Origin of Cool » gallery

Slinkachu: Miniature Artist Builds Global Model Village

David Lowe — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:55:26 +0000

Slinkachu received widespread critical acclaim following his . Now, to celebrate the launch of his new book, he is doing two exhibitions in New York and London. Global Model Village opens at the Andipa Gallery in London on 27th September and runs until 27th October. A pop-up show in NYC runs from 2nd-7th October. Here is a taste of the pieces he will be exhibiting at the shows. Let us know what you think about them in the comments below:

Images: Slinkachu

Grafficanos: Young Latino Artists Highlighted In Austin Exhibition

David Lowe — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:49:34 +0000

The 17th edition of the Young Latino Artists exhibition presents selected graphic artworks influenced by the graffiti and street art genre. Artists include Daniel Anguilu, Jellyfish Colectivo, Antonio Diaz, Miguel Donjuan, Dsek, Niz, Saner and Eddie Castro. The exhibition runs until September 9th 2012 at the Mexic-Arte Museum. Here are a few shots I took at the launch:

Transmutation Toys By Meredith Dittmar

David Lowe — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:00:23 +0000

Meredith Dittmar’s Transmutation exhibition is being hosted at the Toy Art Gallery starting on Saturday, June 16. Using clay, she sculpts this crazy characters that are reminiscent of Pete Fowler’s work for The Super Furry Animals and his ‘Monsterism‘ project. What do you think Origin of Cool readers?

via Tomopop

Alex Pardee Exhibition: Tumor Or Not Tumor?

David Lowe — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:00:12 +0000

Here is a really cool idea. For his show at the Cotton Candy Machine, Alex Pardee’s pieces are simply black silhouettes of the paintings. People who visit the exhibition will be part of a game show and get to guess if the painting has a Tumor or Not. Here is the teaser video in case you are a little puzzled:

Here is what Alex had to say about the opening:

“Around 7:15 on the night of the show, the first 50 people to show up to watch the game will be given a raffle ticket. We will then have a drawing to pick the contestants. There are 14 slots open to play the game. The game is simple: I show you a silhouette, and you have to examine the silhouette and tell me if you think the actual painting behind it features a character WITH a tumor, or WITHOUT a tumor. It’s easy.”

Here are some of the pieces featured in the show:

Saw Sculptures Made From Coins

David Lowe — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:00:58 +0000

We featured Stacey Lee Webber a while back on Origin of Cool and just received an email from her with two photos of her new work. As part of “The Craftsmen Series”, she has used pennies to create a sculpture of a hacksaw. She has been included in group exhibits at Moore College of Art Gallery if you want to take a look up close.

To see more of her work, her website is: staceyleewebber.com

Photos: Stacey Lee Webber

Wonderful World: Final Part Of Gerard Rancinan’s Trilogy

David Lowe — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:05:38 +0000

Wonderful World is the concluding part of Gérard Rancinan’s Trilogy of the Moderns. The Future Tense in association with Opera Gallery and Londonewcastle present an exhibition that lies somewhere between comedy and tragedy, obsessed with the cult of celebrity.

The exhibition will run from 7th-24th June at the Londonewcastle space in Shoreditch.

Image credits: Studio Rancinan

STATIC: Artistic Duo Launch Exhibition

David Lowe — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:00:47 +0000

We have featured some of the coolest artists in the world on Origin of Cool and these guys are no exception. Opening in April, Whisper is launching ‘Moments of Clarity’, an exhibition by duo STATIC - East London based artists Tom and Craig. The event will showcase their ‘layered’ work. They use screen printing and stenciling on layers of glass, Perspex and aluminum which creates ‘floating’ pieces. They sent us a selection of their work that will be on display. Sit back and enjoy.

Art From The Ashes: Commemorating Natural Disasters

David Lowe — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:00:14 +0000

Art From The Ashes is an exhibition that I heard was in Austin, Texas and I simply had to go. Last year, the Bastrop fires made it onto the BBC news in England but I didn’t realize the scale of devastation until I visited this exhibition. The space showcases nearly 100 works of art donated by Texas based artists and focuses on materials salvaged from the fire locations.

As you walk into the room, the first thing you notice is about 30 trees that you assume are fake, They are actually burnt trees from Bastrop. The other pieces are poignant, educational and stark. The video on a projector screen is short but shows you the sheer scale of the fires. The exhibition runs until 5th May 2012 at 121 W.Sixth Street, Austin, Texas.

Jesse Hartman – ‘Table and Throne’

Louis Greco – ‘Homeless Keys’

Pat Johnson – ‘The Restoration’

Revi Meicler – ‘Metamorphosis II’

Marjorie Moore – ‘Drought, Fire, Ash #5′

Artist Penny Launches First Solo Exhibition

David Lowe — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:30:17 +0000

Multidisciplinary artist “Penny” is launching his first solo exhibition ‘Economy of scale’ at the Rook & Raven Gallery, London. Featuring a plethora of work from the London-based artist, including his signature intricately cut stencils, mixed media works with currency, taxidermy butterflies, and for the first time a display of his process works and stencil skeletons.

His process of creating art s is painstaking, sometimes taking hundreds of hours to cut every elaborate detail. He brings his work to life by using an idiosyncratic color palette and the use of multiple layering.

The exhibition runs from 17th May – 23rd June

Blek Le Rat: The Rat Who Gave Birth To BANKSY

David Lowe — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:07:38 +0000

Blek Le Rat aka Xavier Prou was born in Paris and is well renowned in the street art arena. Many people consider him to be the originator of stencil graffiti and hence the often dubbed line, “The rat who gave birth to BANKSY“.

His street name is said to originate from a childhood cartoon “Blek Le Roc”, also using “rat” as an anagram for “art”. Unlike BANKSY, Blek Le Rat’s real identity was revealed in 1991 when he was arrested while stenciling a replica of the Caravaggio’s “Madonna and Child”. Take a look in his gallery near Old St, London if you get a chance. It’s welcoming upstairs but gritty downstairs – a nice paradox

Blek Le Rat returns to the UK for a solo exhibition at Opera Gallery London from the 27th April to the 17th May.

Images: Opera Gallery

3D Art On Elastic Strings

David Lowe — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:10:27 +0000

Hong Sung Chul is a South Korean artist who creates mesmerizing three-dimensional portraits using suspended elastic strings that are painted on. His work may remind you of a previous article on Origin of Cool: “Strung Up Button Art“. Well the theory is the same but the materials are slightly different. Hada Contemporary describes Sung Chul’s construction as “a visual representation of what ties humans together from the earliest stage of life — the umbilical cord.”

via Feel Desain

Grufts: A New Kind Of Dog Show

David Lowe — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:20:56 +0000

Origin of Cool: UK

If you are not familiar with Crufts, it is the self proclaimed “world’s greatest dog show” (think of the movie Best In Show and you get the idea). On the same day as this event launches, so does a very different kind of dog show.

The Graffik Gallery is located on the famous Portobello Rd in Notting Hill, London and is hosting ‘Grufts’ - the best breed of urban, graffiti and contemporary dog artists.

The show will include artists Teddy Baden, Eoghan Ebrill, Christian Palmer, Funky Red Dog, TeeWat, Katie Hampson, Jason Busk, Fallen Empire and Charleen Eade. The cool thing is that if you bring a picture of your beloved four-legged friend on the opening night then you can commission an original piece of artwork to hang proudly in your home. The show runs from 8th – 15th March.

Photos: Don Ungaro Photography

Contemporary Masters Exhibition Launch

David Lowe — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:00:27 +0000

Origin of Cool: UK

The Contemporary Masters exhibition had a special preview night at the Opera Gallery, London on February 16th. Artists included at the event were David Mach, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Our femme fatale on the inside, Florie-Anne Mondoloni, sent us the photos from the launch:

Image credit: Opera Gallery Ltd, 2012

Art From A Shipwreck: Seascape Exhibition By Valerie Hegarty

David Lowe — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:56:47 +0000

Valerie Hegarty’s “Seascape” exhibition at Guild & Greyshkul takes its inspiration from an exhibition curated by Roger Stein at the Whitney Museum of American Art entitled “Seascape and the American Imagination”. Many paintings look as if they have been salvaged from a shipwreck, dried and hung on the walls in their natural state. Mildly haunting but beautiful at the same time.

Amazing Grunge Artworks By Alex Cherry

Paul Frade — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:35:36 +0000

Origin of Cool: USA

Amazing Grunge Artworks by Alex Cherry

Alex Cherry is an awesome illustrator and photo manipulator. His work mostly focuses on politics and every image conveys a message. These are just some of his beautiful pieces of art.

Sent in by Cool Connoisseur Paul Frade from ‘we’ve got 11 official languages’ South Africa.