoom, Creepy, Sean Morris, Ryan Boserio and Tim Rollin have all been totally ripping it up both as a collective, and on an individual level.

This is must see stuff.

“LAST CHANCE STUDIO’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE marks the first time that the artists of Last Chance have united to bring the full force of their movement across the nullabor. And they are doing it in style – throwing caution and logistical nightmares to the wind, and declaring their intent to put on three completely separate art shows in three cities in two weeks.

The adventure begins on Friday, September 24th at 6pm with Kick It Like Jujitsu – a massive installation painting at The Bakery, on James Street in Northbridge, Last Chance’s home town. The Last Chance boys will be joined by AM crew guest artists and Sydney’s Beastman to paint out the entire gallery for this show, which opens up Semi-Permanent 2010, and will also be the exhibition that re-opens The Bakery after 18 months of renovations.

The gang then heads to Sydney to paint some walls, make some friends and open Face Palm Your Demons – an exhibition of new paintings and drawings and a collaborative installation painting at Oh Really Gallery in Newtown, Sydney. Opening drinks start at 6m, Thursday September 30 and the show runs until October 10.

From there it’s on to Melbourne, for another week of art escapades culminating Why Aren’t You Naked? – Another exhibition of completely new artworks and wall paintings by the collective, at the new No Vacancy Project Space in Federation Square. The show opens at on Thursday, October 7 at 6pm and runs until October 24.

Daek says that Melbourne and Sydney folks should come down to the openings if they would like to “Make some good friendly pals they can come stay with if they want to visit nice beaches in the summer.” Asked to describe the fortnight of antics they have ahead of them, he imagines that it will probably be “Exactly like Robocop wearing Nintendo power gloves watching The Wizard in an epic gaming montage.”

Who: Last Chance Studio – Daek, Kid Zoom, Creepy, Sean Morris, Ryan Boserio and Tim Rollin

Perth – Kick It Like Jujitsu

Semi-Permanent Opening Party : Installation Painting & Opening
The Bakery, 233 James Street, Northbrdige
Opens 6pm September 24th, show runs til October 3rd

Sydney – Face Palm your Demons

Oh Really Gallery, 55 Enmore Road, Newtown
Opens 6pm September 30th, show runs til October 10th

Melbourne – Why Aren’t You Naked?

No Vacancy Project Space, The Atrium, Federation Square
Opens 6pm October 7th, show runs til October 24th

Via Last Chance Studios – go check out the official release for even more info on the studio and the shows.

Its been a busy week all round, with my exhibition opening as well as a large number of show announcements and events – I thought I’d try to get a bit more regular with the weekly wraps & roundups, as well as link to a few cool things I’ve seen during the week…

So heres all the stuff thats ‘a happenin … and frak, theres a lot going on at the moment!

Melbourne

• Tonights opening is in the form of Exhibit A, a great collection of street artists plying their crafted works at Collingwoods The Projects art space. I’ll be heading to this one after work for sure.
• Ghostpatrol has another solo show coming up next week, Warp Points & Seed Vault Save Points,  at No Vacancy next Thursday – I’ve seen some of the previews, and the work is second to none – this is a show you cant miss – and we just posted up this interview with the man himself, so check it out.
• Jae Copps solo show My Illusions Architect is still running at Gorker Gallery until the 19th September – I had a chance to wander through there the other day and loved it. We did a really great interview with him as well.
• Semi-Permanent Melbourne is on next week, and if you haven’t got your tickets already best get in there and purchase them. They have an opening show next Wednesday that is free for all, at the GPO in the Bourke Street Mall, starting around 6pm.
• A new gallery in Prahran opens up next Thursday in the form of Signed & Numbered – so glad we are getting more stuff on the southside, and it has a fine range of artists on display.
• My first solo show, Inhabited Times, had an awesome opening, and its still running until September 16th. This Sunday, September 12th, I’ll be at the At Large Gallery from 12pm til 6pm, doing some drawing, giving away a few sketches maybe, and chatting to whoever comes in. Come drop by and check it out, and if you have any questions about the blog or anything else, feel free to come spin some shit with me.

I’ll get to next Fridays openings next Friday, coz I’m pretty sure thats enough for anyones brain right now …

Sydney

• Everfresh have their Sydney Black Book Launch tonight at Ambush Gallery– if its anything like how the launch here looked last Friday, its going to be a very cool show. I got my copy of the book this week, and damn it is one fine publication, full to the hilt with some amazing work and a great run down on the crew and what they’ve been up to the past few years. If you’re in Sydney, get to the show or go buy the book.
• Twoone and Thomas Jackson open their new show, The Absence of Man at China Heights gallery, a show looking at the power of nature in, obviously, the absence of man.
• Ears opens his Warpaint exhibition tomorrow night at the cool new Lo-fi Collective gallery in Darlinghurst – so it looks like a fun weekend of art in Sydney
• Alas as last week was a such busy one, I missed putting up a notice about the Collected Thoughts Exhibition in Paddington – it runs until the 22nd of September, and has some wonderful artists in it, so check it out.

Brisbane

• Shida & Georg Whelan have their duo show opening tonight, Nec Spe Nec Metu at Nine Lives Gallery – looks dandy as hell – great to see all this stuff happening in brisvegas!

Other news and cool shiz

Heres some cool stuff I’ve seen this week in my meanderings across the web …

• The guys and girls at We Make Stuff Good put up some really cool interviews with Wooden Toys Timba Smits and Beastman, who will both be at Semi Permanent next weekend. Loved them!
• At Large Gallery just got in a good supply of new Ironlak, so, you know, if you need some paint and are in Northcote, you can grab that while you’re checking out the shows they’re putting on ..
• The Opening Hours has some cool pics up of the opening for Dont Go Into The Attic at Lofi gallery
• This Life has some great pics from the Everfresh Black Book opening last Friday night
• I also loved this teaser video that Callum Preston did for the EF Black book.
• Myers in Melbourne has an awesome installation piece from Merda up as part of the Basement project– I’ve been following its construction & progress over the past few months, and damn it looks grand all finished – a total labour of love. This video of the project by Duro Cubrilo is also very cool.
• Cant really go past my favorite international vid this week from Brazils Os Gemeos. Loved it to bits.

….*breath* .. see, told you – so frakin much going on lately … forgive me if I’ve missed anything!

So take it easy, and have a good weekend yo.

I’m loving all the shows that the new Lo-fi collective have been putting on recently, there seems to be such a dearth of talent that they are displaying in recent weeks, and the next one is no exception – this time, they’re showcasing Sydney born artist and member of Oh Really, Daniel O’Toole, aka Ears, with his upcoming Warpaint solo show. With his distinctive abstract-realism style, Ears is set to produce another fine body of work – wish I was in Sydney to check it out.

Who: Ears
What: Warpaint solo exhibition
Where: Lo-fi Collective. 383 Bourke St, Darlinghurst, Sydney
When: Show opens 11th September, 6pm

Via Lo-fi. Check out Ears blog here for more info.

Just had some news from Oh Really …

“Oh Really Gallery is sad to announce that the Drift Wood Show for this thursday 9th September is Cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We greatly appreciate the work that was sent in for the show and we are sad that we couldn’t go ahead with it.

On the bright side, Oh Really is proud that Ears is having a solo show this Saturday 11th Sept at Lo Fi Collective, 383 Bourke St, Darlinghurst.”

After two years, Oh Really Gallery have put on some damn  fine shows – and now its time for them to celebrate in style with a huge lineup of artists in their upcoming group show, Driftwood, this Thursday the 11th.

Featuring works by Beastman, Numskull, Ears, Max Berry Phibs, Ghostpatrol, Mike Bennett, Drypnz, BirdHat, Georg Whelan, Shida, Michael Hazel, Syke and more, this looks to be a diverse and stunning display of cool talent.

“September 2010 marks the second year anniversary of Oh Really Gallery, we’re celebrating a space built on high hopes, little experience and pockets full of busking money. Driftwood is a group exhibition that requires working with found wood, revisiting a time when what we discovered on the street was treasured working material. Before opening Oh Really we were drawing characters on pieces of old wood, spraying cupboard doors and giving them away for donations. ‘Driftwood’ is an ode to the busking days and the spirit of the culture we are apart of find something others discard and make it beautiful. The street provides.”

Who: Beastman, Numskull, Ears, Max Berry Phibs, Ghostpatrol, Mike Bennett, Drypnz, BirdHat, Georg Whelan, Shida, Michael Hazel, Syke and many
What: Driftwood, Oh Really second birthday group show
Where: Oh Really Gallery, 55 Enmore rd Newtown. Open Friday-Sunday 11am till 6pm.
When: Opening Thursday 9th September. Show runs til 16th September

Via Oh Really. Check out the events facebook page here.