GROUP SHOW: 'SILENCE OF THE GUNS', RETHYMNON, CRETE

Back in November, I was very pleased to hear that my Digital Triptych 'Exploded Galil Machine Gun' got another airing in a second 'Silence of the Guns' show, this time in the city of Rethymnon.

Below: My contribution to the show - three digital collages. 

Below: Alternative Remix

Many thanks to Lamprini Boviatsou and Ioannis Arhontakis

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.

LONDON UNDERGROUND N-DIMENSIONAL HYPERBALL

Concept: In the future, we'll be able to put the whole of London's Underground into a ball, and travel along the inside surface of it. In fact, they've probably done it already - only they haven't announced it, in case the transport union gets 'ideas' and announces another strike.

GHOST PROTOCOL : WORK IN PROGRESS

The painting-within-a-painting looks particularly strong on the current piece.

76cm x 101cm, acrylic on canvas

STREET VIEW

Below: Digital drawing ( based on postcard illustration ) blue variant.

Urban environments, architecture, and modern living, are big themes in my work at the moment. 

Below: Abstract work in progress, acrylic on canvas, 50cm x 50cm, May 2015

Below: Abstract work in progress, acrylic on canvas, 76cm x 101cm May 2015

Below: Using scalpel skills to help the guys at Urban Synthesis with a model.

Below: Architects Adam and Jay assemble the model.

Below: This is my own attempt at designing a city, out of insulating polystyrene blocks. These shapes look great next to the Custard Factory building.

The team are close to finishing the model, which is a proposal for a large-scale project for the Chinese government.

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RELATED ALEXI K ARTICLES

Damiano Verdiani & Mauro Pellegrini: Italian earthquake architecture

Sebastian Lee, Dubai architectural photographer

Justin Palmer: Housing in Portland Oregon - data as art

MESSAGE TO MY RUSSIAN FANS!

Если Вы хотите приобрести мои работы или обсудить возможность организации вернисажа с моими работами, пожалуйста, свяжитесь с моим агентом Ксенией по электронной почте gypsymothahoy [ at ] gmail.com с заколовком "Алексий К". 

Skyline, Pen & Ink on Watercolour Postcard, 2015

Благодарю заранее,

Алексий

VISIT US ON THE 16TH MAY

Yes, we will be greeting visitors at our Custard factory HQ on Saturday, so drop by.

Click on this link for more details:

Custard Factory Open Studios

ALL THAT JAZZ

As you will see, further down this page, I'm currently experimenting with a particular abstract drawing style based around a grid. Nothing is planned, with the exception of the grid itself. Therefore, it's easy for things to go wrong...or maybe too right. Here is a good example of a piece that looks a bit too neat for its own good. I really wasn't that impressed when I did it...but actually I think it looks great now, and reminiscent of a funky 60s jazz album cover.

Untitled Abstract, ink on watercolour postcard, May 2015

Pen: Rotring isograph .35

RE-BRANDING IMMINENT!

I told myself that once this blog hits 20,000 pageviews, I'll give it a corporate make-over. Having spent the last few weeks either putting on shows or visiting new colleagues' shows in London, it's not going to happen ( update: am now eight pageviews from target number ), so I'll just have to fit it in, soon as I can!

Below: London Underground Glitched - Section 2. ( Glitched Jpeg using Wordpad ).

WORK IN PROGRESS: EXTREME CLOSE-UPS 05/03/2015

Reaching the final stages for these two pieces. Each one has built up substantially in texture, as each iteration is layered over previous ones.

Both pieces are acrylic on canvas, 76cm x 101cm

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VIDEO DIARY 09/02/2015: STUDIO REPORT