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Posts Tagged ‘no frills art’

Well I though a round up was in order as 2012 has been a big year. It started off with a few lows in terms of a broken arm, relationship issues and the major one being the death of my mother. But over the course of the year there has also been many positives as well. A new relationship has taken off and bloomed…looking promising for the future. My Dad and I have become closer after spending more time together since my mum’s passing and my arm seems to be all fixed allowing my artwork to step up a level with my solo show and artistic work habits in general.

On the Art front I sold over 18 pieces in my solo exhibition and another in the christmas show at Boom Gallery. So I am pretty happy with my progress on that front. I have just moved into a new studio down the road from the gallery where I show at, and I am just starting to settle in(see studio pic below!).

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Speaking of artwork I also had a few pieces in the Munro Rooms closing exhibition. It was sad to see it close but this seems to be the pattern with Artist Run Spaces…but its a cycle so something else will rise up. At least the Mayan calendar was wrong and it was only the gallery finishing and not the end of the world!

munro closing

I recently took part in my first Free Art Friday Geelong (Find it on facebook), where you are encouraged to place an artwork out somewhere in public on a friday for someone to find and keep(or destroy!) for free. I like the idea a lot, its kinda like street art without the risk! But more so it reminds you that art is about the process of making and sharing your work with others…not just selling artwork which people get too caught up in. For the record, I don’t hold it against people wanting to make a living with their art at all…but if your not at that point in your artistic career don’t let that be your only measure. That is all i’m saying! The artwork disappeared pretty quickly…but stay tuned for more in 2013.

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Anyway I think that is enough for one sitting. So I hope you all had a merry christmas and ate too much with you family or loved ones. Have a fun and safe New Years and see you all in 2013!

enjoy!

NF

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It seems like it was just yesterday that I put up all the work for my solo exhibition down at Boom Gallery…but as they say in the classics, all good things must come to an end! So if you haven’t seen the show yet you have till Saturday arvo to see it.

Anyway, moving forward I have a couple of new(probably still wet) artworks in the upcoming Boom Chrissy show. So if your around drop in for the opening and have a few quiet ones, enjoy the artwork on show by a wide range of artists from the greater Geelong region and celebrate christmas with the gallery.

enjoy!

NF

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Well it has been a few days since opening night of ‘Only dead fish go with the flow‘. However I think I have needed a little time to recover…and regain energy before I got around to posting about the opening. The lead up to the exhibition went without hitch. Hanging the show went smoothly(Thanks Ren!), and we also got a little article in the local paper a few days before opening night which was great. Overall, everything seemed to travel nicely.

Opening night itself was amazing with over a hundred and fifty through the doors, although hectic with non stop conversations everyone seemed to have a fun night and the feedback on the show was all very positive. We managed to sell fourteen artworks which was great for both the gallery and myself. To my amusement we also managed to drink the galleries entire wine supply, which I hear was a first for them!

So thanks to everyone who came along for the opening and to those who have popped in to have a look at the show since it opened. And if you haven’t been through yet, the exhibition runs till Sat 1st Dec.(Further details on my previous post or at the Boom Gallery Website).

I have also got an interview about the exhibition and my practice in general over at: Artin’ Geelong. (Thanks Deirdre!) It’s a great read for anyone who wants to know a bit more about my work.

Below are a few shots of the works on show just prior to the opening. I didn’t get any crowd shot due to not having any free time at all once it started, but I’m sure others will have some. So I will have to chase them up at a later date.

This is not all the work in the exhibition, as there is about fifty works on show. But it should give an overall impression of how the show looks and feels. I think the work goes really well at Boom Gallery as they have a cool industrial aesthetic throughout which seems to compliment my style.

Cheers,

NF

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Hi there everyone,

Just a shout out for my upcoming solo exhibition in November at Boom Gallery in Geelong. The show is titled ‘Only dead fish go with the flow’, and will be a massive exhibition with about 50 works…my biggest show to date. So if your around on the 9th of November between 4:30 – 8 pm pop into the gallery for the opening…All are Welcome!

Alternatively, the show runs from 7th Nov – 1st Dec and is open Wed to Sat 9:30 – 4 pm.

I would love for you all to drop by and say hello at the opening or pop in while it’s on to enjoy the artworks(They also do a good coffee inhouse!).

Hope life is treating you well.

Enjoy!

Glen aka No Frills

Front of Exhibition Flyer

Exhibition Poster

Extract from the Press Release:

‘Only dead fish go with the flow’ is a new exhibition of paintings by Geelong based contemporary artist Glen Smith. Filling the entire space at Newtown’s Boom Gallery, this extensive solo exhibition investigates a range of issues as diverse as matters of the heart through to political and social commentaries. Heavily influenced by street art and its aesthetic, Smith’s paintings are urban and gritty street level snapshots of contemporary society. Through stencils, paste-ups as well as traditional painting techniques the artworks in the show are designed to make the viewer reconsider the state of the world and present new ways to look at issues in life. This is Smith’s first solo exhibition in over five years and has been a massive undertaking with over fifty artworks on show. Definitely one local art exhibition not to be missed this year…so be sure to mark it on your calendar.

Boom Gallery is Geelong’s newest Contemporary Artspace. 

It can be found at Boom Gallery: 11 Rutland St Newtown, Geelong.

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Well today I enjoyed a sunny Sunday up at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne. I had a print in the exhibition ‘Beautiful Soup’ coordinated by Rona Green which opened today at the St. Heliers Gallery onsite. The show got an excellent turn out and a bunch of work sold at the opening…including my print. woot!

If you haven’t been to Abbotsford Convent before it is well worth the visit with several cool little eateries, a few galleries, open artist’s studios and often there are markets, short courses and a range of other activities to do. The venue gets a really descent turn out of punters on a beautiful day like today so get there early.

Below are a couple of shots from today…

And below is my ‘Life is a Rodeo’ print in the foreground

And in other news my catalogues for my upcoming solo show ‘Only dead fish go with the flow‘ in November at Boom Gallery have just arrived back from the printers and look sweet (Below). I will give you more details about this exhibition a bit closer to time but keep Friday 9th of November free as that will be the opening night. It’s going to be huge!

I have also finished compiling the Altered State Assemblage book that I embarked on last year involving about 30 Australian Artists. I bound the edition last week over my holidays with the help of David Dellafiora. So those involved in this project keep your eyes peeled as they will start to be distributed soon. I won’t say any more than this as I will dedicate a post to this book when a get a few photographs done. But I can comfortably say the book looks amazing.

Hope life is treating you well.

Enjoy!

NF

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I have a piece in the ‘Beautiful Soup‘ Exhibition put together by Rona Green coming up at St Heliers Street Gallery at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne. The exhibition is an open theme show consisting of 56 Artists working in the printmaking medium.

The exhibition opens on Sunday 14th October at 2 – 4 pm

Feel free to come along, enjoy the art and have a drink with some of the artists.

Click the flyer above to enlarge it and for

further details or to see the other artists in the show

Above: Sneak preview of some of the works in the show compliments of Rona

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Recently at work I had to look into some resources for making jewellery for a colleague. It was intended to be quite user-friendly as it was to be for jewellery making classes for high school students. Below are what I came across while looking into it and what I produced when I decided to have a play with the materials.

I had never made jewellery before… so it was a bit of fun!

Materials: Silver Plated, Resin & Digital Prints

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Recently I put together an artists book/zine/small press exhibition in the cabinet at the West Geelong Library. The exhibit focuses on books made by artists in Victoria, and even more so within Geelong. All items have been drawn from the No Frills Art archive. It is a fairly eclectic collection…but well worth a look. So if you’re in the neighbourhood pop in!

Below are a few pix of the cabinet:

And a few close-ups of each shelf:

 

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These little stencils of mine have started popping up around Melb. this week…

…and a couple of overview shots in situ.

I think the end is near for the old cathode rays also…

and below how the stencil translates into one of my new paintings on canvas.

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Here is a little shot(using my new toy…Fisheye lens!) of my work in situ at Boom Gallery as part of the Forest-s Exhibition put together by Tibor Novak. The opening was a full house…which was a surprise for a saturday arvo opening…but always a good thing! The show is on for a few weeks so if your in Newtown, pop in and have a browse as it is a pretty expansive show with a variety of artists and styles.

And below is a close up of my artwork in the show…

Fractals, Mixed Media on Canvas. 2012

And finally…a sneak peak at another one of the artworks for my exhibition in November at Boom Gallery…Enjoy! NF

 Joey’s Song(Work in Progress), Mixed Media on Canvas, 2012.

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Recently I had the privilege of working with a group of boys from Afghanistan on a Stencil/Paste Up workshop. After getting past the initial stage of figuring out the level of language skills, which to my surprise was very high considering the boys had only been in the country for about six months, we spent two days focusing on urban art. Day one we created a series of tags, as names were a common denominator between myself and the participants. Then we created a series of poster designs using both English and Darhi/Pashto and undertook a paste up session on the community centre where we were working. On the second day we worked our way through creating stencils which we then applied to T-Shirts. I think this was the session that gained the most positive response…then again who doesn’t like to get their hands on spray cans?

The Cloverdale Community Centre went to the effort of ensuring some Middle Eastern food was available for the lunches, which was delicious. And in the ten or more years of undertaking public workshops this was the most polite group that I have ever worked with…

So a big thanks to all those who took part!

Above: Participants with the paste up Below: One of my paste ups at the centre

 

Above: Stencil in progress      Below: One of the finished T-Shirts

In other news I have a piece of Art in the show opening below. It opens soon at Boom Gallery, so if your about get on down for the opening!

Enjoy!

NF

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For part of earth hour last week a bunch of us got together with the Geelong Arts Alliance to work on the ‘Earth Hour Landing Strip’. Basically the strip was a candle powered faux landing strip using discarded cans with corporate images punctured into them and a tea light inside them. About sixty or seventy lanterns were made by those involved.


Top(l-r): Row of cans, Illuminati Mickey(No Frills)

Bottom(l-r): Grenade(Field Study), and

overview of the landing strip with trolley on the runway.

And below are a couple of new works for my show in November…Enjoy!

and one more…

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R.I.P. Mum

Well the last few weeks have been a bit sad with the loss of my mother through cancer. She was an art teacher, artist and all round crafty type…not to mention a good person in every way. It is probably safe to say that she is one of the main reasons why I began creating art in the first place due to the constant supply of art materials that surrounded me in the household, combined with her ongoing support and encouragement for my art practice.

One of the things that she always wanted and that she has been reminding me about over the last ten or so years was that she really wanted me to draw on her coffin when it was her time to move on from this life. So last week the inevitable moment arrived…

I had warned her that this was probably the last thing I would feel like doing at such a sad time…however, I always new that it would be the least I could do for an awesome upbringing and to…if only in the smallest of ways say thank you for everything. So due to the personal nature of the image I won’t go right into detail with some of the symbolism, but in short the image is a representation of her workspace/clutter that adjoined our lounge room…affectionately named the bus stop. This space allowed her to do all things arty/crafty while being in close contact with her family. It often grew and teetered on the the edge of getting out of control!

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Well the new year is well and truly upon us. It has now been about six weeks since i fractured the arm, and although not quite right(rotation hurts and there is no strength as yet)…It is feeling heaps better. The ‘Altered State’ book that i am putting together is starting to take shape with about two thirds of the artists getting their work in. But it has been a challenge at times to nail down artists and get their contributions. But i’m sure the end product will outweigh these small issues. On the low down…It looks like i might be doing my first solo gallery show since 2004. It has been a while between drinks…but i will give further details as they get set in concrete.

I think that is about all the news to make public at the moment, so I hope everyone had a good new years and stay tuned as i start to slowly get back into it.

Below are a few recent works. Until next time…Enjoy! NF

Pressure – Mixed Media on Canvas, 2010

Don’t feed the Humans – Mixed Media on Canvas, 2011

Free Hugs – Mixed Media on Canvas, 2011

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Just a little bit of exciting news. I have had two images selected for a book being designed by cutting edge Queensland design firm Brandhaus. The book is going to be a one-of-a-kind coffee table book of design and artwork framed by exploring many of the various options of commercial printing techniques, all in one glorious edition. Being printed by Fast Proof Press…suggested print methods include metallic inks, foil printing, fluoro inks, embossing, different paper stock and more. I can’t wait to see the finished result. So stay tuned and i will put up some images when the project is completed and i get a copy in my hands!

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