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Born in Suffolk in 1945, Maggi Hambling is a distinguished painter and sculptor whose work can be seen in the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Collection, The Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon and many other public collections in the UK and abroad. She was the first artist in residence at the National Gallery in 1980-81. Her portraits of George Melly and Max Wall are among those of her works in the National Portrait Gallery. Maggi Hambling is a figurative painter, sculptor and printmaker whose strong identification with her subject is expressed in bold handling and colour. In 1998 her statue to commemorate Oscar Wilde- A Converstion with Oscar Wilde was unveiled facing Charing Cross Station. In 2003 Scallop: her sculpure to celebrate Benjamin Britten, was unveiled on Aldeburgh beach in Suffolk.
Clare Clinton had a cup of tea with Maggi and bombarded her with the big questions...
CC: Describe your ethos as as artist/How would you describe your work?
MH: Life dictates what I paint or sculpt. The subject chooses me, rather than me the subject. I leave describing my work to others.
CC: What Inspires you?
MH: The North Sea. Occasionally shocking newspaper images. People I want to paint because I find them moving.
CC: Did you always want to be an artist?
MH: Art began for me when I was surprised by coming top in an art exam at school aged 14. I had done nothing until on seeing the clock announce 3.20pm, knowing that by 3.30pm I had to produce a painting, I did one.
CC: What is an aeverage day in the life of Maggi Hambling?
MH: When in Suffolk I rise at 5am in the summer, 6am in the winter, drive to the sea and draw in my sketchbook. When in London I take the dogs to the park and observe the Thames. In either case I work back in the studio with the first cigarette for a couple of hours before breakfast.
CC: Who are your top 6 artists?
MH: Rembrandt, late Titian, Van Gogh, Rothko, Jackson Pollock and living now- Cy Twombly.
CC: What do you think of the Arts in Britain today?
MH: Alive and full of variety. Exciting.
CC: What is you favourite exhibition space?
MH: Tate Modern
CC: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
MH: Dogged persistence. Ongoing.
CC: Which talent would you most like to possess?
MH: Tapdancing. With both feet.
CC: What is your favourite daily task?
MH: A large malt whiskey or two as the sun goes down.
CC: You least favourite?
MH: Finding a regretable absence of whiskey.
CC: One book to take to a desert island...
MH: The one I chose to take with me on the programme ie. the complete set of Just William books by Richmore Crompton.
CC: City or country?
MH: Suffolk beats London on every count. As I was born there the ground under my feet, the sky above me and the air that I breathe all feel right. The sunrise and the sea are better than anywhere else.
Sunrise Heart
CC: How would you like people to view your work in the future?
MH: Let's hope there's still some of it around, and that those who don't appreciate it now will realise their previous lack of perception.
CC: Name a current exhibition that you would like to see/would recommend
MH: I must see Miro at Tate Modern, and I have faith that other people will be inspired by it too.
Clare Clinton chats to CCA's newest publishing recruit the supercool Dan Baldwin and finds out what makes him tick....
CC: How would you describe your work?
DB: I'd describe my work as allegorical- suggestive- organic- sometimes they have perspective, sometimes not- they are never planned. They could be subtle and suggestive, delicate and playful, or dreamlike. It all depends on the mood; almost like a composer of music layering, sampling, building up until the balance is just right.
CC: What inspires you?
DB: To be a better artist, to progress forward, to be significant and recognised, success, exciting collaborations, freedom, security, to grow and fulfil ambitions...
CC: What is an average day in the life of Dan Baldwin?
DB: It depends what's on...the house we bought is from 1815, it has a nice feel to it, security is important to me and being at home- where I work as well. So I'm not always in the studio, but I'm surrounded by it all- pottering...I may be in the office working on the website or doing admin, or a vase, or doing research. If I'm painting I'll get in the studio about 11/12 and work until 7 in a really intense burst, usually with music on loud. Then I may go back after dinner from 8 til 10. I bring my paintings into my bedroom when they are nearly finished to really look at them...I can lie there for an hour gazing into the work and scanning across it, maybe it needs a bit more blue or black, to get that balance just right. I often start a piece one way and it ends up totally different- I made one recently that started all in gold leaf, and now there's no gold left!
CC: Your work often features religious imagery- is this symbolic or reflective of personal belief? Is there a spiritual element to your work?
DB: I believe in positive thinking, and I do have great faith, but I am not religious. I was brought up a Catholic but aged 14 decided to end that relationship. I started using a lot of religious elements after a relationship ended in 2006, but also after a trip to Mexico, and a general assessment of Catholicism. I was making some quite full on pieces like F*** Religion and F*** Politics...quite harsh works. But now it's more an attraction to objects, linking them together; like the crucifix is a beautiful object, same as a knife or a skull is, but religion is a huge cause of major conflicts worldwide- death of nature, of human life, religion, war, politics, it all links- there are links in everything I use- anatomy, vanitas, symbolism, nature, life, death etc, all carefully placed to conflict or juxtapose each other...
Cyclone
CC: What is your favourite work of art?
DB: Either a Francis Bacon piece called 3 Painting from 1946 or his Three Studies for a Crucifixion from 1962. Or a J.M Basquiat piece Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta from 1983 or Brother's Sausage...but I've been looking at H. Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights recently, which he spent 10 years making and it's an amazing work, especially the panel HELL.
CC: What do you think of the Arts in Britain today?
DB:I'm not sure really, I think it's probably the hottest thing to be right now isn't it- musician/artist etc.? Maybe it's down to Jamie Hewlett or Banksy, Hirst etc- my nephews all want to be artists now, but my sister tells them it took 16 years before I went full time! Tate Modern is one of the most visited places in the UK and since the mid-90s 'cool Britannia' has flown the flag for UK art and culture, from music to fashion etc. London has always had the edge with art, fashion, music etc- I put it down to the bad weather because if you lived in LA you would never get any work done! I stood outside Art Republic [one of our approved stockists in Brighton] and these 16 year olds were saying, 'I f***ing love that piece'- and it was a Banksy or one of mine, and I thought about when I was 16 and we knew nothing about art, only the old masters- so it has to be a good thing. But people are so spoilt and jaded too, as they over saturated with visual imagery. There seems to be this divide; I was placed into an 'urban' bracket for years, which I was not from; but I'm grateful to the explosion in that movement as it helped me. Overall I think the Arts in the UK are pretty healthy...the National Theatre, the RSC, London Art Fair, Affordable Art Fairs etc- they are always packed out.
CC: What is your favourite exhibition space?
DB: I like the Serpentine...
CC: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
DB: Tricky one...probably getting on the property ladder, or the Bonhams sale of 2008 [in which a piece of mine] went for over £25,000, selling a print for £3200 for charity was nice- as it was still one sale for a fraction of that, students doing projects on my work is a huge thrill, and the birth of baby Dylan last year was life changing.
Hope in Hell
CC: Which talent would you most like to possess?
DB: Hmm...I'd love to read music as I love playing the piano.
CC: Which daily task do you like best?
DB: Chopping logs/lighting the fire and pouring a vodka.
CC: Which daily task do you most dislike?
DB: Getting up.
CC: One book to take to a desert island...
DB: Shakespeare's complete works- I'd have time then and no excuses, or a 'how to swim' manual.
CC: City or country?
DB: Country, but where I can be in the city in a few hours- like West Sussex! Not too remote...
Death at the Parade
CC: How would you like people to view your work in the future?
DB: I think people expect a full on anarchic assault, but the work is actually very gentle; it's about harmony, love, life, beauty and colour...
London-based artist and man about town Duggie Fields has long been a central and flamboyant figure in the arts scene. His exuberant, sexy and often controversial post-pop paintings have been exhibited all over the world. Duggie's studio is in the same Earl's Court flat that he has lived in since he shared it with Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett in the 1960s.
Duggie Fields
His artwork has often translated into fashion design, leading to associations with designers and critics such as Ozwald Boateng and Zandra Rhodes. Seeking to push new boundaries in contemporary art, Duggie was an early exponent of using digital media to develop his work. Clare Clinton tracked him down to ask a few questions.... Did you always want to be an artist? No, but I started painting in adolescence and always wanted to carry on with it, just never thought of it as a career. I thought of myself for years as a painter before I accepted the term artist as describing what I do. What is your favourite work of art? Always my latest- of anyone else's it's their whole lifespan of work, of which there are so many, from Bacon to Picasso, via Miro and Mondrian, and so many others.
What is an average day for you?
The morning is usually spent working on the computer, out to lunch at a cheap local, a walk, then the afternoon and often the evening painting or back on the computer.
What is your favourite exhibition space?
My studio, the original Saatchi Gallery in Boundary Road, the Serpentine Gallery for its location- rarely its content.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Being able daily to decide what I want to do.
Why do you create art?
I don't know anything else that I could do that would be as fulfilling that I have the ability to do.
How would you like people to view your work in the future?
I'm not overly bothered, but hope they get some pleasure/stimulus from it. But I won't be here so it won't really matter to me...
What advice would you give someone hoping to become an artist?
Work at it. But work at the work more than anything else.
Describe your relationship with London
I Love London's mix, though I wonder sometimes currently that too much of the past is going to make way for much speculative over-development of little architectural interest.
What is your opinion of the health of the Arts in Britain today?
Vibrant, active, but over-hyped.
Name a current exhibition that you would like to see/would recommend
I want to go and see the Miro Show (currently on at Tate Modern) and I think it a must-see.
Duggie is currently working on an exhibition that will run in conjunction with L&S fine art at the London Newcastle project space in Redchurch Street, Shoreditch during Frieze week in October.
The Quest for Irma - series of five new signed limited edition silkscreen prints from renowned British artist Tom Phillips.
These five images are reproduced from the iconic series of gouaches that Phillips created in 1973. The work that Phillips has produced- from art to music to poetry and prose- all links to each other; each inspiring concept being related to a previous idea that Phillips has developed. The Quest for Irma is a perfect example of this interconnectedness. Whilst visually fascinating and mysteriously beautiful as a stand-alone group of artworks, the series relates to the opera Irma composed by Phillips in 1969. The eponymous heroine represents the ideal woman of the hero (Grenville’s) quest. Phillips’ work often merges different art forms- approaching Wagner’s ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art or synthesis of the arts), indeed the score for Irma takes the form of a large sheet with prose directions for the libretto, the mise en scène, and the sound vocabulary of the opera ie. the score exists as an autonomous artwork in its own right (and is in the Altmann Museum in Liechtenstein). In turn the inspiration for Irma was germinated from Phillips’ ongoing project A Humument. This project, which Phillips’ has continually worked on since 1966, is a transformation of W.H Mallocks Victorian potboiler A Human Document, published in 1892,
‘I took a forgotten Victorian novel found by chance. I plundered, mined and undermined its text to make it yield ghosts of other possible stories, scenes, poems, erotic incidents and surrealist catastrophies which seemed to lurk within its wall of words. As I worked on it I replaced the text I stripped away with visual images of all kinds. It began to tell and depict, amongst other memories, dreams and reflections, the sad story of Bill Toge, one of love’s casualties’.
Phillips’ treated novel is now in its 4th edition and he continues to re-work its pages and find fresh developments in Mallock’s source material. Irma is again based around pages of A Human Document transposing the main characters Irma and Grenville to a new format, and consequentially text from the novel appears as pendants to the paintings of the Quest for Irma series. Irma’s face is never entirely seen, giving this ideal woman an element of mystery as well as mass appeal; she could be any woman, anywhere. Irma is not only chased through prose and opera; here she is trailed through the shadow- world of the postcard, from which numerous possible Irma candidates have emerged. She is frequently seen from the back or with her face in shadow, in this manner Phillips freezes time, forever delaying the moment of recognition. We are caught in the powerful moment of ‘could it be?’ with all its anticipation and possibility, which so often gives way to the ‘no’ of broken illusion when the followed turns to face the follower. The Quest for Irma is about unobtainable love, forever just out of reach, and the heightened state of the lover who thinks he sees the object of his affection in the features of strangers on the street.
Phillips’ choice of postcard imagery- found imagery- rather than self-created portraits of what Irma might look like also increases the potency of the idea that Irma could be any woman, or perhaps every woman. It embraces the element of chance, the artist has not created these possible Irma’s, he has found them. Phillips has used postcards as a source material since the late 1960s, for several years they became the equivalent visual source to Mallock’s A Human Document as a textual source,
‘Having claimed that I would find in the pages of A Human Document everything that I might want to say verbally, it seemed that I could by analogy decide that there was no narrative or reference or pictorial element that I could not elicit from a postcard. A special emblematic breed of people seemed to inhabit the parallel planet that cards depict, people trained in an eloquence of gesture and expressiveness of movement more telling than those of any corps de ballet. I made studies of them as diligently and reverentially as, in another age, I might have made drawings from the antique...I indulged my liking for silly scholarship by building into the title (which forms part of the picture) all the pedantic details of the postcard’s own self-description, its serial number, publisher, place of printing etc. There is often as glum poetry in such particulars...My veneration of Cezanne was embodied in pictures painted from postcards of his studio...No aspect of postcards, however trivial or minutely incidental, was overlooked in what I now see as a form of passionate distancing...which might by indirection find direction out...The postcard as cultural ikon dominated my imagination for a long period.’
Each Quest for Irma piece is in effect a treated page of Mallock’s A Human Document, just like A Humument, however these works are not in a book format and are in a uniform composition. The imagery is the primary focus, with the text placed at the bottom, acting as a kind of pedestal supporting the framed images of ideal womanhood. The text used in each piece is taken from a single page of A Human Document, the chosen words having been extracted and circled by Phillips, with the rest painted over, though partially visible. Phillips has found and used pages of A Human Document containing fragments of text that are pertinent to the scene represented in the postcard eg. in Quest for Irma I the text refers to the ‘summer sea’ and ‘the hours she devoted to watching the waves fall’, or in Quest for Irma III the text refers to ‘wind-swept the beach and the shining sea’. Beneath this each piece is has a footer of stencilled lettering listing the title, details of the postcard used and the date of the original work. These three aspects; the use of postcard imagery, the use of text from A Human Document, and Phillips’ stencilled cataloguing of each work, are key motifs throughout the artist’s career and body of work.
Blake continues on his tour of the great cities of the world, following his Venice Suite of 2009, and has now brought his unique vision to the City of Light in the Paris Suite. This beautifully presented portfolio set is comprised of twenty original silkscreen prints on paper. Once again Blake has taken inspiration from an antique souvenir postcard set of the city, using these as the basis for each packed collage composition. Blake creates hugely complex and humorous scenarios filled by characters and objects found in his personal collection of printed materials. The series contains several classic Blake motifs such as the circus, magic crowds, dancing and butterflies, and showcases the sophistry of his compositional skills. Blake’s careful balance and soft application of colour throughout the series, render the works reminiscent of old-fashioned aquatints; they could almost be illustrations to a story book from yesteryear- he leaves it to the viewer to create the story. Collage has been a medium that has fascinated Blake since his first experiments at the Royal College of Art in 1955. He took inspiration from artists such as Kurt Schwitters and Max Ernst to create collages that were surreal and comic visual stories bringing together many disparate and strange elements.
Paris- 10 Man Upright
This tower of humans is one of the circus feats that often recurs in Blake’s work, having recently appeared in Four Man Up (Paris Quartet). Blake’s takes childlike joy in all things ‘circus’ and we here we see this precariously balanced group performing in front of Les Invalides (the military hospital and museum where Napoleon is buried). Blake acknowledges this Parisian landmark by compiling his human tower from military personnel, but cannot resist the joke of putting a little girl at the bottom! The spire of Les Invalides is made to seem considerably shorter than the pile of figures, of whom we can only see four and a half of the advertised ten, as the tower reaches dizzying heights beyond the image edge.
Paris- Aquarium
The theme of public entertainment continues with the aquarium. A top-hatted master of ceremonies presents an aquarium of giant fish to the general public in the Place de la Bastille. In the foreground a Welsh fisherman carrying a coracle is rather optimistically hoping for a catch. Blake’s manipulation of scale and his inclusion of the diver in the tank are a comic joy.
Paris- Butterflies I
Blake returns to the subject of Eiffel Tower (Paris Quartet) with this romantic image. Butterflies have an increasing presence in Blake’s current work inspired equally by his admiration for the work of Damien Hirst (as seen in his solo show ‘Homage 10 x 5’ at Waddington Galleries 2010) and the beauty of the antique butterfly illustrations he finds in his huge collection of printed material.
Paris- Butterflies II
Blake’s butterflies are pressed right up against the picture plane, creating a colourful screen through which we can view a collection of diverse and random characters. Butterflies have an increasing presence in Blake’s current work inspired equally by his admiration for the work of Damien Hirst (as seen in his solo show ‘Homage 10 x 5’ at Waddington Galleries 2010) and the beauty of the antique butterfly illustrations he finds in his huge collection of printed material.
Paris- Charabanc Outing
Blake peoples this composition with a typically unexpected and unusual crowd. A charabanc is an old fashioned vehicle used for sight-seeing (such a trip was the premise for the Beatles TV film ‘Magical Mystery Tour). This concept recurs in Blake’s work from his paintings of Marcel Duchamp’s World Tour to his double decker Art Bus in which he tours the UK.
Paris- Chicken Act
The Garnier Opera House seems to inspire avian thoughts in Blake, for his Birds (Paris Quartet) was set in the same location. Peter returns to his circus theme by having chickens and splendid cockerels re-enact the human tower of 10 Man Upright and Four Man Up . The cockerel is of course a symbol of France; perhaps Blake could be making a little tongue in cheek reference to the Gallic love of display. Again Blake plays with scale- the size of the horse revealing the chickens to be giants. Gathered around this unusual sight is a classic Blake ‘magic crowd’ made up of diverse engraved heads selected from his huge collection of printed material.
Paris- Circus I
Features an engraving of Wombells Circus that Blake has had in his collection for many years, and here provides the perfect background for an open air Parisian circus spectacular. The circus takes place in front of the now demolished Palais du Trocadéro (built for the Exposition of 1878 and now demolished).
Paris- Circus II
The circus theme continues in front of the Panthéon with acrobats clambering all over the building. Blake’s fascination with the circus has been prevalent throughout his career. As a painfully shy young man he identified with the outsiders misfits and ‘freaks’ on show. As well as a great admiration for tghe performers, Blake felt a more general interest in the circus as part of popular culture- as escapist entertainment for ordinary people. He has always been interested in artistic styles outside the fine art traditions and admired the commercial art of the circus and fairground.
Paris- Confucius
A large crowd gathers in front of the Grand Palais to admire a statue of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Blake combines illustrations of people from all walks of life and parts of the world to form this mass of admirers. ‘Magic Crowds’ are a recurring theme in Blake’s work (most famously seen in Sgt. Pepper) and reflect not only Blake’s sense of fun and interest in the surreal possibilities of college, but his own sociability and fascination with the diversity of human experience.
Paris- Dancing
Brings together an eclectic collection of illustrations and photographs of people dancing and enjoying themselves in front of the Palais Garnier. The composition is dominated by children, whose innocence and joy is a key component throughout the Paris Suite. In the background dragons, camels and spitfires complete this fantasy of fun.
Paris- Elephants
Elephants are lowered into the Place Vendome on winches- perhaps to invade Paris or perhaps to take their rightful place as mans’ best friend? Blake focuses on elephants in several of the Paris Suite works and they appear in the background of many more, he gives them a human quality. Their presence fulfils two key elements of Blake’s collage work: humour and an exploration of the surreal and unexpected.
Paris- Girl
A crowd gathers by the Pont Alexandre to admire les femmes parisiennes in a work that is reminiscent of World Tour: London- Multi-Ethnic Crowd. All walks of life are gathered on the banks of the Seine, Blake has let his imagination run wild, creating a magic crowd with characters from varying ethnographical and horological backgrounds, resulting in a composition that reflects all the vibrancy and elegance of the French capital.
Paris- Lowering Elephants
The languid expression on the elephants’ faces contrasts humorously with the drama of their arrival via winch. The sight of elephants flying through the air in this manner is utterly surreal and very funny, perhaps referring to the Disney song ‘When I See an Elephant Fly’. Blake’s humanisation of elephants in the series is continued, with one of the pachyderms cradling a human infant.
Paris- Men With Their Pets
In the companion piece to Paris- Women with Their Pets these men have some rather macho and exotic animal companions including a giant python, a dragon and a rhinoceros. The men are occupied training their pets, offering them to ladies, conversing with them, feeding them, fighting with them, and letting them perch on their telescopes and generally larking about.
Paris- Monkeys
Like a scene from a scary ‘B’ movie- giant monkeys have taken over Notre Dame and seem to be treating it as an amusing climbing frame. The cast includes baboons, gibbons, gorillas, orang-utans, limas and some very strange looking monkeys indeed. The composition of this piece is minimalistic in comparison to many of the others, making it stand out amongst the Paris Suite.
Paris- The Day The Apes Escaped
All of the collaged elements are illustrations from a book in Blake’s collection about the meeting between Dr. Livingstone (British missionary and explorer in central Africa) and HM Stanley in 1873. The various ape-outrages that are taking place are all illustrations of the adventures of Livingstone and Stanley. The cool-looking character relaxing with shot gun is most likely Livingstone himself. Even though the apes are wreaking violent havoc, Blake manages to retain the charmingly comedic idea of transposing the adventures of these two great explorers from the African jungle to the civil urbanity of Paris, as exemplified by the nannies with charges walking calmly by the pond with no concern for the antics of the apes.
Paris- The Day the Seine Froze Over
Inspired by the many occasions on which the Thames used to freeze over (a regular occurrence between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries). Blake imagines the same event taking place in Paris, we see people making camp on the frozen surface of the river. The contrast between the mild blue skies and green leaves of the background and the extremity of the frozen wastes of the foreground is a joy to behold. Blake doesn’t hold back on the winter imagery; including fur-wrapped sledgers driving reindeer and dogs. This drama is tempered by a pair of ducks waddling across the ice
Paris- The Kiss
Blake’s mischievous sense of humour comes to the fore here. The romantic kissing couple are flanked on the one-side by nineteenth century British Prime Minister Disraeli, and on the other by a lovelorn classical figure. Keenly observing the embrace is a dirty old man, sharing his glee with a rabble of teenage ragamuffins who are at once fascinated and disgusted. In the middleground a witch, a bacchic nymph and an eastern European dancing troupe appear on the scene to celebrate the moment- standard.
Paris- Women With Their Pets
Companion piece to Paris- Men With Their Pets the ladies show that their pets are just as bizarre as the mens’. The women are decidedly more affectionate with their creatures, which include a bear, fox, giraffe, squirrel, python, camel, monkey and -of course- a mammoth. The space in front of the arc de triomphe has been converted into a pet training ground, and there seems to be no creature that the intrepid female cannot succeed in domesticating whilst looking every inch a lady. Deliciously weird- a vision of what it might look like if the Paris WI took up animal circus training.
Paris- Working Elephants
Elephants have been recruited by men to help with construction, transport and other work. In front of La Madeleine the industrious pachyderms work away in partnership with their human companions. Blake’s tableaux makes us imagine a Paris where this wonderful sight is an everyday scenario, as the figures in the
Sir Peter Blake is once again in the headlines, this time for the amazing price achieved for his artwork 'Loelia, World's Most Tattooed Lady' at Christie's recently. This is undoubtedly an iconic piece by the artist, but its fetching more than double its estimate (£335,000) points to an increasing interest in British 20th century works within the art market. It has often been said that British Pop artists are massively undervalued compared to their American colleagues, historically this has certainly been true for Sir Peter Blake. However, it seems that collectors are waking up to the importance of the British Pop art movement, historically there has been a huge disproportion in prices achieved by Blake in comparison with Andy Warhol for example, encouraging collectors to buy up British Pop art at an 'affordable' price. This resurgance of interest has been gathering momentum and is gradually inflating prices. There is no doubt that the British vanguard of this transatlantic movement is as significant aesthetically and intellectually as its American counterpart, and it is therefore perfectly sensible to expect equality in market value. In short it appears that collectors are realising the investment potential of British Pop art....so snap it up now!
'Loelia, World's Most Tattooed Lady' was painted by Blake in 1955 while he was a student at the Royal College of Art. Blake's biographer Marco Livingstone describes the piece as 'a multi-layered proto-Pop painting which occupies a key position in the history of British Pop Art'. The piece displays motifs and methods that would become central to Blake's art: his fascination with fairground, circus and folk art, his use of distressed wooden panel (making it appear to be a 'found object'), the inclusion of popular magazine-style illustrations and old-fashioned typography, and his empathy with outsiders.
Note to keen Blake collectors: CCA are offering for sale 'Tattooed Lady' (black hair, blue bikinI) signed limited edition silkscreen print from 1985. For more information please contact us on 01252 797201, this artwork is not displayed on the website.
Don't miss your opportunity to see stunning new original artwork by Sir Peter Blake at Waddington Galleries in London. This one-man show 'Homage 10 x 5' is a tribute to 10 artists that have inspired and influenced Blake over the course of his career: Joseph Cornell, Sonia Delaunay, Mark Dion, Damien Hirst, Henri Matisse, Jack Pierson, Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitters, Saul Steinberg and H.C. Westermann. For each artist Blake has created 5 new pieces as a homage, absorbing key elements and motifs of their style to create 50 new artowrks. Sir Peter explains his motivations in the Waddington's catalogue for the exhibition,
'In 1997, just after I had completed 2 years at the National Gallery as Artist-in-residence, I reached the age of 65. This is the retirement age for a male, so I announced my retirement. It was a conceptual art statement, and didn't mean that I would stop working, but I would retire from the avarice, jealousy, ambition, hope and glory of the art world. Then in 2007 at the age of 75 I chose to begin my 'Late Period', rather than have other people at a later date, decide it. I could have anticipated a gentle stroll towards the sunset, and the quiet ending of my career as an artist and that point, but quite the opposite has happened.
At the moment I have never been so busy. I am half way through setting up 'The Museum of Everything 3' which I am co-curating with James Brett, and I'm deep into the preparation for this exhibition 'Homage 10 x 5- Blake's Artists' at Waddington Galleries. For 'Homage 10 x 5' I have selected 10 artists and produced 5 works in homage to each of them. All 10 of the artists are my heroes, amd most have influenced the work I have done. I'll take them in alphabetical order, and explain their inclusion:
1. Joseph Cornell, the American collagist and maker of boxes, who was fascinated by European culture, but never left the USA. I have made 5 small shallow boxes in homage to his boxes.
2. Sonia Delaunay, who was French amd the wife of the artist Robert Delaunay, produced a series of decorated book covers, so I've decorated 5 book covers loosely in her style.
3. Mark Dion, another American, makes arrangements of found material. My 'Museum of Black and White' series pays homage to his collocations of found objects.
4. Damien Hirst has used butterflies a lot in his work, and it was pointed out that 'the butterfly' owes more than a little to his work, so I was happy to dedicate him in homage to Damien. I am an enormous admirer of Dmeine's work.
5. Henri Matisse, I made 5 paper collage 'spirals', after 'The Snail', the wonderful large collage by Matisse.
6. Jack Pierson makes wall scultpures using found letters, often from the graveyards of signage in Las Vegas. My work is from a series made a few years ago, called 'Appropriating Jack Pierson.'
7. Robert Rauschenberg was an enormous influence on me in the mid 1950s. My 'Rauschenbergs' are a very formalised version of his work. I made no attempt to assimilate his beautiful, almost 'Abstract Expressionistic' use of paint.
8. Kurt Schwitters, it is impossible to make a collage withour owing a debt to Kurt Schwitters.
9.Saul Steinberg. I have attempted to translate Steinberg's watercolours of still-lifes into three-dimensional objects. Paintings into scultpures.
10. H.C. Westermann. A marine in the US Navy he witnessed Japaense kamikaze pilots crashing into ships, and carved a series of wooden 'Death Ship' sculptures. My 'galleon' sculptures pay homage to them.
So, fifty works, all in homage, admiration, love and respect to these ten artist. Thank you to them all.'
The exhibition runs until 11th Dec, for more info please visit www.waddington-galleries.com
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All of the Words in the World has been highly anticipated as a silkscreen release, following the huge popularity of the original papercut that Rob Ryan produced to be auctioned in aid of the BHF earlier in the year.
Well now, finally, it is here. A limited edition of 150 (like all the BHF silkscreen editions) available to purchase at its launch price now. All of the Words in the World is not part of the BHF Breath of Life portfolio, but is a part of our Mending Broken Hearts Art Appeal- and all publisher's profits will got to the British Heart Foundation.
This is a romantic, whimsical and quirky image that perfectly encapsulates Ryan's sentimentality and
Rush to Camden and check out Sir Peter Blake's private collection (from his studio) of art curios, music memorabilia, victoriana and popular culture paraphernalia. All Blake fans will be aware that his studio in Hammersmith is a treasure trove and personal museum of objects and artwork that have fascinated the artist over the years, the space is stuffed with art, found objects and ephemera that Blake has collected and catagorised.
'I began my collecting when I started in the Junior Art Department at Gravesend School of Art when I was 14. Thjere was a junkyard next to the station and on my first visit I bought a set of leather0bound Sheakespeare, a papier mache tray and a painting of the Queen Mary that heppened to be a kind of outsider art, and it all started from there.'
The Museum of Everything started last year during Frieze's art fair month and was focussed on exhibiting art from outside of the mainstream; works created in private by untrained individuals. This time the idea of non-traditional art is being extended to include not only Blake's collections but other categories and collections of self-taught creativity that share similar themes. Exhibition 3 is the largest art installation ever created by Blake
One of the highlights of the exhibition is Mr Potter's Museum of Curiosities, which was known as one of the most popular attractions in Victorian England. The collection is made up of models of claasic victorian scenes such as cricket matches, clubs and weddings populated by stuffed animals: birds, squirrels, cats: a taxidermists delight. Other unusual inclusions in Exhibition 3 are a selection of miniature fairgrounds made by a retired farmer from Norfolk, handmade puppets by vaudeville entertainer Harry Varnum, anti war art created by circus performer and former US marine HC Westermann, and art by Cheetah:the performing chimp from the Tarzan films, who took up painting at the age of 64 and was exhibited at the National Gallery.
Exhibition 3 runs from 13th October-24th December.
http://www.museumofeverything.com/
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Posted By Clare on Thu 12 May 2011 10:15 
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