New art! - "A Hat that Stirred Her to the Top of Rapture"

"A Hat that Stirred Her to the Top of Rapture" : Red chalk, ink, sepia ink & dry pigment on handmade Khadi paper : 70cm x 50 cm : Copyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert

Just finished the last piece for my solo exhibition "Synthesis" at MoMA Wales, Y Tabernacl, Machynlleth, which opens on 29th April.  This is one of the ongoing series of illustrations for James Stephens 1912 book of Irish mythology-based fantasy "The Crock of Gold". There will be a private view of the exhibition at noon on Saturday May 18th - please be there, and bring friends!  Mail me for further information.

In the meantime, to receive prints of art by myself and my wife Vivi-Mari Carpelan, (here seen wearng The Hat) in our brand new radical 'change-the-art-market' publishing venture - please check out our crowd-funding project at indiegogo.com/wowlookwhatigot !  Don't forget, the funding campaign closes on Monday 15th April, so please go check it out soon and if you can, contribute a modicum towards our small yet significant total!

More exhibition news soon ...!

Bye for now !

Martin

Last minute preparations ... phew !!

The last drawing for the exhibition in Llandrindod Wells rolled off the drawing board this morning and into a frame ready for hanging ...

"Crocodiles, Hens, Beetles, Armadillos & Fish (do not evince any remarkable partiality for man)" : 90cm x 70 cm :
Ink, pencil, gouache & transfer print on Khadi handmade paper : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

Last few prints just wrapped and ready for delivery.  The curator at the Radnorshire Museum, Will Adams, has been busy hanging things for the last 2 days, and (fingers crossed), everything is ready for tomorrow night's opening ... after which I will be taking a very well deserved week off before starting up the new business! (Of which more later, etc. etc. etc..... :-)

So remember - private view of the Project Synthesis exhibition at the Radnorshire Museum, Temple Street, Llandrindod Wells, Wales, LD1 5DL at 6:30PM tomorrow, Thursday 1st November!  Fourteen new large-scale works on paper, plus some of the older work which formed the original starting point for the project, and a video installation ....  All work is for sale.

If you can't make the opening, the exhibition continues until Sat. 12th Jan.  For a map and opening hours, especially over the holiday period, please check out the Radnorshire Museum website.

More information about the project, and link to a preview of the video, here:
http://artedstates.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/project-synthesis-exhibition-starts.html

"The Heart is the Fountain of Wisdom" : 90 cm x 70 cm : Ink, pencil, gouache & transfer print on handmade Khadi paper.
Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

With the assistance of the Arts Council for Wales, and all these lovely people:

New drawing - "Mediator" - entry for the Jerwood Prize

"Mediator" : Ink, chalk and gouache on tempera-washed handmade khadi paper : 64 x 52 cm
Copyright © 2'012 by Martin Herbert

My entry for this year's Jerwood Drawing Prize.  Delivered last weekend to the Cardiff School of Art and Design, and now en-route to London.  The Jerwood prize is held every 2 years, and is one of the things I´d most like to win as it actually carries a certain amount of ´street cred´ in the art world!  Well - winning is highly unlikely, judging by the usual number and quality of entries, but it would certainly do no harm to be shortlisted.  The shortlisted entries are all exhibited in a touring exhibition, and it's a good chance to get something into some decent galleries .... Announcement of selections next Friday 6th of July - watch this space - if it doesn't get selected it's going up for sale on Saatchi in the near future ...

This is one of the 'organic abstract' (note to self - must think of a better name) pictures which I'm producing as part of the Synthesis project - a six month Arts Council of Wales funded development project in which I'm exploring the fusion of digital 'new media' (in this case the digital construction of 3D fractal objects), with classic drawing techniques to create 'portraits' of entities and machines which exist only in potentiality.

New drawing: My art really DOES look like a plane crash...!!

"That Tracey Emin Says my Art Looks Like a Plane Crash" : 72 x 102cm : Mixed media on handmade paper
Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert : Click for a larger view

My biggest drawing to date, just completed. Connoisseurs of 'Arted States' will immediately recognise this as being based on one of the BA 'Great Britons' designs. You can read the whole story of last year's bid for fame and glory starting here.

For those with less patience, this drawing is based on my original design for the 2011 British Airways "Great Britons" art competition. The brief was to create a design to be painted on BA's aircraft during the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and this one was based on the Olympic rings - somewhat extrapolated!

I was one of only 10 artists shortlisted for the prize and was interviewed at the Royal Academy of Arts on London by an illustrious panel including artist Tracey Emin, and RA curator Eliza Bonham-Carter. Sadly I didn't win in the end, but it was all an interesting experience.

The title of the piece is based on Ms. Emin's comment during the interview when she was looking at this particular design :-¦ You can read the full story behind the title here.

It's currently for sale on etsy.com priced at £8,000 - the value of the commission I didn't quite win.  Some higher resolution pics there.

Original drawing in sepia ink, clay pencil with white gouache highlights, and transfer-printed lettering on handmade Khadi paper prepared with a red egg-tempera wash. Paper size 40" x 28" (102 x 70 cm). As with all the drawings I'm doing at the moment, this is a one-off unique original and will not be reproduced as a print.

Me, I think it would be an ideal addition to the walls of some big national company's corporate HQ.  Hint. Hint.

"That Tracey Emin Says my Art Looks Like a Plane Crash" (Detail) : 72 x 102cm : Mixed media on handmade paper
Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert : Click for a larger view