February 26, 2010
In New York. Show opening: Friday. march 5 at Factory Fresh
I am in New York. Preparing the show with Boris. See flyer below (click to enlarge). Check Factory Fresh Gallery's site for more info or heliumcowoy's blog for some travel pictures and up to date set up news from New York. And make sure to come next friday, march 5th, to our opening!!
The blurb: continue reading below.
This March, Factory Fresh welcomes heliumcowboy artspace of Hamburg, Germany as we partner to presents the art of Boris Hoppek & Alex Diamond. Our two galleries will bring together German Artist Boris Hoppek & transient Alex Diamond’s work as they have received increasing international popularity in recent years. These artists have exhibited in solo and group shows in museums, galleries, festivals and art fairs in Europe as well as in the US. In a joint effort the artist will show new works on paper and Boris has promised an up the skirt installation.
Boris Hoppek, has been an acclaimed name in the Graffiti-world since the late eighties, more recently he has become an outstanding talent within the contemporary art scene. By thematizing sexuality, violence, racism and oppression in a very clean and accurate style, the artist isolates provocative themes for contemplation. Since 2004, the heliumcowboy artspace has exhibited his works in three solo shows and on diverse art fairs. In Basel and Miami 2007, Hoppek set up huge interactive cardboard installations at SCOPE, and today he is one of the most prominent European artists coming from a background in Street Art/Graffiti. For SCOPE Basel 2008, Hoppek was invited to convert the water taxis commuting across the Rhine into floating artworks, bringing his narrative potential away from the constrictions of a traditional booth scenario onto the water.
Alex Diamond is unseizable as a person and difficult to categorize as an artist, he is more fantasy than reality. His main issue always centres around his work and its presentation, but never around the personality of an individual. Alex Diamond appears always as a new and different creation of a role or character with every one of his shows. Not limited by a CV, a formative education or even a dedicated technique or style, Alex Diamond constantly develops a new specific presence for the “Artist behind the work“. Alex Diamond is an artist who apparently lives solely through the art he creates – and vice versa. He plays mind tricks with visual aids, pleasing at one moment, disturbing in the next. Independent from styles and techniques, he mirrors life and our constant fight for possession, superiority, survival and love in an almost nonchalant way. Having focused on his project Being Alex Diamond for the last year and a half (and of which also a catalogue has been published lately), the artist will now present a whole new body of drawings at Factory Fresh.
January 27, 2010
Demon Circus: Exhibition at Iguapop Barcelona, Feb 4
strong>(Don't worry 'bout a thing II.:) Demon Circus
Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona, Comerç 15
more pics over at my facebook page.
Image above shows poster for the show (A2 format, available at the gallery).
January 14, 2010
Getting ready for 2010
hi everyone,
for weeks now I have been (and will be for a couple more) very busy in the studio working on my upcoming exhibitions in barcelona (feb) and new york (march). here are the details:
(Don't worry 'bout a thing II.:) Demon Circus
Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona, Comerç 15
opening thursday, february 4, 8 p.m.
running from february 4 - march 6
DAMAGE:CONTROL (joint exhibition w. Boris Hoppek)
factory fresh gallery, East Williamsburg (New York)
1053 Flushing Avenue between Morgan and Knickerbocker, off the L train Morgan Stop
opening friday, march 5, 8 p.m.
running from march 5 - april 11
barcelona will see some of the works from the last series, "Being Alex Diamond", which is also the theme of my show in hamburg (oct/nov '09) as well as the topic of my new book, "Being Alex Diamond". in addition I'll bring lot's of new & different works with me to barcelona.
in new york I'll be mostly showing completely new drawings in ink, from small to xtra large.
well, it all goes in this direction:
or this:
and this (well, this is on wood and with acrylic paint. 2be seen in barcelona):
October 02, 2009
Book launch: The Photos
photos from the launch event at Urban Outfitters, Hamburg. You can also see the installation I build "for" the book. Will be shown at the Fankfurt Book Fair oct 14-18 at the booth of GUDBERG Verlag
September 30, 2009
Wednesday, Sept 30, 4 - 8 p.m.: Book Release at Urban Outfitters, Hamburg
If you are in town, come visit the Urban Outfitters Store (Gänsemarkt 45, Hamburg) on Wendesday, September 30th. Between 4 and 8 p.m., GUDBERG Verlag and Urban Outfitters will host the launch of my brand new book "Don't worry 'bout a thing" ...
About the book: continue reading below ...
from GUDBERG Verlag:
ALEX DIAMOND – "DON’T WORRY ‘BOUT A THING (BEING ALEX DIAMOND)"
"If I would come from anywhere, it would be Lost Vegas, which is a tiny place behind the right cerebral hemisphere. Just dust, sand and sun; nothingness really. No past, just a present and future, that's why I was never born and will never die." (Alex Diamond)
The book „Don’t worry ‘bout a thing (Being Alex Diamond)”, presents the latest works of the emerging artist Alex Diamond, who first appeared in the world of contemporary art in 2004 and since then earned himself a name. However the person behind the pseudonym is still unknown to the public as Diamond has always been playing with the allures of total anonymity and – since his humble beginning – always turned away from establishing an artist personality. His latest works are as well the results of his one-year self study being an intensive discussion with himself about the own identity, social roles, the power of the ego and an almost natural schizophrenia. Thus, in his first book, he reveals his latest artworks that do not only mix up photography and painting but also reality and fantasy. Diamonds series of photopaintings exhibits the artist himself slipping into altering bodies, taking over different personalities and re-inventing himself over and over again. His face – however – always hidden behind Diamond’s trademark: The furry mask with all its tentacles...
Book information:
ISBN: 978-3-940558-43-5
Formate: 17 x 22 cm
Pages: 136
Binding: Booklet
Price: EUR 21,90
Release date: October 2009
September 22, 2009
Drawing with the jigsaw: work in progress video
Alex Diamond: drawing with the jigsaw from alex diamond on Vimeo.
work in progress: building the base for an installation for upcoming exhibition and book launch "don't worry 'bout a thing" at heliumcowboy artspace, hamburg. plus some nice hamburg city footage.
this baby is about a third ready. there is a lot more to do. will post updates later.
opening oct 17, 2009, 7 - 10 pm
more info:
August 27, 2009
Join me on facebook.
click image or this link
other than that, I have been working a bit on a new version of this site. however, I had to stop mid-way (and am not happy with how the thing works, WP and CSS trouble), so I can finish the production of the upcoming book (october), prepare my next solo show at heliumcowboy artspace (opening october 17, more info here), and the project in Lüneburg with the University and Reinking Projekte, also in October.
July 15, 2009
a few things ...
Just some stuff that happened the past weeks / will be happening shortly:
ROJO magazine published a new edition, called "®prana pure solid true" and featuring a spread of my latest works from the series "Being Alex Diamond". Get it at the ROJO-website here.
I just finished all images for my first book coming out in Fall with Gudberg Verlag. The book will be mainly about my latest project, called "Being Alex Diamond" (the one with the mask), but will also feature additional artworks & projects, references and texts by authors I admire. Gudberg is going to publish it for the book fair in Frankfurt this October, expect more details soon.
Also in October, I will be opening my next solo showat the heliumcowboy artspace (October 17 - November 13). It coincides with the launch of the book, which is smart, cos the exhibition will be about the same project, "Being Alex Diamond" ...
Just a week before opening the exhibition I will be part of a huge art project in Lüneburg, initiated and curated by Reinking-Projekte. It is an outdoor-exhibition featuring many internationally acclaimed artists. More news about that soon, and of course at the website of Rik Reinking.
Until then you can still check out the group exhibition "Nachschlag" currently on display in Hamburgs heliumcowboy artspace. I've been joining forces with the likes of Evie Haines, Ephameron, 56K, Will Barras, Jon Burgerman, Stephen Smith, Christophe Lambert, Nomad and the Invisble Heroes, and the show runs until August 14. More info here.
And to finish this monster entry: this is what I am currently doing to relax from all exhibition- and book-related preparations for the "Being Alex Diamond"-project - I will be drawing some tattoo-designs for a few people that asked me to do that lately. I'll be going away for some time now and take refuge in a place you cannot follow.
Enjoy the summer & see you soon!
April 20, 2009
New Stuff.
Just finished some more works from the series "Being Alex Diamond ...". These are really small ones, from 18x18 to 18x27 cm. Click on "continue reading ..." below to see them all, and on the images to enlarge.
April 06, 2009
The T-shirt.
Hmm, I never posted this here before, but I made a T-shirt for the heliumcowboy gallery last year and it has completely slipped my mind writing about it in this blog. I guess one reason why I never posted it was that I had not one good photo of it. This has changed recently through the great effort of the beautiful Anna and the ... hmm, the Boris:
Thankyousomuch:
Model: Anna
Photographer: Boris Hoppek
The shirt is available at the heliumcowboy webshop. It says "you don't know what love is" in the body of the smaller character.
February 04, 2009
You were born inside my heart head...
just a drawing. click image to enlarge. quote by the duke spirits.
November 26, 2008
Diamonds on your skin
Nice one: a good friend asked me for a drawing for his arm - and here's the result. Zsolt Machat, Tattto-master at Hamburg's Jungbluth Tattoo, did an incredible job ...
The drawing, the arm. (click here or on the image to enlarge).
Zsolt at work.
October 06, 2008
Contemporape Dept.
Messed around with the cover of DGV's great new book about young contemporary artists (awesome book, here's more info about it (The Upset). Painted over the cover (by Mark Ryden) 'cos the heliumcowboy's asked me to personalise their present for spanish wonder-boy Antonio Santin, who turned 30 at the opening of his show in Hamburg with them and they gave him the book and cake and flowers and (from what I heard) too much to drink.
Click the image to enlarge.
September 24, 2008
Sketches.
While I am currently working on a large scale project for next shows, I'll upload some sketches and stuff from time to time, just so it doesn't get too boring here ... click "continue reading..." below for more images, and click images to enlarge.
April 02, 2008
New York Diaries - last update
This was fun. I very much enjoyed New Yok, hanging out with great people, showing art and just being a tiny tiny part of this massive city for a few days. One great thing about cities like this one is that you are full of ideas when you arrive, but you can easily double that once you spent some time there. Stimulating? I am looking for the right word here.
Anyway. Enjoy the last set of pics from New York... while I hope to get through the jetlag quickly.
March 31, 2008
New York Diaries - part 6
Yesterday, last day of the fair. The heliumcowboy crew was wrapping up the show in record time. Molly came back helping dismantling the installation. Harlan (Modart) and Jeff (Rare) also helped out. Maybe I am going to set up the installation again in May in Brussels. Lots of ideas for altering a bit until then, this seems to become an iterative process ...
Still hanging around in New York for one last day, so there is going to be one final update of these diaries to come, and then ... farewell to this fantastic city!
March 30, 2008
New York Diaries - part 5
Fair is nearing its end, got a couple of more good shots from the booth today, and also from all the people entering the installation. Most of the people are a bit scared at first, just popping their heads in before entering ... we have seen long queues at the gold curtain ...
See much more images when following the link "continue reading..." below.
The queue starts here:
... and yes, they do come out again ... some at least ...
March 27, 2008
New York Diaries - part 4
So, it is already day 2 at the fair. Today it was pretty quiet, alltough it picked up a lot after 6. The preview wednesday afternoon though went extremely well. Lots and lots of people and sales and talks, and a true opening feeling. Glad that I can stay in the background and just observe, while Jörg at the booth had its hands full all the time...
Ended the night on the sofa, watching Basketball on TV with a beer in my hand. Basically what everyone I know here at SCOPE did last night I guess - a quiet evening. Even the modart crew was tired ... No crazy fair partying. That is still to come...
So this is a good sign, right? Empty screws on the wall?
Today was pretty quiet, so Jeff from Rare Gallery (NY) could play on his mobile all day long ...
Jeff (Lutonsky), director of Rare Gallery (NY), as seen (and painted) by Nathan Ritterpusch. Man, this guy rocks (Nathan I mean :).
Inigo from Iguapop (Barcelona) ... busy man and ...
... Mike Swaney, handsome man!
Modart ... Harlan, Dherry, Will Barras (on the floor)
Will Barras ... serious business talks with Lazarides I guess ...
One of those beautiful pieces by Kinga Dunikowski from Brot und Spiele, Berlin.
Kinga Dunikowski at the Brot und Spiele booth and ...
... Kay Neubert, the gallerist from Brot und Spiele
Jörg looking bored at the heliumcowboy booth ... as I said, it was a slow thursday on the second day of the fair.
March 26, 2008
New York Diaries - part 3
The Installation is done. The whole booth is done. In record time. We all are done, too. So good night and enjoy the pics ("continue reading..." below). Above: SCOPE at Lincoln Center, NY, outside. Jealous of the weather? Better be. Below: Great to finally have a wide angle ...
above: our great New York support Molly at work with the "souls" ... (we couldn't have done it without you!)
above: the large new piece ...
details ...
more details ...
above: Inigo and Mike Swaney setting up the Iguapop booth
above: Alexis from SCOPE and the Brot und Spiele crew from Berlin
also dead tired: Harlan from modart magazine and Dherry
March 25, 2008
New York Diaries - part 2
Setting up the installation, day one. Shipping came extremely late, but still managed to get the first major steps done. Busy day, long day, too tired to continue writing. Enjoy the pictures ... more when you check "continue reading ..." below.
March 23, 2008
New York Diaries - part 1
Arrived in New York. Already spent a few days just wandering around this incredible city. My feet are hurting, but I am so happy to be here again. It is one of those places you have to see for yourself at least once in your life... attached some random impressions from the city below (click on "continue reading.." at the bottom of this entry).
Been mainly just walking, watching, plunging into the bustling streets of New York. Been to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden (impressive), the New Museum (disappointing), the Marcel Dzama exhibition (this guy rocks), shopping (yeah I know... now we really gotta sell some stuff at the fair), seen the St. Patricks Day Parade, been playing basketball around the corner, and haven't touched a pen or ink or anything work related in a week. I decided that at the booth, I will let the others do the work, and just focus on documenting :)
Been busy with some (shopping) preparations for the fair also, and today I will try and organise some more materials needed, but the real work begins tomorrow, when we start setting up the installation. We'll have some local help at the booth, and all Jörg (the gallerist from heliumcowboy artspace) is slightly worried about is that the shipping may not arrive on time. Because it is quite ambitious to set up the installational piece for the booth in less than 2 days ...
March 11, 2008
The New York Diaries
Remember, back in December 2006, when I was posting the Miami Diaries from our time at the fairs with the heliumcowboy artspace? This year, I will do the same from New York, where I will be exhibiting at the SCOPE art fair. Starting next week, I'll be exploring the city and preparing my installation for the fair across the atlantic ...
If you wanna know more about the plans for the exhibition/booth - read all about it here.
March 07, 2008
Getting ready for New York
Last piece for New York has been finished a couple of hours before the shipping got picked up. No real images yet, just some impressions from the 2x2 m painting/collage lying around on the floor. Will look good on a wall ... :)
Some information about the activities planned with the heliumcowboy artspace can be downloaded as a pdf here.
i will write more once the trip starts. There will be The New York Diaries soon, something I did the last time I've been at a fair, remember "The Miami Diaries" from December 2006? So ... stay tuned.
February 21, 2008
New York preparations
Going to New York in march, and this week I started with the basic set up, the skeleton, for the walk-in installation I am going to build for the SCOPE art fair at Lincoln Center. Some first previews from building the box below.
Been putting this main frame together in 2 days, and took it down straight away afterwards to make small parcels out of the construction elements for the shipping to US.
The painting outside, the whole interior will be done in New York, also the realisation of all other ideas for this private "prayer-room-like" work will be realised on location. I've said enough, all other development on this site, or better even in New York ... it's the place to be anyway with Harlan and Inigo and Jeff and the whole gang around ...
Oh yeah and Christophe, sorry for setting it up in your show ... the gallery was closed and it was the only place with enough space around ... can you see, my church is bigger than yours :) .. even in the kinda small-ish heliumcowboy artspace .... :)
February 12, 2008
Finally revealed: The truth about Alex Diamond
... just make sure you are adult enough before you check this link:
December 12, 2007
This was Miami.
So. The heliumcwoboy guys are back from Miami. Supplied with a bag full of stories, and even more images - now online over at the heliumcowboy artspace's website, check this link to view the pics. I just showed stuff that is pretty new and pretty different from the works on display at my current exhibition.
Next year I am gonna go again myself, this year I was just to slammed from all the preparations for the show here in Hamburg. I also heard that the modart magazine brought a truck full of their artists over. Maybe I should apply there and rock the beach with those guys next year ... ah, no, just kiddin', we all love heliumcowboy, and those modart guys are definitely not a good example for kids ...
November 27, 2007
setting up the show.
a first image from the build up of the installation for my upcoming show at the heliumcowboy artspace (they're using the same image on their site.. well, they've shot it :) ... building a church in the background ...
Love me with a gun to my head
Vernissage: Friday, Nov. 30, 8 p.m.
featuring Maex Kalin & Andrew Phin live
more info at heliumcowboy.com
November 13, 2007
catalogue and show update
Woa. The Catalogue arrived. Very nice. Been down under with creating artwork for the book, well, mainly on creating artworks for the show at the heliumcowboy artspace (nov. 30 - jan. 18), and the SCOPE art fair in Miami (dec 5-9). For a preview of spreads from the catalogue click on the image below or here.
You cannot get it yet, gotta wait till the show opens nov. 30, 8 p.m. ... more info here ...
September 07, 2007
Sorry I Only Got Black & White To Give.
Some new stuff I am currently working on below... So much to do lately, because this year it all hits at the finishing line: My solo show at the heliumcowboy artspace (Hamburg) is opening on November 30th, a day later I am taking part in the group show "Don't Wake Daddy" at Hamburgs Feinkunst Krüger, the week after that some of my new works will be shown at SCOPE art fair in Miami ... and there are two other smaller art projects lined up for the next few months ... all good, all pretty crazy, but that's how I like it the most.
The new stuff, currently in progress (image above shows a detail, click on it and you will see the whole image in a popup): working with ivory black, matting it down more and more to give it a soft feel. Adding touches of dusky white with smallest brushstrokes and letting the shapes wander. Tentactles over and over, but please don't trust them (or your head. It may be on fire without you knowing it.) The wood as a basis give me some kind of an earthbound feeling despite all the weirdness in the work. This series will be keeping me busy for a while now ...
December 13, 2006
diamond diaries - farewell to miami.
(in order to view all diary entries and images, click on the banner above or here.)
on the last day in miami, we packed it all up - and went to the beach to say farewell in stlye. this will be the last entry from miami, at least for 2006. let's all meet again here in 2007...
December 12, 2006
diamond diaries, day 8 - rainbow valley.
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more miami adventures with friendswithyou: sam and tury opened this unbelievable, awesome, crazy playground at aventura mall, and we went to see it with them and their manager chris boon ... needs no words, just make sure you check back in the future at heliumcowboy.com, the guys from the gallery took some video footage and are going to show all this more thoroughly soon ...
and for those who didn't get to see the friendswithyou-skywalker parade while in miami: amanda from tate comics send us this link with great photos from the helium-filled beach parade: click here!!!!!
December 11, 2006
diamond diaries, day 7 - sam borkson vs. david choe.
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from now on it is only vacation. hanging out with sam & tury from friendswithyou, and the friends of friendswithyou, and of course the cutest baby in miami: lola rosa sandoval. going out to dinner, eating florida lobsters with tons of people, then chilling at sam's place, where he drew two great colaborational paintings together with david chow in some kind of a drawing jam session - as much as i heard, these extremely rare works will be taken to germany by the heliumcowboys and sold to only the highest and most worthy bidder ... :) (click to continue and see sam ad david at work)
yeah, it's a hairdryer they are holding. apparently, since miami's scope galore, the heliumcowboy artspace takes only the freshest stuff from their artists, like in this case the drawings were still wet ...
more info about and pics from the paintings at heliumcowboy.com, click here
December 10, 2006
diamond diaries, day 6 - wrapping up.
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these are the last impressions from the scope fair. meeting sam & tury from friendswithyou, wrapping up the booth, saying goodbye to all the great people we met here...
just to show that the weather is still nice :)
packing the remains ...
... until the booth is cleared out. (other galleries in the pictures include white trash contemporary (hamburg), rare (new york), untrieb (kiel) and artMbassy from berlin ... to name just a few )
and this is maybe my favourite: police protection for the alex diamond mural painting ...
next update: hanging out with friendswithyou and friends of friendswithyou in miami, baby ...
December 09, 2006
diamond diaries, day 5 - diamonds for moki.
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we love miami. miami is good to us. the ocean in the mornings, a fantastic crowd visiting during the day at the fair, and good sales on top of it all. oh, and not to forget the evening entertainment :)
this entry basically shows the constant movement at our booth - this morning, it has changed its face for the third time, as sold works go out with the shipper to make room for new ones. alex diamond works were seperated after the large painting by ki yoon ko was sold and shipped. however, only 10 minutes after one of the large "rider" paintings was moved from the outside to the inside wall, it was gone to atlanta ... so now moki got the spot on the outside wall of the booth - i guess she doesn't mind being within the tentacles of the large black and white alex diamond-mural ...
crazy.
December 08, 2006
diamond diaries, day 4 - miami, baby.
(in order to view all diary entries and images, click on the banner above or here.)
it was a busy day at the fairs, amazing how many people scope manages to attract despite the huge competition in miami these days with around 12 fairs all over town at the same time. seems that scope is the one to go to ... just some more images from miami, with stickers by kingdrips and me popping up around town, peaches at the beach, a snapshot from the rubell family collection and more pics from the fair...
diamond diaries, day 4 - early morning edition.
this entry is just to make you jealous. this is how our mornings look like: a swim in the ocean with the gallery team. needs no words, i guess ...
December 07, 2006
diamond diaries, day 3 - impressions from scope.
day 3. opening of the fair, not so much going on as the art basel miami beach had its professional preview today as well, so most of the action was there. still, it was a good day, and it ended really well with a peaches concert right on the beach ... some more impressions from the scope and our booth here in this post, more and different imagery later once i get some images from the peaches show ...
and let's not froget: today was the friendswithyou-skywalker parade down at the beach. (link & photos from amanda from tate comics, ft. lauderdale):
December 06, 2006
diamond diaries, day 2 - painting the wall.
okay, here we go again ... internet connection at the fair is lousy, i am not sure what they are doing with it here, i guess they don't know either ... well. day 2 started with breakfast and a vistit to the beach ... don't mind the clouds, it is really really warm and nice, and today we have sun and .. well, summer, really. (continue reading below)
setting up the booth yesterday was tough, but great fun also. spent approximately 5 hours on the mural at the outside wall of our booth, while lutz was unpacking stuff and hanging the hoppek and and and. we've ben at the fair ground from early in the morning till late, but as a reward we went for some beers in the breezy miami night close to the beach. it's really good to be here. fantastic athmosphere, and the quality of the exhibitors is pretty high.
today, december 6, the fair started - but only after we went for our first swim in the sea and another huge breakfast with a view of the ocean ...
so, here are some images from setting up the booth and making the mural on december 5 ...
... and this is where our day ended. outside, at a bar, under wild miami skies ...
December 05, 2006
diamond diaries, day 1 - arrival.
yeah i know, this is not what you expect from miami beach. grey sky and parking lots. but hey, it's just the view from my hotel room, it's early in the morning, we arrived late last night and as tired as we are - so is the sun. stil, it's t-shirt weather outside, dry and really really warm for december. and can you spot the palm trees?
after a delayed and pretty long flight we checked out the scope fairgrounds first thing last night. still pretty chaotic and hectic around there, so we decided to go for the hotel and a few beers instead of starting to set up the booth. today is the big day, when we will try and prove what we can do with 12 square meters exhibition space...
the beach? postponed till this evening. or tomorrow morning. but i know it's there, just at the back of the hotel building i am sitting in right now...
December 01, 2006
Alex does Miami.
from monday on i will go to miami. to the art fairs. to scope miami. i will write about it here, about the miami beach experience with the galerie heliumcowboy artspace. and all the other art freaks. so stay tuned and check back daily for the miami diaries. from december 4 to december 14 only...