Here's the first of a few images I've put together for this year's Trailer Trash Merchandise.

Being one of the key artists last year, I was keen to take this show on the road with the gang.

Here's some info on the project from the festival hosting it:


Trailer Trash

Trailer Trash is a brash, ballsy new project showcasing live art alongside awesome music in one of the hottest new precincts in Woodfordia. 

Young and emerging Australian and International artists will be provide the visuals, and the live music is a highlight, with diverse bands bridging the rapidly decreasing divide between music and art. 

Programmed artists are complemented by chalkboard sessions with friends of the crew jumping in to create new formations – watch as your favourite bands go from electric to acoustic, artists unite to form mega-groups, or someone completely new takes to the stage and blows you away amidst the buzz of live art ... visit Trailer Trash for some true treasure.

Please note: the artists make every effort to minimise their use of aerosol cans, but patrons may be exposed to some aerosol fumes in this precinct.

Here's an image of me painting from last year's show.  

As you can see, we make every effort to minimise aerosol use ;)

GRAFFITI AND GUERILLA ART

Herakut painting live in Berlin, 01/11/2009

BMW Krink MINI Cooper S. Hamburg, Germany 2009. For more info, please visit krink.com 

Directed & Filmed by: Candice House and Brian Smith
Edited & Produced by: Vincent Aricco and Michael Matassa
Sound design by: Jimmy Guthrie

Special thanks to: Hense, Ironlak, Mai Phung, Lexi Aricco, Sever, Michael Ouweleen, Johnny Colt

BREAKING NEWS:

So it turns out the show as listed below was unfortunately canned (no pun intended). Apparently funding was withdrawn.  
That didn't stop Revok who took the opportunity to get up only before finding himself snapped... 

on his way to the airport! 

It seems technology was his downfall in the end.   

Watch for yourself:

Last Sunday night at 8.30pm there was an interesting documentary on ABC2 called Guerilla Art.

If you missed it: This Sunday on ABC1 at 3.00pm they will be replaying it.

According to the blurb, 

"A new generation of international street artists are 

the  latest hot property for galleries, art collectors and big advertising brands." 

Well I am not sure you would credit artists like Futura 2000, Ramm:ell:zee, Blek le Rat, or Os Gemeos as a "new generation" but regardless... it's not every night you flick on the television and are blessed by their presence. 
It's filmed in New York, London, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo and with the help of Agnes B and art curator Jerome Sans, takes a look at survival from an artist's point of view.  Everything from selling limited-edition prints to clothing designs and record labels, vinyl toys and logos. 

For the most part I found it really interesting.

It wasn't groundbreaking in that there wasn't anything entirely new... although it was worth it to see the suit Space Invader gets around in. 

I've always been a big fan of Dan Witz.

Here is a fantastic interview with the man himself.

His work is technically astounding and from his early street

paintings of hummingbirds has held a delicate blend of subtlety

[the kind experienced from the work of old masters] - plus some

good ole fashioned social commentary thrown in for good measure.

--as equally at home alongside dutch masters in stuffy institutions

as they are in back-alleys textured and scrawled with graffiti.

Below is a recent Halloween inspired paste-up to promote

his new exhibition in LA at Carmichael Gallery.

Dan Witz, Untitled. 2009


It is something you could just as easily walk past...
but that is all part of it's beauty.

As Witz himself proclaimed in an interview with Craig Dershowitz 
from Bombin' Magazine,

"I never realized how deeply people were sleepwalking until this year 
when I put up the fake ventilator grates on the new condo buildings. 
These pieces were glaringly obvious but it was amazing how long they 
lasted-how little they were noticed (and removed). More than once I 
watched the condo people somnambulate right by, oblivious, usually 
absorbed in their cell phones."


Dan Witz. Laura. 2008 23x17 oil and mixed media on canvas

It's not a stretch to consider similarities
between his work and advertising.


I am not entirely sure who came first but these ad campaigns
appear to have held a great deal of resonance for me.
I've only seen them online but I haven't forgotten them at all
and while I can't recall the organizations involved, I do feel
more aware of the cause. I am pretty sure that is the objective.



Homeless campaign, Date Unknown



It wouldn't be the first time the advertising industry
appropriated ideas/ imagery from a street based artist
and it could be completely coincidental but it is a little
uncanny how similar the images/concepts are.


As an artist with a Masters in Creative Advertising, i see
value in the kinds of creative processes used by
advertisers but regardless of who came first...
when you do notice them, the images certainly
stop you in your tracks!


There has been recent criticism regarding the methods
employed by Dan. Apparently he blows up large photographs
and paints directly over them. In an interview with Louise Bak
in 2008, Dan clarified/justified this process further,


"These days, my jumping-off point is about trying to make 
my stuff even more realistic - past the point of what's been 
possible in the past.
I mean isn't this what we're supposed to be doing - pushing on 
to new forms?  To this end, I experiment with various digital 
and photographic aids;  I employ new technologies and blend 
them with old master techniques.  In fact a lot of my street 
works are more Photoshop than paint.  
To me this isn't heresy or a contradiction (although it's definitely 
contrarian).  Different times demand different approaches."


These are indeed very different times and I am definitely inspired
to see where Dan's work takes us next. With such a strong grounding
in tradition and such an eye on the future and progression of his work,
it is easy to see why he was such an inspiration for me growing up.


For now, here is a piece from his new DARK DOINGS show.





For more of Dan Witz please take some time out and visit his website.
___________________________________________________

Studio painting | Raw Footage | Benjamin Reeve

 

 

New Work: Kasumi

Well rather than bombard you all with another long post, I have dug up the recent video I put together of my art process.

It's my first video... well it is the first one I personally made.

For those who tend to skim through blogs and missed it before

HERE IT IS:

This is from my Fragments series and is a good indication of how I work.

The photos below show both sides of my shoji screen in the space at 19 Karen gallery.

A great deal has happened since my last post.

I had my exhibition at Cylinder which was a great success, although I didn't really have much time to give it the attention I would like to due to the fact that I was busy getting my Fragments show completed in time. It was a fantastic experience all round and Leticia, who runs Cylinder, is really on the level and extremely supportive of the arts.

Basically she is in it for all the right reasons.

The show hosted my Mugshot series which revealed celebrities in their finest of hours immortalized in Oil on Linen. Feel free to see them on my website but fyi the celebrities in attendance were Heather Locklear, Robert Downey Jr, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Shia Labeouf, Edward Furlong, Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton.

At the completion of this show I was involved in a postcard project which was put together by Artworkers Alliance as part of the Arc Biennial. It was held in a beautiful location down at the Howard Smith Wharves in Shed E which as far as my memory serves used to house the water police.

The following night I had my exhibition at 19 Karen which is housed in a fantastic space on the Gold Coast. The opening night had over 50 people travel from Brisbane to support my work which was fantastic considering there was a big music festival on the same night. So basically I was competing with Empire of the Sun, The Cool Kids, Mstrkrft, A-Track and The Rapture to name a few. That's cool though because overall there were a few hundred people in attendance. A big thank you to all who made it down!

Moving on... I am now represented by Le Blanc Contemporary and have an opening there tonight actually. You can see their website here - although they haven't had a chance to update it for a while.

I have an interview today for Merge Magazine which will focus a little on my years involved in the development of Brisbane's graffiti culture and how that has influenced my work to date. We'll see how the interview goes i guess. :)

Anyway... there's more to tell but I appear to have run out of time....

So until next time ... ADIOS!

Here are some pieces from my Fragments series.

Whisper. Oil, Ink, Spray enamel on wood, 120cm x 80cm, 2009

Kitsune. Oil, Ink, Spray enamel on wood, 120cm x 80cm, 2009

 

 

Work currently on the easel

Celebrity Mugshots

Celebrity Mugshots - All works created by Benjamin Reeve

Tomorrow I will be installing my celebrity mugshots at Cylinder on Ann Street, Fortitude Valley.

It will be up for a month for those keen on checking it out.

My solo show at 19KAREN is coming along really well and should be a fantastic night all round.

The opening night is September 26th and the show will run until October 17th.

Feel free to check out the space online.

 

 

New Work-Progress Shots

For the past week or so I haven't been able to access my studio due to external reasons.

I was put in a position though where I was forced to make new space in our sun-room. There are benefits to this:

• Being around people.

I don't have to readjust to life outside and struggle to rediscover what talking to people is like after each extended studio session.

• Being around all my records.

The thought of getting paint on them horrifies me. It is a real issue when the album needs to be flipped and I have paint all over my hands. There is a real warmth in the sound of vinyl that is somewhat lacking if I use my ipod.

Below are a few process shots for a solo show coming up in September.

I really miss painting with an easel and should move the works back to the studio and continue there but they are a little large and as I am painting in oil, are wet wet wet.

I hope you like the progress of this one.

I don't want to give too much away before the show and apologies for the quality but we'll have to make do with shots from my phone for now...

Vegas Spray

VEGAS SPRAY.COM is an online gallery dedicated to Brisbane artists and it's nice to see something localized on the world wide web for a change.

There really is some fantastic work coming out of this place.

Presently they have their very first show...

appropriately titled LAUNCH SHOW 2009.

My work is among the works represented and it's completely online so check the show for yourself here

celebrity mugshot paintings

The mugshot series really was developed as a single body
of work to be hung together. It is difficult to imagine
the overall presence of the work due to the fact that you are

1. viewing it on screen
2. seeing the works in a tiny format and
3. seeing them displayed separately
   

So I have decided to at least put them in a line in the correct
order for display. To get the proper impact, you need to see
the works for yourself.

Dr Who?

Here is an image I painted for the latest K9 tv series (dr. who). It was prominently featured in the main staircase of the mansion. This is actually just one of a pair. I will dig up the other one soon.