ALL THE BEST TUNES

I think geometric art is finally getting to me. This morning I came across this review for the new Slayer album on Amazon UK. Not only did it make me laugh, I thought how interesting it looked. The Slayer fans, and their record label on Twitter, also got a laugh out of it, but I think it's safe to say nobody else thought it was a great work of art. I do. So much so, that I'm going to put it in a show!*

*It's weirdly synchronous with a series of pieces that I've been working on for the last three months. I'll reveal more, soon!

ALEXI K featured in CONCEPT ROOM at CUSTARD FACTORY

Curated by up-and-coming Birmingham fashion designer, Antone Douglas of SneakerClub, CONCEPT ROOM features some of my colleagues from the Birmingham area.

Below: Show features my shoe design for Bucketfeet, plus debuts my newest painting SUPERCOLLIDER ( right ).

Venue: Custard Factory, Digbeth.

GO LOGO

Just read in AdWeek that geometric logos are 'more commonly associated with being powerful than other logo treatments. Logos with initials are a close second.'

I think my smiley man logo ( which is a sideways AK ), conveys just the right amount energy, vigour, forward-thinking, conviviality and wit, for people to feel that the Alexi K brand is their brand of choice. 

Alexi K...art that makes you feel better about yourself.

ABSTRACT DIGITAL

My colleague, fashion designer Antone Douglas, is curating an art and design show called CONCEPT ROOM, at the Custard Factory in Digbeth this weekend ( opens 12pm Friday until 8pm Saturday, 16 - 17 Oct ). I will be debuting my sneakers, and perhaps some digital translations of my abstract paintings, such as the example below.

ALEXI K...LIFESTYLE BRAND!

I create art to please myself. I don't want to be limited. If the art makes it out of the studio, and into a gallery, or into somebody's house, great. If a company approaches me because they like it so much, that they want to take it beyond mere aesthetics and give it a practical application, even better.

A year ago, Valley Forge Fabrics in Florida contacted me and we struck up a dialogue over the subsequent months. They manufacture material for large-scale interiors, and were originally enamoured with my 'Polygraph Nudes' and wanted to see if they could turn one of those into a fabric design for a boutique hotel. Later, on a whim, I sent them photographs of my abstract paintings. You may know from reading my blog, that my paintings are a progressed form of all my influences ( Comics, Cubism, Bauhaus, etc ). They loved them so much they did a test run of materials, and the result is below.

Below: Wall covering and chair based on the painting 'SUPERHIGHWAY'.

Will this mean I lose credibility or - god forbid - can no longer win a Turner Prize, because my art is seen to be 'commercial'? Us Birmingham artists have long since realised that you have to create your own 'situation' and not worry about what other people, institutions - or any other entities - think. As I said before, you can't be limited by outmoded ideas regarding what is, or is not, achievable, acceptable, or credible. It's the 21st Century, and previous ways of thinking are now obsolete.

I like to boast that I've put in my ten-thousand man-hours, and that the art speaks for itself. So, if it's a toss-up between 'winning the Turner Prize', or becoming the next Coca-Cola, my response is simple:

I'll take both.

Valley Forge Fabrics contact page

Below: 'Superhighway', the original acrylic on canvas, 76cm x 101cm, 2014

For more Alexi K brand, click here.