Andy Warhol for Dior

Art/Fashion collaborations seem to be quite the thing now. The Alexander McQueen/Damien Hirst skull scarf collaboration produced some great results, and now Dior are using Andy Warhol's early shoe drawings to good effect also. I was fortunate enough recently to be able to see a private collection of Warhol's early illustrative shoe drawings. It was great to be able to get up close and examine them and his drawing technique first-hand, and in relative privacy. His blobby, linear drawing style was unique at the time, and the use of butterflies quite whimsical.

Raf Simons and the design team at Dior have realised the beauty of Warhol's early shoe drawings, and with the permission of the Warhol Foundation, put them to use decorating a series of Dior handbags and dresses for their A/W 2013 collection. It is not the first time that Simons has sought inspiration from artists, as previous collections have seen him using the work of artists from the Bauhaus movement as well as that of Picasso and Roualt. I really like the Butterfly Shoe illustration hand-bag and clutch, and think it is a particularly apt use of the art/fashion collaboration considering the drawings were originally commissioned for Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine in the 1950s.

The attention to detail on the dress below is pretty amazing. The designers and technicians have done a fantastic job of translating Warhol's whimsical butterfly imagery, and blobby line drawing technique into the textile medium with the use of sequins and beads.

When Britain Went Pop!

There is a fantastic exhibition at Christie's Mayfair, on New Bond St. which chronicles the early years of the Pop Art phenomenon in Britain. The great thing about the exhibition is that Christie's has managed to persuade owners to lend significant and early Pop pieces by  greats such as Peter Blake, David Hockney, Richard Hamilton and  Allen Jones, which are usually kept away from public view by their owners. Some haven't been publicly exhibited since the 1960s.

Personal favourites in the show are Allen Jones' early 'Bus' pictures which are a wonderful splash of colour, as are his later stylised fetish pieces of stiletto heels and shiny rubber-clad legs. His furniture sculptures of women in prone positions seem as controversial as ever, but make an important statement.

 

David Hockney's early paintings are also exciting. I really like the looseness of his brushwork compared to his more controlled paintings of the 1970s, as well as his use of graffiti/typography.

It was also really interesting to see Gerald Laing's work which has obvious parallels with Roy Lichtenstein's because of the use of the Ben-day dot system used in newspapers and comics, which both adopted in their work.

My absolute favourites are Peter Blake's paintings of wrestlers and tattooed ladies. I like the contrast in his paintings of the highly finished elements and areas which are left sketchy and seemingly unfinished. It was so wonderful to be able to see these early works in the flesh.

You really get the feeling from this show of how advertising, music and popular imagery caught the imagination of the these young artists of the period as there seems to be a real youthful energy and excitement to this show that reflects the "swinging" London of the time. All of the artists were clearly fans of the music, products and stars of the era. I now want to visit the Barbican's Pop Art Design exhibition which is also currently running before it closes. This was one of the best exhibitions I have been to this year.

When Britain Went Pop!
British Pop Art: The Early Years
Christie's Mayfair
103 New Bond St.

 

George Osodi: Kings of Nigeria

Whilst I was in Bermondsey, I also caught this show by the Nigerian photographer George Osodi. The Kings of Nigeria documents a variety of Nigeria's regional monarchs whose ancestors owned vast tracts of land, but who were all stripped of their constitutional powers in 1963 when Nigeria became a republic within the British Commonwealth. Despite being stripped of their powers these monarchs still cling to the pomp and ceremony of the royal lifestyle and are still very popular amongst, and feted by their loyal subjects, and act as intermediaries between the people they represent and the Nigerian government. There are parallels in what Osodi and Kehinde Wiley, (the subject of a recent post), are trying to achieve, in that they are documenting, and preserving a peoples and their lifestyle, and how they choose to express themselves in culture, and dress, through portraiture.  

I do not know if it was the photographer George Osodi's intention, but when I look at the two photos above I am reminded of the formal, historical European portraits of royalty, and in particular Velasquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X (below). Their poses, age, extravagant dress, and direct stare out of the picture plane at the viewer lends them an air of gravitas. I think there are distinct similarities, what do you think? 

I like looking at the clothing of the various Kings in these photographs. There are sumptuous taffeta and brocade robes as well as traditional African textile prints. Other photographs from the series (not shown here), depict elaborately beaded necklaces, veils and head wear. I would like to know more about the choices made by the monarchs represented. What influenced their tastes in how they choose to display their wealth? They differ from those of the contemporary monarchs of the West, so were they cultural decisions, or based on geographical necessities? 

Also interesting is the decoration and architecture of the palaces which isn't represented so well in the photographs here, but you get a good glimpse in the exterior shot of the palace in the last photo below.

This was an interesting exhibition as it documents a different experience of wealth and culture to that most of us are used to. Osodi has hit upon a good project and will hopefully capture for posterity all of the remaining Nigerian monarchs.

George Osodi Nigeria Monarchs
Until 3rd November 2013
Bermondsey Projects
46 Willow Walk
London SE1

George Grosz: Berlin, Prostitutes,Politicians, and Profiteers

I was really glad I caught this show in my frenzied gallery dash. I admired George Grosz's draughtsmanship as a student, and it was really good to engage with it again years later in the intimate setting of the Richard Nagy Gallery. It has been 20 years since there was an exhibition dedicated to Grosz's work in the UK so it is was a good, and timely choice by whoever chose to curate this show.

George Grosz had a contempt of bourgoise life in Germany and it was this dislike, and negative experiences as a soldier in the trenches of the First World War that fuelled his artistic vision and satirical view of the German establishment. Grosz is known for his association with the Dada movement, but it was with the sexual and violent images of prostitutes and their wealthy clients in decadent 1920's Berlin that he is best known. The biting, satirical nature of the artwork is tempered by the tenderness of his drawn line. He clearly loved drawing as a medium, both to express himself artistically, and also vent his frustrations at the authorities. I was reminded of the British satirical political cartoons of Gillray, Cruikshank and Hogarth, and also of the factory workers in the work of LS Lowry in the drawing below.

This is a real gem of an exhibition for those who are interested in drawing, or a glimpse into an artists view of decadent 1920's Berlin life. Another one to definately catch again before it finishes on November 2nd. 

George Grosz Berlin: Prostitutes, Politicians and Profiteers
Until 2nd November 2013
Richard Nagy Ltd
22 Old Bond St
London W1

Flamingos-a-Go-Go

As a recent commission I was asked to create a Butterfly Ball to be hung against this fabulous Cole & Son Flamingo wallpaper. 

I prepared a swatch for the client of colours I thought would be most appropriate from the palette of papers that I use, and then once these were client approved I started cutting. 

I thought that as the dominant background colour of the Flamingo paper was a cool duck egg blue, then the Butterfly Ball needed to be made up of warmer reds, and pinks to highlight the pink of the birds, with accents of blue and grey. This was the resulting artwork. A very nice commission.

Little Blue Birds

Here are some more blue birds, albeit on a smaller scale, and more humble setting than Katharina Fritsch's Hahn/Cock currently on display in Trafalgar Square. These wrought-iron gates can be found in East Dulwich an area I happen to frequent often. The birds and foliage always bring a smile to my face and remind me of my own bird pieces.

Big Blue Bird

I was in Trafalgar Square the other day and was able to see the latest in the series of the long line of Fourth Plinth commissions, Hahn/Cock 2013, by Katharina Fritsch. The piece is 4.72 m high, and is her fibre-glass rendition of a domestic farmyard cockerel. Fritsch is one of Germany's leading contemporary artists and I have seen, and admired, her out-sized, monochromatic, animal sculptures before at Tate Modern.

I really like this piece. It is beautifully modelled and the colour is stunning, adding some much needed colour to the greyness of Trafalgar Square. I also love the scale, absurdity, and contrasting subject matter of this sculpture in comparison to the other formal military statues on display in Trafalgar Square.

Anax Imperator (Argent)

I was recently commissioned to create this new piece by a client who saw one of my dragonfly pieces, and then gave me free rein to create something with silver-leafed dragonflies. Anax Imperator (Argent) was the result. I really enjoyed creating this piece, and like the way in the finished piece that certain dragonfly wings catch and reflect the light. The piece when viewed as a whole, reminds me of a large silver Alium flower when it is viewed from a distance. I might just have to create a version in gold.

If you would also like to commission a bespoke work then contact me and we can discuss the details.

More Butterfly Couture

More butterflies floating down the catwalk courtesy of the S/S 2013 collection of the Korean fashion designer Lie Sang Bong. Liking the quirky Tiger Swallowtail butterfly glasses.

This dress below is interesting, a trellis-like framework covered with plastic cut-out butterflies. The centre-piece of the collection.

Some really nice colourful butterfly printed textiles which translate well onto fabric.

Byaku: Nahoko Kojima

Whilst we're on the subject of artists who work with paper, one of the great things about events like the recent Urban Art fair is that you get to meet people who like, (as well as those that don't like), your work. It's even better when you meet someone who turns you on to artists or exhibitions that had passed under your radar. One such artist recommended to me by a visitor was Nahoko Kojima who practices the art of kiri-e, (Japanese paper-cutting), and is currently showing at Jerwood Space, Union Street. The piece on display is titled: Byaku and is a papercut sculpture created from a very large sheet of Washi paper. It represents a life-size polar bear diving into the ocean, and took 7 months to create with Kojima apparently having to change the blade of her scalpel every 3 minutes. 

It is a really beautiful, ethereal piece, and is a totally convincing evocation of a polar bear, suspended in space. Thank you Eileen C. for the heads up on this artist, it was a pleasure to meet, (and be photographed), with you and your friends at Urban Art.