James Palumbo's Tomas

We are rather liking the illustrations in this Champagne Fuelled Jungle promo clip for James Palumbo's first novel titled Tomas.

Palumbo co-founded the iconic South London nightclub, Ministry Of Sound and now presides over a global muti media business renowned for its vision and daring ideas. It's his strong opinions and refusal to be daunted by controversy that have allowed him to create in Tomas, a unique image of the world, which aggressively challenges the moral corruption at the centre of the present financial turmoil.

Reader, beware this book. It’s short and small. It fits into your pocket and you can read it at leisure in any public place or alone at night. It looks like so many other books. You may think that, if the author’s any good, the story will help you escape the world around you: you can drift into another place, better or worse, according to your mood. This is precisely the danger. Do not trust appearances: below these black printed words, spread page over page, lies a vision of the world that’ll alarm the majority, revolt the sensitive and obliterate the prudish.

Tomas is due for release in July.

UPDATE 7th JULY
The second clip to promote the new book has been released. See it below.

NEW SICKBOY WORK

We somehow missed this email Sickboy sent us last week about some new works released through his website. Some of the originals have sold out already but this pictured print "Valencias Favourite Doll Print" is still available as are a number of hand finished versions of the same print.

These new Giclee prints are massive, both versions are A1 in size. Sickboy tells us he has hooked up with one of the best printers in the country to bring us these prints. They have been printed using the highest quality inks on 300gsm Somerset archival paper stock with silk screen UV highlights.

An Edition of 60, all are signed, numbered and embossed with temple logo by the artist. The hand-finished print is an edition of 15 with added gold leaf and watercolour finishes.

Bag yourself one of these over on his webshop here.

Invisiblemadevisible Flickr Update June 2009

Aryz, by invisiblemadevisible

Check out some new pictures from the streets of East London over on Invisiblemadevisible flickr

A.CE, by invisiblemadevisible

Tales From The Seaside : Brighton Exhibition

Brighton will be the location for Prescription Arts next exhibtion "Tales From The Seaside. This forthcoming exhibition will feature a selection of International Street Artists exhibiting in what has been described as beautiful 6500 square foot space in the centre of Brighton. Set to open on the 11th July with a preview evening, the show will run for three weeks.

Some of the Artists include Zeus, Skewville, Askashi Nihalani, Pinky, Dscreet, Chu, Bortusk Leer Bert, and Remed to name a few.

Tales From The Seaside | 115-116 Church Street | Brighton

VNA ISSUE09 LAUNCH PARTY

Zero Cool Gallery has teamed up with Very Nearly Almost to celebrate the launch of their new issue. The magazines cover feature is Zero Cool artist Meggs and also features Ronzo, Word to Mother, Sickboy, Ron English and Jeff Soto as well as the usual round up of the latest Graffiti, Stencils and Paste Up’s from both the UK and around the World.

The fun starts at 6pm at Zero Cool London tonight, Thursday the 25th of June and will run until 9pm or until the beer runs out – there will also be a very limited VNA/Meggs T-Shirt which will be given out to the first few through the doors.

Zero Cool | 33 Marshall Street | London | W1F 7ET

UPDATE 29th June
The VNA shop is now open and you can buy your copies of the newest issue directly from the webshop here or in most Borders Bookshops.

WTF Summer Tour with Bwana Spoons

US based painter and designer Bwana Spoons is taking to the road this summer with his first monograph- Welcome To Forest Island, published by Top Shelf.

Rendered in swaths of psychedelic fluorescents in a flurry of wild yet delicate brushwork, the explosive pages of Welcome to Forest Island establish Bwana Spoons as the cuddliest art-monster around, whose furious imagination is matched only by the intimacy of his handskills.

The thoughtful and provocative design, by Tokyo wunderkind Ian Lynam, elevates Spoons’ opus beyond a “mere” collection of jaw-dropping artwork to a true coffee table gem. Cloth-spined and case-bound, this full-color compendium heralds not only the birth of a wild and woolly nation, but also the arrival of a major new force in the art world.

Along with the book bwana will be bringing- Custom toys, and some sold out goodies. Original art, prints, tees, and more goodies for everybodies eyeballs. And lastly Bwana will come ready to rumble. Prepare to battle at Concrete Hermits Pencil Fighting Championship.
Catch the launch tomorrow night 25th June at Concrete Hermit from 6pm.

Concrete Hermit | 5a Club Row | London | E1 6JX

The Hornets Nest - Graffiti Book

SFAUSTINA the american based artist/designer and founder of the online graffiti/streetart magazine Bloodwars has just dropped a new Limited Edition book/zine.

"The Hornets Nest" is a book about Graffiti Bombing, Street Art, Design, photography and Illustration. Pictured above are some spread from the publication. This limited edition has been designed and published by Sfaustina and is available for only $7 on his site here.

C215 AT SIGNAL GALLERY, LONDON

Tonight sees the opening of French stencil artist C215's first solo London show at the Signal Gallery. The 'Shoeshiners' show opens with a private view this evening from 6pm.

Signal Gallery | 96a Curtain Road | London | EC2A 3AA

Conor Harrington @ Fame Festival

Irish artist Conor Harrington is just back from his 9 day stay in Southern Italy, the location for this years Fame Festival.

The Fame Festival is organized by Italian based print house Studio Chromie and is beginning to look like a fantastic show not to be missed. Pictured above is one of the pieces Conor painted outside for the event. I think you will all agree with us that this awesome piece has set the bar very high already for the work we can expect to see in September. The line up of artists taking part this year is very impressive and also include the following:

Erica il Cane (Ita) / Judith Supine (Usa) / David Ellis (Usa) / Word to Mother (Uk) / Sam3 (Spain) / Blu (Italy) / Jr (France) / Vhils (Portugal) / Conor Harrington (Ireland) / Lucy Mclauchlan (Uk) / Mark Jenkins (Usa) / Dolk (Norway) / Clio (Italy) / Slinkachu (Uk) / Dem (Italy) / Will Barras (Uk) / Tuono Pettinato (Italy) / Paper Resistance (Italy)

Between June and September Studio Chromie plans to host the artists for variable length of time (from 1 to 4 weeks) in a small Italian centre, Grottaglie. While there they will be offered the cooperation of the local artisans for the production of pottery works and limited edition prints. The invited artists will also have several walls/building located around the city at the disposal for painting and at the end of their stay, everything created, including new original artworks, screenprints and ceramic pieces made with the collaboration of local artisans will be showcased in a final group show.

The final show will take place in one of the most ancient ceramics workshop of the area. The opening is set to be on the 19th of September with a preview party on the 18th.

More info on the show and directions on how to get there are over on the Fame Festival website.

BANKSY SUMMER SHOW

Well it's looks like all the rumours on Twitter were true, Banksy's summer exhibition is set to open tomorrow in Bristol’s City Museum and Art Gallery. The show is set to feature over 100 works - 78 of which have never before been seen in the UK. Many believe that this will be Banksy’s biggest ever British exhibition.
Some pictures from the show have began to appear on the web already. BBC Bristol has the best set of pictures we have seen so far. View them here.

Russell Maurice 'Given Up The Ghost'

Tomorrow evening, also sees the opening of 'Given Up The Ghost' a collection of new works from Bristish artist Russell Maurice.

Since the mid 90’s, Maurice has produced paintings, prints, collages, sculptures and installations that reflect the spontaneous and informal nature of graffiti writing and have explored the recurring themes of energy, growth patterns and cycles in nature.

This collection of new paintings, small-scale sculptures and installations, take these themes forward into new realms – to consider theories regarding the spirit world, the physical and metaphysical, consciousness and death.

Using a mix of abstraction and cartoon elements, many of Maurice’s paintings appear on old silkscreens and transparent silkscreen mesh, echoing their transient, ethereal subject matter. His works collectively attempt to create a layered narrative, each is a fragment that forms building blocks for a larger universe, holding theoretical ‘spirits’ that inhabit each work.

Influenced by wide ranging sources, from Blake and Alchemic theory, to the nostalgia of 1930’s cartoons, Maurice’s works are unsettling and humorous depictions of a world inhabited by roaming spirits.

StolenSpace | Dray Walk | Off Brick Lane | London

SUPREME BROSHIP Exhibition

London Miles Gallery and NerdCore present a two man show with Comic book artists Jim Mahfood aka Food One and Scott Campbell aka Scott C. "SUPREME BROSHIP" is the first collaborative showcase of original paintings, drawings and new collaborative artworks by Jim Mahfood and Scott C. Both Jim and Scott will be in attendance for the opening reception, and were at a special comic book signing at Forbidden Planet today, Wednesday June 10th 2009 to promote their new comic book releases from NerdCore.

OPENING RECEPTION: JUNE 11TH 2009 (7:00PM TO 10:O0PM)
RSVP: TINA@LONDONMILES.COM
Both Jim and Scott will be in attendance, and will sign your comic books and prints.

Exhibition on display until July 5th, 2009
London Miles Gallery | 212 Kensington Park Road | Notting Hill | London

SEASON OF THE WITCH EXHIBITION

London based illustrator and designer Danny Sangra has a new show opening tomorrow in London.The 'Season Of The Witch" exhibition opens with a private view tomorrow evening June 11th from 6pm with a collection of all new works from Danny. The preview night will see a special artvisual performance by DAve.i.d.

CUBE PR | 47 Lambs Conduit Street| WC1 3NG

RSVP: MAIL@DANNYSANGRA.COM

Meeting of Styles 2009

Tomorrow sees the start of this years London 'Meeting of Styles'. A two day live painting event of epic proportions on running over two days, Friday 5th and Saturday 6th June 2009. 60 of the best aerosol artists from across the UK and Europe have been handpicked to represent the diversity and immense talent that graffiti art has to offer.

Taking over East London's Bacon, Cygnet and Sclater street in the heart of Brick lane this groundbreaking event gives passersby the rare and exciting opportunity to take a glimpse at this skilled underground art scene live in action.

ARTISTS taking part in the event: NASH, DOES, BISER, WANY, ARYZ, HEAT, NYCHOS, PROBS, ZOMBY, TIZER, ZADOK, BLEACH, BONZAI, INSA, SOLO, BUSK, TWESH, ODISIE, ROID, SNUG, SKORE, AZTEK, EKTO, SUNE, XENZ, IZER, ARE, STIKA, TECK,
RABODIGA, VIBES, TOWN, CHROME, INTRO, REPLETE, CHEO, SOKER, CASM, WISHER, JIVE, KEEN, SORN, NOIR, URGE,
PRYME, MAC1, KRAH, SICK IR, SARES, COSH, JASIK, ALFA, RELAY, PREF, MAU MAU, SHOK, SKIRE, EBZKE, A

Sclater Street Car Park | E1 6HR | Off Brick Lane | London
TIME: 10AM-06.30PM

This free London street festival is bought to you by 'EndOfTheLine' in partnership with Nizim and supported by Red Bull, G-shock, Montana, Carhartt, Last fm and Graphotism.

FIRST THURSDAY SHOWS

First Thursday of the month in London can only mean one thing, some awesome art , good company and some free beers. Tonight ye are spoilt for choice with no less than 6 great shows all opening within a stones throw of each other in East London.

First up is a Pure Evil Gallery show, organised in conjunction with Gallery Nosco titled " Je T'aime". The show promises to be an exciting exhibition of important new works from five emerging French artists; Dran, Bom.K, Remy Uno, Jaw and Heng.

Private View: Thursday 4th June 2009 from 6pm
The show runs from 5th - 6th July 2009
Pure Evil Gallery| 108 Leonard Street | EC2A 4RH

Just across the street from the Pure Evil gallery sees the opening of the Damien Poulain, Totem 49 at the Kemistry Gallery. We blogged about the show last week here.

Private View: Thursday 4th June 2009 from 6pm
Kemistry Gallery | 43 Charlotte Road | London EC2A 3PD

Next on the art trail is Stella Dore Gallery's annual Summer Group show:
They have invited four brand new artists to exhibit their work at the Gallery. New artists include A.CE, Hin, Anil Mistry aka Star Child and E C Woodard.

Private View: Thursday 4th June 2009
The show runs until the 16th June.
Stella Dore Gallery | 47 Rivington Street | London

For the next three shows we need to head over to Red Church Street / Brick Lane direction.
Wagner Pinto at Concrete Hermit Gallery. Wagner Pinto presents his own pictorial world for the first time outside of his home country, Brazil.

Pinto will present drawings, paintings and silk-screen prints inspired by acts of belief and faith in different religious and folklore. Taking influence from the mix of religions and influences across South America such as candomble – a religion which melds Catholicism and African traditions Pintos paintings materialize “forces of nature, mythology and religious icons, imaginary situations, mental impulses and fine energies”.

Private View: Thursday 4th June 2009
The show runs until the 4th July 2009
Concrete Hermit | 5a Club Row | London | E1 6JX

Charming Baker’s “The Meaning of Everything” . The show will feature new paintings, new prints and limited edition cakes!!!

Private View 4th June from 6pm
The show will run until the 14th June
50 Redchurch Street | London | E2 7DJ

Last but not least our mate Blam has a solo show opening at Benny's bar. Details are here.

Benny's Bar | 119a Bethnal Green Road | London | E2 7DG

So there you have six great shows to keep ye all busy tonight and outta the house long enough to miss the launch of another Big Brother show!!!. Enjoy

UPDATE: We forgot to mention the opening of the "Six Degrees of Separation" show at The Brick Lane Gallery. The show will include limited edition prints and original works for sale by: Banksy, Faile , Jamie Hewlett, Paul Insect, Gee Vaucher, Mode 2, B-Toy, RUN, Antonio Cabrera and many more.

Private view Thursday 4 June, 6-9 pm - RSVP essential
The show runs until the 15th June.
The Brick Lane Gallery | 196, Brick Lane | London | E1 6SA
For more information – tony@thebricklanegallery.com

MOMO's MONOGRAPH

New York based artist and friend of Hooked, MOMO has just dropped us an email to share with us the release of his limited edition Monographic book for Rojo.

MOMO is known for tagging his name the width of Manhattan, and inventing oversize abstract collage for the street, faking a New Yorker magazine cover, and building a totem pole in the East River, a computer script which makes his art for him, a mural project with Melissa Brown that destroys their art for them. Tide powered sculpture with Eltono, and prints, paintings, and videos that rely on chance for fun and substance. MOMO's first monograph gathers the best of his visually rewarding colorful works, related games and inspirations, for 160 raw pages.
The Monograph titled " Momo 3am-6am" will be limited to just 500 copies worldwide and will be priced at 30 euros.

The book is available on pre-order from Rojo here. Also worth checking is the Mark Jenkins "Glazed Paradise" from Rojo which is also on pre-order. Both books are set for a July 1st release.

Rowdy at Sartorial Art

"Never smile at a Crocodile" is the title of a new exhibition from graffiti artist Rowdy, opening tomorrow night 3rd June at Sartorial Contemporary Art from 6.30.

Rowdy has worked extensively on the streets of London creating his huge trademark crocodiles often collaborate with cohorts Cyclops & Sweet Toof resulting in one of the most widespread bombing campaigns seen in the UK’s capital in the last decade.

This is his first major solo show in a gallery. Expect to see Rowdy’s unique take on urban living and landscape in the form of his legendary boulders, abstract cityscapes and of course the ubiquitous crocs.

Sartorial Contemporary Art | 26 Argyle Square | London | WC1H 8AP

BRISTOL STREET ART WEBSITE

Bristol Street Art is new street art website we have been meaning to post about for awhile and have only just got around to it. The site launched in April of this year and was set up by Graphic Designer Justin Staple who moved to Bristol two years ago. As most of us are aware, Bristol’s street art scene is extremely diverse and has many talented street artists at its forefront.Here's what Justin had to say about Bristol:

"I was struck by the amazing array of street art, sometimes lurking in dark corners, sometimes as prominent features. I was soon following my other passion, photography, and photographing them whenever possible."

"It became clear to me that it was important to keep some kind of record of these pieces as they could disappear from one day to the next. So the natural follow on for me was to develop a website to display these photos."

The site enables you to view street art in three main ways: using a city map, by type or by area. The city map indicates the location of street art pieces using pins, hover over a pin and a photo is displayed along with some additional information. Clicking the photo takes you to a page with a full-size photo. Additionally you can choose to display only the pins for a specific type of street art, for example stencil art, or only from a certain area of Bristol, say Montpelier.

Justin wants the site to become a reference for street art in Bristol and to enable the site to grow and develop he has invited other enthusiasts and street artists to become involved by contributing their own photos to the website. As the website grows it will offer a unique picture of street art at different times and places in Bristol. Visit the site here and be sure and upload your Bristol street art photos if you have any.