Andy Warhol at The De La Warr Pavilion

I was surprised to see that The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill is currently playing host to an Andy Warhol exhibition, and a very impressively curated one at that. Displayed over three floors in the historic pavilion that overlooks the seafront, the exhibition guides viewers through a detailed journey of Andy Warhol's varied works and accurately documents the influences behind each stage of his artistic career. I would usually expect to see a Warhol exhibit hanging within a major London gallery, but instead it was a joy to visit the De La Warr exhibition so free from crowds and chaos; even when I turned up on Saturday morning the rooms were still quiet.

It was interesting to learn that Warhol's obsessions included not only the infamous commodification of celebrity and American culture, but also the subject of assassination and death, which hugely explains his fascination with skulls and guns. His eye-catching works ranged from huge photographs, to drawings, to prints (see my dodgy i-phone pics) and the exhibition was colourful to say the least. In one room his huge prints of hamburgers and army prints were juxtaposed against a wallpaper of Warhol's pink cow.

The exhibition will be on display until Sunday 26th February and it's well worth the visit. Entry is free, however a £2 donation is requested.

The Most Scandalous Muses in Art History

Flavorpill have written a fascinating account of the 'enchanting, free-spirited, tortured men and women' that inspired artists to do great work. Ranging from Marie-Therese Walter whose love affair with Picasso influenced his emotive Cubist style, to Francis Bacon's twisted companionship with his gay lover George Dyer all the way to Leonardo Da Vinci's patient servant Gian Giacomo whose serenity and calm translated into beautiful portraits. They tell a curious story of the true influence behind these great works of art. Definitely worth a read.

Nan Goldin

Nan Goldin is an example of an artist who works at the most intimate level: her life is her work and her work, her life. It is nearly impossible to discuss Goldin's photographs without referring to their subjects by name, as though the people pictured were one's own family and friends. It is this intimate and raw style for which Goldin has become internationally renowned. Her "snapshot"-esque images of her friends -- drag queens, drug addicts, lovers and family -- are intense, searing portraits that, together, make a document of Goldin's life. Goldin herself has commented on her photographic style and philosophy, saying, "My work originally came from the snapshot aesthetic . . . Snapshots are taken out of love and to remember people, places, and shared times. They're about creating a history by recording a history."

Life-like Illustration by Cath Riley

As an artist aiming for ultimate realism, you know you've got it right when viewers double take. In the case of Cath Riley, I would not be surprised if she fooled the lot. Her skin-tight illustrations appear so much like photos you really do have to look twice. Applying the simple medium of pencil to paper, Riley creates exquisitely detailed hand-drawn portraits, focusing specifically on depictions of the flesh and the human body with a confident definition I've never witnessed before. Riley has recently exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition with commissions from big brands such as The Economist and Nike.

Pop-Art Mountains

These colourful photographs were taken by Mexican artist Sara Marjorie Strick who plays with layering and textures to create captivating images of mountainscapes. Through the contrasting materials, Strick seems to be demonstrating nature's magnificent colour palette, by positioning the images as paintings against the equally bright man-made fabrics. The prints are fairly kitsch in style with hints toward Pop-Art. I can safely say Andy Warhole would have loved these.

Lake Baikal Land Art

Whilst we're somewhat used to seeing art crafted upon some rather unusual canvases, nothing quite beats the latest project by Land artist Jim Denevan. Spanning 31-km-sq, Denevan's project is a 'drawing' on the frozen surface of the Siberian Lake Baikal, in the form of beautifully symmetrical crop circle designs. The series of patterns are actually based on the Fibonacci sequence; a number pattern present in many of nature's forms. As is the way of the natural world, Denevan's drawing dissolved after a few months, but his works were captured on film by Director Meredith Danluck for the Art Hard documentary, screened at The Nevada Museum of Art.

The Museum of Everything - Selfridges

I popped into the Museum of Everything located in Selfridges, to see what all the press hype was about. The generous exhibition, hosted within a dimly lit basement room that resembled a secret grotto, displayed various painted and sculpted pieces by untrained artists in studio workshops. Some of these studios were based in hospitals throughout the world from Japan to Brazil to Germany to Australia.

The works ranged from hand built miniature cranes, to paper mache Frankensteins, to scribbled drawings of ice creams to painted portraits, but despite this brilliant variety, each piece lacked an adequate description. Of course some would argue that art is all about individual interpretation, yet I do feel that the effort behind each piece would have been more greatly appreciated had we known more about who created it, or what their story was. The only saving grace was the iPads attached to a few of the walls, showing films of the methods by which each individual created their art.

The scenes were actually very touching to watch, making you realise that art provides a crucial outlet for those unable to speak or communicate in a normal fashion.

If you're in the area, I would recommend popping for some creative inspiration. There is a small donation request of £2 as you leave and the guestbook is worth looking through too.

You're Not Unique In Dying

I got sent this pencil drawing series "You're Not Unique In Dying" by Chris Oliver a few weeks ago. The four detailed, hand drawn images are titled "Varanasi (Ribcage)" "Bodh Gaya (Thigh Bone)" "Mecca (Teeth) " and "Jerusalem (Pelvis)". Each piece has a set of coordinates based upon the area it is titled after as well as a series of geometric patterns overlaid onto the bone structure. Oliver has intentionally used Winsor & Newton architectural paper for the large scale drawings; an insightful way to examine the structure and formation of the human body, which like any building, is made of firm foundations and a strong skeletal structure.

Wimbledon Art Fair

A few weeks ago, the Wimbledon Art Studios opened their doors to the public, inviting art enthusiasts to browse four never-ending floors of seperate studio spaces, each enlivened by the work of individual artists.

I was really impressed by a few of them, including Linda Smith's paintings depciting obscure, suited figures, who appeared to stride into the foreground from even hazier backgrounds, and Carol Knight's painting 'Chinese Whisper's', where thick brushstokes depict two young girls sitting next to eachother, their shapes created through a merge of electric blues and hearty reds which bled into eachother.

Gemma Wightman's hand thrown wonky pottery was also extremely charming. Glazed over with turqoise colouring, the mis-shapen cups, plates, and jugs were appealing in their imperfections. Other artists well worth checking out are the colourful paintings of Paul Lemmon, Rupert Dixon and the illustrations by Millie McCallum.

X-Rated Lego Pieces

I found these brilliant porn star lego pieces on American art and culture blog 'Annals of Americus'. The blocks of stacked Lego cause a pixellated effect, heightening the x rated theme.

Tea and Make Pop-Up Shop

Ten designers are featured in this craft-centered Christmas shopping event which also offers workshops to make a seasonal present or decoration (keep an eye on the blog - link via the website - or chalkboard outside the shop for times), plus of course tea and cake. Featured artists include Random Studio with screenprinted accessories, Laura Laura with embroidered reclaimed knitwear and Jill with cards and bags.

Very Cool Design Company

The simple yet artfully crafted coat stand (above) explores the way in which people interact with their natural surroundings. It's made of 100% plywood and would compliment any room, whether traditional or modern. I love the idea of bringing something from the outside, inside and this concept works really well here.

The design company behind the tree coat hanger, Wedid-id, have also created a rather humorous plate series, entitled 'What We Eat'. The plates are printed with designs of animals alongside the food that they 'turn into'. For example there are pigs made of bacon, and a cooked chicken is placed alongside one that is living. Again a simple concept, but an interesting, (and in this case rather blunt) result.

Incredible Billboard Design

Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo are professional architects and artists who utilize unconventional architectural systems and new media to explore issues of spatial perception.

They are the principals and founders of the Seattle architectural and installation art firm 'Lead Pencil Studio' and the 2008 recipients of the Prix de Rome in architecture. In their words, "The spaces, objects and buildings resulting from our studio process establish new territories that surprise and altar perceptions".

This incredibly designed billboard is made from carefully twisted and tangled metal, and was created to represent the reamins, or 'ghost' of one of the many billboards that populate the area. Check out this website for more images and film clips, or the official Lead Pencil Studio Site.

Thomas Mailaender

I love the playful nature of Thomas Mailaender's photographs, which focus on a real range of subjects, right through from Chicken Museums, to poka dotted old people to emblazoned bottoms. There's a real sense of 'giggle' to the pieces of this French multimedia artist, and check out his Fun Archive for what he calls a collection of the 'Worst Image Bank Ever'.

Tree Light Installation

Farm Singapore created this beautiful, sculptural light installation called 'The Tree' at The National Museum of Singapore. The intricate and complex sculpture is said to represent a huge archaic Banyan tree, and represents the histories, stories and magic of the The Museum and the area itself . The lights on the tree are held together between metal frames, pulsating gently at night; dimming or lightening up depending on the level of visitor's voices below it.

Kiss-Mass Tree

The UK's first ever interactive kiss-mas tree is being launched in the UK today in Covent Garden on behalf of the Prince's Trust charity.

Rising star of lighting design, Paul Cocksedge Studio (together with partner Joana Pinho), is the architect of the technically ingenious lighting system, which is activated when two people hold the mistletoe under the tree and kiss eachother. The 'electricity of their touch' spectacularly lights up 50,000 red and white LED lights, creating a sensational light installation. If those lips are a tad dry, Body Shop are on hand hosting ‘pucker up’ stations, giving your lips a free makeover.

Merry Kissmas aims to raise over £25,000 for youth charity The Prince’s Trust, changing the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK, through practical and financial support. An auction will be held today for the opportunity to kiss Christine Bleakley, who will officially turn the lights on and together with the money raised from this, organisers of Kissmass are also encouraging visitors to donate a minimum of £1 for every kiss they share under the Christmas tree.

Visit The Princes Trust website for more details.

Can You Draw The Internet?

Saint Creative have come up with a competition aimed at young kids as well as adult creatives to draw a picture of the internet. Seem fair? Well, the point of the challenge is to gauge who is more creative; the kids and their wild imaginations or the wisdom and experience of the creative industry. Working in the latter myself, I'm tempted to pick the former. The vast and never-ending realm of cyber space is clearly hard to define, which makes this compeition really interesting and there are some unique and pretty funny entries. Click here to have a browse of the others.

Lesley Flower Photography

Lesley Flower took a degree in photography at Southampton Solent University and bases her work around themes of passing time and contemplation. Just like the infamous landscape photography of Richard Long, Lesley is also interested by the objects people own and the traces they leave behind. Her large scale travel photography captures quiet yet dramatic scenes, void of human life, but full of nature's nuanced colours, rough textures, and gentle light. Click here to see more of her works.

Street Art Sketch Book- Tristan Manco

Just like this very happy lady above, I too got my hands on a copy of Tristan Manco's 'Sreet Art Sketchbook: The Journey' yesterday in Nottinghill. The book is really well put together combining plenty of sketches, visuals and interesting text from the secret world of artist's sketchbooks. This particular publication explores and captures practically every piece of graffiti art in South America.

Tristan Manco is an author and designer based in the UK specialising in art direction, curation and publishing.You can see more images inside the book here.

Look What I found

On a night out in Camden's Lock Lounge, I spotted this colourful parrot painting, spread between two canvases and the wall itself. The birds sit, play and fly off what appears to be a washing or power line, creating movement and an striking focus to the room. What a great way to fill a placid wall space. (Shame about the disco lights..!)

The 7/7 Memorial

I've been really suprised to see how much art is buried in Hyde Park, hidden in leafy corners or secret gardens. Aside from all the Anish Kapoor hype, (his sculptures are drawing crowds of tourists and security guards patrol around them) I've found some pretty amazing, and in this case touching, pieces that deserve just as much recognition.

One of the most profound I've seen was the 7/7 memorial, that consists of a number of tall, concrete poles, each emblazoned with the name of a victim and the location at which they died. On this particular day, the sun was shining and eerie shadows were cast on the floor, making the human-like sculptures seem like they were standing tall from the ground.

The way this sculpture is built allows you to weave in and out of it like a maze, and despite seeming simple in design, there was something compelling about it's symmetricality.

Thinking back to the calamity of that day, this memorial cleverly embodies the calm after the storm.

Kit Merritt's 'To Do List'

Art Licks is the latest website on the block to establish itself into a magazine, and had it's exclusive launch party last week at the Sasoon Gallery. Artist Kit Merritt, one of the many involved with the launch, asked attendees to write on to her To Do list as part of her interactive work.

Each written task had to be something that genuinly needed to be done by whoever was writing it and throughout the following week, Kit set about completing all the tasks herself. Her blog, called 'Things We Both Need To Do' shows evidence of this and includes the receipt from buying a train ticket to Brighton, a print out of car tax renewal and a map of Bethnal Green drawn from memory.

Kit focuses her works on archival practices and a 'compulsion to document autobiographical actions' which is evident in her seemingly obsessive preoccupation with lists. Another of her blogs called 'To Do' was started in 2008 after Kit continuously found herself writing list after list of things she had done and things she had to do.

Selfridges Shoe Hall

This September, Selfridges launched a mega 35,000 square feet shoe hall, displaying 4,000 shoes from over 150 brands. As I flip-flopped my way through the maze of suede boots, leather pumps and shiny stilettos, my attention was actually drawn to this colourful cascade of paper trainers and heels, which is hung in between the escalators, right from the tip of the ceiling down to the yellow tables below.

The shoes are intertwined using wire, along with banners that read 'what's your shoe story?' I was unable to find out who created the work, but I did notice that it ties in with Selfridge's online competition. The latter invites you to share the story of your favorite pair of shoes to potentially win a year's supply of them.

James Mylne at Canvas Gallery

Last night I headed off to Canvas Gallery in Wimbledon village to see James Mylne's solo show. To give you some background to this talented and very obliging artist, Mylne is renowned for his detailed ballpoint biro drawings that appear wholly photo-realistic in quality; so much so that visitors were having to take a very long second look.

I was intrigued to see his works up close and they definitely didn't disappoint- if anything I would have loved to see them on a larger scale, simply because of the clever craftwork involved. His subjects range from portraits, to horses, to buildings to abstract graphics and Mylne combines his love of Japanese print with portraiture; the former often livening up the backgrounds with subdued coloured patterens. Mylne kindly talked me through the laborious process of each piece claiming with a sense of tired satisfaction that his horse works take up to 40 hours to complete.

Mylne has grown quite a reputation of late. Having finished his MA in 2006, he exhibited last year in The Maverik Showroom in Shoreditch and The Coningsby Gallery in 2008. He says he finds his process calming: "because you can't make a mistake, it forces a certain kind of focus of mind that feels like meditation". I'm looking forward to what James will produce next.....who needs yoga when you've got a biro?

http://www.jamesmylne.co.uk/