POLO JEANS CO. a r t s ta r s
s n a e j s o r l a o p st t r a in
phillips de pury & company Howick place London SW1p 1bb Teenage Cancer Trust is a registered charity: 1062559 (England and Wales), SCO39757 (Scotland)
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art stars 4 – 10 D ece mb er 2 0 10 LOND ON
Polo Jeans Co.’s Art Stars A series of exclusive pieces by Europe’s most exciting young artistic talent to be auctioned in support of Teenage Cancer Trust. Polo Jeans Co.’s Art Stars is a showcase of work by 42 of Europe’s and the Middle East’s most recognized up-and-coming contemporary artists. Inspired by the iconic American Star-Spangled Banner and synonymous with the philosophy of the Polo Jeans Co. brand, the artists have created three-dimensional stars designed in the finest American denim. These stars have been displayed in select Polo Jeans Co. corners in cities across Europe before coming together in an exhibition and auction at Phillips de Pury & Company. Each Art Stars artist was challenged to customize a canvas into a three-dimensional star using an assortment of materials unique to their speciality – anything from denim and replicas of the American flag to dyes, collage, bleach and embroidery. Beyond the shapes and sizes of the Art Stars, artists were limited only by their imaginations. David Lauren, Senior Vice-President of Advertising, Marketing, and Corporate Communications at Polo Ralph Lauren, says, “The Polo Jeans Co. Art Stars project is very exciting. I am delighted to be partnering with Teenage Cancer Trust, and honoured that Art Stars will be able to contribute to ongoing efforts in support of young people fighting cancer.” For more information please visit the Art Stars website at http://artstars.polojeans.com.
Teenage Cancer Trust Your teenage years are supposed to be the best years of your life. One minute life’s about music, fashion and falling in love for the first time. The next minute you’re told you have cancer and your life is on hold and you’re in a hospital ward with no-one your age and feeling very isolated. Every day, six young people in the UK are diagnosed with cancer. Usually placed on children’s wards or with elderly patients, young people often feel extremely isolated when facing this disease, never having a chance to meet other young people in their situation. Teenage Cancer Trust believes teenagers should not stop being teenagers because they have cancer. We therefore fund and build specialized units in NHS hospitals which allow young people to be treated together with others their own age, in an environment suited to their needs. Teenage Cancer Trust units aren’t like ordinary cancer wards. The state-of-the-art units are bright and vibrant and often include pool tables, jukeboxes, game consoles, computers and webcams, ensuring that teenagers can keep in touch with family and friends outside the hospital. This homeaway-from-home feel helps create a sense of normality. Alongside these facilities is a medical team of teenage cancer specialists whose knowledge creates a body of expertise that is second to none. The team is backed by nurse consultants, providing clinical care, developing research, delivering professional education and ensuring consistently high standards. To date, Teenage Cancer Trust has built seventeen units and plans to build a further sixteen. Partnering with Polo Ralph Lauren Jeans Co. has been invaluable for Teenage Cancer Trust. Not only will the Polo Jeans Co. Art Stars auction raise vital funds to help the charity continue to develop an ambitious building programme but it has also given some patients a fantastic opportunity to get involved in the project by designing their own Art Stars. Fashion and art will always be an incredibly important part of young peoples’ lives and Polo Jeans Co.’s support will help give more young people a fighting chance against cancer. For more information about Teenage Cancer Trust visit http://teenagecancertrust.org or call 020 7612 0370.
ALBERTO DE PEDRO Art Star No. 29: LIBERTY & INDEPENDENCE, 2010 Vinyl photography and denim
Madrid-based public artist Alberto de Pedro brings walls and street furniture to life, using collage, painting and blown-up photography. He plays with scale to great effect: curbs, bollards and street corners become tiny, multi-windowed houses or toy-like streets, while life-size elephants patrol walls and giant legs disappear into pavements. De Pedro is also an accomplished photographer who comprehensively documents the city in its entirety, from the homeless on the streets to the kids in the clubs.
ALEX DAW Art Star No. 17: WHERE I BEGIN, YOU END, 2010 Oil, acrylic, ink and aerosol on denim
Born in northern England, Daw graduated with a first class degree in Fine Art from the University of Central Lancashire, before falling into the job of glamour photographer. Drawing on these influences, Daw uses fragments of magazines, including those obsessed with celebrity and pop culture, mixed with paint, to create reimagined scenes on canvas and glass. Each piece is also a reminder of the loss of tradition and beauty in an increasingly digital age. Daw has exhibited at the National Gallery in London.
ALËXONE Art Star No. 24: ARRÊTES DE JOUER TA REUSTA, 2010 Acrylic and mixed media on denim
One of France’s foremost urban artists, Paris-based Alëxone portrays a fantasy world of Edward Lear-esque characters in his paintings and murals. Rising to fame on the streets of Paris with a series of Oedipus-inspired tags, Alëxone has gone on to exhibit worldwide. His book, Came à Yeux, is one of the most beautiful examples of book art and illustration, and his work is to be seen on everything from racing cars to TV sets to beer packaging.
ANNA TARATIEL (OVNI) Art Star No. 13: STARSCRAPER, 2010 Collage of fabric and threads on denim
Translating movement into visual pieces, Barcelona-based Taratiel creates vivid canvases and walls full of spirals, sweeps and explosions. Using the streetscape as a starting point, she mixes block-like skyscrapers, roads and terraces with great swooshes that convey the chaos of the environment. Most recently, Taratiel has mixed found objects, such as cardboard boxes and crates, with murals to create three-dimensional renderings of the cityscape. She has exhibited in Milan, Lisbon and Barcelona.
ANNIE P. Art Star No. 35: GRUNGE AMERICA, 2010 Paper, cotton fabric, dyes, wadding fill and buttons on denim
Textile designer Papadimitriou honed her talents at the Royal College of Art, and has gone on to design for Roberto Cavalli, as well as working with Greek fashion labels Lakis Gavalas, Fani Couture and Vrettos Vrettakos. Now working from her Athens studio, she collaborates on everything from wallpaper to clothing under the brand name Annie P. Her prints hint at an international lifestyle – from the cool blue and white colour combinations of the Cyclades to Maori tattoos and African patterns.
ANTOINE ET MANUEL Art Star No. 9: ÉTOILE, 2010 Mixed media (ribbons, acrylic, bleach, glitter) on denim
Graphic artists Antoine et Manuel seemingly live in a much prettier parallel universe. Most famous for their colourful version of the Paris Metro map (complete with trees, butterflies, musical notes and a jade green Arc de Triomphe), the duo are much in demand – they have worked on a fresco for the Coca Cola Museum, as well as intricate, Pop Art-inspired furniture.
ANTON UNAI Art Star No. 15: THE MODERN MIND IS IN COMPLETE DISARRAY, 2010 Mixed media on denim and video (Travelling Without Moving)
Using salvaged material found on the streets of Berlin, Catalan-born Unai works on a larger-than-life level, often mixing installations, paintings, performances and collages to create allencompassing exhibitions. Citing Jean-Michel Basquiat and Joseph Beuys as influences, Unai revels in spontaneity, often creating works in week-long, public binges. The result is chaotic, cluttered pieces that mix symbols, phrases and found objects. He has exhibited internationally. Travelling Without Moving Installation artist Anton Unai took his Art Star on the road as part of a video piece to accompany the project. After a stroll around the streets of Barcelona when the star sunned itself on a bench and played in children’s mechanical rockets and cars, he created offshoot pieces influenced by American culture and the Stars and Stripes, which he displayed around the city.
BOM K Art Star No. 26: HEAD IN MY HANDS, 2010 Aerosol on denim
One of France’s brightest street artists, Bom K’s success comes from his talent for juxtaposing delicate drawing and spray paint techniques with shocking images. Honing his talent on the streets, he went on to merge perfect letterforms with bizarre, absurd characters from his imagination, creating a personal world at times reminiscent of Edward Lear and, at other times, Hieronymus Bosch. Bom K has exhibited in London and Paris.
CASE Art Star No. 19: PURE AMERICAN, 2010 Spraypaint, acrylic, iron metallic surfacer and rust antiquing solution, textile from a shopping bag on denim
One of the best photorealistic spray painters in the world, German artist Case stages provocative photo shoots that question and subvert the viewer’s idea of beauty and convention, then recreates them using his own, groundbreaking technique photorealistic graffiti. With a diploma in art restoration and conservation from Erfurt University, Case has exhibited his incredibly realistic and detailed paintings worldwide, including shows in New York, London and Berlin.
DANIELE VILLA Art Star No. 27: UNTITLED, 2010 Collage and laser print on canvas
Rome-based Villa shuns Photoshop to produce collage-based works made solely with paper, scissors and glue. Concentrating on small-scale pieces (typically 5 cm square), he creates miniature worlds that often display a surreal sense of humour: faces emerge from trees and the sea merges seamlessly into human organs. Free from the perfecting powers of computer manipulation, Villa’s choice of material feels at once random and artfully composed. He is also a founding member of the film production company, Citrullo International.
BORIS TELLEGEN (aka DELTA) Art Star No. 23: UNBUTTON IT, 2010 Wood, denim and styrofoam on denim
Dutch artist Boris Tellegen, aka Delta, started out as a pioneering street writer in Amsterdam, before going on to forge a name for himself as a spray painter, sculptor and illustrator. Drawing inspiration from the robot obsession of his 1980s youth, as well as growth and decay, he creates complex, architectural 3-D sculptures, robot-like toys and even record sleeves for a small, Amsterdam-based label. The geometric beauty of his work is instantly recognizable.
DIYA AJIT Art Star No. 36: BETTY, 2010 Fabric, fabric paint, acrylics, oils, coloured pencils, markers, felt, buttons and zippers on denim
A kind of creative Renaissance woman, Ajit is the UAE’s go-to girl for live art and advertisement art direction as well as one of the figures on Dubai’s urban art scene. Committed to introducing more public art to Dubai’s landscape, she participates in group shows, and takes on both private and public commissions to bring street art to the Emirate. Her work is bright, bold and unapologetically feminine.
DANIEL TAGNO Art Star No. 14: UNTITLED, 2010 Polyester resin, spraypaint, sand, zipper and straw on denim
Daniel Tagno lives in Berlin, drawing on his status as a graffiti writer working under the name Dtagno, to create film, installations and paintings exploring the interaction between the written word and images. The results are surprising and graceful re-imaginings of his craft – from graffiti tags painted in moss onto an apartment building to orderly yet beautiful scrawls executed by a homemade graffiti machine, and delicate paintings that blur the line between letterforms and pictures. His work enhances collections and exhibitions worldwide, including the prestigious Fondation Cartier in Paris.
FUPETE Art Star No. 39: STAR SESSION, 2010 Gesso, acrylic, photocopy collage and pencil on denim
Italian artist Fupete has creativity in the blood –his grandfather was realist painter Giacomo Tabellini. Now based in the Tuscan countryside, he approaches his work from a designer’s perspective, adding slogans and simple figures to sophisticated colour gradients. Fupete also creates 3-D works, using cardboard to create robot-like figures and masks. He has created prototype designs for Smart Car, posters for charities and published two books, as well as working as associate editor for art magazine Rojo.
GILLES BALMET Art Star No. 10: RORSCHACH, 2010 Acrylic paint and alkyd paint on denim
Paris-based Balmet draws inspiration for his paintings, sculpture and installations from how people fill their work and leisure time. Notable highlights include his series of Rorschach paintings (abstract images open to interpretation), which have been compared favourably to Warhol’s, as well as his Peeping Tom-like videos, which voyeuristically document people going about their daily business.
HERAKUT Art Star No. 21: I’M NOT FASHION. I’M STYLE (I hope.), 2010 Acrylics, spray paint, charcoal and love on denim
German duo Jasmin Siddiqui and Falk Lehmann (Hera and Akut) have very different backgrounds – she is trained in fine art, he is a master of graffiti spray painting; their work is the perfect symbiosis of both. While Hera is responsible for the figures in their pieces, often contorted into trademark body shapes that seem imbued with sadness, Akut adds heavy lashings of photo-realistic spray paint that perfectly mimic skin, eyes and skulls. The two see their work as being a constant conversation with each other through pictures, and often paint over each area several times as they explore social themes such as free thinking and the obsession with beauty. Herakut have exhibited worldwide, and recently completed a piece for the auction house Phillips de Pury, which raised money for War Child.
HVASS & HANNIBAL Art Star No. 6: UNTITLED, 2010 Hand-dyed denim on denim
Danish design duo Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass are rising stars of the commercial art world who refuse to be pigeon-holed. Since setting up their studio in 2006, the pair have worked on everything from stage sets to Depeche Mode album covers via gallery shows. The lack of an underlying agenda in Hvass & Hannibal’s work makes the image an uncontaminated starting point in the creation of a peculiar brand of rainbow coloured, comfortingly geometric visuals that’s steadily conquering Europe.
JAMES JESSOP Art Star No. 33: CAPTAIN KONG, 2010 Oil and acrylic on denim
Inspired by the seminal urban art book Subway Art, James Jessop started his career as a pre-teen graffiti artist, before going on to gain an MA from the Royal College of Art and exhibit as part of Charles Saatchi’s famous 2004 show, New Blood. Bringing the letterforms and backgrounds of the 1980s New York subway to expertly painted canvases, Jessop adds portrayals of old film posters and dirty novels from the 1960s, creating something that is entirely unique.
JAMIE SHOVLIN Art Star No. 4: PALIMPSEST, 2010 Acrylic and collage on denim
Shovlin’s first exhibited work, Naomi V Jelish, was bought by Charles Saatchi, providing an auspicious start to the conceptual artist’s career. A comprehensive collection of schoolbooks, letters and drawings from the fictional 13-year-old art prodigy Jelish and her family, Naomi V Jelish charts her father’s death and the rest of the family’s subsequent disappearance, as well as the collation of her work by her teacher John Ivesmail (both names are anagrams of Shovlin’s own). It announced the artist as a master of deception, keen to play on the often blurred boundaries between fact and fiction using several layers of impeccably-classified and archived information that seemed to confirm the truth of the presented story again and again, while in reality questioning the seemingly objective task of both the archivist and the audience. It’s a theme that Shovlin’s been playing with ever since, using his talents for printing, painting and writing, as well as snatches of music, websites, imagined letters and video, to build believable backstories to his pieces and explore the way we classify the world. Shovlin’s work is in some of the globe’s most important collections.
JASPER JOFFE Art Star No. 41: BREE, 2010 Oil and iridescent acrylic on denim
Something of a Renaissance man, Jaspar Joffe is an acclaimed painter, novelist, Free Art Fair organiser and editor. He gained a first class degree in fine art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, before an MA at London’s Royal College of Art and a nine month scholarship to the British School in Rome. His painting is technically excellent and can be controversial (Charles Saatchi is among his collectors), but Joffe also incorporates elements of showmanship and surprise into his shows, endlessly reinventing his trade. In 1999, he painted 24 paintings in 24 hours at Chisenhale Gallery in London, repeating the experiment in Milan, before going on to do 72 paintings in 72 hours in the Czech Republic. In 2009, Joffe gained mass attention when he famously gave away all his possessions (after a break-up and leaving his gallery) in ‘The Sale of a Lifetime’ exhibition at the Idea Generation Gallery, London.
JENS PALDAM Art Star No. 18: THE COWBOY, 2010 Bleached denim and posca markers on denim
Denmark-born Paldam now resides in Copenhagen, where he creates work exploring the transition between sound and image through the mediums of painting, installation, drawing and sound collage. Drawing inspiration from world travels, including time living in both Santiago de Chile and Washington DC, he often uses figures and animals from folklore to outline his work, filling them with detailed geometric patterns and bold colours. Paldam is best known for his intricate decoration of skateboard bases.
KATE MOROSS Art Star No. 34: CROSSED LINES, 2010 Acrylic, bleach and pen on denim
She may be only 23, but Kate Moross has already designed a clothing range, a stage for Glastonbury, packaging for Kiehls and covers for Vice magazine. The prolific graphic artist graduated from London’s University of Arts with a first and hasn’t looked back, even setting up a design agency, ISO, to produce beautiful vinyl music covers. As Vice said, ‘Kate Moross seems to be able to turn anything she touches into 27 million carat gold.’
KATRIN FRIDRIKS Art Star No. 20: FRANCKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, 2010 Acrylic on denim
Iceland-born Fridriks grew up in Luxembourg, where she learned to speak 13 languages by the age of 12. It was her study of Japanese that first sparked an interest in calligraphy, the initial inspiration for her artwork. Combining her own interpretation of this craft with the complex geography of her birthplace and the steady mathematics of music, Fridriks creates vivid canvases that mix the figurative and the abstract. The result is seemingly chaotic, super-bright paintings that have actually been casually yet appealingly ordered.
L’ATLAS Art Star No. 11: L’ATLASSTAR, 2010 Gaffer tape and acrylic on denim
One of France’s foremost urban artists, L’ATLAS is inspired by the symmetry of typography and the smallest architectural details. He once claimed ’manholes are more beautiful than all the paintings in the museum’. Born in Toulouse in 1978 and now based in Paris, he often works by spray-painting the streets with trademark labyrinthine patterns, and later transposing them onto canvas. He was recently commissioned to construct one of his giant compass installations in the plaza of the Pompidou Centre and is currently taking his pictures on a world tour, exhibiting them in informal settings on the streets of Delhi, Jakarta, Rio and New York amongst other places.
MATT SMALL Art Star No. 2: YOUNG STAR TIMMS, 2010 Denim jeans, household emulsion and spray paint on denim
Conveying the toughness and loneliness of the city, London-based artist Matt Small films unknowing strangers in the urban landscape, then turns his documentation into oil portraits on salvaged metal and found objects. The result is a detached but intricate portrayal of his subjects, displaying a masterful technique that blurs the line between traditional and abstract. Because his work does not require a staged sitting, it displays none of the self-consciousness of traditional portraiture.
MICROBO Art Star No. 25: WE THE PEOPLE, 2010 Collages, acrylics and gloss varnish on denim
Diminutive Italian urban artist Microbo decorates the world on a very large scale, with bold chains of doodles accompanied by cartoonish characters. Now based in Milan, she studied art in London before becoming interested in microbiology. Influenced by the ability of microbes to spread, multiply and mutate, Microbo has ensured her work takes on these characteristics: creatures move from canvas to pottery to plastic to pavements, while every piece of work exhibits trademark elements and style. Her work has been exhibited across Europe and in the USA.
MORCKY TROUBLES Art Star No. 42: PLAY IT AGAIN SAM, 2010 Acrylics on denim
Born and raised in Italy, Morcky Troubles spent his childhood and teenage years nurturing a growing passion for graffiti. He eventually moved to the Netherlands, turning his gift for street art into a career, as well as exploring the mediums of drawing, video and photography. He founded creative studio Twothings with friend and collaborator Rocco Pezzella. His work is an elaborate mix of fantastical characters, whimsical machines and a boy-like fascination with invention, all portrayed in his easy, free-flowing trademark style. This year, he released the book Day And Night, a collection of drawings charting his emotions and responses to the contemporary world.
NATALIE BAKER Art Star No. 3: MOCK CITY, 2010 Acrylic, photographic print and denim
She may have graduated from the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art only three years ago, but Baker’s intricate, imagined cities created from found images have won her a raft of critical acclaim. Drawing on the falseness and unreality of new urban playgrounds, such as Las Vegas and Dubai, and the sense of history that imbues ancient sites such as the Pyramids, Baker creates pseudo-scape collages that mix old and new into jarring dream worlds. More recently, she has continued to explore man’s fascination with false environments through playful paintings of snow globes.
NIKLAS HOLM Art Star No. 8: UNTITLED, 2010 Polyurethane foam, ink, acrylic paint and marker on denim
The glossy world of Manga, pop-culture and the Japanese blurrings of high and low art – all these influence Swedish artist Niklas Holm. Holm was born in 1979, and has a Masters in Fine Art from the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm. He paints vivid, abstract acrylics, then uses them as the basis to create digital images, in an about-turn from most young artists working with computer imagery.
OKUDA Art Star No. 40: ONLY THE SKY CAN DRAW OUR FREEDOM, 2010 Porexpan, fibre, acrylic and spraypaint on denim
Born in Santander in Spain, street artist Oscar San Miguel Erice (Okuda) left for Madrid and a degree in fine art in 2000 and has been based in the city ever since. He cites everything from environmentalism to Mexicana (most notably Day of the Dead skulls) as influences, but is best known for his brightly-coloured surrealist works – a combination of carefully-portrayed parts that come together so that trees grow from bodies and figures have oranges or birdcages for heads. The artist has likened his pieces to creating a planet made from a jumble of photos and illustrations that becomes his own ‘personal and surreal world’. He has exhibited in galleries – and on walls – worldwide.
PAM glew Art Star No. 1: CAROUSEL, 2010 Bleaching and dye on handmade star flag made from vintage denim, linen and cotton with appliqué stars on denim
Born in Somerset in 1978, Pam Glew is one of the most exciting female figures in the contemporary art world. Working with found materials – most notably vintage flags – she blends embroidery, bleaching and painting techniques to create arresting portraits and idiosyncratic textile pieces that draw inspiration from current events, images of cult figures and a love of cinema. Her work has appeared in more than 60 exhibitions worldwide, and Pam has solo shows in London and Sydney scheduled for 2010.
PEDROS MATOS Art Star No. 30: THIS IS NOT A STAR, 2010 Oil and aerosol on denim
Lisbon-based Pedro Matos – also known as DRONE – draws inspiration from the detailed portraits of the Old Masters, then applies his skills to documenting society’s downtrodden or disadvantaged. In the gallery, this results in astonishingly realistic renderings of people set against backgrounds of graffiti. On the street, his complex collages of spray paint, drawing and painting are often framed by the windows of empty buildings (to emphasise the plight of the homeless) or advertising hoardings (to emphasise the plight of the poor). He has exhibited worldwide.
PIO ABAD Art Star No. 5: RECONSTRUCTION I, 2010 Mixed media on denim
A graduate of the prestigious Glasgow School of Art, Abad draws on a childhood spent in Marcos’s Philippines to explore the central theme of excess as a precursor to collapse. His work centres on opposites created by their reverse – desire and disgust, decadence and decay, for example. Using images clearly linked to historical excess that has led to downfall, Abad is interested in how the construction of pattern immediately instigates a system of control in the process of drawing and what happens when the drawing becomes a mere surface of a sculpture. Abad was selected for Bloomberg’s prestigious New Contemporaries 2008.
RIPO Art Star No. 32: FIVE YEARS, 2010 Spray paint and household emulsion on denim and video (Five Years)
Raised in New York, street artist Ripo now lives in Barcelona and uses the city as his base for graceful, typographic works. Inspired by the hand-painted signs of another era, his letters and messages are considered, often witty reflections of their surroundings. Ripo has several trademark ways of drawing in viewers: with mirrors, he is able to immediately involve them in his work; by painting obscene words in beautiful, hand-drawn type, he attracts them to something that might otherwise seem repulsive. He has exhibited in 36 countries worldwide. Five Years A typographical study of five of the major news headlines in the US between 2005 and 2010. As time passes, the immediate impact of such events fades away, quickly replaced by the next big thing. Regardless of our collective amnesia, these events did happen and continue to resonate throughout our global consciousness. These headlines were the inspiration for this work. The soundtrack comprises noises from the streets outside the artist’s studio in Barcelona. This juxtaposes the subject matter of the painting with the surroundings in which it was created, just as the reality of the American news events often juxtapose themselves starkly against the reality of the rest of world. A painter in Barcelona may be as influenced by the American headlines perhaps as much as he is by his own environment. Media and physical relationships are bound in a manner that is undeniable and yet difficult to quantify.
ROA Art Star No. 22: INSIDE OUTSIDE, 2010 Spray paint and household emulsion on denim
Belgian graffiti artist ROA is obsessed with bringing nature back to the streets. Because of him, pigs sleep in alleyways in London and oxen and bears rest in Warsaw. Executed in trademark black and white paint and usually on a gigantic scale, his pieces often show a darker side to wildlife – recurring crows plucking at the eyes of men and rabbits, or animals with their internal organs on show. Famously private, he eludes interviews but has exhibited across Europe.
SMASH137 Art Star No. 28: LETTERS AND STRIPES, 2010 Bleached silk screen two-component printing process and clear lacquer on denim
Basel-based SMASH137 is Switzerland’s best known graffiti artist and one of the world’s most prolific writers – you can see his work on streets from New York to Moscow. Drawing influences from Western calligraphy, he’s renowned for his exact letter forms and for constant innovation in his field, skills that have enabled him to make a smooth transition from street to gallery. SMASH137’s recently published book, Smash Proof, was accompanied by an exhibition in Berlin.
STEFAN STRUMBEL Art Star No. 16: HOME SWEET HOME, 2010 Mixed media and carved wood on denim
Stefan Strumbel’s Technicolour clocks and paintings focus on the concept of heimat, roughly translated as homeland or belonging. From his studio in the Black Forest, he uses images and objects strongly linked to cultural identity – such as cuckoo clocks and pictures of women in national costume – and mixes them with homogenised symbols that include shopping trolleys, guns and guitars, to question where exactly cultural identity is heading.
STEN & LEX Art Star No. 7: PRESIDENTS, 2010 Mixed media (acrylic and paper) on denim
Italian stencil artists Sten and Lex are known for their witty portraits, often of prominent political and religious figures. Hand-painted works of everyone from Christopher Columbus to the Dalai Lama are pasted on to wood and tagged with the duo’s distinctive name badge, serving as a running social commentary on the world around them. Having met at university in 2002, Sten and Lex have exhibited everywhere from New York to Norway – and even narrowly escaped a prison cell in Naples by painting a work in the house of the chief of police.
VICTOR CASTILLO Art Star No. 31: BILLY DON’T BE A HERO, 2010 Acrylic on denim
Barcelona-based Castillo’s unnerving canvases play with 21st-century ideas such as consumption, expansive foreign policy and extremist religion. Using the innocent iconography of childhood comics and fairy tales, he creates a dark world full of hollow-eyed, Pinocchio-nosed characters, where the landscape seems imbued with constant apocalyptic fire and half-light, and where actions are violent and shocking. Originally from Chile, Castillo exhibits worldwide.
UBIK Art Star No. 37: THE FLAG IS JUST STARS & STRIPES, 2010 Paint Markers, correction fluid and acrylic on denim
UBIK is a young Dubai-based artist who has become known as one of the local lights of the underground art scene. His work charts various mediums and is heavily influenced by film, literature, music, street art and existentialist thought. Rather than attempting to badge him under a creative movement, the core of UBIK’s work deals with existentialism and absurdism, and the underlying clichés associated with it. He is founder of the guerrilla arts publication Cliché, described as a ‘low-brow artzine’ and has had solo shows at The Jam Jar, Zayed University and Shelter. He is represented by traffic in Dubai: http://viatraffic.org
YAZE Art Star No. 38: ON THE ROAD, ABSTRACT TEXTURE, 2010 Mix media and techniques, acrylic, inks, charcoal and Krink on denim
Yassine Mekhnache or ‘Yaze’ grew up in Lyon and worked as a graffiti artist before moving to Paris and fine art. Building from a starting point of the human face, Yaze creates semi-abstract paintings and life-size sculptures that vaguely resemble himself. His technique is unique: rather than spray paint, oils or acrylics, he works with a garden spray filled with inks and markers. Yaze is very well-known in his home country and has exhibited in solo shows across France and Belgium.
ZOSEN Art Star No. 12: PARA TODOS TODO. (EVERYTHING FOR ALL THE PEOPLE), 2010 Acrylic paint, markers and pencil on denim
Barcelona street artist Zosen mixes the cosy look of folk art with the chaos of the urban environment in his bright, bold works. Originally from Argentina, he draws on Latin American popularist symbols such as Day of the Dead skulls and lucha libre for inspiration. Self-taught, Zosen now passes his skills on through workshops and lessons in his hometown.
Yaze & CASE Bread and Butter Art Star, 2010 Acrylic paint on denim
Art Star created by the artists Yaze and Case at the Bread and Butter denim fair in Berlin, July 2010. Proceeds from the sale of this star will be donated to Bread and Butter’s chosen charity, Die Arche, a youth aid organisation that raises and strengthens awareness of issues facing children in Berlin.
James Jessop and young people from the Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Newcastle Wonder Woman, Teenage Cancer Trust Art Star, 2010 Marker pen and acrylic paint on denim
Art Star designed at a Polo Jeans Co. workshop by James Jessop, Laura Hunter, Hanna Schweppe, Charliie Lee, Rachael Irvine, Megan Thompson, Laurence Whiteley, Rebecca Connolly and Demi McMahon. The young people drew their favourite details from the Wonder Woman and Spider Man comic characters, with live improvisations and adding their favourite song lyrics in a graffiti-like poetic and painterly manner, as well as with other effects to create a contemporary piece of post-Pop art.
Jasper Joffe and young people from the Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Newcastle TEENAGE CANCER TRUST ART STAR, 2010 Marker pen and acrylic paint on denim
Art Star designed at a Polo Jeans Co. workshop by Jasper Joffe, Laura Hunter, Hanna Schweppe, Charliie Lee, Rachael Irvine, Megan Thompson, Laurence Whiteley, Rebecca Connolly and Demi McMahon.
Phillips de Pury & Company: its past, present and future Phillips de Pury & Company was founded in London in 1796 and is now widely acknowledged to be one of the three leading international auction houses. While shaped by its history and heritage (as the former auction house of Marie Antoinette, Beau Brummel and Napoleon, for example), Phillips de Pury has today chosen to pursue a dynamic and focused path in an auction landscape that remains traditional and staid, to concentrate on contemporary art and culture. Phillips de Pury’s current Chairman Simon de Pury, a passionate advocate of popular culture and style, has stewarded the Company into its new era since he was appointed to run the house in 2001 by its then owner, Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton MoÍt Hennessy. Simon de Pury remains an owner of the Company after selling a majority stake in October 2008 to the Mercury Group, and today continues to personify the Phillips de Pury brand, and it is under his creative management that the Company has been able to bring a special excitement, verve and spectacle to the auction world. Headquartered in New York and London, with offices throughout the world, Phillips de Pury hold sales in a selected small number of categories: contemporary art, design, photographs, editions and jewellery. This focus better enables the company to target clients in each collecting category and to offer the highest and most personalised level of customer service. In addition to this core strategy, a new type of sale has been introduced to include Theme Sales for which all departments work together across the categories, the resulting exhibition and sale allowing contemporary culture enthusiasts to broaden their fields of interest. The Company is universally acclaimed for the quality of its visual presentation in catalogues and pre-sale exhibitions, its creative marketing activities and the pioneering vision of Simon de Pury and his team in identifying new collecting trends and in setting numerous auction records. The Phillips de Pury catalogues have set a new standard for their daring covers, with stunning graphics and content, and have been imitated by many other auction houses. The auctions themselves have been noted for their vibrancy, emanating not only from star auctioneer Simon de Pury but also from the visually exciting installations, dynamic locations and theatrical staging of the events. Through all these efforts, Phillips de Pury has been instrumental in nurturing a new generation of art lovers and buyers, while continuing to thrill established collectors. The Company has carefully extended its reach by adding global representatives in key cities and forging an exclusive partnership with the Saatchi Gallery, where Phillips de Pury has a dedicated exhibition space as well as a presence on its website. The Company has enjoyed immense success in the global marketplace as a result of its chosen direction and is now recognised in today’s often complex and fast-changing cultural world as a force that identifies and determines the significant trends and movements in visual art and design.
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phillips de pury & company Howick place London SW1p 1bb Teenage Cancer Trust is a registered charity: 1062559 (England and Wales), SCO39757 (Scotland)
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