Stik’s characters filled the space beautifully

Still pretty busy at 10.30 pm

Jo Peel gets started earlier that day

Thanks to everyone that made it to The Rag Factory last Thursday. It was our third event in a row at the same location, we absolutely love it there but I think we’ll be doing our next event somewhere different. We feel comfortable there,  but there comes a time to leave your comfort zone behind.  We aim to keep things fresh, and part of that is finding new, interesting spaces to put on shows.

Special thanks to Jo Peel + Stik for agreeing to take part at such short notice. Jo’s live painting session was amazing, it was ambitious trying to paint such a huge piece in one day and although she didn’t quite manage it, we enjoyed watching her at work. We’ll invite her back to finish the piece at our next event. Stik’s cut-out figures looked great dotted around the room, at 8 foot tall they towered over the crowd and everyone seemed to enjoy interacting with them.

Image Courtesy of Stik

Thanks to everyone that came to the Ashes 57 show last Thursday – We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

In case you were wondering when the next show is, you don’t have long to wait. We’re back at The Rag Factory on Thursday, 5th August,  a mere fortnight after the last event!  This time we’re taking part in Time Out’s First Thursdays Program. We got the invitation on incredibly short notice, following the cancellation of another show. We decided to accept the invite, even though we only have a week to publicise it. So please, help us to spread the word.

We are showcasing the work of 2 new LAVA artists: Jo Peel and Stik. Jo Peel is a member of Scrawl Collective. She is based at Boot St Studios in Hoxton. This year she decorated The Park Bar at Glastonbury festival, and painted the roof of Cordy House amongst many other places. Her distinctive line drawings find beauty in scenes of urban decay and construction.

Stik is a prolific and talented street artist. His minimalist characters appear in countless poses and scenarios all over London. Each piece of his is highly site specific, painted with a sensitivity that makes them resonate with their surroundings. He is preparing a new piece especially for this show; we can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

http://www.jopeel.com/      http://www.flickr.com/photos/stiklondon

LAVA Collective presents: First Thursdays at The Rag Factory. Thursday, 5th August, 2010. 6pm-11pm  Free entry.   16 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ

Keep an eye out for the next issue of Rooms Magazine – It has a piece on LAVA Collective and an interview with Talita Hoffmann. We were also involved with the Rooms Magazine Launch Party, where Jo Peel represented LAVA at the live paint event.

Rooms is a really cool little magazine, available in many shops and bars around the East End and beyond. Their first issue contained some striking artwork by Aya Kakeda, and I loved the section on Lewis Cambell, an artist I had never encountered before. There is also a double page spread from our very own Ashes 57, plus plenty more besides.

It has been fun collaborating with Rooms on the forthcoming issue. We are like-minded organisations with a lot in common and we hope to do another project with them before too long.

Director: Shane McNamara  Editor: Stephanie Tasker

You have a solo show coming up in Sao Paulo, plus our show in London. Are you really busy right now?

I’ve been very busy, visioning, researching and stretching time in my observatory. I just keep it going forward, always aiming to see more.

Please tell me if you plan your compisitions carefully before you start, or do they develop organically as you create them?

Yes, it comes like our thoughts, organically. But there is a structure before, the foundation of the visual idea, so I make a sketch before starting a drawing or a canvas. People say that my work is chaotic so they maybe think that it’s been done in a chaotic way… but it’s the opposite, I see my creations as balanced systems, I’m always searching for the balance in intense systems.

Many of your pieces are large and highly detailed. How long do you spend on a single canvas?

It can take months… it depends of how complex and the entropy of each composition, of each quantum entanglement I aim to represent.

Tell me about the materials you like to use. What is the benefit of using acrylic and ink together?

I use ink only if it’s on paper, that’s the beginning, ink on paper. I started to develop lines and compositions using only ink on paper at the beginning. Over time I’ve introduced acrylic paint for the evolution of my scenes.

I interpret the central characters in your paintings as Shaman figures, bridging the gap between man and nature. Is this a fair comment?

My entities are the gap between man and nature, man as manifestation of nature, man-expanding consciousness to the 4^th dimension. They are entities, warriors from civilizations that can see what is invisible for our eyes and indecipherable for our minds. In a society where rituals are not so much effective they are a manifestation of the transcendental.

I love the paintings from last year – Na Força, Leão Escuro and A Trindade Renova na Terra. This series has a rainforest backdrop – is the rainforest a source of your creativity?

If you visit Brazil you’ll see that the power of nature here seems to be different from everywhere in the earth. And those who aim vision, those who work for evolution step to the center of a virgin jungle when they start to create…

For those who don’t know Sao Paulo, please tell us a little about the art scene there. Who are your favourite artists from SP?

Sincerely, those who aim evolution, meta-vision. They are hidden…

Is there one district where the artist community lives / hangs out?

Everywhere, this is a giant city.

Is there a big street art scene in SP?

Art here seems to blow everywhere, including the highest point of a building’s façade. Yes, there is a lot of art on the street here.

Who are the best graffiti artists in SP?

Considering what is really visionary instead of pure graffiti mannerism there are very few good people, in my point of view. I like the hermetic vibe of Pixação, sometimes aggressive, sometimes just visionary and inventive letters.

Finally, please tell me what music you enjoy.

I like good music… Elomar, Hermeto Pascoal, Chico Buarque, Klaus Nomi, Vivaldi…

………………………………………..

Thanks to Bruno for taking the time to talk to me. I look forward to meeting him in person, and watching him at work.

Peru Ana Ana Peru taking part in NYSAT

Public Ad Campaign is the brainchild of Jordan Seiler. Basically, him and his posse go around New York looking for billboards to whitewash. Then they invite artists to come and decorate the blank spaces they have created.

www.publicadcampaign.com

Seiler’s war against commercial advertising hoardings began ten years ago. In that time he has developed the project into a quasi-military operation, culminating in the recent NYSAT event, in which hundreds of artists collaborated towards a significant act of civic disobedience.

I was pleased to see some of our friends were involved with NYSAT – I spotted Peru Ana Ana Peru and Philip Lumbang pics on the mircosite. www.publicadcampaign.com/nysat

We met Jordan Seiler in New York last year. He was at the Ace Hotel, doing a photo shoot in the rooms that Mint & Serf had decorated. I’d never heard of Public Ad Campaign, but he seemed like a cool guy so I checked it out. I’ve been following his progress ever since –  I think he deserves respect for his dedication to street art and his cavalier attitude.