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      Coverage: “Subliminal Matrix” Solo Exhibition by Zhang Ji at Volery Gallery, Dubai

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      Last September 22nd, Volery Gallery opened Subliminal Matrix, a solo exhibition by Beijing-based Chinese painter Zhang Ji. This exhibition showcases a precisely calibrated selection of 12 paintings, created from 2018 – 2020, which demonstrates Zhang’s wholehearted engagement with the very structures and systems of painting. Subliminal Matrix is a collaboration of Volery Gallery with art collector and advisor Fabien Fryns who has been active in the contemporary art scene since 1986.The series, simply titled The Skin of Truth, features the artist’s minimalistic yet richly intricate detailed artworks which appear to radiant into immediate material presence whereupon he shapes the aesthetical effect. From earthy tones to magnetic blue and crimson red etc, Zhang used a variety of rich, bright hues as well as pure white, black and grey etc.His process calls attention to the paintings’ silken surfaces, loaded with oil paint; strengthened with the sheer physicality and expressive power of his medium. Gazing at these ethereal, atmospheric embossed-like paintings provide the viewers the sensation of a commanding optical quality, floating freely, bulged and ebbed, as if unanchored by gravity.In this exhibition, each composition is an independent work but also integral to the whole. Each work, elucidated the others, commenting on proportion, texture and the handling of the medium. The glossy was juxtaposed with the matte, the flat with the protruded, and the monochromatic and polychromatic panelling. Viewed together, these paintings convey a sense of symbolic matrix that can readily shift in relation to the painterly space and viewer’s angles of perception, yet captured visceral at its most subliminal.True to the paintings’ original premises, in this series, Zhang has painted with a restless, innovative and complete technical mastery. Each artwork is a fresh visual adventure with a strong sense of continuity not only as themselves, but also in relation to one another. The artist proves that you don’t have to go colossal to convey epic themes. But if one is to engage them on his/her own terms, they slowly reveal themselves as the artist’s response to his life observation and they allow the sense of things being painted and how we imagine the world through the imageries whereupon Zhang shapes a kind of expanded interrelation, articulated through correspondences of colour, shape and material inspiring trajectories of thought and narrative across the painterly properties.All in all, Zhang’s paintings evoke familiarity and memory in their vastness of collective illumination.Check out below for more photos of Subliminal Matrix and its opening night.The exhibition will run until 12th of October, 2021. 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM at Volery Gallery, Dubai International Financial Center, UAE. RSVP required. Book a visit here. More

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      “The Riders” by Fintan Magee in Sydney, Australia

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      “The Riders” was painted on the Alexandria Hotel in the shadow of the Waterloo Public housing estate. In 2015, the LNP government in NSW marked the building for re-development, leaving many low-income families worried they will be pushed out of the area.  Painted in a bevelled glass technique, the riders appear broken up out of focus and distant. The work depicts the youth as transient, asking where displaced public housing residents will go as more public land is sold off within the city. The mural highlights the ongoing issue of gentrification in Sydney and how the cities working young are ignored by housing policy and pushed further into the suburbs, creating a disconnect between its most productive residents and economic opportunity. Fintan Magee is a Sydney based social realist painter, specializing in large-scale murals. His earlier large-scale paintings often inhabited the isolated, abandoned and broken corners of the city, and today are found all over the world including in London, Vienna, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Moscow, Rome, Jordan, and Dublin among others.Magee’s practice is informed by a profound interest in political murals, inspired by exposure at a young age to those of his Father’s native Northern Ireland. This is reflected in the socialist nature of his public artworks, which combine journalistic elements with public art. Magee’s work is driven by his recognition of the power of murals to communicate political and social viewpoints and thus divide or unite communities.Take a look below to see more photos of Fintan Magee’s “The Riders” More

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      Brandalism Hacks More Than 200 Billboards Across UK

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      Billboards and bus stops across the UK have been hacked with spoof Barclays adverts by activists, as climate campaigners increase pressure on the bank to stop funding the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.Deisgn by Darren Cullen in LondonMore than 200 billboards and bus stop spaces in 20 towns and cities have had satirical artworks installed without permission, as calls grow for the bank to stop offering credit to fossil fuel companies flouting climate pledges. Barclays is currently considering updating its policy on fossil fuel lending ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this November.The posters designed by 11 artists reference Barclays financing of companies involved in Arctic oil drilling, coal mining and fracking as well industrial meat companies such as JBS, who are accused of deforestation in the Amazon. They also link the bank’s sponsorship of the football Premier League with fossil fuel profits. One billboard artwork by Darren Cullen reads, “Our plans to stop forest fires: cut them down first.” Another by Inzione shows an Arctic oil rig and reads, “Drilling our way to Net Zero.”Design by Fart Attack in BristolTona Merriman from Brandalism accused Barclays of making disingenuous claims to become a “net zero” bank whilst granting $4.4bn in loans and bonds to fossil fuel companies in 2021 alone.“The posters showcase the environmental impacts we don’t see in Barclays’ own adverts: the deforestation, the ocean drilling, the oil spills, the wildfires, the threat to wildlife. They’re a corrective, right of reply to the greenwash messaging of Europe’s dirtiest bank.”“Ahead of COP26, banks like Barclays will tell the world how much they’re investing in renewables. But what’s more significant is how much they continue to pour into fossil fuels. Put simply, it’s not enough to fund the good stuff, they’ve also got to stop funding the bad stuff.”Design by SoofiyaThe artworks were designed by 11 artists including Darren Cullen, Soofiya, Fokawolf, Merny Wernz, Rhonda Anaconda, Frank Riot, Michelle Tylicki, Inzione, Seize The Mean and F-Art-Attack.Barclays has attracted criticism for being Europe’s biggest fossil financier, granting greater sums to fossil fuel companies last year than any of its European competitors.Pressure has grown on Barclays following the publication of new findings by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The respected industry body has now stated that, in order to reach net-zero by 2050, no new coal, oil or gas projects should be undertaken or financed.Deisgn by Inzione in ReadingThe bank has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 and campaigners argue that, according to the IEA findings, this means the bank should immediately commit to cease any further financing of companies expanding coal, oil and gas output and infrastructure.Brandalism is an anonymous, creative arts network taking direct action against corporate advertising structures.  Intervening into ad spaces that usually celebrate consumption, the group use ‘subvertising’ as a lens through which we can view the social and environmental injustices issues that capitalism creates.http://brandalism.ch/Scroll down below to view more spoof adverts from the protest.Design by Rhonda in NorwichDesign by Polyp in BrightonDesign by Fokawolf in BrightonDesign by Merny Wernz in Bristol More

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      “On the Horizon” by ONUR, Li-Hill, and James Bullough in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

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      “On the Horizon” is a set of collaborative murals painted by three artists, ONUR, Li-hill, James Bullough in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France The murals are separated by a road that divides them. Although painted on two separate walls this is actually meant to be seen as one piece.When standing in the center of the road the viewer can throw their view beyond the murals and actually bring them together into one mural with their eyes. This animation shows what happens when you are able to combine the two murals into one.The artists wanted to create something the viewer had to participate in and that spoke directly to the settling of Bolougne-ser-Mer. Known as a major fishing port, the city’s past and future are intertwined with the sea.The images we chose embody a concept of time. A fisherman throws their net into a desolate dried-out landscape becomes a vision of a not-so-distant future. On the second wall, the sun beams over a shoal of fish showing the relatively stable period the earth’s ecosystems have had. The viewer finds themselves on the road caught between these two possibilities and a horizon line connecting these two paths. By combining the walls with thier eyes, one can glimpse a way forward in our current ecological crisis that is potentially harmonious with our surroundings.When mural was created for the latest edition of Street Art – Boulogne-sur-Mer. Check out below for more photos of “On the Horizon” More

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      “Break from the Past” by Anders Gjennestad in Patras, Greece

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      Norwegian artist Anders Gjennestad recently worked on a mural in Patras, Greece. The mural entitled “Break from the Past” was done in collaboration with the 6th International Street Art Festival Patras at Eptanisos Square. The mural is inspired by Mikis Theodorakis’s saying “Man finally creates the feasible”. The mural was carried out with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Athens.Norwegian-born Anders Gjennestad previously known as Strøk Anders Gjennestad in Patras, Greeceis a stencil artist living in Berlin. His cutouts are based on photographs that he takes before executing the stencils, and his finely detailed work can be found as oversized murals on the streets of Europe, as well as in exhibition spaces.The stencil art of Anders Gjennestad is a gripping experience. His subjects are frozen in seemingly surrealistic bodily contortions; the artist achieves this effect through basing his cutouts on self-made photographs of bodies in action. Gjennestad’s art appears on carefully selected places in the open space to emphasise the artworks’ emotional impact.Check with us shortly for more updates from Anders Gjennestad and the global street art scene. More

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      Preview: Ron English “Brand Royalty” @ Allouche Gallery Opening 9/18/21 NYC

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      Brand Royalty is world-renowned artist Ron English’s latest 20-piece body of work, examining the ever- evolving social semiotic flow in advertising, branding, inculcation, and the artistic process. The collection involves reappropriation of signature imagery from Picasso, Warhol and Basquiat in a symbiotic remix with English’s own iconic characters, reallocating intent and meaning to construct a new narrative of creation and conflict.Uncle Scam Arms and Ammo on Warhol and Basquiat, oil on canvas, 50 x 70 inchesThe works created throughout this past year, where our society has endured the Covid pandemic and a shift in politics, English’s iconic characters navigate metamorphic landscapes and grapple in the company of corporate brands with delusions of ecstasy and heartbreak. The viewer is enticed by popular brands such as Paramount Pictures, characters from children’s shows and media, a reference to Uncle Sam, imagery from contemporary artist Basquiat’s work, and English’s own reformation of Picasso’s Girl before a Mirror, all which epitomize English’s response to historical art with the use of the present-day outlook.Paying homage with playful repurpose, English layers graffiti with the language of signs in old master oil technique, giving agency to his own characters and symbols to graft new language upon established iconography, forming call and response dialog with the radical masters of twentieth century pop to question the nature and direction of illusion/delusion. English reimagines the chaotic composition of the famous Warhol-Basquiat collaboration to craft a narrative of rock star sexual excess and the whitewashing of a complicated human relationship with cartoon pop façade. Serving as centerpiece and central mythmaking generator, the oversize painting “Delusionville Paint Jam” pitches perfect anthropomorphic mayhem from a mind-bending magic mushroom thought cloud hovering above the three-eyed, hare-brained armchair philosopher and slothful soothsayer Potato Rabbbit, avatar and author of English’s latest grand delusion. English’s bold yet masterful style is indicative of Allouche Gallery’s ongoing commitment to pushing artistic boundaries.Ron English “Brand Royalty” opens this Saturday September 18th at Allouche Gallery (82 Gansevoort St. NYC) and will run through October 19/21.Mask, Proof of Vaccination, & ID are required to enter the gallery. More

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      “Cracked” by Martin Whatson in Oslo, Norway

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      International street artist Martin Whatson is back with a new stunning mural in Norway. The project is a collaboration between the artist and Somwhere Studio. Entitled “Cracked” the mural is located at Schous Bryggeri, Grünerløkka in Oslo.Whatson is best known for his calligraphic scribbles in grayscale voids. Over the past decade, Martin has developed an unmistakable aesthetic combining abstract movement with figurative stencilled compositions.With as many works on walls as on canvas and paper, the relationship between vulnerability and strength remains constant in each work. Delicate and organic characters feature; butterflies, ballerinas and animals all rendered in empty grayscale space. Almost stylised, these minimal figures are constructed of a few layers of hand-cut stencils.The ashen tones of the compositions and vacant backgrounds are reminiscent of his alternative canvases, the concrete. True to form, no gray space stays gray for long in Martins presence. whether immersing entirely or embellishing a detail, the images disappear beneath expressive, spray-painted strokes of assorted colours and textures.Take a look below for more photos of “Cracked”. More

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      “Subliminal Matrix” Solo Exhibition by Zhang Ji at Volery Gallery in Dubai, UAE

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      Zhang Ji is an artist whose sweeping-colours of paintings focus on mosaicked patterns or relief-centred geometrics, laid down edge to edge. Spare, elegant and texturized, his paintings offer a delicate balance between composition and decomposition, sturdiness and ephemerality. They begin as strikingly, repetitious patterns, but then move beyond, toward a consummate painterly expression.In this exhibition opening at Volery Gallery and entitled Subliminal Matrix, this precisely calibrated selection of 12 paintings, created from 2018 – 2020, demonstrates Zhang’s wholehearted engagement with the very structures and systems of painting. The series, simply titled The Skin of Truth, features the artist’s minimalistic yet richly intricate detailed artworks which appear to radiant into immediate material presence whereupon he shapes the aesthetical effect.“The Skin of Truth 58”, Oil on canvas, 2017Approximating a studied observation of sacred sites with their classical designs and backgrounds, Zhang possesses an instinctive talent for meticulously working in forms, shapes and structures. The Beijing-based artist is primarily drawn to the harmony and rhythm of religious architectonics for their tactility, physical presence, and in creating complex straight lines-making grids or parallel diagonals within fragments of decorated motifs.From earthy tones to magnetic blue and crimson red etc, Zhang used a variety of rich, bright hues as well as pure white, black and grey etc. His process calls attention to the paintings’ silken surfaces, loaded with oil paint; strengthened with the sheer physicality and expressive power of his medium. Gazing at these ethereal, atmospheric embossed-like paintings provide the viewers the sensation of a commanding optical quality, floating freely, bulged and ebbed, as if unanchored by gravity.Zhang sees his paintings as meditative. Thus, the resulting works are  calming, luminous forms rendered in an irresistible palette; striking for its subtle yet dramatic patch of illumination, which is perhaps their greatest appeal. It is a poetic exercise in giving colour and texture enough weight to stand alone, without the support of delineated forms.All in all, Zhang’s paintings evoke familiarity and memory in their vastness of collective illumination.Scroll down below to have a sneak peak on Subliminal Matrix exhibition.“The Skin of Truth 104” Oil on canvas, 2019“The Skin of Truth 9” 5Oil on canvas, 2018“The Skin of Truth 105” Oil on canvas, 2019 More