Art Circus Spotlight
‘Turners View’ and ‘Sky of England’ by Adrian Merrifield

Turners View is a contemporary view from the spot in Hunston near Chichester where Joseph Turner painted Chichester Canal in 1828. Studies made for this work expose the reasons why you should never trust a painting as a true representation of reality. Turner has the sun setting to the left of the cathedral, but the viewer is looking north, also a ship as large as in Turners work would not have been able to sail there. Today the view towards the cathedral is obscured by telegraph wires and is not as peaceful as the painting suggests due to heavy traffic just yards away from this spot. Continue reading “Art Circus Spotlight
‘Turners View’ and ‘Sky of England’ by Adrian Merrifield” →

Nina Fowler’s ‘The Lure of Collapse’
On Show at the Galerie Dukan, Germany

Nina Fowler will be exhibitng a solo show of new drawings and sculptures to celebrate the opening of Galerie Dukan‘s new exhibition space in Leipzig, Germany. We caught up with Nina to find out about the new work and how it portrays the price of fame and the consequences of our dreams.

Where does the title ‘The Lure of Collapse’ comes from?

I wanted to think of a title that threaded all the work together as this exhibition has a spread of drawings and sculptures from various different series. A novel I read about an artist having a nervous breakdown inspired the title. I was thinking about how often it seems easier to give up rather than to keep going. At the same time I wanted the title to refer to our interest in the scandals that surround the rich and famous – the sadistic way in which we follow a celebrity’s fall from grace through the eyes of the media. For example, the largest work in the exhibition “Jean (Knockers III)” portrays the film actress Jean Harlow being escorted from the funeral of her husband. He committed suicide soon after their wedding as he felt he could not live up to the expectations of being married to a superstar. She was devastated and once again had to pay a grave cost for her fame. The brass sculptures hanging heavily from her chest represent this struggle between the idol and her devotees.

Continue reading “Nina Fowler’s ‘The Lure of Collapse’
On Show at the Galerie Dukan, Germany” →

Q&A with Haichuan Huang

How did art school help in the development of your practice?

There is a relatively independent environment in art schools where I can concentrate on my art work without much social interference. Moreover, communication with teachers and other students definitely helps me to improve on my work and ideas, as well as to understand some of the art techniques and materials which I have not tried before. Experience in art schools contributes to my artistic development.

It looks like you work changed quite dramatically since 2012 and 2013, what inspired this body of work?

In the years 2012-2013, my art has entered a new phase where I began to form my own creative style, and my artistic behavior began to become more targeted. My works were greatly affected by POP art and contemporary illustration, which is why the popular style seen in my works is closely related to public appreciation of aesthetics. Continue reading “Q&A with Haichuan Huang” →

Lucy Glendinning’s Genetically Modified Sleepy Feathered Children

Lucy Glendinning’s ‘Featherchild’ series comes from the artist’s fascination with a future society inhabited with genetically modified children and the possibilities from such experiments. Covered from head to toe, the feathers may act as a camouflage, keeping the children hidden or they may enable them with a unique ability to survive whatever landscape they now populate They may also just be tired freaks, taking refuge in art galleries. Glendinning’s tactile sculptures are beautifully crafted, showing a very sensitive and vulnerable side to her bizarre subjects, leaving the viewer uncertain whether to take the mutant child into their care or throw them into the fire. (Via)

Continue reading “Lucy Glendinning’s Genetically Modified Sleepy Feathered Children” →

Adrian Esparza’s Mexican Serape Blanket Turned Geometric Wall Installations

Texas-based artist Adrian Esparza unravels Mexican serape blankets and uses the threads to weave them back into multi-dimensional, geometric installations. As well as the deconstruction and transformation of this cultural symbol, Esparza is interested in reinventing the ordinary and encourages the viewer to do the same, looking for the creative potential which can be found in the familiar and the mundane. ‘Wake and Wonder’ will be on vshow at Pérez Art Museum Miami until May 2015.

Continue reading “Adrian Esparza’s Mexican Serape Blanket Turned Geometric Wall Installations” →

Art Circus Spotlight
New Paintings by Miguel Laino

I consider myself a figurative painter first and foremost, so I am primarily drawn to the form and composition of the image, rather than any conceptual consideration. The atmosphere or mood also play a part. I like images that I don’t entirely understand – that have a degree of ambiguity about them…as if it is not entirely obvious what is going on, or it is open to interpretation.

We are all constantly evolving, so no doubt each work relates to it’s predecessors but also hints at the works that will follow it, like a premonition. My role is just to stay totally present in the moment and to create as honestly as I can without looking back or forward. The evaluation of where the piece fits in relation to my general practice really comes after the fact. I don’t separate my portraits from my other work. I see them as part of one body of work. I may work on a large painting and then do a portrait before moving on to the next large painting.

A very large part of the process is taken up by the search for the image. I search extensively online in diverse and sometimes obscure places, like Japanese newspapers or blogs. I also sometimes type in random or meaningless search terms into Google to unearth unusual images or tap less obvious sources. Once an image grabs me, I may even work it into a collage along with other images previously found – sometimes images I’ve been keeping for some time. For some reason, many of the images that appeal to me are in black and white. This allows me to add my own colour choices, thereby adding my own stamp to the image – reclaiming and re-interpreting it. But even with colour images I tend to paint them with my own palette.

Sometimes a painting just won’t gel or come together, even if the source image still appeals to me. I’ve learnt to walk away from the painting and focus on something else for a few hours or even days and then come back to the painting. This typically brings about a spontaneous insight or resolution when I look at the painting with fresh eyes. This could mean changing a background colour, or deleting a figure. Sometimes I just realise that the painting is perfect as it is.

Painting involves the conscious and the subconscious, which means that the works are always surprising – for the conscious mind at least. It’s that sense of being surprised by the work, at being partly in control, but also partly an instrument of a deeper force that makes the process so intriguing and keeps it exciting and unpredictable. So wherever the work may evolve or lead me, I know it is a reflection and a confirmation of my own growth. I look forward to being surprised and challenged.

Miguel Laino has won n a portrait showdown competition on SaatchiOnline, with his piece “Didier” being selected as the winner, by the judge, Chantal Joffe – one of my favourite contemporary artists. The painting will be exhibited along with the other 9 finalists at the Griffin Gallery in London form 5th – 20th December 2013.

See more paintings by Miguel Laino

Urs Fischer Makes It Rain
at Sadie Coles, London

Urs Fischer has suspended 3,000 oversize colourful plaster raindrops for his latest exhibition at Sadie Coles. Titled ‘Melodrama’, the raindrops encompass a spectrum of shades from green to lilac, massing together into a gently psychedelic storm cloud which weaves in a swirling movement through the space.The installation’s romantic overtones collide with a bluntly cartoonish quality, bordering on the slapstick, that resonates with the double-edged register of much of Fischer’s art. Melodrama is on show until the 18th January. Continue reading “Urs Fischer Makes It Rain
at Sadie Coles, London” →

Vasilis Avramidis’ ‘Resort Archaeology’
On show with The Contemporary London, London Art Fair

15th – 19th January 2014

Vasilis Avramidis will be showing a collection of his new paintings depicting modern structures submerged in luscious mutated vegetation. The body of work titled ‘Resort archaeology’ will be shown with The Contemporary London at London Art Fair.

Vasillis say of the new paintings ”Resorts are symbols of escapism, but in this case the word mostly refers to uncanny locations, private worlds, idealized images from the past, or decadent earthly paradises. In the setting of these oil paintings they usually appear as architectural fragments, conceptually and physically located between a vanitas concept and the infinity of an overgrowing landscape, where they attempt to echo the human effort to reason with the passing of time.

Resort archaeology is a series of oil paintings, which try to experiment with scenarios around the history of painting, the human mark, and the passing of time. A ‘place’ is usually established by the mark of humanity, as wilderness by itself cannot constitute place. The resorts appearing on these settings are remote locations in the midst of endless vegetation. They bear the mark of humanity and human architecture, therefore they also signify the finitude of time that comes with it. Even better, they signify the mortalization of time within a seemingly diachronic surrounding landscape, whose shape, in some cases, resembles forms usually drawn from the tradition of 17th century oil painting, and often from paintings that refer to the transciensce of time.”

Art Circus’ Best of 2013

With Christmas approaching and 2013 coming to an end we thought would have a look back at some of the shows which caught our eye here at the Art Circus. 2013 was a great year for art, not just in the big galleries and museums but also in the degree shows, the tucked away smaller galleries and the newer satellite art fairs, all showing fresh and exciting artwork.

Lets begin with 1. Claire Partington’s elegant and witty ceramics (shown above) in ‘The Islands Across the Sea’ at the Jame Freeman Gallery. Have a read of Claire’s Q&A for the show. Continue reading “Art Circus’ Best of 2013” →

Q&A with Gina Soden

What first drew you to photographing these abandoned places?

My first “encounter” was when I was researching a location for a model photoshoot about four years ago. I was procrastinating and reading the local newspaper which detailed information about a local psychiatric hospital. I was suddenly very curious and couldn’t wait to get there. I went the next day, having no idea of what to expect and I was immediately hooked. Sneaking in, I walked down long corridors, seeing the main hall where the patients used to be entertained, finding several wards with patients suitcases and clothes and beds (with sheets still on) left behind. I saw a dentist chair with teeth impressions left behind, the hairdressers, pianos, store cupboards, and beautiful architectural spaces and light. I couldn’t get enough, the stories, the textures, the beautiful scenes. I subsequently returned four times that same week, twice for a photoshoot, and twice to satisfy my own curiosity, the place was huge and I wanted to see it all! I will never forget that place, it changed my life forever really. Continue reading “Q&A with Gina Soden” →

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