Private View Review – Ji Wenyu ‘Dressing Up Before Going Out’ @ Museum 52 – London

Although Ji Wenyu has exhibited at Cologne’s Sammlung Ludwig and Portugal’s Biennale de Maya, the western world has yet to fully experience his fabulous delights. The cheeky Chinese artist has been around for over ten years, and while recognition in his homeland is obvious, things are just starting to hot up in the UK and US. However, it’s not all bad. Museum 52 has managed to pick up on his talents, and last night presented ‘Dressing Up Before Going Out’. This is Wenyu’s first solo show in the UK and offers a small but perfectly formed set of works. ‘Living Fossils Have Successfully Mated’, (above) centres on a pair of pandas getting it on, ’Strong Men and Beautiful Women Living in the City’, gives off a greenish trannie vibe, and ‘Jeff Koons is Replaced’, (below) harbours a crisp cosmetic edge. These works are all fun, funky and fresh. In fact, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

I’m a fan of Wenyu’s work. It’s easy to appreciate, entertaining, quirky and queer. It's blatantly East Asian, which is, frankly, wonderful. But how does Wanyu pull this all off so adeptly? He takes all those colours typical of mainstream Chinese advertising of old, and pulls them together for a contemporary, tripped out scene. Bubble gum pinks, grassy greens, lurid turquoises and bright yellows are packed into one small flat space. Sounds awful, but believe me, it looks superb. Wenyu has manage to harness his brighter than bright palatte into a cool, pop art style, creating pieces that are both thought provoking and amusing – amusing for all the right reasons. You see, Wenyu is smart, sharp and sarcastic. He’s an ideal artistic commentator to China’s social and economic scene. Documenting the weird and wonderful habits of those who surround him, he notes their desires and eccentricities, and sometimes seedy traits. But best of all, he does it perfectly.

Ji Wenyu’s ‘Dressing Up Before Going Out’ takes place at Museum 52, Redchurch Street, London, E2, from 30th June – 3oth July.

Street Art - Banksy - Regents Park Road, London

Photograph © Kirsten Telfer Beith

Street Art - Antony Gormley @ The Roundhouse - Camden, London

Photograph © Kirsten Telfer Beith

Private View Review - Damien Hirst and Francis Bacon @ Gagosian - London

Britannia Street in London’s Kings Cross was alive last night with private views from Rove TV and Gagosian. Exhibiting an awesome collection from Damien Hirst, alongside a fabulous group of works from Francis Bacon, the show could not be faulted at Gagosian. Admittedly most of it had been seen before, but, nonetheless, the selection was outstanding. Bacon’s Cardinals, Hirst’s fly ridden cow's head and Pharmacy shelves were breathtaking – breathtaking, as is the Gagosian, though, last night, unfortunately, for completely opposing reasons.

From the old guard to new, I’ve been to many private views. All offer up art, while some provide champagne and canapés and others, out of date beer and dodgy wine. And it’s fun. It’s fab. It’s an essential schmoozing tonic that oils the wheels of PR and industry. Yet, last night, Gagosian, the grand dame herself, forgot her manners. With a drink section cut off, VIP nightclub style, and the toilet only available to celebs, the message from the London gallery was clear; only a small section of attendees matter here.

These elitist values, while fairly omnipresent elsewhere, have no place in the art world – least not within such a social and public situation. Indeed, this type of snobbery is the antithesis of street-level art; street-level art, which inevitably hits the high end of the art scene's hierarchy during later years.

Think about it; Hirst, who was surrounded by film crews and press at the private view, working it like a bona fide pro, once knocked around Soho with the best of us, living it up large, trying to make it. And make it he did. Yet, there's no doubt he too, in his pre-celebism days experienced the blank stare of the velvet rope holder (or she who holds the golden toilet key). And it’s all so ironic. Though perhaps the most ironic factor lies with the big kahuna, Larry Gagosian. You see, I imagine he would shun such snobbery. Why? Because Mr. Gagosian is a power house, a professional who is likely aware that today’s pleb may be tomorrow’s somebody.

Showing – Arts Beyond Presents Anouk van Tetering ‘The Collection’ @ The Zizi Gallery – London

Over the past few years, London based, Dutch import, Anouk van Tetering has created a nice little international niche for herself. Indeed, since graduating from Chelsea College of Art and Design, while appearing in publications like Cosmopolitain, Elle Decoration and Conaissance des Arts, her work has found its way into private and public collections worldwide. All this popularity and press is no big surprise. Tetering's prints are sexy, seductive and easy on the eye, so it goes without saying, her forthcoming exhibition, 'The Collection', is bound to offer up some saucy delights.

Anouk van Tetering’s ‘The Collection’ takes place at The Zizi Gallery, 23 Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1, from 18th July – 23rd July.

Event – Free Range @ The Old Truman Brewery – London

It’s that time again, when the annual Free Range festival rolls into town and takes over the Old Truman Brewery’s massive 11-acre site. Showcasing some of the finest (and sometimes not so fine…) new graduates, the event goes on for a lengthy two months and sees Brick Lane become a big old art party. With some 2,200 students exhibiting, Free Range attracts pretty much anyone in the UK scene – gallerists, dealers, students’ family and friends and those who’ve just wandered in unexpected. This particular festival is the 6th and with it being the hottest summer since who knows when, it’s going to be jam-packed. Many of these students are fresh out of colleges like Goldsmiths, Ravensbourne, Central St Martin’s and Camberwell, so talent is bound to be strong. In fact, standards are so high this year, that one graduate, Aowen Jin (Goldsmiths) has already been commissioned to paint the Queen.


FREE RANGE 2006 DIARY
@ The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London E1 from 1st June – 24th July

DESIGN: Week 1
Friday 2nd June - Monday 5th June
Middlesex University, Goldsmiths College, Greenwich University, Bournemouth University, and South East Essex College University College for the Creative Arts (SIAD)

DESIGN: Week 2
Friday 9th June - Monday 12th June
University College for the Creative Arts Epsom, University of the Arts London (CSM), Oxford & Cherwell College, University College for the Creative Arts Farnham, Brunel University, and Barnet College

PHOTO: Week 3
Friday 16th June - Monday 19th June
Salisbury College, University of Brighton, University College Falmouth Photography, Thames Valley University, and Havering College

PHOTO: Week 4
Friday 23rd June - Monday 26th June
University of Westminster, University College for the Creative Arts Farnham, West Kent College, Thames Valley University, Loughborough University and Kingston University

ART: Week 5
Friday 30th June - Monday 3rd July
Bathspa University College, University of Wales Newport, Colchester Institute, Hertfordshire College, Goldsmiths College, Nottingham Trent University and Camberwell College

ART: Week 6
Friday 7th July - Monday 10th July
Northbrook College, Batley College and Staffordshire University

MIXED: Week 7
Friday 14th July - Monday 17th July
Kingston University, Nottingham Trent University, Ravensbourne College, Thurrock College, University College for the Creative Arts Maidstone and University of Portsmouth

MIXED: Week 8
Friday 21st July - Monday 24th July
Arts Institute at Bournemouth, Arts Institute at Bournemouth, Norwich School of Art & Design, and University of Brighton

News – Tate Modern 2 Unveiled – London

There's more action at Tate Modern this month as plans for their upcoming 2012 extension have been exposed in the Sunday broadsheets. Inspired by Babylonian ziggurats, the £140 million wing will stand some 130 metres tall and practically doubles the museum’s space. Full plans are set to be unveiled next month, while the extension is intended for completion in time for the London Olympics.

Like the rest of the museum, this addition comes from Herzog & Meuron, the Swiss architectural group who originally turned Giles Gilbert Scott’s Bankside Power Station into the wonder we know as the Tate Modern. Now, although the bulk of the building is instantly recognisible as an old school industrial construction, the new wing is a little more sci-fi. Think big pyramid glass blocks in a mish-mash zig-zag style. It’s the antithesis of the Bankside section of the museum and, in that, reactions have been mixed.

This building may turn out as ugly as hell but, for someone who thinks the Scottish Parliamentary building is a bona fide work of art; I’m rooting for full-blown mega-success of Tate Modern 2. London needs a little something to rival the Bilbao’s Guggenheim or Hong Kong's Convention Centre. We need some future action. Sure, we have The Gherkin, City Hall and even Trellick Tower, but where’s the love on the arts scene? Our galleries are, on the whole, a part of the establishment. They rise from ancient building blocks of sheer elegance and historic grace. And yes, these have their place. They are regal. They are wonderful. They are beautiful and make London, well, London. But, let’s face it, Tate Modern is all about innovation. That’s the whole point. This is a remarkable building we have, one seeped in both history and style, so what's the harm in pushing it further and bringing the gallery bang into the future?

Showing – Xavier Veilhan ‘Le Grand Mobile’ @ at Andréhn-Schiptjenko - Sweden

This month Scandinavia’s Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery is showing a work by French artist, Xavier Veilhan at Art Basel's Art Unlimited. Le Grand Mobile is a piece which does exactly what it says on the tin and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is reported to be Veilhan’s largest work. Consisting of 25 big, black, shiny spheres, the installation covers a massive 440 square metres and hangs high above the floor. This is the first time Le Grand Mobile has appeared with Andréhn-Schiptjenko at Art Basel, however, it previously exhibited at the Bienal de Valencia, while a motorized version was planned for the Pompidou Centre.

Xavier Veilhan's 'Le Grand Mobile' is showing at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Art Unlimited, Art Basel 37, from 14th June - 18th June.

News – Gagosion to Open Second London Space – London

Gagosian has unveiled plans to open second space on Davies Street in London. This enterprise sees the mega-gallery neighbouring to the classy West End crew, setting up a stone’s throw from Bond Street, not so far from the Haunch of Venison Yard, which - surprise, surprise - houses the fabulous Haunch of Venison.

Now, while Gagosian is a big, bashy, international player, White Cube is arguably one of London’s funkiest and finest. Hot on the heels of Hauser & Wirth’s recent Coppermill enterprise in Shoreditch, rumours have surfaced that Jay Joplin’s nurturing plans for a secondary space in W1. While this may be hearsay, the move seems fairly likely. White Cube is without doubt the East End’s heavy, so a second gallery would be a obvious move for Joplin.