Opening on 11 August 2017 is photographer EmmaElizabethTillman’s debut solo show entitled Disco Ball Soul. The exhibition, consisting of more than 90 collages created over a ten-year period, is an accumulation of photographs and texts taken from her new book of the same title. Tillman began this body of work in 2007, recording precious moments, including her meeting of her now husband Josh.
On Friday 19th May Gallery DIFFERENT will present 35-year-old contemporary painter, Tarek Sebastian Al-shammaa’s debut solo show Fall of Europe II (until 22nd May).
We at ArtAttack stumbled upon Tarek’s artwork last year and have been great admirers of his painting practice ever since. His painterly use of space is quite extraordinary, filling the canvas with symbols and figures that tell stories of our world within the greater context of mythology. Each tiny element he chooses to include says something powerful. No iconography is wasted.
Thanksgiving, 2017, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm
The artist’s main practice is history painting as he explores historical and mythological subject matter juxtaposing it with the harsh realities contemporary Western society. Within each of the epic paintings he presents the viewer with poignant psychological insight into his own life and heritage; Al-shammaa is half French and half Iraqi, and so has found himself straddling two oft-opposing cultures throughout his life.
Recurring themes across the young artist’s paintings include consumerism, war, love, lust and political oppression, as well as the opposition and even conflict of Western and non-Western culture and ideals. In the body of work on view, Alshammaa depicts everything from iconic myths like that of the Tower of Babel to mythical iconography such as Mother Earth, all within a present-day context.
ArtAttack contributor, Franzi Gabbert, had the chance to interview Al-shammaa in regards to his upcoming exhibition as well as his general practice.
A fictitious royal court, a symphony of colour and a capricious cast of characters join together to create a fantasy constructed from literature and art — this is StephenChambers‘s monumental presentation, The Court of Redonda, currently on view as an Official Collateral Event of the 57th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia.
Installation view, The Court of Redonda at Ca’ Dandolo. Photo by FS@SCS.
The show which is presented by the Heong Gallery at Downing College, University of Cambridge and curated by Emma Hill takes its home at Ca’ Dandolo on the Grand Canal from now until 26th November, showcasing 101 portraits that represent a utopian society dominated by creators and known as Redonda.
Monday 24th April sees the private view of Brains & Lip Takeover at East London’s emerging art hotspot,CNB Gallery. The all-woman exhibition, which showcases the work of nine fantastic artists, is curated by Claire Orme and Alice Steffen, the creative duo behind Brains & Lip.
Controversial, brash and witty, the artworks on view challenge and reclaim what it means to be a woman in contemporary society. The subversive painting, illustration and sculpture that feature in the exhibition explore discourses of identity, sexuality and female empowerment, resisting the restrictive expectations of the elitist, patriarchal art world.
Jess de Wahls, Consent, 2016
We were thrilled to be able to speak with the two visionaries behind the ‘takeover’ in advance of next week’s exhibition.
ArtAttack is proud to present our latest ‘Artist of the Week’, Paris Ackrill. Paris holds a Masters in Anthropology with Development from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently furthering her practice studying for a Fine Art Masters at Chelsea College of Arts. She is currently showing at the RA’s Summer Exhibition.
Artists of the week are selected by the ArtAttack team from the diverse and eclectic group of artist users on our app. To discover more of Paris’s work download the app here.
ArtAttack is proud to present our latest ‘Artist of the Week’, Cyrus Mahboubian. Artists of the week are selected by the ArtAttack team from the diverse and eclectic group of artist users on our app.
After the great success of BeyondBorders charity auction held at BlainSouthern on behalf of UNCIEF, we caught up with one of the events star artists – Cyrus Mahboubian. Many of you will have already discovered the powerful beauty of his work, his has been a great hit on the app.
How did you get into photography?
I was drawn to photography from a young age. I remember asking my parents for a camera when I was 9 or 10. Then in 2006, when I was 20, my father gave me a beautiful old camera. I loved the object and resolved to learn how to use it properly; it’s fully manual so you have to understand how to balance light correctly. A few months later I bought a polaroid camera and became obsessed with making polaroids. The excitement I felt making those first instant photos has never gone away. I started exhibiting in 2010 and since then it has been a steady process of making work, exhibiting and building connections. I don’t think photography is something you can you can rush; you need time for your work to develop.
What draws you to your subjects?
My process is intentionally slow, which is a reaction to how busy and connected we are today, so in general I’m drawn to quiet places. Often this takes me away from the city where the pace is slower and you can lose track of time. I want to evoke a timeless feeling in my work. I like photographing certain people I know rather than professional models because you build up a kind of intimacy over time and the photos are more honest. Last year I made a series of photographs in L.A. that I called ‘Mulholland’ because the work centred around one house on Mulholland Drive and the woman living there. Mulholland Drive runs for miles along the top of a mountain and I was struck by its very particular atmosphere. Those images were about capturing the mysterious aura of the place.
You were recently part of the Beyond Borders charity auction held at BlainSouthern. Can you tell us a bit about that?
‘Beyond Borders’ was an exhibition and auction in aid of UNICEF’s “Children of Syria” emergency appeal. We got donations from 20 contemporary artists including big names like Diana Al-Hadid, YZ Kami, Moshekwa Langa and Ali Banisadr. Sotheby’s UK chairman Harry Dalmeny conducted the auction. All 20 artworks sold and we raised over £70,000. Since everything was donated, 100% of proceeds will be passed on to UNICEF, who are on the ground in Syria distributing emergency supplies to vulnerable children. I was proud to be part of it.
Which photographers and artists working today most interest you?
To me, photography doesn’t get better than the work Sally Mann made in the ’80s and early ’90s, which was published in the book ‘Immediate Family’. I love her dedication to the subject, her technique and the extremely intimate feeling present in the images. I was impressed by Richard Mosse’s ‘The Enclave’ when I saw it at Venice Biennale in 2013, and by Nick Brandt’s new series ‘Inherit the Dust’, which I saw a few weeks ago at Photo London. It’s really moving.
What are you working on now? What is next?
I had a solo show in Paris last month and I currently have an exhibition at the 11th Fotografia Europea in Reggio Emilia; it’s called ‘Wanderlust’ and is part of the official circuit of the festival. As for what’s next, I am showing at the ArtAttack launch exhibition and I want to begin making my second moving-image work over the summer.
-Alex Lebus
To see more of Cyrus’s work, visit his profile on ArtAttack App as well his exclusive Curated Collection on the ‘Curated Art’ page! GB link below or just search ‘ArtAttack – Share Sell Network’ on App Store:
If you would like to be considered for ArtAttack’s ‘Artist of the Week,’ please email info@artattackapp.com to find out more about the submission process.
ArtAttack is proud to present our latest ‘Artist of the Week’, Ana Carolina Rodrigues. Artists of the week are selected by the ArtAttack team from the diverse and eclectic group of artist users on our app.
ArtAttack visited Portuguese artist Ana Carolina Rodrigues in her west London studio, to discover more about her enigmatic, captivating sculptures and hear how artists and footballers may not be so different after all!
Keith Coventry‘s latest exhibition at the Pace Gallery in London, ‘White Black Gold,’ will be on view at the ground floor galleries of 6 Burlington Gardens until 28 May 2016.
The artist archly monumentalises the bleak debris of our cultural landscape with an exhibition which ‘ennobles the ignoble’.
Destroyed Shop Window (2016), Bronze
McDonalds ‘Golden Arches’ are now a well-worn emblem of late capitalism, so programmed into the popular imagination, that Coventry need only depict a colorless fragment of the golden ‘M’ for his audience to be bombarded with a litany of red, yellow and white memories – of bombastic adverts, Happy Meals and any host of relatable motifs that have come to represent 20th Century American capitalism.
ArtAttack is proud to be showcasing, Beyond Borders, an exhibition and auction in aid of Unicef’s Children of Syria Emergency Appeal.
Hosted by Blain|Southern, one of London’s foremost contemporary art galleries, the exhibition and auction will take place the week commencing 16 May coinciding with Art16 and Photo London.
Organized by Unicef’s Next Generation London – a group of young professionals who commit their time and resources to support Unicef’s work – the exhibition will culminate in a live auction at the gallery with pre-bidding online powered by Paddle8, and a full showcase of works available to preview on ArtAttack’s Curated Art Page (with the option to also donate towards the cause). All of the proceeds from the event will go towards Unicef’s Children of Syria Emergency Appeal.
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