Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkins

Between the towering cranes and construction that envelope the landscape of East London, a super-sizing of quite another sort may be found behind the walls of Victoria Miro’s Wharf Road gallery. In my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer, I visit a new body of work by visionary artist Yayoi Kusama. A series of three oversized pumpkins lie on the gallery’s enviable water garden – a fitting synergy with the Japanese artist’s longstanding intrigue of the natural world.

Pumpkins, 2014 by Yayoi Kusama - Victoria Miro, Wharf Road gallery London

Pumpkins mark the first time Kusama has worked with bronze on this scale, ranging from knee to head height. The plant has played a prolific role in the eccentric artist’s career – first making an appearance as early as 1948. After over five decades, Kusama affirms there is much more fantasy to be explored with this bulbous form, reinterpreted in her trademark Pop aesthetic that has been revered in major international exhibitions to commercial collaborations with luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, under the direction of Marc Jacobs, as well as t-shirt graphics for Japanese retailer Uniqlo.

My full review Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkins - on show until 19th December 2014 in the Victoria Miro garden - is now available to read on the Ohh Deer blog.

Look out for other public artworks by the artist during Frieze London 2014 at Frieze Sculpture Park in the English Garden in Regent’s Park between 15th - 19th October 2014. 

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Image courtesy of Victoria Miro

Air Play

My latest blog contribution for Ohh Deer enters technophile territory. London-based designers LIX launch the smallest 3D Printing Pen on the market that enables users to doodle in thin air. Powered simply via USB port, the LIX 3D Printing Pen uses plastic filament, similar to 3D printers, to draw and construct immediate freestanding structures by hand without the need for paper. 

Exploring our relationship between craft and applied science, I look at the type of audience LIX chose to target for its Kickstarter campaign as well as whether this creative gadget is a perfectionist's nightmare. 

Discover a new style of draftsmanship for the future in my full review now available at Ohh Deer.

Visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing for a selection of my published writing and follow @JMVELARDI on Twitter and Pinterest for more on arts, culture and lifestyle from the www and beyond.

Images courtesy LIX PEN LTD

Full Stop To Spots?

With the release of Damien Hirst's catalogue raisonné The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer poses the question: could this be a full stop to spots? 

Charting the artist's first expression of his now iconic series in his art school days at Goldsmiths, London through to the unprecedented global exhibition held by Gagosion Gallery in 2011, which the catalogues takes its name, the spot-aesthetic has emblazoned over 1000 artworks across nearly three decades. 

The 929-page full colour tome - published by Other Criteria in conjunction with Gagosian Gallery - documents one of the most prolific and recognisable visual images from the late-twentieth century that has experienced phenomenal mileage beyond the white cube walls, appreciated by the worlds of design, fashion and luxury. The publication looks at the significance spot paintings have had on popular culture, transcending accessibility with a host of brand collaborations from Becks to Manolo Blahnik.

The spot-aesthetic has by no means lost its virility. Since 2011 we have seen yet more demand for the systematic spots in addition to Hirst's other signature styles of colour, carats and chemicals showcased in the celebrated retrospective at Tate Modern, London in 2012 and subsequently in the largest survey of the artist's career at ALRIWAQ, Qatar Museums Authority in Doha.

The launch of such a comprehensive publication alludes to the end of what is arguably one of Damien Hirst's most important veins of investigation. Is the controversy, or even empowerment, of ending a chapter of his practice too irresistible for the artist who relishes on throwing art world convention into a spin?

Read my full article Full Stop To Spots? and view further images from ‘The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011’ at the Ohh Deer blog.

Follow @JMVELARDI for more on Arts, Culture & Lifestyle.

Images courtesy of Other Criteria

Serif vs Sans Serif

In my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer I explore the typographic crux that is Serif and Sans Serif with a little help from some illustrations by Studio Velardi. Everyday font wars play out on products and propaganda, each one battling for attention; for a moment of our appreciation or disdain. Typeface plays a significant role across our cultural landscape in both creative and commercial industries such as technology, fashion and entertainment. In an age of online publishing, the question 'to serif or sans serif' is carefully considered when deciding how we wish to project ourselves through as much as what our words say, as how they look.  

Decisions, decisions...

Typeface now gets physical thanks to Japanese design studio TYPE who invite us to wear our taste in typeface as part of our personal style. Inspired by how ‘the design of a typeface affects how a message is communicated’ TYPE launches an ingenious collection of eyewear designed around the anatomical characteristics of Helvetica and Garamond families to represent their respective 'universality and individuality' for its inaugural collection.

Helvetica’s solid sans serif lines are lifted off the page to create spectacle arms as are Garamond’s serif accents that are incorporated onto the bridge of a classic keyhole frame. Each model is available in Light, Regular and Bold weights; finished in Black, Tortoise or Clear colourways and can be made as eyeglasses or sunglasses. 

TYPE is currently only available in Japan and will be expanding their typeface catalogue in the coming seasons - explore the entire collection  here to see what typeface suits you. 

Read my full Serif vs Sans Serif feature on the Ohh Deer blog.

To view a selection of my published writing visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing; follow @JMVELARDI on Twitter for my take on the latest art, culture and lifestyle news and view more illustrations by Studio Velardi at studiovelardi.tumblr.com

Illustration by Studio Velardi | Images courtesy of TYPE

Hello For Some More

Sir Paul Smith’s celebrated exhibition at London’s Design Museum will be delaying its farewell. Hello My Name Is Paul Smith will be extended to 22nd June 2014 and will feature a host of new events scheduled for the coming months, which will include guest talks and Friday Lates dedicated to men’s fashion and style. 

The Design Museum celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and I can think of no better British designer than the distinguishable dandy that is Sir Paul Smith to face the museum’s landmark year.

Read my full review of the inspiring exhibition that charts the designer’s global success from Nottingham to Nippon at Ohh Deer’s blog. Visit the Design Museum for booking and visitor information.

#HelloMyNameIsPaulSmith epitomises eccentric, electric, Englishman - opens to public tmoro. #jolly_good_show pic.twitter.com/Au10tIJA0r
— Jonathan Velardi (@JMVELARDI) November 14, 2013

Follow @JMVELARDI for the latest updates on art, culture and lifestyle and visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing for a selection of my published writing. 

Image courtesy of the Design Museum

Portraits From The Bottom Up

In my latest contribution to the Ohh Deer blog, I attend the opening of Tim Noble and Sue Webster's exhibition at Other Criteria's New Bond Street outpost. Portraits from the Bottom Up presents a new body of work - in every sense of the word - by the Brit duo after a residency in the Caribbean. Both artists and technology are stripped bare in a series of prints and bronzes that remain rooted in the narcissistic mania that Noble and Webster are so renowned for. 

To find out what's inside the box visit Ohh Deer's blog to read my review in full. 

Portraits from the Bottom Up by Tim Noble and Sue Webster is on show until 20th November 2013 at Other Criteria, 36 New Bond Street, London W1U 3BG.

Follow @JMVELARDI for all the latest updates from the blog and beyond and visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing for a selection of writing on arts, culture and lifestyle. 

Image courtesy Other Criteria, © Tim Noble and Sue Webster 2013

Outside The Lines

If you've been inspired by Banksy’s current New York residency Better Out Than In, this new publication may be right up your street. Outside the Lines: An Artist’s Colouring Book for Giant Imaginations features over 100 black and white drawings by international creative talent that include Keith Haring, Ryan McGinness, Shepard Fairey and AIKO. Curated by LA-based author Souris Hong-Porretta, Outside the Lines is much more than a colouring book - offering a narrative of art education without the use of words - and will introduce emerging and established artistic practice across high and low culture to kids big and small.  

This post marks my first contribution to the blogging team at creative emporium Ohh Deer - check out their zany site for a variety of gifts and products designed by illustrators from around the world. I'm looking forward to writing future contributions for Ohh Deer on arts, culture and lifestyle – follow @JMVELARDI for all the latest updates from the blog and beyond.

Read my full article on Outside the Lines for Ohh Deer here.

Image courtesy of Pengiun
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