Celebrating South Asian Art: Interview with Annoushka Hempel, founder of the Colombo Art Biennale

2nd December marks the opening of the much anticipated, 4th annual Colombo Art Biennale (CAB), the world’s largest and most significant celebration of contemporary South Asian art and culture.

Attracting over 2,500 visitors in its last edition, this year’s CAB, which is themed ‘Conceiving Space’ is curated by Alnoor Mitha and seeks to reimagine traditional concepts of the ‘spatial’ in relation to boundaries and engagement. It will focus on emerging talent, including over 60 international and local artists, among them Faiza Butt (UK/Pakistan), Cristina Rodrigues (Portuguese) and Chila Kumari Burman (British/Asian). 

Dr. Priyantha Udagedara

Abdul Halik Azeez

The event itself, was founded by gallerist and cultural ambassador Annoushka Hempel in 2009, its mission being to raise the profile of artists in this fast developing market. We are so happy to have had the opportunity so speak with Annoushka about the upcoming edition and to have her insight on what is certain to be among the top cultural experiences of the year!

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Pop Art Meets the Renaissance: Philipp Rudolf Humm at Riflemaker

In anticipation of Riflemaker‘s upcoming Being and Time, an exhibition of new works by  Philipp Rudolf Humm, we are thrilled to have been able to speak with the Belgian/German artist about his practise.

Humm’s paintings are infused with art history references, in particular of the Renaissance and Pop art. From these  inspirations and other sources, he creates playful mise-en-scènes that allow him to comment on the world around him.

Indoctrinated, Oil on canvas; 2016. Courtesy of the Artist and Riflemaker.

Humm works in oil, using bold colours and familar scenes. His paintings are both dramatic and fun. We anticipate this exhibition to be a truly exciting and unique event on your art calendar this year

CULTURAL TRAFFIC debuts at London Art Week!

Just in case you thought Frieze week was going to be same-old-same-old, we couldn’t be more excited to announce the upcoming first annual CULTURAL TRAFFIC, the fair for dealers in counter culture and independent producers of zines, prints, catalogues, vinyls and tapes!

Images left to right: Jill no.10, July 2985; Jamie Reid Anarchy in the U.K. poster; Martin Sharp Exploding Hendrix poster

Presented by Juju’s, the event will take place on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th October at Juju’s Bar & Stage in Shoreditch, East London.

Of CULTURAL TRAFFIC itself, organiser Toby Mott explains, ‘CULTURAL TRAFFIC is a fascinating window into the flourishing post-digital zine scene and is inspired by my visits to the L.A. and New York Art Book Fairs, where I found an exciting dynamic marketplace for the global resurgence in self-publishing. I connected with the eclectic mix of material I found there, driven by the punk ethic of self-publishing, and reflecting both a pre- and post-digital aesthetic. DIY vintage counter-culture meets radical sexual politics and activism – it all comes together within an arts context.’

Sleek Beauty: Ensō at Tristan Hoare

Walking into Tristan Hoare today I suddenly felt transported into another world. The hustle and stress of my busy Tuesday could do nothing but fade away in the symphony of black and white that is their latest exhibition, Ensō. 

Never-before-seen Paintings by Keith Cunningham Come to Hoxton Gallery in Exciting Exhibition

Coming soon to Hoxton Gallery is Unseen Paintings, 1954-1960, a thrilling survey of works in oil by the late British artist Keith Cunningham.  

This will be one those exhibitions where perhaps the story is just as fascinating as the works themselves. Keith Cunningham was one of the most promising artists of the 1950’s, graduating from the Royal College of Art, studying alongside Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff, even being approached by Beaux Arts Gallery and showing work with the prestigious London Group. For all intensive purposes, Cunningham was going to “make it.”

Selection of works by Keith Cunningham. Courtesy of Bobby Hilson and Hoxton Gallery.

Suki Chan’s ‘Lucida’ to open at Tintype gallery!

From this Friday 16 September, Tintype presents Suki Chan’s intrigiung solo exhibition, Lucida. Combining images, bio-medical research and individual testimonies, the interactive three-screen installation explores the fascinating relationship between the human eye, brain and vision.

Suki Chan, Lucida, HD video still, 2016 C. Suki Chan

Essex Architecture Weekend is Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Saturday 10 September, marks the start of the 2-day Essex Architecture Weekend presented by Radical Essex.

1 Clockhouse Way Estate, 2016 c. Catherine Hyland. Courtesy Focal Point Gallery

The festival, themed ‘The Modernist County,’ will pivot around three exciting sites: the Bata Estate in East Tilbury, Frinton-on-Sea and Silver End village. The goal is to illustrate how these experimental community models pioneered Modernist architecture.

Le Chateau, Silver End, 2016 c. Catherine Hyland. Courtesy Focal Point Gallery

HIX Award Winner Announced!

Huge congratulations to Joshua Raz, Newcastle University grad and official winner of this year’s prestigious HIX Award.

Joshua Raz, Indoor Outdoor Tropics, Oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, 2016

Launched in 2013, the HIX Award was conceived by famed restaurateur Mark Hix and the director of CNB Gallery, Rebecca Lidert. It is specifically designed for emerging artists in the hopes that it can be their first step towards a career after university.

Danny Rolph comes home: ‘East Central’ at CNB Gallery

British painter, Danny Rolph, comes to London with East Central thanks to CNB Gallery this September. The exhibition is made up of four large-scale paintings, all of which have been inspired by the areas of London in which Danny grew up, namely EC1, EC2, EC3 and EC4. As a child he would stand in the kitchen of his parents’ high rise flat just off the City Road staring at the city below, and in these works, which unite painting with collage, he has recreated those memories in abstract forms.

EC2, 2016, Mixed media on Triplewall

Of the works, he says: ‘I grew up in the sky, one hundred foot above City Road. The view from our kitchen window contained sunset and sunrises of the type that Tiepolo imagines populated by architectural silhouettes of St Paul’s, the Old Bailey and the Post Office Tower.’