It sure was a busy night in the old East End last night! With so many new shows on and free beer to be quaffed it would be rude not to. There seemed to be a gallery show just about every couple of steps. I had originally planned to go and see Evol at POW and then along to SPECTRA I just because i really like Katrin Fridriks. Naturally I forgot to take my camera so links and images from the interweb will have to suffice.
First up we headed to P.O.W to check out the very talented EVOL and his mini tower blocks. Although why we had to queue when the place wasn’t full i don’t understand (or is it just to make the place look more busy/popular?) I was a little gutted as i first saw some EVOL pieces on cardboard a few years ago and was quite taken with them but unfortunately had no spare cash. Back then they were going for a few hundred quid and they are now selling for around 10 grand! It’s good work if you can get it but unfortunately a little rich for my blood…
EVOL @ nu-art
There was plenty more on offer but the only pieces that really caught my eye were the Jimmy Cauty ‘Riot in a Jam Jar‘ series – of which he had 3 or 4 maxi-sized ones on display complete with flashing blue lights on miniature police vans (I had previously only seen them in actual jam jar sized glass jars).
Next on we moved up to Stolenspace at the Truman Brewery for a group show. For me the stand out artists were Kai & Sunny, D*face and Rose Sanderson. All the pieces were a little more affordable than POW and there were some very nice examples. I particularly liked a piece by Rose Sanderson called (I think) ‘Contemplation’ which featured a load of starlings sitting on a ghostly branch (a picture can be found towards the bottom right on this page). There was a huge (120 x 170cm) Kai & Sunny print called ‘Wild Flower’ that I particularly liked. I can’t find a pic online but if you follow this link and scroll down you should find it.
I’m not usually a huge fan of D*face but did particularly like like his Flutterdie collection (one example of above) which were like fantasy taxidermy. I also liked the big Flutterdie prints that were done on aluminium. I thought they looked splendid.
Next up on our busy schedule we decided to pay a visit to Futuretense presents SPECTRA I at a nice large venue at 28 Redchurch Street. I was looking forward to this one as it features the lovely works of Katrin Fridriks which I really covet and my new favourite find of the evening (whom i’d never heard of before) – the brightly coloured work of Lee Baker. The colours on his pieces positively glowed and the photo beneath does them little justice…
Finally on our way back to the tube we nipped into Xenz at Blackall studios. Overall the quality of work was good but I wasn’t blown away. I think my favourite piece was actually one of the smaller ones of an orchid.
Overall I had a great night out seeing some new stuff and swanning around the East End. Sometimes i’m real glad to be living in London.
Cheers
id-iom
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