The Launch of Lee Johnson's joint project with Bakul Patki - 'Watch This Space' at the Opera Quarter Bar - was a resounding success. See the links to BBC, Evening Standard and Culture 24 features:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8130731.stm
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23713093-details/Woolies+pops+up+again+as+art+gallery/article.do
http://www.culture24.org.uk/spliced/art70318
WATCH THIS SPACE; an innovative concept developed by specialist Arts PRs, Curators and Project Managers Lee Johnson and Bakul Patki, is to mark its official launch with an exhibition of contemporary art at the much-anticipated Opera Quarter Bar (OQB) in Covent Garden. Established in order to make the most of London’s current excess of empty retail and commercial property, Watch This Space will curate its inaugural show in the beautiful listed Georgian building that will be home to the OQB for one month.
An exciting new ‘Pop Up’ venue, conceived by Douglas Ankrah; a multi-award winning legend in the world of Mixology, the bar will launch in early July and is set to be the destination for summer 2009. Watch This Space have curated a group show featuring Photographers Nick Cunard, Hazel Atashroo, Ilaria Conte, Niall O’Brien and Sky Sharrock (in collaboration with shoe designer Kitty Cooper); Multimedia Artist Monkey Punch III; Illustrators Elliot Young, Izzie Klingels, and Suzie Wright, and fine Artists Sarah Kate Wilson, Sohrab and Ann-Marie James.
Sharrock has conceived a set of prints specially commissioned for the OQB. ‘Killer Heels’ tells the story of a menacing Doll-like character, striding through Guy Bourdin-esque scenarios in the streets of London and the interior of the OQB. Cunard’s prints immortalise colourful Soho characters, the Comedian Noel Fielding and Dandy-about-town Sebastian Horsley. Conte’s voyeuristic ‘Hotel Room’ triptych continues with the nocturnal feeling, and takes us into the after-dark world of a mysterious woman. Is she a Soho lady of the night, or a woman waiting for her lover. Perhaps the lover is the man sitting in a late-night café in ‘Jesse Malin’. Conte’s poetic, intimate scenes are beautifully lit, with an underlying Newton-esque narrative.
Wilson’s abstract neon canvases have the feel of a young Fiona Rae. ‘Orange Blob’ pops with a giddy mix of neon pinks and orange, whilst drips of paint reveal the physicality of the Artist in the manner of Pollock. ‘The End of the Summer’ evokes a Cosmopolitan being enjoyed during a light breeze in a Caribbean hideaway, one of the places where Wilson spent the peripatetic childhood which infuses her art with such colour.
Monkey Punch III’s Manga-style Pop Art packs a punch in his hand-tinted ‘Carnivore Herbivore’ canvases, referencing the Japanese collage artist Shinro Ohtake. The sharp Lichtenstein bubble shouting ‘Incendiary’ in his ‘Bottoms Up’ canvas, spontaneously combusts with the sexy surreality of ‘Planet Legs’, where a pair of red-stillettoed legs protrude from a crumbling green globe.
Atashroo’s prints have a similarly surreal feeling, a disembodied arm peers out from the hollow of a gnarled tree in ‘Crow’s Nest’, and a masked boy confronts the camera as he fishes in a fairy-tale lake. James’s magical drawing of a Centaur-Cherub hybrid has a similarly Hellenistic feel. ‘Centaur Rodeo’ depicts Chiron, the great oracle from Greek mythology, being teased by Eros, the primordial god of love.
O’Brien exhibits a powerful, single, photograph entitled ‘Arise’, from a series of the same name. He captures the beauty of a County Wicklow country thoroughfare, used by generations of pedestrians who perhaps didn’t appreciate the aesthetic charm of the landscape in the same way as O’Brien did. A snapshot of a moment when the warm evening light of the sunset turns an unremarkable, almost harsh, environment into something far more welcoming.
Klingels exhibits a selection of drawings representative of the themes and imagery that runs through all her work. Influenced greatly by nature; leaves, thorns and flowers populate her work along side solitary figures, creating expressive narratives that communicate various emotions, almost working as illustrations for an imaginary story. The work evokes feelings of doubt, anticipation, dread of what is yet to come, or how the story might end.
Wright exhibits a series of screen-prints inspired by nature. The illustrations feature landscapes and animals, with deer, stags and owls appearing as recurring motifs throughout her work. Susie’s Scottish heritage and the environment she evolved in are clear influences, and she addresses these subjects through a unique contemporary drawing technique, that presents ancient themes in a 21st century style.
Young presents us with her mischievous ‘Informe’ series, where at first glance we come across
seemingly virginal pieces of white paper, decorated by innocent-looking ink blots. Only upon closer inspection do we witness scenes of writhing bodies reminiscent of a peek inside the mind of the Marquis de Sade. Sohrab’s drawings are as technically accomplished as Young’s, but less controlled, in the spirit of the ‘pure psychic automatism’ identified by the Surrealist André Breton. A disembodied corpse in ‘Ghost Relationship Separation’ is juxtaposed with unidentifiable alien beings and musings such as ‘The Implementation of Freedom’.
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT WATCH THIS SPACE:
Lee and Bakul’s joint ambition is to install Pop-Up exhibitions of Art, Photography, Fashion and Design, as well as Performance and Film events, in the increasing amount of prime retail space in Central London sitting empty. Their bulging roster of Artists means they are able to cipher work into the most appropriate venues, at short notice and with flexibility. Watch This Space provides a bespoke curatorial, production and promotional service, seeing each individual project through from conception to fruition. With over twenty years combined experience of working in the Arts, both as producers and PRs, Lee and Bakul are ideally suited to manage these installations, as well as being able to ensure the projects are promoted in the relevant press.
With the launch of their first exhibition at the Opera Quarter Bar, Watch This Space also launches what they hope will be an ongoing programme of the Arts in London’s underused and underappreciated spaces.
ABOUT LEE JOHNSON:
Lee Johnson was Head of Press & PR at Timothy Taylor Gallery London, where she worked with top international contemporary Artists including Bridget Riley, Sean Scully Jean-Marc Bustamante, Kiki Smith, Tim Braden, Lucy Williams and Marcel Dzama. After leaving Timothy Taylor Gallery in 2007, Johnson set up her own freelance Project Management and Arts PR business, and has organised exhibitions for Alison Jackson (Liverpool Biennial, Hamiltons, M+B Gallery in LA, and New Art Gallery Walsall), Sacha Newley (The Catto Gallery at The Arts Club), Lee Jones (Mayor of London’s EAST Festival and The Arts Club), and promoted exhibitions for Al Braithwaite, Louise Richardson, Andrew Campbell and Benedetto Pietromarchi.
Johnson was previously in charge of Special Projects at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) where she managed unique events with Artists including Yoko Ono and the Pet Shop Boys. Lee is also an art critic writing regularly for Art India, Whitehot, Kultureflash and Kilimanjaro Magazine.
ABOUT BAKUL PATKI:
Bakul Patki is a PR, producer and project developer, specialising in Arts, Culture and Entertainment, with over ten years freelance experience in these fields. She has been responsible for producing, promoting and securing sponsorship and brand partnerships for a number of Arts festivals and exhibitions; coordinating events for major and independent media, entertainment and charitable organisations; and project managing for various Theatre groups, Galleries, Filmmakers and Artists. Past projects include the PR for the re-launch of BAFTA’s members’ headquarters, pan-arts programming for boutique chain Guest Hotels, and management and publicity for the International Herald Tribune’s ‘Breathless’ Arts Season.
Patki was also responsible for the distribution and surrounding promotion of Independent film 'Christie Malry's Own Double Entry' which lead to the creation of a new British Independent Film Award (BIFA) for best Distribution and PR campaign, of which the film became the first recipient.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Hazel Atashroo is a new graduate from the Slade School of Fine Art. Through her personal hallucinatory filter, Atashroo explores complex human interactions and relationships of power. Her practice encompasses drawing, video, photography and installation, and the manipulation of sculptural props in clandestine performances to camera. Atashroo lives and works in London. Atashroo was born in London in 1986.
Ilaria Conte is a London-based photographer, was born in Italy in 1980. She has worked on photography assignments across the world mainly in Europe and America. Her work is developed through her search for intimacy with the subject and capturing poetry in the most every day places. Her new exhibit featuring portraits of lonely figures set against spaces as personal as a bedroom and as public as a diner, are typical of her intimate and elegant style.
Nick Cunard is a London based portrait and features photographer. His work regularly graces the pages of the Royal Academy, Sunday Times and the Independent Sunday Review Magazines. His personal projects have included collaborations with Will Self on the ‘Head Space’ project a meditation on the psychotherapeutic space latterly exhibited at The Freud Museum. More recently, he has embraced subjects as diverse as dog racing, artist’s studios and talent shows. Here he presents a series of photographs taken in and around Soho of notable writers and performers; Noel Fielding, Sebastian Horsley and The OAPz. Born in Bedfordshire in 1971, Cunard lives and works in London.
Ann-Marie James is a graduate of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Ann-Marie James has shown work in London at venues including the Whitechapel, South London Gallery and the Candid Arts Trust, and internationally in France, Ireland, Portugal, Venezuela, Kosovo and the USA. Ann-Marie James lives and works in London, England.
Izzie Klingels graduated in Fine Art from Chelsea School of Art, she founded Lazy Eye, working with film and video, creating and designing live shows and directing promos for bands including Death In Vegas and Beth Orton. She began working as an illustrator in 2001 when she founded Hey Ladies fanzine with a group of female friends. Working within the parameters of this black and white fanzine she developed her distinctive pen and ink style, embracing colour, collage and digital media as her commissions grew. Influenced by fairy tales, traditional folk illustrations, Vanitas paintings, psychedelic poster art, experimental film and surrealism she continues to explore different techniques and evolve her style. Her work appears in many books including 'Hand To Eye' (Laurence King Publishing), a book on contemporary illustration, and its follow up 'The Picture Book'. Izzie's work has been exhibited in London, New York and Melbourne. Born in London in 1970, Klingels lives and works in London.
Monkey Punch III has a Masters in Communication Design from Central St Martins. He spent four years in Japan working for Paul Smith Ltd, 2K by Gingham, Beams-t and Tokito in PR, merchandising, as an illustrator and later as a design consultant his first exhibition was in Shibuya, the second Aoyama Tokyo Japan. Monkey Punch III, inspired by the likes of Japans greatest collage artist Shinro Ohtake, has grabbed collage art by the short and curlies and put a sexy punch back into collage art. Born in Derbyshire in 1970, Monkey Punch III lives and works in London.
Niall O'Brien studied fine art photography in the renowned Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.He has exhibited at a number of Irish and English shows and has many awards to his name, including the Irish Professional Photographer's Association Rex Roberts Medal and two main categories in the ICI Photographer of the Year Award. In October 2008 Niall was accepted into the top 20 portfolios in the International Portfolio Review, Bratislava. He continues to exhibit throughout Europe.
His commissioned work is of a gritty, contemporary style, which seamlessly blurs the boundaries between the conceptual and the aesthetic. His growing collection of intimate portraits concentrates on unusual subjects with whom Niall develops a close working relationship. Niall's long-term project “Superheroes” came from a film, which he made in 2006 and has been on ongoing photo documentary about adolescence and desire. Born in Dublin in 1979, Niall now lives in London. His fresh and innovative photographs and films work continues to draw both attention and acclaim.
Sky Sharrock will exhibit photographs commissioned especially for the Opera Quarter Bar, and shot on location at the OQB and surrounding area, in collaboration with talented young shoe designer Kitty Cooper. As well as being an accomplished stills photographer, Sharrock works as a Director of Photography on numerous pop promos and commercials. Sharrock has worked on films including Iron Man II, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Cold Mountain and the Harry Potter franchise. Born in London in 1975, Sharrock now lives and works in London.
http://sky-sharrock.blogspot.com/
Sohrab was born in 1978 and grew up in Malawi, Qatar, New Mexico and England before completing a BA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art in 2001. The artist’s multi-disciplinary practice manifests recurrent themes of order and control, structure, colour and intensity, and his ongoing experimentation with painting’s variables and abstraction. Recent works reconfigure gestural brushstrokes and processes into compositions that explore the fracture and implosion of conflicting structures. The paintings control and order seek to represent the containment of an intense primitive energy. Sohrab lives and works in London and has previously exhibited at; The Volume Gallery, David Champion, Moonspace, Kayode Gallery, Francesca Geiger Gallery, Trade Apartment, 3 Colts Lane and the Residence Gallery.
Sarah Kate Wilson is an exciting young Artist from the Slade. Her abstract canvases are inspired by her peripetatic childhood in the Caribbean, Saudi Arabia and England. Definitely one to watch, Wilson’s magpie style is reminiscent of Fiona Rae. Wilson studied Fine Art at Northumbria University and is currently completing an MA in Fine Art at Slade. Wilson has an Artist Residency at John Jones Project Space this summer, and will exhibit the work she creates during her residency in a solo show during Frieze week. Born in 1982 in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Wilson lives and works in London.
Susie Wright works across multiple disciplines, from drawing and screen-printing to 3D modelling, graphic and textile design. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art before moving South to do her MA at Central St Martins in London. Susie’s Scottish heritage continues to influence her as a designer, with native landscapes, animals and plants featuring heavily in her body of work. This can be clearly seen in the selection of illustrations she will exhibit in this upcoming show. Born in Edinburgh in 1981, Susie currently works as an illustrator and printmaker in London.
Elliott Young studied fine art at Norwich School of Art, and perfected her craft at the Prince’s Drawing School. The work she will exhibit at the OQB lends a mischievous twist to the traditional techniques, which she mastered at Art College. Young won the 2006 Dover Street Art prize and was, twice, shortlisted for the Celeste Art prize. Born in Thetford in 1982, Young lives and works in London.
Exhibition Private View and Opera Quarter Bar launch party - July 1st 2009, 6-10pm
Exhibition runs until August 16th 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR IMAGES PLEASE CONTACT:
lee@watch-this-space.org or + 44 (0) 7814 862 834,
bakul@watch-this-space.org or + 44 (0) 7984 462 358
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