Banksy: back in town

 

Banksy has been quiet of late, but he's back with a bang and a squirt of Montana with a new selection of on-wall witicisms. A different league to Mr Brainwash's efforts, given what I saw at the Opera Gallery in New Bond Street last week.

David Choe: art in the right places

David Choe is the graffiti artist who did a mural on the wall of Facebook's office and agreed to be paid in shares. He is now $200m better off. Turns out he'd rather have his privacy back. What a coincidence. That's exactly why I continually bat away million-pound offers for stuff.

His art is already selling for tens of thousands of dollars around the world. Here's an interview.

CP wilson does AA Milne: A Marvel in Pooh Corner

What would happen if the Avengers lived in the world of Winnie the Pooh? Mayhem on a cuddly scale if the illustrations by CP Wilson are anything to go by.

See more of CP Wilson's artwork here.

Star Wars exhibit: look closely, young one

Things were never quite the way they first seemed in the Star Wars universe. Take the Ewoks - cute teddy bears at first glance, vicious little spear chuckers in reality. And what about the Jawas?

This could be the thinking behind the artwork in the Star Wars Identities exhibit, or it could just be some inspired thinking. Whatever, these images are more than they at first appear.

The show will take place from April 19 in Montreal.

Via Fatkids

Faile: the Challenger series

FAILE from Ride5 Films on Vimeo.

I stumbled across this video of Brooklyn street art duo Faile explaining the thinking behind their Challenger series of prints. Which I found interesting, not only for the fact that until now I always thought they were French.

Futura sprays a wall in a gallery

Futura's a bit more discerning in his choice of walls these days, which is why he opted for the Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont in Paris for his exhibition entitled Expansions. Part of this involved a large  mural, the painting of which was captured on film.

Futura 2000 - Galerie de Noirmont - Paris - Live Painting from Guillotine on Vimeo.

Roy Lichtenstein: Joining the dots

That bloke who became famous for the giant comic book pictures has had a go at a few landscapes in China. It's all about the dots, really.

Now showing at the Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong, if you're over that way. 

Blade Runner: The original sketchbook

It's hard to believe Bladreunner is 30 years old this year and I will never cease to be amazed by the complexity of the sets and the vision of an apocalyptic future which seems even more of a possibility as the years go by. Here's a chance to look at the thinking behind that world, as you get to peek at the original sketches.

Open publication - Free publishing

Lucy McLauchan: drawing on rubbish

Beat13 / Lucy McLauchlan "Tacit" from Beat13 on Vimeo.
We have some of Lucy's pieces at home and I was on the lookout for something new when I stumbled across this. Which has given me a great idea for some of the old shit I've got lying around at home.

Banksy: sign of the times

 So up pops another Banksy where you least expect it, expanding on the long-running vermin theme.

I can't be sure but that looks a bit like Spitalfields, or maybe Hoxton, and that there is a road sign just begging to be removed.

Let's see how long it stays up.

Muppet posters: a bit of an animal

This poster collection has been released in conjunction with the forthcoming Muppet movie and features each member of the band. They are available to buy as limited edition prints. More details when I get them, or try Googling.

Jose Parla: how it's done

Here's a quick look into the creation of Jose Parla's recent ‘Character Gestures’ exhibition at OHWOW Los Angeles.

Fascinating stuff. I tried a bit of caligraphy stuff like this once. It wasn't pretty.

Takashi Murakami: homage to Yves Klein

I do like a bit of Takashi Murakami it must be said. All that 'real flat' stuff that's become his trademark.

Now he's bucked his trend with this homage to the post-war European artist, Yves Klein, who was known for leading the Nouveau réalisme movement. None of your real flat here, there's more texture than an anaglypta wall.

You could say it has depth.

That's All Folks: burning art

When Bugs Bunny uttered the phrase "That's all Folks!" back in the infant days of cartoons, I bet he didn't realise that decades later contemporary artists would be using it to blow stuff up.

Scott Campbell used ducktape to tied his cameraphone to a lamppost and then filmed his message written in gun powder as it burned its way to a pipe bomb.

The legal issues surrounding such a work of art would, I expect, be up for debate. But the impact of the piece is undeniable.

Via Purple

Banksy on the move: how to transport a wall

The trouble with Banksy's artwork is that a lot of it is sprayed on walls. So if you want to exhibit his original pieces you have to take the wall down.

That's exactly what was done for the Original Street Works exhibition at the Keszler Gallery in New York. Walls were taken down in Los Angeles, Palestine, Brighton and New Orleans, and artworks dating back to as far as 2002 removed.

The video shows you the process of removing the Stop and Search and Wet Dog works from Palestine.

Banksy must have wondered why he bothered going all the way out there in the first place.

The Antics Roadshow: nice timing

It might be considered foolish to be screening the 'best bits' of the career of an artist who has set himself up quite squarely against the establishment as we sweep up from the worst riots the country has seen in decades.

But then Banksy is something of an enigma. He's the vandal who has been adopted as a national treasure, and while his art might be considered inflamatory to some and is admittedly always illegal, it is done with a sense of humour and a degree of intelligence.

And in a free country which isn't usually blighted by looters and thugs, it's nice to make your own mind up.

The Antics Roadshow produced by Banksy, Channel 4 August 13.

Takashi Murakami: close-up at the Gagosian

That Murakami exhibition is ongoing at the Gagosian in West London until August 5, and if like me you have yet to visit, here are a few more images of Manga girls with inflated appendages to help you make your mind up. But it isn't all Japanese erotica. There are cartoon skulls as well.