Author Archive

Michael Joo In 3D

Michael Joo has is undertaking a Smithsonian Artist Residency Fellowship, at the Smithsonian Art Museum in Washington DC: he is “shadowing experts [from the Smithsonian’s technology department] in digital imaging and exhibitions to research and learn without the pressure of having to produce anything.” One of Joo’s ambitions is to study the advanced 3D scanning and printing technologies available at the museum. Are you ready for 3D digital Michael Joo antlers above your fireplace?

Joo’s digital limited edition The Difference Between (Idiots and Angels) is available on s[edition] for $50 in edition of 5,000.

Jane & Louise Wilson – Sister Act

Jane & Louise Wilson, Hypnotic Sugfestion 505, 1993

We have launched another YBA artist-duo: twin-sisters Jane and Louise Wilson! They have been making movies together since the late 1980s, and especially their early works regularly feature themselves: in one film we watch Jane and Louise get hypnotised, and when the hypnotist asks them to touch their own faces, Jane’s hand reaches towards Louise’s face and Louise’s towards Jane’s; in a different movie the sisters take LSD for the first time, living out their experience in a room with flashing strobe lights.

More recently, Jane & Louise Wilson were commissioned by the National Trust to produce a project in Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain. The project called ‘Blind Landing’ refers to the Blind Landing Experimental Unit that was operational during the Cold War period: “The work comprises of a series of yardsticks sited within the laboratory buildings, that challenge the sense of scale and ruin, pointing to the architecture of forensics and camouflage, and highlighting their historic relevance as ‘future ruins’.” Watch them discuss their project (below), which is the origin of their digital limited edition Pagoda, Lab 5 H-bomb test facility, Orford Ness on s[edition].

The sisters have released three digital photographs as digital limited editions on s[edition] including: False Positives, False Negatives, The New Brutalists, and Pagoda, Lab 5 H-bomb test facility, Orford Ness available for $8/£5 each in editions of 1,000.

Bristol Gone Titchner

During the May Bank Holiday, all of Mark Titchner’s s[edition] artworks were on public display on the BBC Big Screen, at Millenium Square, Bristol, every 20 minutes: Up!, Fear of Life, Tantric Separation, and Love and Work were shown in conjunction with the launch of Titchner’s new sculpture A Naiad. The latter is based on a Victorian piece of machinery and named after the water nymphs of Greek Mythology – naiads – to evoke the aquatic theme of the work and the city of Bristol.

Titchner’s exclusive digital limited editions are available on s[edition] at $16/£10/€12.

Credits: Mark Titchner, A Naiad, 2013.
Commissioned by Bristol City Council. Courtesy of the artist and Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives.
Photo © Max McClure.

Bharti Kher World Auction Record – The $1.7 Million Elephant

Photo credit: © ArtLyst

Bharti Kher’s The Skin Speaks A Language Not Its Own, 2006, was sold for $1,785,000 on Monday at Christie’s New York and is a new record auction price for the artist. The sale titled THE 11TH HOUR realised a total of $38,827,000 and was held in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. The proceeds will benefit environmental and wildlife conservation efforts supported by the Foundation. More than 30 of the world’s most recognised living artists donated works to the sale. Kher’s sculpture was one of nine artworks to sell above $1,000,000.

Kher’s first digital limited edition Symphony is available on s[edition] starting at just $27/£17/€20 in an edition of 1,500. All proceeds for this work benefit the ICA.

s[edition] Official Partner at Eyeo Festival 2013

‘Converge to Inspire’. With this aim, the Eyeo Festival brings together an outstanding selection of creative coders, data designers and artists working with the latest technologies. The event will take place at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, (US) from June 5-8 and we are proud to be an official partner.

(Photo: Casey Reas and Ben Fry)

Eyeo is a 3 day festival of inspirational talks, workshops, labs and opportunities to connect with people that are pushing the boundaries of art, interaction and information. The program will feature artists such as Casey Reas and Ben Fry who are the fathers of processing, a programming language widely used to create generative art. Watch a capture of Reas’s generative work below:

As partners of this fascinating festival, we hope to inspire the next generation of artists to continue creating, innovating and distributing their artworks in digital formats to a world of art lovers.

(Photo: Forms by Memo Atken and Quayola)

If you are attending the festival, don’t miss the opportunity to speak with s[edition]’s CEO, Robert Norton. He will bring fresh news about s[edition]’s new expanded platform for artists. If you are not going, look out for full length videos of the presentations on Vimeo or on the official Eyeo website. We will also be following the conversations from our twitter account.

s[edition] @ Grand Designs Live

s[edition] is excited to be at Grand Designs Live this week with a pop-up gallery at the Samsung House. You may have heard of Grand Designs from the Channel 4 TV series presented by design guru Kevin McCloud. The event features over 500 exhibitors, across interiors, gardens, home improvement, self-build, renovations, technology and more.

Come find us next to the N1 exit in the Grand Technology section of the event on the 2nd floor of the Samsung House. Pick up your £10 gift voucher for a digital limited edition artwork. Grand Designs Live takes place from May 4-12 at ExCel London.

Check out photos from our space:

From Pigment to Pixels panel @ Soho House

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013, we had the pleasure to present a panel at Soho House in London with Samsung about the evolution of pigment to pixels – how digital limited editions are transforming the world of art collecting. Will Rowe, Founder of Protein led a lively panel with V&A Curator of Digital, Louise Shannon, Artist Doug Foster, Samsung Smart TV Marketing Manager, Lali Parikh, and s[edition] CEO Robert Norton. The discussion was very fruitful in exploring digital art from various perspectives around the creating, collecting and distributing of art through screens and devices.

On the day, we launched our latest edition by award-winning British artist Doug Foster. Veil of Light is available on s[edition] starting at £10/$16 in an edition of 500.

New Artist: Mary Katrantzou

Pound

In an exciting collaboration with s[edition], Mary Katrantzou has created her first digital artwork. The Greek fashion designer with a background in architecture and a textile design degree from Central Saint Martins is best known for her exceptional print designs that characterize her ready-to-wear collections. She transcribes themes onto fabric that accumulate into a visual play of illusions: objects mirror each other in obscured proportions and create a fascinating and fantastic world of colour and beauty.

For Pound, Katrantzou uses a similar system as when creating her textiles: she chooses an unwearable object – a pound note – and makes it the central theme of her design. She appropriates, changes and plays with it until it generates a completely new form. Pound is a collage of many fragments of English pound notes that are fused into a magical whole that is then animated according to the rules of a kaleidoscope. We watch as the screen before us explodes again and again in new and surprising shapes and forms. The effect is hypnotic, fascinating, and stunningly beautiful all at once.

The work is available in editions of 1,000 starting at £10 and are part of s[edition]’s dynamic pricing model – as edition availability decreases the price of the work increases. Pound is one of four exclusive digital limited editions curated by the ICA. All proceed for this work will benefit the ICA.

Mary Katrantzou

Fashion designer Mary Katrantzou (b.1983, Athens) studied for a BA in Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to Central Saint Martins, London, where she completed her degree in Textile Design in 2005 and graduated with a MA with Distinction in Fashion in 2008. Her first ready-to-wear collection debuted at London Fashion Week in spring/summer 2009, with the support of the British Fashion Council. Despite it being a small collection of only nine dresses, Katrantzou picked up 15 prestigious stockists including Browns, Joyce, and Colette. The designer received show status in 2009.

We’re hiring: Marketing Manager

Location: Notting Hill Gate, London
Type: Full-time
Function: Marketing Manager

The s[edition] Marketing Manager will work closely with the SVP, Head of Marketing to
execute all facets of marketing, social media, promotion and PR as indicated. The role is
ideally suited to someone with an arts background but with a love of technology and
start-up cultures.

Marketing

Develop and write email blasts, e-newsletters, web copy including news articles,
artwork descriptions, artist profiles, etc. to drive member retention and revenue
Manage creation of printed materials to promote brand awareness
Collaborate with external PR companies and agencies, freelancers
Maintain project control and tracking for assignments
Creating and manage marketing calendar
Maintain marketing department resources

Social Media

Develop and implement the Company’s social media strategy, develop brand
awareness, generate inbound traffic, encourage membership and purchase
Develop and manage presence in social networking sites including Facebook,
Twitter, and other similar community sites
Create and manage weekly editorial calendar
Develop online promotions/contests
Monitor effective benchmarks for measuring the impact of social media programs,
and analyze, review, and report on effectiveness of campaigns in an effort to
maximize results
Analyse competitor activity
Monitor trends in social media tools, trends and applications

Community Engagement

Management and moderation of member base to facilitate constructive interaction
and member feedback
Identify and develop programs to increase member engagement
Events
Create and execute from conception to complete
Manage budget with fiscal responsibility
Create event recaps

Requirements

Minimum 7 years’ experience in social media, marketing, PR, events and project
management.
In-depth knowledge and understanding of social media platforms and their respective
participants and how they can be deployed in different scenarios
Demonstrated experience writing copy for the web
Excellent communication (verbal/written) and presentation skills
Ability to coordinate multiple projects at the same time
Experience preferred in the arts and/or online sectors
Knowledge of the contemporary art scene
Microsoft Office including PPT, iWork Keynote

Competencies

Integrity and trust
Resilience and composure
Planning, organising and attention to detail
Strong initiative and willingness to go above and beyond
Decision making and initiating action
Hands on, self directive and team player
Creativity and innovation
Thrive in fast past entrepreneurial environment

About the Company

Founded by Robert Norton, former CEO of Saatchi Online, and Harry Blain, the founder
of Blain|Southern, the mission of s[edition] is to provide greater access to the artworks of
our time and to offer a wider audience the opportunity to be able to enjoy and collect the
works of today’s greatest living artists.

To Apply: Please send your CV to jobs@seditionart.com

Tracey Emin’s Midnight Moment in Times Square

Tracey Emin rings in Valentine’s Day eve in Times Square to see her dazzling display on the the big screens. Her neon messages of love will be up daily from from 11:57pm-midnight for the month of February. View the video from her public appearance with a crowd of fans and followers as they celebrate her work and love for Valentine’s.

Tracey Emin’s ‘I Promise To Love You’ collection is available on s[edition] for just £240/$384 here. The collection includes six digital limited editions of her unique handwritten neon messages about desire, unrequited love and passion.

Tracey Emin Midnight Moment video from s[edition] on Vimeo.

Mat Collishaw: THIS IS NOT AN EXIT

14 February – 30 March 2013
Blain|Southern, 4 Hanover Square, London W1S 1BP

For his second solo exhibition at Blain|Southern, THIS IS NOT AN EXIT, the British artist Mat Collishaw returns to the medium of oil painting. However, as is usual with his practice, nothing is literal; the primary source material – magnified images drawn from the pages of glossy magazines – is a simple metaphor, one part of a prism conceived to examine moral questions provoked by the excessive binge culture that preceded the global financial crisis.

Mat Collishaw has nine digital limited editions available on s[edition]. Find out more about his work here.

Sinners, 2012

Elysium, 2012

Urban Legends, 2012

Images Courtesy of the Artist and Blain|Southern
Photographer: Matthew Hollow, 2012

Times Square the day before Tracey Emin’s arrival

s[edition] is excited to be in Times Square for Tracey Emin’s Midnight Moment. Check out photos from Times Square today in preparation of Tracey’s public appearance here tomorrow. Don’t miss her in the Big Apple as she rings in Valentine’s Day! She will be making a public appearance on 13th Feb at 11:57pm. See our Facebook event for more details: here.

Times Square Alliance, Public Art Director, Sherry Dobbin being interviewed in Times Square.

‘Heartwalk’ designed by Situ Studio — an installation inspired by the collective experience of Hurricane Sandy. The work is crafted out of salvaged boardwalk boards from the waterfronts of NYC. Another unique expression of love and care in Times Square for Valentines Day.

The famous red steps behind the statue of Farther Duffy at the heart of Times Square with a panoramic unobstructed view of Tracey Emin’s Midnight Moment.

So many screens, so little time. Be sure to be there from 11:57pm to find out which screens will be turned over for love and art.

TimesSquare_Robert5
One of the many posters promoting the Tracey Emin midnight moment throughout February.

Find the poster at Broadway Square and Tracey Emin will meet you there at 11:57pm on February 13th. Get ready for your photo call with the artist!

s[edition] & Tracey Emin Bring Digital Valentine To Times Square

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Irene Kopitov +44 (0)20 7420 1700

S[EDITION] LAUNCHES THREE NEW WORKS BY TRACEY EMIN AND BRINGS DIGITAL VALENTINE TO NEW YORK’S TIMES SQUARE

EMIN PUBLIC APPEARANCE TO CELEBRATE LOVE OF NYC

Tracey Emin’s series of neon works entitled “I Promise to Love You” to be shown every night from 11:57pm – midnight throughout February 2013

Organized and Supported by the Times Square Advertising Coalition in Partnership with Times Square

(London, UK) January 31, 2013 – s[edition], the online platform for the world’s most renowned contemporary artists to sell their digital limited editions, brings celebrated British artist Tracey Emin to Times Square throughout February.

“Every year I send valentines. This year I won’t have to. Times Square will do it for me,” said Tracey Emin. The title is her promise to love NYC, as well as individual promises to love one another.

The artwork, a dazzling visual valentine, will be shared with New Yorkers and visitors as part of a synchronized program on over fifteen of the largest digital displays in Times Square.

“I Promise to Love You”, will premiere on February 1st and play throughout the month as part of the “Midnight Moment”, a presentation of the Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts. s[edition] helped bring these works to Times Square and they will all be available for sale simultaneously and exclusively at www.seditionart.com.

“This is a pivotal moment for the awareness and appreciation of art in digital format. We’re thrilled that the Times Square Advertising Coalition and Times Square Arts reached out to us and we look forward to supporting their “Midnight Moment” program,” said Robert Norton, CEO of s[edition].

s[edition] has also created a multi-channel social media campaign to engage fans and provide people with an opportunity to win unique works by Tracey Emin.

The s[edition] blog – http://blog.seditionart.com/ – will showcase photos of valentines sharing a kiss in front of Tracey Emin’s works in Times Square, submitted via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #MidnightMoment. Those who take photos from 11:57 – midnight, with Tracey Emin’s “I Promise to Love You” in the background, will receive a Tracey Emin limited edition as well as be entered to win the complete “I Promise to Love You” digital neon collection, and signed copies of Tracey Emin’s books, ‘My Life in a Column’ & ‘Strangeland’. The winning photo will be chosen via crowd sourced voting. The artist will also pose with fans in Times Square on February 13th, giving them the chance to tag themselves on s[edition]’s Facebook page.

As one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Tracey Emin’s moving series of digital neon works, “I Promise To Love You”, is comprised of six artworks around the theme of love. In this unique moving image, the glowing words—made of digital neon lights—slowly spell themselves out, as if being written by the invisible hand of Tracey herself. The gentle electric pulsing of the text gradually builds into a searing, potent red, leaving the viewer in no doubt about the power of love. Times Square, famous for its neon lighting displays, is the perfect venue for the premiere of Emin’s animation.

Alan High, Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition and President & General Manager of Clear Channel Outdoor Spectacolor & Mall Divisions, said, “Times Square is the world’s best place to spread a message and our sign operators are delighted to help Ms. Emin share her Valentine’s Day message with New York as part of our ‘Midnight Moment.’”

“Tracey Emin captures the vocabulary of neon that for so long defined Times Square’s signage,” said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance.

###

s[edition] is the leading platform used by the world’s most renowned contemporary artists to offer their works in digital limited editions for collectors to enjoy and display on connected devices and screens. s[edition] offers everyone an easy, enjoyable and social way to experience collecting, at affordable prices. The s[edition] platform allows members to follow artists, browse, collect and sell works, send editions as gifts to friends, and build their own collections. s[edition] offers works by Damien Hirst, Shepard Fairey, Tracey Emin, Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono, Elmgreen & Dragset and Bill Viola among others. Founded by Robert Norton, former CEO of Saatchi Online, and Harry Blain, the founder of Blain|Southern, the mission of s[edition] is to provide greater access to the artworks of our time and to offer a wider audience the opportunity to be able to enjoy and collect the works of today’s greatest living artists. www.seditionart.com

About the Artist

Tracey Emin was born in London in 1963, and studied at Maidstone College of Art and the Royal College of Art, London. She often uses events from her own life as inspiration for her art. Her work can be romantic, humorous, tragic, angry, hard-hitting or hopeful, and is often animated by a playful wit. Working across a wide range of media her body of work includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video, installation, and needlework. In 2007 Emin represented Britain at the 52nd Venice Biennale, was made a Royal Academician and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art, London, a Doctor of Letters from the University of Kent and Doctor of Philosophy from London Metropolitan University. In 2008 Emin’s first major retrospective was exhibited at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, subsequently touring to Malaga in 2008 and Bern in 2009. In 2010, Emin collaborated with Louise Bourgeois on a suite of works on paper, entitled ‘Do Not Abandon Me’. In 2011 the Hayward Gallery presented a major survey of the artist’s work entitled Love is What You Want and the same year she became the Royal Academy’s Professor of Drawing. In 2012 there was a solo exhibition of the artist’s work at Turner Contemporary, Margate, and a touring exhibition of her films was organized by MALBA, Buenos Aires. Tracey Emin lives and works in London.

Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) is a trade association comprised of major advertisers, retailers, real estate firms, media companies and other businesses involved in the outdoor sign industry in Times Square, along with organizations representing Broadway and the community. Members of TSAC include: ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales, Clear Channel Spectacolor, Daktronics, D3 LED, Digital Domination, Hines Management, Jamestown One Times Square, Lamar Advertising Company, Landmark Sign & Electric, Metro Media Technologies, Newmark Knight Frank, North Shore Neon, P.R.omotion!, Sherwood Outdoor, SL Green, The Times Square Alliance, The WOW Factor and Thomson Reuters. www.timessquareadcoalition.org

Times Square Arts, the public arts program of the Times Square Alliance, presents leading contemporary art and performances in multiple forms and media to more than 400,000 daily visitors to New York City’s Times Square, making it one of the highest profile public arts programs in the United States. Since its inception, Times Square Arts has featured works by a diverse group of more than four dozen prominent and emerging artists. Working in partnership with cultural institutions and festivals, the program is further supported by Rockefeller Brothers Fund and, the Department of Cultural Affairs of NYC. Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org/arts for more information. Follow us on Twitter: @TSqArts

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sedition-launches-three-new-works-by-tracey-emin-and-brings-digital-valentine-to-new-yorks-times-square-189380451.html

s[edition] featured on AHAlife.com

s[edition] is currently featured on the home page of AHAlife.com in an article ‘The Mobile Museum: Serious Art is Going High Tech‘ including an interview with CEO, Robert Norton.

“…unlike the traditional art market, s[edition] is highly egalitarian. “If you buy one of Tracey Emin’s digital neon signs you’re spending $80,” says Norton. “If you want the physical work it would be six figures.” In a further new media twist, collectors can follow artists on Twitter, and are invited to special online exhibits and other members-only virtual events.”

Read the full article on AHAlife here.

s[edition] x Lumen Prize Charity Auction

s[edition] is proud to be supporting The Lumen Prize an international award that celebrates the very best fine art created digitally. This week the Lumen Prize held their Exhibition Charity Auction with an exhibition of over 50 works available for purchase in print and digital form. The event raised over £6,000 for Peace Direct in an auction conducted by Christie’s auctioneer Hugh Edmeades, held on 21 January 2013. The exhibition will be on from 22-26 January at Gallery 27, 27 Cork Street, London, W1S 3NG.

s[edition] CEO Robert Norton, will be speaking on a panel for the Lumen Prize Breakfast Briefing on ‘Digital Fine Art: A contradiction in terms or poised for take-off?’ with speakers including Coline Millard, UK editor of Louise Blouin Media. The event will take place from 9am at Gallery 27, Thursday 24 January 2013.

Recap: The panel explored the integration of digital practices into the wider field of ‘Art’ and the decreasing need to make the separation of ‘Digital Art’. Can we assume all art today will involve digital given the way we already engage and work in the world in our daily lives? There was a mention of platforms for art and means of sharing and experience work that is embodied in the form of the art, but what challenge does interactive art have if the work must be experienced in a particular shared moment or experience? What channels can there be for art today? Can experiences be transcended through screens and devices? The panel raised many interesting questions which we hope to further explore.

s[edition] x DLD Conference 2013

Hans Ulrich Obrist and the new ‘diamond’ generation of artists born after 1989

DLD (Digital – Life – Design) is a global conference network on innovation, digital media, science and culture which connects business, creative and social leaders, opinion-formers and investors for crossover conversation and inspiration. The DLD13 Conference will take place from 20-22 January 2013 in Munich, Germany. Speakers this year include artist and designer Aaron Koblin, artist and computer scientist, John Maeda, art curator and director of Serpentine Gallery, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Chinese publisher and curator, Ou Ning among others.

s[edition] will be presenting an exhibition of artworks at the conference featuring works by Elmgreen & Dragset, Jenny Holzer, Angelo Plessas, Peter Saville, Mark Titchner and Liu Ye. s[edition] CEO, Robert Norton will be attending and providing updates from the event next week.

Photos from the DLD arts projects 2013. Exhibition curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Johannes Fricke Waldthausen including artworks by s[edition].

Video: s[edition] Pop-Up Digital Art Gallery

Last December we had our first ever Pop-Up Digital Art Gallery on Regent Street in London at the WIRED Pop-Up Store. The exhibition featured work from leading contemporary artists on Samsung Smart TVs. Check out this video from our space. View photos from the launch: here.

Juergen Teller Private View @ ICA

Juergen Teller: Woo

23 January 2013 – 17 March 2013

Private view: 22 January 2013

ICA, London

Considered one of the most important photographers of his generation, Juergen Teller is one of a few artists who has been able to operate successfully both in the art world and the world of commercial photography. This exhibition will provide a seamless journey through his landmark fashion and commercial photography from the 90s, presenting classic images of celebrities such as Lily Cole, Kurt Cobain and Vivienne Westwood, as well as more recent landscapes and family portraits.

Teller entered the London photography scene through the music industry taking photographs for record covers, it was Teller’s photograph of Sinéad O’Connor for her single Nothing Compares 2 You that marked an important moment in his career. Teller’s photographs first appeared in fashion magazines in the late 80s, and included portraits of Kate Moss when she was just fifteen years old. Teller’s images could be described as the antithesis of conventional fashion photography seen perhaps most markedly in his campaigns for Marc Jacobs. Read more >

Juergen Teller is a renown German photographer who immigrated to England in the 1980s and is today based in London. His work has been focused equally in the fashion world as in the domain of music. Over the years he has worked alongside great personalities such as, for example, in the fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent for which he has directed advertising campaigns, or for famous singers. He is widely recognized as one of the most popular contemporary fashion photographers in spite of his “bad boy” reputation in the world of fashion.

New Artist: Matt Pyke

Transfiguration

Transfiguration, 2011, was created by Matt Pyke together with Realise Studio for the reopening of the prestigious digital arts gallery La Gaite Lyrique, Paris. A bulky human figure walks at a brisk equalized speed at the center of the screen and transforms in a cycle of progressively transient and surprising materials. We watch how flames grow into metal structures that transform into rock-like matter, out of which icy crystals spring. After numerous further transformations, the walking giant takes on liquid qualities, then becomes gas, and in turn transforms into a perfectly depicted fury figure out of innumerable strands of multi-colored hair; and so on.

The work is available in editions of 1,000 starting at £10 and are part of s[edition]’s dynamic pricing model – as edition availability decreases the price of the work increases.

Matt Pyke

Matt Pyke (b.1975) is one of the most innovative digital-motion artists of his time. Pyke’s body of work, which explores the tensions between abstract and figurative form and the synesthesia of sound and image, encompasses a striking diversity: it ranges from interactive design and branded art to shop installations and iPhone applications, and it is reflected in collaborations with a large variety of companies such as Apple and AOL. Pyke has engaged in artistic partnerships and worked on commissions for leading art institutions, including for the V&A Museum, London, in 2008. He is also the mastermind behind design studio Universal Everything, a collective of designers, programmers, musicians and artists who are famous for their boundary-pushing commissions for brands like Chanel, MTV, and London’s 2012 Olympics.

New Editions: Liu Ye and Siu Jianguo

In December, s[edition] is proud to have announced the release of two new editions by Chinese contemporary artists Liu Ye and Sui Jianguo. Art Radar explored their creative process as painters and sculptors and their first experiences working in the digital medium with s[edition]. Read the article here: Asia market perfect for digital art? [s]edition takes on Chinese artists. We hope to see more work from these artists in digital format soon.

1,000 Pounds by Sui Jianguo

1,000 Pounds reminds aesthetically of Sui Jianguo’s early sculpture of a more organic abstract character and choice in materials, as was typical of his work in the early 1990s. In addition, 1,000 Pounds references the most classic practice of modern sculpture itself: the dedicated modelling and remodelling by the artist’s hand. Auguste Rodin made his name when he decided to move away from the Baroque and neo-Baroque smooth surfaces of 19th century sculptural tradition. He opted for textured surfaces and the extreme interplay of light and shadow – made possible by strong modelling techniques that did not obscure the expressive impact of the artist. In its entirety, 1,000 Pounds seems to convey exactly this: the physical impact of the hand onto the clay, the concreteness of the flesh, the brutality contained within the act of forcing the bare earth into a shape decided by the sculptor.

Upon completion, 1,000 Pounds was cast by Sui Jianguo into bronze. It exists as a artwork in its own right and physical form.

The work is available in editions of 1,000 starting at £5 and are part of s[edition]’s dynamic pricing model – as edition availability decreases the price of the work increases.

Sui Jianguo

Sui Jianguo (b. 1956 in Qingdao, Shandong province) received a BA in the Fine Arts Department from the Shandong University of Arts in 1984 and an MA in the Sculpture Department from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1989, where he currently presides as the head of the Sculpture Department. He has been praised by art critics for being a “pioneer venturing to the farthest reaches of Chinese sculpture.”

Red Warship by Liu Ye

Liu Ye’s Red Warship is a digital reference to Liu’s 1997 oil painting, Spirit of the Sea,and comprises many of the themes typical of the artist’s oeuvre: we find homage to Piet Mondrian, characters depicted are rendered in a puerile style, we see sailor hats and angel wings simultaneously. It is a prime example of how Liu likes to play between mysterious fantasy and episodes of complex storytelling and art historical references.

The work is available in editions of 1,000 starting at £5 and are part of s[edition]’s dynamic pricing model – as edition availability decreases the price of the work increases.

Liu Ye

Liu Ye (b. 1964) is one of China’s most prominent contemporary painters. He is famous for his bright-hued paintings of childlike figures, the cartoon character Miffy the bunny, and works referencing one of his favourite artists – Piet Mondrian. He has an immediately recognizable style that is described as simple to read yet complex in its levels of meaning and technique. Liu: “What I do is about painting and art history. Chinese aesthetics have a traditional system, history, very high quality and taste, different from Western taste but quite meaningful in our time”.

AES+F: Islamic Project collection

In December, s[edition] released three editions as part of AES+F’s Islamic Project collection.

All three works are available in editions of 500 starting at £5 and are part of s[edition]’s dynamic pricing model – as edition availability decreases the price of the work increases.

Find out more about the collection here:

Islamic Project

In 1996, AES+F launched “Travel Agency to the Future: Islamic Project” – a conceptual art piece that not only catapulted the artist collective to prominence but gained in controversy after 2011. Images of famous landmarks and tourist destinations were digitally altered to look as if taken over by a radical and backward form of Islamic culture. In conjunction, AES+F set up a travel office where souvenir items were sold with these images printed on them, and where visitors could “plan” a fictional holiday into the depicted world. Read more >

New Liberty

AES+F’s “Islamic Project” is key when looking at the artists’ oeuvre, and New Liberty in particular is the most iconic images of the series. Framed as a “visualization of fears of Western society about Islam”, the digitally altered photograph of a burka covered Statue of Liberty could not have more of an impact when wanting to amuse, disturb and raise questions with the viewer all at the same time.

Beaubourg

Beaubourg, part of AES+F’s “Islamic Project” series, depicts the Centre Pompidou, Paris, obliterated by oriental carpets, various types of Middle Eastern looking architecture, and a large headdress wearing crowd. The image is to represent stereotypical fears of what radical Islam is and might become in a world dominated by politically loaded myths. By juxtaposing extremes the artist collective aims to highlight the absurdity of suchlike world views.

London

AES+F’s London is part of its “Islamic Project” series intended to reveal the absurdity behind modern “Clash of Civilization” theories, as made popular by the political theorist Samuel Huntington in the mid 1990s. The artist collective’s strategy is to take stereotypical views of cultures and to exaggerate them by creating a visual ‘worst case scenario’ of exactly these ideas – and to therewith demonstrate their absurdity.

AES+F

AES+F was formed in 1987 by conceptual architects Tatiana Arzamasova and Lev Evzovich, and graphic artist Evgeny Svyatsky. The trio has worked together on various sculptural, digital and installation-based projects, from digital collage to porcelain, fiberglass sculpture to public installation. In 1995, Moscow-born fashion photographer Vladimir Fridkes began collaborating with AES group, forming the ‘F’ in AES+F. The collective achieved worldwide recognition and acclaim in the Russian Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale with their provocative, otherworldly Last Riot, the first in a trio of large-scale, multi-channel video animations of striking originality that have come to define both their aesthetic and push the boundaries of video installation.

Wim Wenders: Places Strange and Quiet series

During the month of December, s[edition] released six new editions by filmmaker and artist Wim Wenders as part of his Places Strange and Quiet series. The series includes nine photographic works from his explorations for his films around the world. Find out more about the editions here:

Places Strange and Quiet series

Wim Wenders’ “Places Strange and Quiet” series refers to a selection of forty photographs taken by the artist between 1983 and 2011 while location scouting for his films or simply traveling the world for travels’ sake. The collection features everything from industrial “beaches” in Palermo, Sicily, to abandoned fun fairs in Armenia. Wenders: “When you travel a lot, and when you love to just wonder around and get lost, you can end up in the strangest spots. … I don’t know, it must be some sort of built-in radar that often directs me to places that are strangely quiet, or quietly strange.”

Open Air Screen

During a trip to Palermo, Sicily, in 2007, Wenders took several photographs that became part of his “Strange and Quiet Places” series, including Open Air Screen. The image depicts an empty outdoor movie theatre where a crowd of abandoned bright orange chairs is assembled as if they were a conglomeration of spectators. In their accumulation and same orientation, the chairs seem anthropomorphous, attracted by the empty bare stone screen.