Sylvia Ji

Visited the Art From the New World Show at the Bristol City Museum and Gallery on Saturday. So chuffed! Its amazing. There are so many of my heros and heroines in this show so I was as excited as a kid to be there. Seeing work up close in the flesh with your own eyes cannot be surpassed in my opinion. To see the brush strokes, the detail, the flaws, the texture is unbeatable.

I’ve been a bit down hearted lately having seen a bunch of really awful so called art shows and works. Its been depressing. Art From the New World blow them out of the water with big ‘up yours’ to the waffer crap I’ve seen of late. My faith in craftsmanship and skilled artistry is once more renewed TF. Well, live and let live and all that but this is my opinion and I’m entitled to one, its my blog!

Here are some of my highlights… (sorry for the dodgy camera angles I wasnt thinking, my heart was pounding!)

Sylvia Ji

Dave Kinsey

Kinsey

David Stoupakis

Claire, Bump & Sylvia Ji

Sas Christian

Claire, Bump and Mercedes Helnwein

Mercedes Helnwein

Melissa Forman

Melissa Forman

_

Josh Agle

David Stoupakis

David Stoupakis

Ray Caesar

Kent Williams

Henry Lewis

A J Fosik

Natalia Fabia

Natalia Fabia

Johnny Rodreguez

Johnny Rodreguez

Art of the New World is on at

The spoil of war

After a pretty long hiatus without sketching for fun I decided I was well out of shape and best get back in the rhythm. Here’s a couple of real quick studies I did from some old war photos. I just wanna loosen up and get used to drawing by instinct again.

last thread

Oh my gosh

HOLY CRAP! Look whats coming to town….

COREY HELFORD GALLERY in collaboration with BRISTOL’S CITY MUSEUM & ART GALLERY present ART FROM THE NEW WORLD

A Big Brash Exhibition of the New American Art Scene
Saturday, May 1 – Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery Queen’s Road, Bristol BS8 1RL

Free entry. Open daily 10am-5pm

Artists confirmed…..

JOSH AGLE (SHAG) JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER CHRIS ANTHONY VAN ARNO GARY BASEMAN RAY CAESAR COLIN CHRISTIAN SAS CHRISTIAN LUKE CHUEH COOP DAVE COOPER RON ENGLISH NATALIA FABIA KORIN FAUGHT SARAH FOLKMAN MELISSA FORMAN AJ FOSIK CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA MERCEDES HELNWEIN DAVID HOCHBAUM SYLVIA JI ERIC JOYNER DAVE KINSEY KUKULA JOE LEDBETTER HENRY LEWIS LOLA TRAVIS LOUIE MICHAEL MARARIAN ELIZABETH MCGRATH MIA BRANDI MILNE BUFF MONSTER MICHAEL PAGE MARION PECK JOSHUA PETKER CARLOS RAMOS JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ (KMNDZ) GRETCHEN RYAN MARK RYDEN TODD SCHORR KATHY STAICO SCHORR MIKE STILKEY GREG SIMKINS (CRAOLA) JOE SORREN DAVID STOUPAKIS ADAM WALLACAVAGE MARTIN WITTFOOTH KENT WILLIAMS

www.coreyhelfordgallery.com

Juxtapoz.com

Storm in a Tea Cup

One of my favourite homegrown artists Chris Bourke has a show in Brum this week. It officially opens this Thursday 29th April at Studio 4 Gallery at The Custard Factory, Birmingham, with free drinks and cakes from 6.30pm. Photos of the show being set up are at www.facebook.com/chrisbourkeart and www.studio4gallery.blogspot.com

Custard Factory

I hope I can make it back to the motherland to check it out. Chris’s work is ace. You might recognise it from the cover of Frank Turners “Poetry of the Deed” and he’s also had the cover of Modart not to mention countless skateboard related stuff (he owns and runs Spine Skateboard Shop in Worcester).  Good luck with the show Chris!

The Forte Brothers - Toby, Leo & Kye

Leo got the cover of Ride UK this month. Unusual and wonderfully unique as I would always expect of Leo. If you can get hold of the magazine be sure to sample his writing skills too. Theres an extract he’s written about Caspian Del Bergerac. Leo has many talents and some can be employed by your good self. Check his new website for some inspiration and hit him up if you’re in need of something unquestionably one of a kind. Ladies and Gentlemen, Leonardo Forte

Ride. Leo Forte Cover

Caspian Del Bergerac - Leo Forte

Jewellery Tree made by Leo Forte

Death Spray Custom - XS650 Bones

Came across the great paint and design work by Death Spray Customs via Sideburn Magazine. There’s some ace stuff in the portfolio and the blog is a good blend of bikes, motos, cars and design. Looks like the dude has a XS650 like me too. Good stuff

Jamaican Will... sadly for sale

I’m stoked to say I have a last minute solo show on for the whole of February at the much acclaimed Baristas Coffee Collective in Bristol (by Bristol Bridge).

I’m having an opening view / drink tomorrow night (thursday the 4th feb) from 7.30 till 9.30 ish. Come along if you can make it.

There will be original, not previously available work for sale along with some prints. I’m also showing a bunch of skateboards I designed for Lush alongside the original framed artwork.

Please join the facebook fan page (wish it wasnt called a ‘fan’ page) here….

And here is the event on facebook too.

If you cant make the opening perhaps you can drop by during the month and have a butchers, and of course a coffee and cake!

Baristas Coffee Collective
29 Victoria Street
Bristol, BS1 6AA,
0117 922 7111

Crucial Advert - Transit

Here’s the Crucial advert I did for the January edition of Ride UK. To mark their move from the old shop to a new one I decided to draw a ‘Transit’. Get it? Ha.  It turned out pretty good I think, fun to make too. Seems like the new shop is going really well too. Bristol is definitely lucky to have a good BMX shop on its door step.

I just watched Died Young, Stayed Pretty, an insightful documentary about the mysterious and curious Rock Poster Scene (thanks to Ollie at the ICA). If like me you’re addicted and inspired by the imagination and variety of poster art and the people behind them, then this is a must see.

DYSP Poster by Ron Liberti

I’ve been checking Gigposter.com (Set up and run by Clay Hayes) since back in 2001 after my design guru, Dave Marcar gave me the heads up. I’ve even had my own work on there at some point.The film gives a great opportunity to meet some of the players and protagonists from that community (of sorts) as well as exposing you to plenty of inspiring artwork and angry DIY ideas.

DYSP Screen shot

Iranian-born Canadian filmmaker Eileen Yaghoobian spent 4yrs making the film and I’m glad she did. If you liked Beautiful Losers chances are you’ll like this. It comes with a good dose of geek humor and frustrated, futile angst but thats rock posters all over.

I felt the film was maybe a little long and could have been cut to 60mins but hey, then I’d have probably complained and asked for more! I was tired so not the best time to judge. I did go to bed filled with ideas about posters and a new screen printing set up for the studio so it obviously did its job!

DYSP Screen shot

Official Synopsis…

Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of America’s schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art that’s both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, they’re virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. They’ve created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they’re not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of America’s morbidly obese consumer culture.

DYSP Screen shot

The film is available from the 8th February 2010 priced £12.99 in the UK

Died Young Stayed Pretty website
ICA Website