Good Vibes From California

The 'London Calling' show at the OCCCA in Orange County, California came to an end on the 12th January after several weeks of hosting and curating a taster of the London art scene which seems to be popping up all over the art world lately. This time with the work of 29 artists working in different disciplines.

“London Calling is a great compact survey of what’s going on in contemporary art in London at the moment” said art visionary and visitor to the show William Moreno, who is president of the board at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Hollywood Boulevard.

I was pleased to be showing two of my 'Peep Hole Boxes' which visitors of the gallery seemed to enjoy interacting with and giving in to their curiosity and peeping in. Also being exhibited was my lyric/text based drawing 'For What It's Worth'.

Photo by Stephen Anderson

Photo by Stephen Anderson

My Drawing alongside Nicola Anthony's book piece

We've had some great feedback and responses from the show, here are a few:

“Nice to see a new International flavor represented in Orange County” ~ Tm Gratkowski (Artist / Curator / Flagstop,  Director)  

“Great exhibition from the UK,  my favorites were Nicola Anthony’s text piece “David Copperfield” and Carlos Burgos sculptural pieces.” ~Michael Chomick (Artist / Sculptor) www.michaelchomick.com

“London Calling”   is a refreshing POV expressing contemporary British youth culture.

The exhibition is filled with a compelling array of artwork embracing themes from pop to political,  retro to hipster and figurative to abstract.” ~ Sasha Darling   www.belljarsf.com

“ I came here to OCCCA see the work of my friend Carlos Burgos and was delighted with the entire “London Calling” exhibition.”  ~ Kyriakos

I enjoy OCCCA and attend many artist receptions here – The “London Calling” exhibition is awesome – I especially loved the text Portraits created by text artist Nicola Anthony and also the interactive installation created by text artist Sylvia Morgado.” ~ Joni  (Santa Ana based Artist / Dancer from The Santori Building)  www.jonirenee.com

Take a virtual tour and navigate your way around this exhibition by following this link.

List of artists: Abigail Box, Agnetha Sjogren, Azadeh Fatehrad, Beth Nicholas, Carlos Martyn Burgos, Chantal Powell, Darren MacPherson, Katerina Stavrou, Katerina James, Kimi Wylde, Henry Wood, Joe Cruz, Lloyd Durling,Lyndsay Martin, Masa Suzuki, Nicola Anthony, Rachel Noble, Rosie Emerson, Robert West, Senghye Yang, Silvia Krupinska, Sylvia Morgado, Sun Ae Kim, Tinsel Edwards, Tahnee Lonsdale, Twinkle Troughton, Victoria Heald,Vikram Kushwah

Photo by Tahnee Lonsdale

Photo by Stephen Anderson

Peep Hole Boxes

"We never knows wot's hidden in each other's hearts; and if we had glass winders there, we'd need keep the shutters up, some on us, I do assure you!"
Charles Dickens: 'Martin Chuzzlewit' (1844)

Peeping in...

Showing at the moment in California's Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts, are two rare pieces of work of mine, "LOSS" and "UGLY" which are 3D sculptures I call 'Peep Hole Boxes'. They are part of the group exhibition 'London Calling' which is currently on until the 12th January 2012.


Let me tell you a little more about these boxes of curiosity.

 These are boxes built using foam board and varying in size, completely sealed except for the small eye holes at the front, which you can 'peep' through revealing a 3-D scene within. 

The Peep Hole Boxes

These cubes explore & try to simulate curiosity and the mini private universes which we cary with us in our heads. Emotions, personal experiences which normally we don’t want to share. It’s as if we were spying on someone when they’re at there most emotionally vulnerable. Note the effect an  enclosed and ‘private’ scene has on the viewer when he choses to look, it’s very different to that of an openly displayed image. There are issues of intimacy and privacy, broken slightly by curiosity itself.

These were first developed back in 1998 in a series of boxes with scenes inspired by the book 'The Gashleycrumb Tinies' by Edward Gorey. Using paper and card only, I developed certain techniques that allowed me to play with perspective and give the illusion of depth. Later the construction of these boxes became more complex and  four new original pieces were produced in 2002. Two of these are now displayed at the London Calling Exhibition in Orange County, California USA. LINK

The Gashleycrumb Tinies Book

X is for Xerxes devoured by mice. 162mm x 160mm x 154mm (1998) 

Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in. 162mm x 160mm x 154mm (1998) 

Loss (2002)

Loss (detail-2002)

Ugly (2002)

Ugly (detail-2002)

Pop-Up show - Art for £99

Acrylic On MDF Board & Varnished
W127mm X H178mm X D12mm

Today I finished a small painting that will be part of a Pop-Up Shop fundraiser. A number of artists have created original postcard sized pieces on wood to be sold for £99 each and will be generously and professionally framed by our sponsor One Stop Frames. The money is being raised to help cover work shipping and travel costs for the artists selected to exhibit at The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) in California, later this month. I will be one of those exhibiting in this 'London Calling' show in the USA.

RSVP on Facebook here

I won't be able to attend this pop-up show as on the same weekend I will be in Barcelona, Spain, exhibiting at Gaudi's Casa Batllo. However please come and see all the fantastic postcard sized works and get your hands on a bargain as most are worth over double the price!

The Pop-Up Shop will take place for one weekend only (10th-11th December) at Debut Contemporary gallery on Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill.

Our other fundraising platforms:

Indiegogo

Online shop

London Calling at California's OCCCA

London art continues to make an impression across the pond, this time at California's Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts. Following on from the success of the London Art Box at Flag Stop in L.A. back in September, I have been one of those selected to exhibit in the collective show entitled: 'LONDON CALLING' from December 21st 2011 to January 12th 2012.

London Calling at the OCCCA

The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art showcases emerging British artists represented by the London Gallery,Debut Contemporary, located in Notting Hill. 

Their roster of artists reads like a who’s who of the young, UK art scene, including Rosie Emerson, Tahnee Lonsdale, and Agnetha Sjogren. Works by these and other collectible artists will be available for sale at OCCCA. 

The founders of Debut Contemporary are husband and wife duo, Samir Ceric and Zoe Knight, named by the British press as, “one of UK’s most powerful couples in art and fashion.”


Perhaps the most exciting thing about this collective is that in our climate of limited art funding, the artists have taken it upon themselves to promote and raise the profile of the London Art scene overseas. They are working collaboratively to come up with creative solutions, opposing the diminution of diversity in art, and extending the reach of UK arts: Fundraising to get as many of the talented artists to LA as possible, to be true ambassadors of the London art scene. They are empowering themselves to create their own opportunities. Find out more on their fundraising platform and Etsy art shop.

List of London Calling exhibiting Artists:

Abigail Box, Agnetha Sjogren, Azadeh Fatehrad, Beth Nicholas, Carlos Martyn Burgos, Chantal Powell, Darren MacPherson, Katerina Stavrou, Katerina James, Kimi Wylde, Henry Wood, Joe Cruz, Lloyd Durling,Lyndsay Martin, Masa Suzuki, Nicola Anthony, Rachel Noble, Rosie Emerson, Robert West, Senghye Yang, Silvia Krupinska, Sylvia Morgado, Sun Ae Kim, Tinsel Edwards, Tahnee Lonsdale, Twinkle Troughton, Victoria Heald,Vikram Kushwah