Author: Mathias

Spot On: Will Bentham aka. Lowdown

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All too often, we don’t get the chance to discover the beautiful things that linger in between the mass of hugely hyped and even so uninspiring pieces of art. Thus, it comes in pretty handy if someone presents you with something stellar on a silver platter, right? My friend Eleni (hi there!) and her very own Curious Duke Gallery just swooped the fine talents of street art-infused aerosol artist Will Bentham aka. Lowdown. Smart move, girl! Have a look at his dark and gritty works, brimming over with feisty expression: Instagram Twitter Facebook

Quick Snap: Double Exposure Portraits by Dan Mountford

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Everyone who has played around with analogue cameras and experimented with double exposures for a while probably came across some weird, astonishing, funny and sometimes very creepy images. I suppose most of us are simply not as talented as folks like graphic designer & photographer Dan Mountford. Well, this might easily be an old hat, as his stunning double exposure portraits have been eagerly featured on quite a lot design-savvy sites in the last few years, but they might still cause some jaws to drop after all. Especially if you bear in mind that all of his beautifully surreal images were created inside his camera, using Photoshop or Illustrator solely for post-production purposes. danmountford.co.uk Twitter Tumblr

Quick Snap: Ivan Belikov ‘Social Networks’

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Pretty much everyone has a distinctive image of today’s social media in mind. Whether they’re considered useful, questionable or simply a waste of time, facebook, tumblr or the gazillion of other services (you perhaps never heard about) are destined to polarize. The young Russian illustrator Ivan Belikov reveals his very own relationship to social media in his juicy, two-piece design series ‘Social Networks’. While his first few artworks were loose interpretations of common logotypes, taking on twitter, instagram and dribbble, his more recent designs rather play around with the name and metaphorical features of each brand. Voilà: Tumblr Twitter Facebook Instagram

Illustration Wizardry: Bryce Louw

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It seems safe to say that London’s wonderful abundance of art can be pretty overwhelming at times and even turn your head into a dizzy mess, still I wouldn’t have discovered so many shining talents without it. Thank god, I was then curious enough to have a go at Hackney Wick’s creative hub Stour Space and its brilliant Dys-Wik show, which instantly made me fall in love with Bryce Louw’s illustration wizardry. And now, almost a year later (& his serpent artwork adorning my living room), let us take a closer look at this young South African expat, who wanders the streets of East London for inspiration and impresses with a disturbingly gnarly drawing style: His sketches invite you into a world of bestiality, bizarreness and voyeurism, inhabited by brooding, forlorn characters, always with a keen eye for organic aesthetics. Check out these links for more info. Maxeroo.co.uk Twitter Instagram

Behind the Mask: Sandra Chevrier’s ‘Cage’ series

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Honesty and authenticity are significant features I hold dear in people whom I am sharing intimate moments of joy and sorrow with: No make-up, no cheesy smiles, no false sympathy, no façades, just being your true self. That may be the case with our closest friends and families, who bravely tolerate even our greatest flaws and weaknesses. Outside of this sheltered entity, the world yet seems to be quite a different one. Whether it’s in front of our boss, co-workers or even team-mates, we often play a role defined by the irrevocable values of society and thus – intentional or unintentional – living a life behind a mask every now and then. Empathizing with the female perspective, the French-Canadian artist, illustrator and painter Sandra Chevrier visualises our ‘twisted preconceptions of what a woman should or shouldn’t be’ and their constant struggle to escape these prisons of identity. Brilliantly merging fine art with pop and street art styles, her Marvel & DC symbolism-infused ‘cage’-series illustrates society’s utopian expectation for pure beauty and perfection, asking the women …

Pentti Sammallahti: ‘Here, far away’ @ Photographers’ Gallery

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To some, his name appears to be as inexpressible as the delicate beauty of his works. Despite a fairly challenging pronunciation, the Finnish photographer Pennti Sammallahti is in fact a pioneer, innovator and globetrotter that inspired many of his peers over the last four decades. On his fascinating journeys through the icy Scandinavian scenery, the chequered vegetation of Siberia, Japan, India, Nepal and large parts of the African continent, his panoramic camera followed him at every turn. The result is an intriguing exploration of relationships between humans, animals and nature amidst the remote, forlorn and staggeringly beautiful regions of the world. Meditative and humorous at times, his b/w snaps generate a feeling of Wanderlust, an urge to merely take along one’s dearest things and leave everything else behind, renouncing modern technology, social obligations and rules for a life in the pristine wilderness. And to get you even further into a daydreaming mood, London’s Photographers’ Gallery celebrates a retrospective of Sammallahti’s works in its small ‘Here, far away’ print sales show, which still runs until 5th January …

‘Project Fifty’ by Little White Lies

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As we all know far too well, people’s tastes tend to differ quite a lot and films are certainly no exception here. Before even seeing a flick in its entirety, we’re inevitably biased by trailers, posters, reviews and most of all by our personal likes and dislikes of certain actors, directors, genres or themes. Still, there are definitely a few movies that almost everyone refers to as outstanding, timeless classics. Whether it’s Casablanca, The Godfather, Forrest Gump or Oldboy, you’ll find pretty much everything that shattered, revolutionised or redefined the world of cinema in IMDb’s infamous Top 250 films of all time. Well, but how on earth does, let’s say Charlie Chaplin’s remarkable City Lights from 1931 (#37) get beaten by 21st century sci-fi blockbuster Inception (#15), you might think? Fair question. Maybe because it oddly feels like comparing apples and oranges. ‘So why don’t we just cherish the most outstanding film of each year instead of compiling a general highscore list?’ was probably the initial thought behind Little White Lies’ exciting ‘Project Fifty’. Genius! In celebration …

Spot On: Swanski

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Ever since I set my feet on a four-wheeled wooden plank (precisely this one) in my early teens, my heart is entangled with the spirit, art and culture of skateboarding. And besides being the ultimate expression of freedom, escapism and shared identity, it was and always will be a fascinating hotbed for creative minds. Folks like Swanski. As I am closely following the scene’s myriad of print magazines and online media, his name eventually surfaced on my radar with the release of his graphic designs for ‘Girl skateboards’ newest ‘OG series‘ a few days ago. Whereas my sheer ignorance conveys a different picture, the Polish artist is by no means the new kid in town, but rather expresses his genuine relationship with street culture for over ten years. Based in Warsaw, he is running his own graphic design studio ‘Swanarts’ and his apparel brand ‘turbokolor’, collaborated with industry heavyweights like Vans or Lakai and travels the world to share his eclectic art. Well, Swanski’s works are simply as versatile in matters of technique, style and material as they are dripping with creativity, expression and inspiration: Ranging from graphic designs, acrylic paintings and urban …

Cover © Maud Chalard

On The Bookshelf: The Quarterly Magazine Issue #2

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Inevitably, you stumble across them, whether covering a whole page or squeezed into its very last corner. For many of us, adverts are inseparably entangled with our favourite magazines. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not only an admirer of the written word, exciting stories and compelling photography, but equally digging clever adverts. It’s just about keeping a balance. Well, if I’m flicking through the pages of most lifestyle, fashion or culture-related mags, all you basically do is jumping from one random perfume, clothing or technology ad to another. The actual articles quite often wither into mere fill-in amongst the crowd. To me, something’s wrong here. Annoyingly wrong. People (supposedly) buy magazines for content in the first place, right? At least I do. So where’s the value and appreciation for the creatives behind it – writers, editors and photographers – if the focus is constantly distracted from the real deal? The photographic print journal The Quarterly however proves that things can be done quite differently, devoted to an ethical, art-valuing and ad-free concept. Well, let’s step back and get to the bottom of it. …

Launch Night: Triple Hop – Illustration & Beer exhibition

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There is (probably) a saying ‘If you don’t know anything about wine, just pick the one with the most beautiful, fascinating, bad-ass or creative label’. Well, that’s most likely hocus-pocus and hardly the case for beers anyway – so many fairly tasty beers wrapped in kinda boring corporate designs. You can’t have everything, right? Wait. Actually, you can. ‘Column Arts Agency’ has joined forces with independent craft beer gurus ‘Honest Brew’ and arts events agency ‘Test Space’, bringing together the ‘noble pursuits of drawing and boozing’ for their terrific collaborative show ‘ . The exhibition at East Street Arts‘ showspace features delicious samples of bottled brewing-awesomeness, graced with the designs of twenty emerging artists, including Column’s Alan Dalby, Mr Hass or Peter Beatty and Test Space’s SixOneSix, Benjamin Murphy or Captain Kris. And there’s even more to it: Apart from these limited edition pieces of art, which are on sale throughout the 10-day pop-up show, the premises are filled with brewing interior and cheeky beer-themed illustrations – ranging from cute and wicked to creepy and hilarious. Well, if that’s the first time you heard of Triple Hop, you most …