New framed works

I’ve framed today three of my salt and oil paintings from Homage to Lichens series. This series contains 11 small 30cm round paintings and 2 larger 60cm paintings on heavy cotton paper. I’ll stick a couple of videos and a slide show of  three framed pieces here to show you the variety of colours and textures, including some insight into how I made them. Please email me on info@silviakrupinska.com for the detailed prices which start from *£120 per framed piece (excluding postage). Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you.

 

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Textures and colours:

 

How are they made:

 

*all rights reserved. The price can change at any given time.

Jason DeCaires Taylor – Silvia Krupinska’s Artist of the Month on Colourful Radio.

Jason DeCaires Taylor, The Gardener, detail of the face, 2010. Source: www.underwatersculpture.com

It’s the time of the month again, when I introduce a fantastic & talented Artist of the Month to you! Listen to Colourful Radio on Thursday, 17th May 2012 at 12.10pm, where I, in my monthly slot featured as a part of Rosemary Laryea‘s  Art and Culture Show, will introduce amazing work of Jason DeCaires Taylor. If you miss it, don’t worry, you can listen to it again here after. You might ask, why do I choose artists I do? All six previous Artists of the Month have something in their work that directly speaks to me. Sometimes it is the processes they use, another time, I love what’s going on conceptually, but always, it’s more than an aesthetic decision. Today’s seventh artist is Jason DeCaires Taylor. My reasons to choose him had been based on many aspects of his sculptural and photographic  language. One of the most important is the ecological dimension in Taylor’s fascinating under-water, under-sea sculptures!

 

 

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He is a British eco-sculptor, photographer, founder and creator of the world’s first underwater sculpture park situated off the coast of Grenada in the West Indies, also a founder and Artistic Director of the Museo Subaquatico de Arte (MUSA) – in Cancun, Mexico.

I talked to Taylor via the internet, he was logged on in Cancun in Mexico, and I in London. For a good half an hour, we discussed some themes of his sculpting processes, I was also curious about the very beginning of producing the cement sculptures. Taylor’s told me, that at the very start, he picked up a standard bag of cement from a local builder’s store and produced hand size sculptures. After that, he took those to the shallow sea, and he’d photograph them from various angles and in different places, to see how they would react to water, and the light. Why I mention this, is to illustrate, that there is always a beginning, there is an idea. Today, Taylor needs to use large cranes, boats and heavy machinery to install his up to 4 ton heavy pieces under the sea!

In case you’re not familiar with Taylor’s work, he tends to make life size human like figures, combining sometime with day to day objects, such as a bicycle, sofa, TV and others, to create the scenes from normal lives, made from *marine-grade cement, installed in unique underwater locations. He uses life models, works with local people and children from the community, and at the same time, he manages to reach the whole world with his skilful photography of the works, that change over the time, under the water. Corals, fish, seaweed, and many other, live on, in and around his sculptures.

The positioning of the works is very well thought through and aims for the diversion of tourists away from the natural coral reefs. Instead, he tries to bring the tourist to the artificial reefs full of sea-life thriving on underwater sculptures. The natural reefs are inevitably disappearing due to many reasons, global warming, the human intervention, natural disasters, however the scientists don’t exactly know why they are lost under our eyes. His increasingly important artificial reefs are hugely popular, and those are Taylor’s way of saying, passing on the message and hope, that the young generation has to stop our old ways of thinking, and needs to help the nature, or some of it (with part of us with it) will be gone forever. Taylor’s sculptures are predicted to last hundreds of years! Who knows how our next generation will find them? How many species will grow on them?

Listener, latest project of Jason DeCaires Taylor and Marine Biologist Heather Spence of The BioMusic Research Group at the University of North Carolina and pupils from Cancun Community College, is fitted with a revolutionary NOAA-designed hydrophone, which when submerged is recording and collecting live sound data from the reef environment. Source: www.underwatersculpture.com

I had the honour to talk to Taylor about his latest work,  being one of the first broadcasters to hear it from the creator himself, was a true privilege. In fact, our interview was supposed to happen the previous evening, 8th May. It had been moved to 9th, due to good conditions to install his three new pieces, which had been cancelled previously 40 times! It shows you how difficult and challenging installations can get under the ‘weightless’ outdoor, underwater conditions. Wind, sea, the weight of sculptures and a human aspect of installing work play a massive role. The sculptures brougth down to the bottom of the sea on 8th May, were Listener (see the image above), Angel and Last Supper. Angel is a figurative sculpture of a woman with the implanted recycled live fan corals. Those were found poped up washed out on the shores after a storm. This is a form of recycling, I haven’t seen before, creating a kinetic sculpture, where its wings move, flow under the sea in the streams. Last Supper, as described by the artist, is a table with food, plates, half eaten fish, fruit, bringing overfishing to our attention, and focuses on urgency for the positive change, if it’s not too late…

Jason DeCaires Taylor, Silent Evolution,
Depth 8m, MUSA Collection, Cancun/Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Source: www.underwatersculpture.com

I’m going to share a trick I’ve heard from Taylor. When he adds the textures to his concrete sculptures, it’s his way of bringing the dimensions in his work. Imagining, what the piece can change into, under the sea, when the corals can attach and grow on the surface. Smoother it is, least likely something will attach, so, Taylor told me, he leaves the faces smooth as possible, however head, body and other are good for coral hair, sea-weed clothes and plants around the figure to grow.

I hope I caught your attention, as Jason DeCaires Taylor truly deserves to be looked at properly! You can see his works internationally. In United Kingdom see his art in Canterbury, Kent. Alluvia is a sculpture consisting of two female figures, cast in cement and recycled glass resin. Positioned within sight of the Westgate Bridge and its adjoining gardens. Inverted solitude is a lone figure suspended upside down beneath a floating platform in The National Diving and Activities Centre, Chepstow, UK. If you are in New York, a major solo exhibition of Taylor’s work will start on Jun 30 — Jul 28, 2012 in Jonathan Levine Gallery, including some of his photo-prints, sculptures preserved in resin and the latest video. To see his work as it should be you must dive down to observe them either at Grenada, Cancun and other locations. 

Thanks for reading! Listen to Silvia Krupinska’s Artist of the Month, 17th May, 12.10, come back to this site if you miss it, and have a good look around Jason DeCaires Taylor’s website http://www.underwatersculpture.com/

(*much more durable cement, ph neutral, with additives for better flow, suitable for harsh environments, developed with scientists.)

Cheers

Silvia

Grape extraction sculpting technique master-class, 13th May, 12-1pm.

I would like to share some exciting news with you again, my dear readers. I’m a part of a collective of creative souls, called Fabelist. This platform acts as a support mechanism for sharing ideas, projects and much more.  You can watch this video, where Francesca Goodwin from Fabelist talks about what Fabelist represents.

This May, Fabelist is taking part in The Other Art Fair, 10-13th May 2012, P3 Ambika on Marylebone Road, London, NW1. This new dynamic art fair started last year. It offers to unrepresented artists to shine, show and sell directly, without any gallery fees, to collectors, galleries and public. It all started already with a pre-fair party at Boxpark in Shoreditch on 3rd May. If you missed it, you can see this short video, where I talked to artist Pernilla Iggstrom during the event and more.

Some ‘Fabelisters‘ will be showing their remarkable art in their stands, and there are many interesting projects happening during the fair too, all part of Fabelist Market Place. It offers so much, starting with Edible Art Movement (which I introduced previously here), to ‘Meet the artists’ sessions and master-classes by the artists, there is so much happening! Make sure to check-out the Fabelist Market Place link for the full programme.

As you might have guessed from the post title, I’ll be sharing my ‘Grape extraction’ technique during the fair at the Fabelist Market Place on Sunday, 13th May at midday. Come to observe or try for yourself, how I made my ‘From the Bottom of the Sea’ sculptures. This Master-class session is for one hour only, so plan you day accordingly, if you’re interested. Find me by this ‘Organic Table’, which I approached like an installation itself. I’m really looking forward to it! If you’re not sure what  ’Grape extraction’ is, you can watch a short video from the time when I discovered the technique. (Find the video under the ‘Organic Table’.)

Another tip for you, while visiting The Other Art Fair! Stop by the FAD OFFICE as well! My friends, extraordinary artists –  Coffee+Sponge duo will be presenting on Friday, 11th May at 16.55 as part of Fabelist presentation by Francesca Goodwin (her presentation starts at 4.30pm) and then Coffee&Sponge will be running off to perform at Art Macabre/Cass Art’s life drawing salon for 18.00, which is going to be I’m sure a unique one!

I hope to see you there! Email me if you’d like to come to any of these events, and I can send you your free ticket! Cheers.

Oh TV this evening!

Olala – I’m extremely pleased to announce that you can see me on TV this evening in ‘Culture Vultures’ TV show in which I was interviewed by TV and radio personality Rosemary Laryea. It’ll be aired on this evening, 8th May 2012 on OHTV! Sky channel 199 at 7pm and repeated at 11pm on the same night. This is very exciting indeed for me especially as I’m holding a master-class coming Sunday, May 13th, 12-1pm at The Other Art Fair as well. The session had been pre-recorded in March.

Culture Vulture presenter Rosemary Laryea and artist Silvia Krupinska, March 2012.

 

Amazing collaboration ArtHAUS by DegreeArt.

Kitchen at ArtHAUS, DegreeArt, 2012, 07

I visited one of those shows, which makes you think about the set up of a gallery, curating of the artworks and at the same time, is so inviting that I felt like staying for a while just sitting on one of the sofas or at the kitchen table enjoying the art.

Unique ArtHAUS is an exhibition at London’s Vyner Street by DegreeArt, in their Execution Room. It is running from May 3rd – June 30th 2012. Curated By: DegreeArt & Ryan Lanji, who talk to me on camera during my exploration of the space (watch at the end of the post). Designed By: DegreeArt, James Fuller, Karen Storey, Ryan Lanji.

This exhibition shows works by 25 artists and other collaborators, I’ll mention a few that really stood out for me. In the kitchen, I was impressed by Louise McNaught’s paintings on food packaging as well as Jana Emburey’s egg shell sculpture. In bedroom I had a close look at the works by Yuki Aruga and Chantall Powels’ wall pieces. Living room intrigued me with the wall painting installation and quirky objects by Darren Macpherson and Nicola Anthony’s sliced bank notes caught my eye too. Not forgetting the dining room and GonnyVan Hulst’s sheep heads set as meals on the table, and another wall painting installation by Tahnee Lonsdale. My favourite room was, maybe unexpended for you, the bathroom! The pieces by Janina Holloway, Myung Nam An and Claire Jackson made my day.

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See for yourself how it makes you feel in the video or even better, visit the space and create your own art house in your castle.

For more information about ArtHAUS or DegreeArt visit the website http://www.degreeart.com/events/arthaus.

Thanks for reading!

Having a good time, actually!

 

Border Case Art show, Leipzig, Germany 27.4 -26.5.2012.

Happy to show my ‘Coccon 1′ at Wallpaper Factory in trendy & arty Leipzig, Germany from today, as part of group show ‘Border Case Art’ – best of 10 symposiums of EU-ART-NETWORK. Opening this evening! http://www.tapetenwerk.de/aktuell_2012/aktuelles.html

Now that ‘Cocoon 1′ will finish it’s route of international exhibitions with EU-ART-NETWORK, including one of which was prestigious Venice Biennal 2009 in Palazzo Albrizzi, I’ve decided it can be sold. I let go ‘Cocoon 2′ go at the beginning of the tour in 2009 to a private collector in Austria. If you are interested in ‘Cocoon 1′, 120 cm long organic sculpture, made from mixed materials including artificial hair, colourful clay, Austrian soil, wax, get in touch please at info@silviakrupinska.com

Do join us for the private view today and send me the images if you go please. Thanks for reading!  Silvia.

 

Silvia Krupinska, Cocoon 1, 120cm long, Linz 2009, 01

 

Silvia Krupinska, Cocoon 1 detail, Linz 2009 03

 

Silvia Krupinska, Cocoon 1 detail, Linz 2009 02

My PechaKucha presentation, ASC Erlang House, London.

I’m pleased to present a video of my PechaKucha presentation from ASC Erlang House, from earlier this year. 20 images, 20 seconds each on my work processes and inspirations. For the flyer please click here.

‘Salt above Gold’

‘Soľ nad zlato’ in Eng. ‘Salt above Gold’, title of a Slovakian film fairy-tale, exploring preciousness of salt above all! I’ll be experimenting in my new works how the salt and gold ‘work’ together, in a form of a painting. Can’t wait!

Still from film - Salt above Gold, actress Libuše Šafránková, writen by_Bozena Nemcova, director_Martin Hollý, 1983

Silvia Krupinska, working title_ salt string 2012, 03

 

Sculptor Shan Hur – Artist of the Month, April 2012.

Shan Hur, Circle on the wall, No Format Space, 2012

I’m very excited I can introduce my next ‘Artist of the Month’, award winning Korean artist living in London, Shan Hur. I see Hur as an sculptor with a unique artistic vision. He uses concrete, wood, fine porcelain, musical instruments, basketball, and other objects, that become part of his structures – pillars, cracks in the walls, broken pillars… His outstanding sculptural installations are mostly temporary works, not in their existence, but in their position. They are moved in the space, and adapted as inseparable part of it, and when the show is over, they are moved out and kept carefully crated for next installation. (Yes, I’m talking a whole pillar being moved, a whole wall uninstalled!) They are partly inspired by neutral spaces we walk by daily, such as building sites, architectural features and places undergoing some form of a transition and partly by Hur’s background and childhood, his sense of belonging and position.

Shan Hur is a little bit of a hero to me. I think it takes a lot of confidence, to install a pillar in the space, where at first sight it looks like it belongs there, standing almost unnoticed. However after further examination of it, it simply transforms the way how we look at art, space and both combined. I admire Hur’s work, because it somehow directly speaks to me in the language that is confident and well established. His works are skilful and impeccably planned, with no space for error.

(Source, Shan Hur website.)

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 Shan Hur, Broken Pillar, Gazelli Art House, Bodhi, 2012

His work is mysterious and playful. Fragments of fairy-tales, archeology and history are strongly resonating when studying his pieces, but first you must find them. It doesn’t take long before you notice, something is not quite right. Alarmingly a pillar you are standing next to turns in to art. Is it perhaps broken? You may ask, but soon realizing, that a beautiful porcelain vase is set in the pillar! How is that possible?! More signs of action is on the floor, in a form of some rubble. Are these remaining  pieces left there on purpose, while the creator had been trying to excavate this treasure vase out of the pillar? Is he coming back? It makes you question a lot of things, especially the process of how these works are made. (Don’t be tempted to take a crumble of the concrete on the floor back home, it is part of the work!) I was referencing  an artwork called ‘Broken Pillar’ 2012, Gazelli Art House exhibition ’Bodhi’ that closes April 19, 2012 in Dover Street, London, where I discovered Hur’s art.

                                             Shan Hur, segment of Broken Pillar, Gazelli Art House, Bodhi, April 2012

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I found out many interesting things about his artistic vision, background to his creative soul and he also answered some questions about production of his pieces, while talking to me at No Format space, during exhibition The Function of the Oblique – Part 1, in South East London. If you are curious, you can listen to find out much more about his inspirations in my live introduction of Hur and his work on Thursday, 19th April at 12.10pm on Colourful Radio. My monthly slot features as a part of Rosemary Laryea‘s “Art and Culture Show”. If you miss it, don’t worry, you can listen to it again here (added below). I’m certainly looking forward to it! Thanks for reading and listening, and I’ll be back next month with another ‘Silvia Krupinska’s Artists of the Month’!

 

Shan Hur, Silvia Krupinska in front of Circle on the wall, No Format, April 2012

To find out more about the artist, visit his website for details of awards, exhibitions and his artist statement. Full page of images of his works are available to look at as well.  http://www.shanhur.com/

My website. Have you been there yet?

Hello dear bloggers, followers and friends,

I’ve been looking at my website today as I’ve been considering some changes. My blog is always best, if you’d like to know the latest, but I’d recommend you to visit my www.silviakrupinska.com too. You can find my ‘portfolio’ page with a selection of pieces there as well as an ‘about’ page written by fabulous Charlotte Grievson, then Charlotte Bint! It’s as relevant as it’s been written now. Saying that, layers of new work bring different dimensions and techniques (grape extraction technique, salt&oil technique). This will be a focus of the next article coming out in early May 2012. You’ll be first to find out. Thanks for your visit and as ever, don’t hesitate to contact me with your commission requests for perhaps new luscious round cotton paper Salt&Oil painting (*prices start from £100) or just leave a comment below.

All very appreciated!

Best, Silvia.

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*offer valid only through this blog unless otherwise stated. You must mention it when contacting me. I can change the price at any time. The price £100 doesn’t include packaging and postage.  All rights reserved.

Absolutely Magazine, April 2012.

Artist Agnetha Sjogren, I and others snapped while we were having fun at the first birthday party of Debut Contemporary gallery in Notting Hill. Fun, fun, fun!

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Inclusions at The Stone Space opened!

One of the East London galleries – The Stone Space has opened another of their shows. The inspiring choice of works are on display till April 15th, 2012. The drive behind the exhibition was to bring together art, which is floating somewhere between genres. Is it a painting or a sculpture? This and many other questions will be in the air, when you visit the show. I found it stimulating, dynamic, lively and quite well hang. Trying to stay neutral, as my work is on show too, I’ll mention that in my opinion, the space was used to its full potential and the curators have done a good job. You can read back one of my previous articles about the show here, or continue by watching a short clip from the opening night, followed by a set of photos. See you at another show somewhere in London soon! Cheers. Silvia.

 

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The Stone Space, 6 Church Lane Leytonstone, London, E11 1HG

Website: http://www.thestonespace.com

Inclusions at The Stone Space Gallery, Leytonstone.

‘The Stone Space’, – a community led gallery space supporting creatives from a diverse range of backgrounds and providing a platform to create thought-provoking and exciting exhibitions and installations is opening the doors again with a new across disciplinary show ‘Inclusions’. This gallery is standing firmly on its feet, having put on many successful exhibitions, in its first year running. There was a hunger and need for this gallery in East London, Leytonstone and thanks to number of volunteers and talented artists who manage the space, including Carne Griffiths, Eleanor Bedlow and Gillian Swan, it is possible to showcase the local and visiting artists of the area and beyond.

‘Inclusions’ open this week, Thursday 29th March for three weeks. Join us at the opening party 29th March from 7pm and celebrate the diversity of art and mediums of these artists in show -  Ronis Varlaam, Sally Hewett, Mary-anne Morrison, Aurora Ira, Clare Smith, Tetsuya Endo, Amanda Whittle, Aysegul Thornett, Frances Bloomfield, Matt Gee, David McLeavy, Stacey Wall, Victoria Turnbull, Stephane Blumer, Kate Pelen, Natalie Percy and Gareth Morgan. I’m delighted to show in the exhibition too.

About ‘Inclusions’ - an Eclectic group exhibition of work from practising artists whose work crosses boundaries and disciplines. Fusing mixed media sculpture, video, sound and installation with traditional media an exhibition selected and curated carefully to surprise delight and enlighten.

I’ll be bringing you more from the show later, including photographs and a video, as it opens. Join us in this facebook event group and see who is going! I look forward to seeing you there! Thanks for reading. S.

Natalie Percy, 'Angel in the Attic 1'

Eleanor Bedlow, Lifting

Silvia Krupinska, Green Moon Transition, oneforone show, Stour Space.

Picture diary, 23.03.12, Salt and Oil.

S.Krupinska’s art studio, Salt and Oil Paintings installation, 23.3.2012

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S.Krupinska, Salt and Oil Paintings, Exploration of Lichens series 01, 23.3.12

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S.Krupinska, Purple Salt and Oil Painting, March 2012

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Think sand, think desert, think From the Bottom of the Sea…

Influential Independent Slovak Art 1960-2000 on show in London!

I’m proud to have seen an exhibition of some leading Slovak artists from 1960-2000. The works by them have shaped the happening of the Slovak Art Scene to this day, including myself. I’m talking about exhibition – Independent Scene. A Segment of Slovak Visual Art 1960-2000 in the Embassy of Slovak Republic in London. I’d introduced this show to you prior to the private view, in this post.  If you are interested in the Slovak Art and European Art in general, and this crucial creative period of 1960-1989, it’s a must see for you!

The exhibition is curated by Zuzana Bartošová, research worker at the Institute of Art History, Slovak Academy of Sciences. Henry Meyric Hughes, Honorary President of International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Paris, opened the event with this speech. The works presented in the exhibition come from the First Slovak Investment Group’s collection (Bratislava, Slovakia).

Here is an extract of the speech by Mr. Hughes. I’ve learnt so much by listening to it over and over again:

“What you see here in this space is the crème de la crème and very carefully chosen work by Zuzana Bartosova, a step ahead of the works perhaps in the Slovak National Gallery Collection.”

“ Jankovič piece, The Movable Hands are moving, waving in unison. That in a sense sets the scene to the way that artists have responded, artists who are outside the official system, right up to 1989. They maintained their own independence and contacts with artist in surrounding countries, and responded to ideas in the outside world. Most of those artists were almost working in isolation. But, almost all of these works here are kind of the key works of the individual artists concerned. In sense, there was a double divorce, if you were living in Bratislava. There was a divorce from centralized part, artistic patronage provided by Prague (which was a dominant partner in this federated republic) and of course there was a divorce from the west. The isolation in Bratislava really was the fertile element, artists were left to their own devices, maybe they were followed a bit by the security police, but on the whole they could do what they wanted, provided they didn’t put their heads up above the parapet. I think, this is the essential message you are getting from this exhibition. All those artists and their work up to 1989 have formed the basis of the Slovak Art.”

Participating artists:

Milan Adamčiak (*1946), Peter Bartoš (*1938), Juraj Bartusz (*1933), Mária Bartuszová (1936 – 1996), Pavol Binder (1935 – 2009), Milan Bočkay (*1946),Klára Bočkayová (*1948), Ivan Csudai (*1959), Ladislav Čarný (*1949), Marián Čunderlík (1926 – 1983), Milan Dobeš (*1929), Ľubomír Ďurček (*1948), Rudolf Fila (*1932), Stanislav Filko (*1937), Daniel Fischer (*1950), Vladimír Havrilla(*1943), Jozef Jankovič (*1937) Igor Kalný (1957 – 1987), Michal Kern (1938 – 1994), Alojz Klimo (1922 – 2000), Martin Knut (*1964), Július Koller (1939 – 2007), Vladimír Kordoš (*1945), Patrik Kovačovský (*1970), Juraj Meliš(*1942), Igor Peter Meluzin (*1947), Marián Meško (*1945), Anastázia Miertušová (1927 – 2002), Igor Minárik (*1948), Alex Mlynárčik (*1934), Marián Mudroch (*1945), Ilona Németh (*1963), Milan Paštéka (1931 – 1998), Karol Pichler (*1957), Vladimír Popovič (*1939), Rudolf Sikora (*1946), Ivan Štěpán (1937 – 1986), Laco Teren (*1960), Dezider Tóth (*1947), Rudolf Uher (1913 – 1987), Miloš Urbásek (1932 – 1988), Jana Želibská (*1941)

You can see my video invitation and a small tour around the space of The Embassy Of Slovak Republic, where the show is held:

 

And finally a wide selection of photos from the exhibition. Thanks for reading my post. Contact me, if you have any questions.

 

7 March – 10 April 2012 

Slovak Embassy, 25 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 4QY

Opening hours from 9 am to 4 pm

For security reasons, please contact the Embassy before your visit.

Tel: 02073136470, e-mail: emb.london@mzv.sk

 

 

 

Mayfair gallery, Gazelli Art House opened.

Olympia Scarry, The Bubble Wrap Painting, 2012, detail

I couldn’t miss the opening of new Mayfair gallery, Gazelli Art House this week. The  fabulous space on two levels has revealed exhibition called Bodhi, the last of the open-ended series of exhibitions exploring different natural elements. The previous four shows were: Fired Up, Down to Earth, Still and Sparkling and Air I Breathe. Touching on the topic of spiritual enlightenment through the means of contemporary art, the show brings to the forefront four diverse artists -  Jaume Plensa, Khanlar Gasimov, Olympia Scarry  and Shan Hur. I found the exhibition very inspiring and very well presented. Every little detail was thought through. I personally enjoyed most the works by Olympia Scarry, her Bubble Wrap Painting and Mammalia and Shan Hur’s Broken Pillar, however the remaining artists didn’t stay behind.

 

 

Olympia Scarry  is a Swiss artist, who lives and works in New York. Scarry’s discipline in Psychology is a driving force in her works as with her new body of work which focuses on the examination of reality and the self. Scarry captures actions and reactions to moments of frustration and boredom and turns them into something tangible as in the marble “Bubble Wrap Painting”. Often Scarry’s objects frustrate our expectations by rendering habitual urges impossible or by glorifying an involuntary response such as a boring “Yawn”. In creating environments and records of the human touch, Scarry voluntarily allows forms to overpower physiology. 

 Olympia Scarry, Mammalia, 2012, 01

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Olympia Scarry, The Bubble Wrap Painting, 2012, 01

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Olympia Scarry, Saliva, 2011

Jaume Plensa - is a world-renowned artist from Barcelona who is also the current artist in residence at The Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Plensa has created numerous public works around the world, including the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, Chicago. He unveiled his most recent public sculpture Echo presented in Madison Square Park, New York City in May 2011. He has had solo exhibitions at the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas; Musée Picasso, Antibes; Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; Galerie National du Jeu de Paume, Paris; and the Arts Club of Chicago, among many others. He lives and works in Barcelona. For Gazelli Art House’s opening show, Plensa will present his light and ‘verbal’ sculpture, Overflow, where stainless steel letters are soldered together to create the figure of a sitting man. Additionally, a selection of Plensa’s mixed media drawings on paper will be also showcased.

 Jaume Plensa, Overflow I, 2007, 01

Khanlar Gasimov - is an Azerbaijani artist who lives and works in Connecticut, USA. Despite this geographical distance, the essence of Gasimov’s art still lies in his roots. He finds particular inspiration in Azerbaijani poetry. His poetic-recited canvases – last on show at the 54th Venice Biennale as part of the Azerbaijani Pavilion – demonstrate a philosophical approach to the physical form of art. At Gazelli Art House, Gasimov will also exhibit his acclaimed sculpture The Most Honourable – an umbrella that is fashioned from silicone to simulate human skin. The work symbolically illustrates a type of a shield whilst the human nature of the object transforms the idea of this protective everyday object to a being, which is exposed to its surroundings.

Khanlar Gasimov, Walking in Eight Bodies Simultaneosly, shape of a poet collar cut in copper,  2012

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Khanlar Gasimov, Gift Wrap (Anthem), 2012, 01

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Khanlar Gasimov, All Happens in Your Presence, 2012, 01

Shan Hur - is a Korean artist who lives and works in London. In the beginning one assumes Shan’s work is part of the gallery setting but viewer’s perceptions are challenged the closer they examine it. The ideas, which inform Hur’s practice, derive from a fascination in the moment of transition when a particular space is reconfigured for a new purpose. Constant doubt and questioning of our perceptions is crucial to developing the enlightened self.

Shan Hur, Broken Pillar, 2012 01

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Shan Hur, Broken Pillar, 2012 02

The atmosphere of the show on the opening night was fantastic and the house was full.  Bodhi is open till April 19th 2012. I recommend you see the show, especially if you are into organic sculpture and natural elements in art and experimentation.

You find Gazelli Art House at 39 DOVER STREET, MAYFAIR, LONDON, W1.

 

 

Salt oil painting experiments in my studio, part I.

Exhibition – Independent Scene. A Segment of Slovak Visual Art 1960-2000 in London.

"Vertical and Horizontal Relief" by Maria Bartuszova from 1985.

This heroic exhibition of Slovak Art between years 1960-2000, that I hadn’t even dreamt of seeing in London, is coming! I can’t tell you how excited I’m to be able to see this important show. I’ll be there this Wednesday, 7th March 2012 from 6-8pm and I’ll be reviewing and documenting the show. My long admired Mária Bartuszová will feature “Vertical and Horizontal Relief” from 1985. Show will display works by the Slovak Art Scene stars such as Vladimír Popovič, Jozef Jankovic, Frieze Magazine loved Julius Koller…

The exhibition presents a segment of the work of independent personalities from the 1960s and younger artists participating in the activities of the unofficial art scene in the 1970s and 1980s. The collection is supplemented with examples of the work of next generation artists, which have not been affected by the restricting ideology.

The exhibition is curated by Zuzana Bartošová, research worker at the Institute of Art History, Slovak Academy of Sciences and Mr. Henry Meyric Hughes, Honorary President of International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Paris, will open the event. The works presented in the exhibition come from the First Slovak Investment Group’s collection (Bratislava, Slovakia).

Slovak fine art in the second half of the 20th century represents a phenomenon with a quality comparable to the European standard. Since the 1960s it has been characterised by the plurality of styles and opinions. After artists, both young and old, abandoned socialist realism, contemporary artistic tendencies emerged onto the art scene: art informel, new realism, pop-art, new figuration, constructivism and kinetic art, lettrism, conceptual art, action art, object and installation. The promising development of pluralist Slovak fine art, which had started to be accepted by the international art scene, was interrupted by the so-called consolidation of society after the seizure of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact (21 August 1968). Both the civil and artistic freedoms of the period of “socialism with a human face” became a thing of the past and were replaced with ideology and the revival of socialist realism. The neo-avant-garde tendencies have survived in the works of independent personalities of the unofficial art scene, which was compatible with the art scene in the Euro-American context. It was due to the activities carried out by the unofficial art scene that after the Velvet Revolution (1989), one could state that Slovak fine art in the second half of the 20th century represents a sphere that never ceased to be a part of international visual discourse.

Julius Koller, born 1939-Czechoslovakia, 1968

Participating artists:

Milan Adamčiak (*1946), Peter Bartoš (*1938), Juraj Bartusz (*1933), Mária Bartuszová (1936 – 1996), Pavol Binder (1935 – 2009), Milan Bočkay (*1946), Klára Bočkayová (*1948), Ivan Csudai (*1959), Ladislav Čarný (*1949), Marián Čunderlík (1926 – 1983), Milan Dobeš (*1929), Ľubomír Ďurček (*1948), Rudolf Fila (*1932), Stanislav Filko (*1937), Daniel Fischer (*1950), Vladimír Havrilla (*1943), Jozef Jankovič (*1937) Igor Kalný (1957 – 1987), Michal Kern (1938 – 1994), Alojz Klimo (1922 – 2000), Martin Knut (*1964), Július Koller (1939 – 2007), Vladimír Kordoš (*1945), Patrik Kovačovský (*1970), Juraj Meliš (*1942), Igor Peter Meluzin (*1947), Marián Meško (*1945), Anastázia Miertušová (1927 – 2002), Igor Minárik (*1948), Alex Mlynárčik (*1934), Marián Mudroch (*1945), Ilona Németh (*1963), Milan Paštéka (1931 – 1998), Karol Pichler (*1957), Vladimír Popovič (*1939), Rudolf Sikora (*1946), Ivan Štěpán (1937 – 1986), Laco Teren (*1960), Dezider Tóth (*1947), Rudolf Uher (1913 – 1987), Miloš Urbásek (1932 – 1988), Jana Želibská (*1941)

Jozef Jankovic,born 1937-Movable Hands, 1970

I’ll be posting more about this exhibition. I’m planning to do some interviews and documenting as much as possible. I really recognize the importance of this event, just by researching and linking the artists in the show, I’ve learned so much. Big lesson of the Independent Scene. A Segment of Slovak Visual Art 1960-2000 begins tomorrow. See you there! Silvia

Join the Facebook event here.

7 March – 10 April 2012 

PV 7 March 6-8pm

Slovak Embassy, 25 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 4QY

Opening hours from 9 am to 4 pm

For security reasons, please contact the Embassy before your visit.

Tel: 02073136470, e-mail: emb.london@mzv.sk

(source: Embassy of the Slovak Republic, London)