Posts Tagged ‘emerging artists’

‘The Library of Babel/In and Out of Place’: The Treasures of the Zabludowicz Collection

// April 21st, 2010 // View Comments // b-scene

A treasure trove of contemporary art in a Methodist chapel right in the heart of Chalk Farm, just around the corner from my flat… who knew?

I walked in without the highest expectations of the 200 works on display from the Zabludowicz Collection, curated by Anna-Catharina Gebbers, but left praising the collection and Gebbers’ curatorial finesse. It was not just the big names that impressed me; in fact, I was more impressed with some dozens of works by emerging artists that I have never come across in galleries, museums or the auction world. Who I am sure will be huge names in the next 5 years.

As I stepped in the door, I was given a guide listing 217 works that were displayed throughout the central nave of the church, the back rooms and the upstairs pews.  Having forgotten a pen, I over-eagerly checked off 20 works by impressive artists I had never heard of before with lip pencil. I was particularly fascinated by the work of Amie Dicke, Friecrich Kunath, Larry Clark, Dan Shaw-Town, Melissa McGill, Steve Bishop, and Brian Griffiths (I could go on…)

And of course, I was also impressed by the works of artists I DO know; particularly an erotic and haunting photograph by Cindy Sherman, two paintings by the up and coming expressionist painter Tomory Dodge, a recent Mat Collishaw photograph taking the idea of the lightbox installation from Jeff Wall yet creating a cinematic atmosphere vastly different from Wall’s, and of course to complete a contemporary collection there must be a work by Terrance Koh.

The exhibition’s theme was convincing – a cohesive insight into our acquisition of meaning and how we relate and connect to what we see. The title, ‘A Library of Babel’, is based on a short story by Jorge Luis Borges who portrays the world as a library that people wander through trying to create meaningful sequences amongst the books.

Walking through the exhibition I found myself trying to piece together each room and find meaning through the juxtaposition of two pieces of the exhibition. And I did piece together some consistent themes between artists and works dealing with gender, race and sexuality, eroticism, the intersection of language and art, and the body. The curator said ‘The sheer number of works forces the visitor to chose which works will receive attention.’ You got my list of favourites, now go see which ones will grab your attention! Don’t miss this exhibition, on until 23 May 2010.

A Passion for Art on Easter Sunday

// April 4th, 2010 // View Comments // Eyes on the Crowd

A glorious day to celebrate all we love! From the hundreds of talented artists at b-uncut we bring you a festive taster. Enjoy the jaw-dropping art…..
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Charbel Samuel Aoun - Passion

Robert Wilkinson - Church Window

Mirko Sevic - 00

SecondNature – Above Us The Trees

Anil Kumar Kohli - Expression of Heaven

b-POWER: SENE Festival Exhibits 4 b-uncut Artists

// March 31st, 2010 // View Comments // b-POWER

b-uncut is surging with activity. Once Larisa Colantonio heard about the
SENE festival it wasn’t long before her virtual word reached more b-uncut’ers. Now Michelle Gates, Ross Kerr and Joe Niderno are also exhibiting.

“Through b-uncut I have met many artists that I now have a friendship with.  Whether it be a comment here or there or a chat, we have forged friendships that b-uncut made possible not allowing distance prevent our unity.“ Larisa

SENE festival is from 7th-11th April. Read more about each artist and see what work they’ll be showing below.
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“Art is the doorway I walk through for me to step outside of ME.“

Larisa Colantonio is a wife, a mother and an artist with a twist. Known for her Pensaic style of art, she runs off of raw emotion and bends it with her mind to create something truly unique.

In high school, through the open mindedness of her art teacher she was able to create a style of art  she called Pensaic. From there she flourished. Pensaic art became the outlet for her soul and mind.
As she entered adulthood, she found that painting with acrylic was also a very good way for her
to express herself. On occasion, you will find that she has even combined her acrylic painting with her Pensaic style.


“I see everything in layers, every layer is more important than the next.”

Joe Niderno has been dreaming and drawing since childhood.  ”My motivation derives from always seeing artistic visions in everything around me.  Often silenced in immediate thought or wonder. I am always pushing to project my visions the best way I can alongside maintaining a self truth.  I am trying to evolve as an artist everyday while being inspired by many artists in all types of mediums.”


“I climb through the hole in the fabric of our existence, seeking inspiration.“

Michelle Gates is a self-taught British artist whose art is influenced by raw emotion and her environment. She loves the interplay between colour and light, and the perceived and unseen worlds. Her dreams are also a vivid source of inspiration. They are twilight zone scenarios where reality and fantasy become intertwined.

What drives her? Each newborn concept strikes her vision and entices her creativity.
What excites her? The smell of fresh paint and the first scratch of the pencil on virgin paper. Emotional expression is key to all her paintings.


“I like to free myself from distress through painting and encourage others to do the same.”

Ross Kerr is a South African artist. “I am keen to begin exhibiting overseas. Personally the meaning of my life is to leave a mark with my paintings once I have passed on, or preferably while I am still living! I like to call my work Naive/Raw, as I do not attempt to make an intellectual statement, and I am uninfluenced by growing trends or fashion.”

Graphic Art: Blotters, Posters and Teapots In the Belly of the Underdog

// March 9th, 2010 // View Comments // b-hind the scenes

Sammy Forway, 34 years old, started Underdog Art Company as an online gallery in early 2007 and opened the Underdog art gallery in London SE1 in mid 2008. Sammy discusses his gallery life, art he loves and the exhibitions held at this multi-media gallery on the Old Kent Road.

Why did you want to open a gallery?
I have always been interested in art since I was a small kid I always made art paintings drawings and was generally creative when I got older I realised I wanted to start my own business but didn’t know what yet, I only realised what it was when I started to see how difficult it was for new artists to get work seen and promoted and came up with the idea of the online gallery, since then its just progressed. We now have regular exhibitions and live events here at Underdog.

How would you describe the art and artists you represent?
The type of art and artists we represent are very diverse but I do tend to go for art that is quite edgy and urban also counter culture style work, I love graphic poster art and we have recently had an exhibition with LSD blotter art. We basically filled the whole gallery with sheets of Acid.

What kind of work do you love?
See the above, graphic art I have always had a soft spot for but I love any art work that has genuinely something to say. Can’t stand pretentiousness in anything.

Do you think there is anything missing from the art scene at the moment?
I do think that art and artists are not doing enough to open people’s eyes to the corrupt bullshit. War and terror that is being waged over the world and not always by the “Terrorists” as we know them. It seems like we are all too smug to stand up and rock the boat. I hope this is changing though.

How do you source your artists?
I just look around find work I like and try to persuade the artist that they’d love to work with me.

What are you currently exhibiting?
My Current show is called Rock around the Crockery! It’s a show of graphic art screen prints, stencil and digital work, oh and not to forget the Graffed up defaced and debouched Crockery! Tea sets, trays, coffee pots etc. Art should be fun too eh.
How do you vary your exhibitions?
Ha ha erm sometimes get pissed and come up with silly concepts like the Crockery show, but mostly just finding a good mix of artists. I could put on a show every month in the same genre of art but as long as you have original artists it’ll never get boring.

What do you do to promote a show and do you do anything special for a preview?
We always do something special for an opening of a show, we usually always have live bands playing and sometimes movies visuals etc down in the belly of the Underdog. We try to make an event as memorable as possible. As for promoting, the web is great but we still design cool posters and post all over London and I have found this very successful. If you have really nice designs that people want to nick and have on there wall chances are they’ll come check out the show/gallery.

Have you found it successful to have live music when you launch a new exhibition?
Very successful, I am a musician myself and know lots of bands so we have really good live music at our shows.

What’s been your best and worst exhibition?
One of the best is the show on now but the most successful was probably the gig poster show, Underdog Rock n Roll Poster Riot! Last May it was awesome. We had about 100 people turn up on the opening day from all over the UK and we sold a lot of work. We are doing a Poster Riot 2 this month on Saturday the 20th. It’ll be excellent again with top gig poster artists exhibiting limited edition screen printed posters, LSD Blotter Art and of course some excellent bands. It’s an all day event starting at 2pm. The worst was when I tried to do two openings in one week, terrible idea.

What’s the most expensive piece of work you’ve ever sold?
The most expensive individual piece I have sold was £2500/£3000 we are more on the affordable art side here at Underdog so that would be our higher end work.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
Selling work for 3 grand.

If you could represent any artist, who would they be and why?
Raphael, he was the most productive of the old masters and he died at 37… Quids in! Only joking, I love Franz Ackermann’s work I would love to represent him. His work is very psychedelic, cerebral and visceral but still with something to say. I’d also like to have represented Von Dutch and Ed (Big Daddy) Roth. Because they were pioneers of graphic art and sure loved rock n roll.

Have you got any exciting ideas for future exhibitions/events?
Always have, just keep your eye on the Underdog.

Are you an artist as well?
Yes I suppose so, I do make stuff whether that makes me an artist is up to anyone else.

Do you think it’s harder to be a gallery owner or artist?
Its harder to be a gallery owner and an artist.

How do you make sure you have enough money to pay the bills?
Now that’s a good question, basically budget yourself. If you sell a big piece don’t go wild n think you can spend it. We also do fine art printing canvas etc at the gallery so that helps with bills. But no one said it was gonna be easy!

What advice would you offer to (a) an artist?
 Keep on doing what you love, but be realistic 90% of artists do not make a living from art. If you can get a job that is at least creative to help you live, pay bills eat etc that’s great. But keep on making art if you don’t believe in yourself no one else will.
(b) someone who wants their own gallery?
 Go do it, but try not to borrow too much money, if any. and really think about all decisions before you jump in at the deep end. Find the best artists you possibly can as this is your gallery. Good luck!

Fresh Blood in Hackney

// December 1st, 2009 // View Comments // b-scene

The A Foundation gets an A+ for their recent “New Contemporaries” exhibition. 47 young emerging contemporary artists from across the UK were chosen to take part in this annual show, a tradition that has been ongoing for 60 years.

The purpose of the show is to provide a platform for new artists that have recently graduated from art school. The 2009 contenders were chosen based on their ability to “present a stimulating mix of work that plays with the role of description, telling things as they are, or inventing things till they look at least real.”

The above picture is titled “Piss Pants” by Amir Chasson, and it is one of the most innovative works of Contemporary art I have seen in a while. The artist used nothing but a ball point pen on paper, check out that detail! “I am proud to present the world of my abducted-deducted inducted derelicts. Whether you are part of this world or not, this work is a perfect reminder of who and what we all are.” Well, I have not peed my pants since I was a small child, but I get the point.

Here are some of the highlights from my trek out to Hackney (it was totally worth it by the way!):