Platforms Project in Athens

Platforms Project in Athens is an annual gathering of spaces from around the world, all grass roots and artist led, that was founded by artist and curator Artemis Potamianou in 2013. The curator Iavor Lubomirov who runs Cabel Depot in Woolwich, will be in charge of a booth titled, 'Spin To Win.' You can meet Iavor in Athens at his 'Spin To Win' booth from the 26th to 29th of October. Address: «Τεχνόπολις» Δήμου Αθηναίων | “Technopolis” City of Athens, Pireos 100, Athina 118 54, Greece. Last night Iavor hung around in S.E.18 whilst artists passed by offering fun size masterpieces for him to take to Greece and sell in his booth.

More info: Here

 Above: Iavor Lubomirov

Amongst the artists whose work is off to Athens are; Bob Bicknell-Knight, Francis Macdonald, Harry Pye, Suzanne Spiro, Chris Tosic, and Loretta Wall. More news soon.

Cable Depot in Athens

Jeremy Deller makes Pet Shop Boys art print to help charity

 Jeremy Deller who won the Turner Prize in 2004 and represented Britain in the Venice Biennale in 2013 has made an artwork that will be sold in aid of The National Brain Appeal who help people suffering with dementia, Strokes, MS, and Parkinson's. All of the ink jet prints are signed by the artist on the back. They are made on a lovely silver metalic paper and are 42cm by 60cm so would fit in a standard A2 sized frame.

The print was very recently launched at the opening party for an exhibition curated by Harry Pye at London's Fitzrovia Gallery. The Always On My Mind show closes today (Sunday 3rd of Sept) at 6pm.

If you can't get to Fitzrovia Gallery (139 Whitfield St, London W1T 5EN today between 12 and 6pm and buy one in person (if you live in the U.K you can buy a print from the charitie's web shop for £125 including postage). Visit the site:

HERE

The phone number of the National Brain Appeal online shop is: 020 3448 4724 and email is: info@nationalbrainappeal.org They are unable to post the prints overseas.

Photos From Opening Party of Always On My Mind Part 2 at Fitzrovia Gallery Aug 31st 2023

 

Photos from The Magnificent Seven Show at Cass,

The Magnificent Seven is an exhibition at the art space in Cass Art Islington,  66-67 Colebrooke Row, London N1 8AB You can come and marvel at artworks made by; Cristina Calvache, Gordon Beswick, Suzanne Spiro, Harry Pye, Francis Macdonald, Loretta Wall and Chris Tosic any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday: from 10:00 - 19:00 or on a Sunday from 11:00 - 18:00. The show is on until the 9th of September. Don't miss out.

Image above: Cristina hangs work by Suzanne Spiro

Image above: Harry Pye poses next to 'Sad Bird' and 'Adam and Eve'

Image above: works by Gordon Beswick, Loretta Wall, and Suzanne Spiro.

Image above: Cristina, Harry and Chris

Image above: artworks by Cristina 

Above: Harry Pye and Cristima Calvache

Above: Suzanne Spiro

Harry and Bear infront of works by Cristima Calvache

Above: Posing in front of a drawing of Neil Young by Francis Macdonald

You can watch You Tube profiles of each of The Magnificent Seven below:

Gordon Beswick

Chris Tosic

Suzanne Spiro

Cristina Calvache

Harry Pye

Loretta Wall

Francis Macdonald

 

Bruce McLean features in a charity show in aid of The National Brain Appeal

 

It was great to travel to Barnes today and catch up with Bruce McLean who I first met about 3 decades ago when I did an “artist’s placement” when I was a student at Winchester School of Art. Bruce selected a few things for a charity show I’m organising called Always On My Mind which takes place at Fitzrovia Gallery.

Above: Photo by Suzanne Spiro

Bruce McLean studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1961 to 1963. From 1963 – 66 he attended St Martin’s School of Art, London, where he famously reacted against the formalist academic teaching of teachers such as Anthony Caro. In 1966 he abandoned conventional studio practice for impermanent sculptures made using materials such as water, along with performances of a generally satirical and subversive nature. In ‘Pose Work for Plinths I’ (1971; London, Tate), photographs record a performance in which McLean appeared in a variety of different positions on plinths to parody the poses of Henry Moore’s celebrated reclining figures. When in 1972 he was offered an exhibition at the Tate Gallery, he opted, with mocking intent, for a retrospective lasting only one day. He has continued to use humour to confront the pretensions of the art world and wider social issues such as the nature of bureaucracy and institutional politics. From the mid 1970s, while continuing to mount occasional performances, McLean turned increasingly to painting and most recently to ceramics. McLean has participated in many major international exhibitions since the 1960s, highlights include: When Attitudes Become Form, Kunsthalle, Bern (1969); Information, Museum of Modern Art, New York (1970); The British Avant Garde, New York Cultural Centre (1971); Documenta 6, Kassel (1977); Art in the Seventies, Venice Biennale (1980); A New Spirit in Painting, Royal Academy, London; Zeitgeist, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (1982); Documenta 7, Museum Fredericianum, Kassel (1982); Thought and Action, Laforet Museum, Tokyo (1983); The Critical Eye, Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven (1984); Out of Actions; Between Performance and the Object, 1949-79, 1985 he was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1997); Bruce McLean and William Alsop, Two Chairs, Milton Keynes Gallery (2002) and Body and Void: Echoes of Moore in Contemporary Art, The Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire (2014). First Site, Colchester (2014) and ‘A Hot Sunset and Shade Paintings’ Bernard Jacobson (2016). McLean’s work is in private and public collections around the world. In September 2023 Bruce is having a major show at The Cut (a rural arts centre in Halesworth, Suffolk)

Above: 'Pose Work With Plinths' on show at Tate Britain

Above: 'Always on my Mind' Part 2 is open to the public from Fri 1st Sept to Sunday 3rd Sept from 12pm till 6pm

Print of Adam and Eve by Team Beswick and Pye

This CMYK screen print made on 285gsm Fabriano paper, in an edition of 30 will feature in 2 group shows in the not too distant future. Graham Crowley has organised a show called 'Silent Disco' which will open on Saturday 29^th of July at 87 High Street, Wickham Market in Suffolk. 

Graham's show will also include work by a galaxy of art starts including; Sarah Dwyer, Sarah Jeffries, Bob & Roberta Smith, and John Strutton. The Adam & Eve print will also feature in a group show called ‘The Magnificent Seven’ which will take place in the basement of the Cass Art Shop near Angel tube.

This show will feature prints, paintings and textile art by me and 6 other fine artists; Gordon Beswick, Cristina Calvache, Francis Macdonald, Suzanne Spiro, Chris Tosic, and Loretta Wall. The show will be open the public between the 28^th of Aug and the 8^th of Sept. More news soon. Team Beswick and Pye made the painting of Adam and Eve ten years ago. The print was made by Jonas of Blacklisted Prints. Most museums in Europe have a painting made at least 500 years ago that depicts Adam and Eve.  And most of these paintings show the couple when they are about to be banished for breaking the rules. By contrast, this painting shows Adam and Eve enjoying the good times. It's worth noting we didn't make the mistake of painting Eve with a belly button. Adam is the Hebrew word for 'Man'. His companion was made from Adam's spare rib - her name Eve means "the mother of all living" - amongst the living creature seen here are; a puffin, a zebra, and my personal favourite a cheeky monkey.

The Clash

Above: "The Clash" painted by Harry Pye with Rowland Smith, For most of their recording career, The Clash consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer (first on the left in the photo below), lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones (standing with fag in mouth), bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon (wearing a beret).

Photo above by Chester Simpson (1979)

Above: a photo of Mick Jones taken by Harry Pye in July 2009

In May of this year Mick Jones made a guest appearance on this track by The Goldborns...

The Goldborns - Don't Like Going Places feat. Mick Jones

A month earlier Paul Simonon collaborated with Galen Ayers on this fantastic new song: Lonely Town

Read The Guardian's opinion on The Clash's 40 Greatest songs: Here