Art Photography: Capturing Urban Creativity

London-based bright art star Conor Harrington is not just cover hero of the latest Very Nearly Almost (VNA) magazine (here some insights into the issue before..) but is also running his Dead Meat show at Lazarides Gallery till the 14th of April. I was hanging around Conor’’s studio during the making of his latest show at Lazarides in London, here’s some exclusive snaps! (Viktor Vauthier) Photographer Viktor Vauthier just published some behind the scenes photos of great dressed boys and naked girls being artist’s models for some of Harrington’s latest paintings. Looks quite great, like a medieval role play game and is probably an amazing inspiration source for Conor… ...

Last Friday, Berlin’s Neurotitan Gallery opened its doors for another nice group-exhibition entitled Simple is Rare, presenting diverse artwork by different urban-inspired artists like Herr Orm, K 110 and Robert Matzke, just to name a few… Although or probably because of this exhibition’s major topic was simplicity, it was the huge and very complex installation by Clemens Behr which dominated the show-room. By combining cardboard, tape, neon light, paint and wood his walkable and impressing tunnel-like architecture draw almost my entire attention. Of course I took some photos from inside the installation - Take a look and be impressed! ...

As I mentioned in the latest Urban Art Link-Tips, famous writer Smash 137 opened - after that really nice Berlin show in 2009 - a new exhibition entitled Grow up! last Saturday in Paris… Grow up! That is the phrase Smash137 heard so often from the mouths of his parents, from the girls he loved, and from some of his friends when he was going out to paint, his backpack bursting with spray paint. Today, things have changed a bit… (Galerie Celal) ...

Do you remember that dope exhibition by London-based urban artist Word To Mother at Stolen Space Gallery in 2010? If not, you’ll soon get the chance to see some new works by the talented British lad, because Word To Mother is preparing his next show at Stolen Space Gallery, entitled Essence Of Adolescence right now! My friend Ian Cox recently visited his studio and took some first photos of the new artworks. Make sure to save the date… ...

Famous for his large-scale depictions of animals on city walls around the world, Belgian urban artist Roa brings the creatures which inhabit the fringes of human society back to the metropolis. Recently Skalitzers Gallery opened its doors for his first solo-exhibition in Berlin, including again brilliant paintings, sketches and drawings of animals in his unique style… Of course I joined the opening ceremony, chatted with the man of the day, took some photos for those of you who can’t make it to visit the show and had some first insights into Roa’s first limited edition book Roa: An Introduction To Animal Representation by Mammal Press (Photos of the book will follow - I just can say it’s simply great!). Other good news is, that he will add some new animal murals to Berlin’s streets in the next days, be curious! ...

Urban Art Exhibition | Yesterday, West Berlin Gallery opened its doors for the opening of the “The Hidden Side” exhibition by French graphic designer, illustrator and fine artist Sebastien Feraut a.k.a Niark1! I joined together with some friends and was impressed by the complexity and explicitly of the paper, canvas and other various mixed media paintings… With a multitude of inspirations, ranging from all kinds of music to create, to 80s horror films, David Lynch, Hayao Miyazaki animations, Francis Bacon, Basquiat, Constructivism, Cubism, graffiti and street art, subcultures, the list is endless, Niark1’s work reflects the pop surrealism of the Low Brow Movement. Like the roots of a tree on speed his paintings crawl and sprawl, filling up the whole canvas with the vivid creations of his imagination. (westberlingallery.com) ...

Light Art | Already since 2007, the Bremen-based light art performance photography artists Jörg Miedza and Jan Wöllert are working together under the label of LAPP-Pro and I have to say that I unfortunately noticed them only a few days ago… Light art performance photography or short LAPP is, as LAPP-Pro defines, a “one-shot time bulb exposure photography, performed additionally with movement of light” and in that way similar to light graffiti, light drawing or light writing. ...

Fine Art Show | Since last Thursday, brilliant and very colorful artworks by artist and former biochemist Kelsey Brookes from San Diego can be seen at Circleculture Gallery in Berlin. Brookes, who is well-known for his raw and energized style presents his latest “Caped Creatures” works, showing half human, half animal creatures mixed with letters, abstract explosions and neon colors… The creatures become a framework from which the figures anatomy is experimented with. Parts of these chimeras are missing, exaggerated or abstracted beyond functional reality in an effort to relate to the viewer their intense character or predicaments. The loosening of the figure as well as the strong and unique interplay with abstract forms and text, increases the sense of awe and wonder found in Brookes’ signature style. (Circleculture Gallery) ...

Studio Visit | He combines tape, paint and aerosol and creates in that way really nice urban-inspired, abstract and rough artworks. Yes, you’re right, I’m talking about London-based painter, musician and agent of change Remi/Rough! Back in 2008 Remi/Rough held court at London’s Tate Modern and talked as part of the Tate’s Street Art exhibition on the underground history of UK graffiti in front of a sell-out auditorium. Now, in October 2010, I met him in his nice studio in South London, had a cup of tea and took some shots of his creativity area and his latest artworks. Today I published some of them on my Urban Art Photography blog… ...

Stencil Art Studio | London-based stencil artist FinDAC is quite popular at the moment and I can truly understand why people like his fine stencil artworks - just remember the very successful exhibition of his beautiful Jimi Hendrix artworks some weeks ago! Last month, when I still was in London, he invited me to visit his studio in South London and of course I did. It was just the time when he created the paper stencils for that nice wall he spray-painted later at the Stroke.03 Urban Art Fair in Berlin and I remember, I was highly impressed by the great details and size of each stencil layer… ...