adidas collide Flip x Colin Solal Cardo

30 Ans Plus Tard’ is a project by Brazilian artist Flip and French filmmaker Colin Solal Cardo. It was made for the adidas collider as part of Unite All Originals.

When I asked Flip the reason why he was so interested in going to the Alps for this project, he told me that when he was a child, his mother spent some time in Grenoble and Flip, who was born and raised in Brazil, discovered snow there for the first time in his life.  A few months later, his mother took him back to Sao Paulo and Flip never saw snow again.  That was 30 years ago.  Now a graffiti artist and sculptor, he wanted to go back. I found this interesting and agreed to follow him on what I understood was a spiritual journey.

When we got there, we drove really high on the mountain and explored the forest until we found the perfect spot, as remote from human activity as possible. Then I watched Flip spontaneously sculpt this incredible monster, like the woods suddenly took control of him. As I watched the images back in Paris, I imagined a low, deep noise growing stronger and stronger as we got closer to the spot, letting ourselves be possessed by the woods.

The statue that Flip carved in the snow, as well as this film, are our gifts to the spirit that visited Flip thirty years ago, and came back thirty years later to visit us that day.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eph613GkIu4&feature=youtu.be

Home and Away – A Cultural Exchange, Milan and Amsterdam – Video

A video from the recent ‘Home and Away’ exhibitions in Milan and Amsterdam featuring Lisa Leone, Alessandro Moroder and Hassan Rahim.

LOS ANGELES has recently moved to the forefront of the contemporary art scene with HVW8 Gallery playing a pivotal role. HVW8 stands at the heart of Art, Music and Design in this emerging scene, bringing diverse groups together for its celebrated openings and exhibitions since 2006. In continuing its avant-garde tradition, HOME & AWAY is an exhibition series featuring HVW8 alumni from LA and NY making their European debuts. The exhibition will opened at the Galleria Patricia Armocida in Milan and closed out in Amsterdam at the Andenken Gallery.

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JJJJound ‘Correspondence’ at HVW8 Art + Design Gallery

JJJJound is a wordless blog by Justin R. Saunders. Originally a mood board shared with friends, it has since become a global mainstay and daily web visit for designers, tastemakers and fans alike.

One of those friends is Claudio Marzano, whose creative partnership with Saunders dates back to 1993; twenty years over which their obsessive consumption of visual culture has shifted from print to screen, in step with the rise of the Internet.

Countless emails containing nothing more than images taken from the world wide web were sent between them over that period.

CORRESPONDENCE is an exhibition of recent emails, reproduced as 4′ x 6′ oil paintings, by commercial artists offering “competitive labor costs” from the Wushipu Oil Painting Village in Xiamen, China.

Justin R. Saunders grew up in Lahr, Germany, before moving back to Montreal in time for some high school shenanigans. Enjoying the finer things in life, a fervid aesthete, Saunders created the JJJJound photo blog in 2006.

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adidas presents 15 years of Gonz at HVW8 Gallery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i67Xbvc8IfM

Friends and special guests turned out on Friday night at HVW8 gallery in LA to honour the most influential skateboarder of all time, Mark Gonzales, as he celebrates 15 years with adidas.

adidas skateboarding brought together six prominent photographers to tell Mark’s story over the past 15 years through their lenses. These photographers, who have watched Mark and witnessed his skateboarding antics all around the world include Gabe Morford, Joe Brook, Skin Phillips, Brian Gaberman, Benjamin Deberdt, and Sem Rubio.

Guests made their way through the renowned photography and ‘Gonz’ artwork to the outside celebrations where refreshments flowed, Mark’s old video clips were projected and everyone shared their own unique Gonz stories amongst each other and of course with the man of honour himself.

“The show couldn’t have been better.  The HVW8 gallery was a perfect venue, all of the six photographers’ work was a true representation of what Mark Gonzales is all about and the opening night was the who’s who of skateboarding’s past and present.

It really meant a lot that Mark was at the event as he never makes public appearances.  Seeing him and Natas together was a special moment for me. These are the skateboarders who made history.

Doesn’t seem like fifteen years, it all went by real fast.”

Skin Phillips  Exhibiting photographer, Editor at Large of Transworld Skateboarding & adidas Skateboarding Team Manager.

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Hanni El Khatib ‘Family’ at HVW8 Gallery

Art, Design & Music. The three constants in Hanni El Khatib’s life that are all responsible for one another. Despite dropping out of art & design school, it’s these very same elements that are responsible for Hanni El Khatib, the musician. It all started with a handmade zine. Number 94 out of 100 to be exact. In 2009, El Khatib’s contribution to a group art show in San Francisco was a handmade zine of images inspired and related to his debut album with the album packaged inside. It was this very same zine that resulted in El Khatib’s music being discovered and the birth of his music career. El Khatib went from creative director at HUF to full-time musician & partner in his record label (Innovative Leisure) to recording with Dan Auerbach on his new album (Head In The Dirt).

To celebrate the new album, in particular the art, packaging and visual inspirations, El Khatib has curated a ‘Family’ of DIY Artists to bring the album art to real life with a series of prints, original works, installations and odds & ends from each ‘Family’ member. From Keith Stone’s drawing that graces the album cover as a patch on Nathan Cabrera’s custom made denim jacket in Idaho on one of the last remaining 1940s chain stitched sewing machines to Nick Walker’s photos of El Khatib’s adventures to Dr. Woo’s hand painted & customized guitar. Music is art and this is a celebration of all the blood, sweat & beers that went into the making of an album.

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A&C Shop with Modernica X Krink x HVW8

HVW8 Art + Design Gallery and Art & Council present the A&C Shop – a conceptual project space featuring a collection of artwork, prints, objects, books, merchandise, and more from over a dozen emerging and established international artists. The A&C Shop is a presentation of Art & Council’s varied creative interests, a destination for discovery, and a physical space to build community.

Art & Council, with support from HVW8, have also collaborated with Modernica & artist Craig Costello a.k.a “KRINK” to release an edition of 5 custom painted fiberglass shell chairs.  The chairs will be available opening night in the gallery, and online at www.hvw8.com/shop. Also the artist will paint a site specific mural on the front of HVW8.

Craig Costello a.k.a. “KRINK” or “KR”, is one of the most visionary and inspirational street artists working today, and is also the creator of KRINK, a line of the finest quality handmade inks and markers, beloved by artists and vandals alike.  For more information about Krink, please visit krink.com.

Artists taking part in the A&C Shop include Cleon Peterson, Cody Hudson, Eduardo Lopez, Hassan Rahim, Jason Jaworski, Jay Howell, John Antoski, Kelsey Brooks, Kevin Lyons, Craig Costello a.k.a “Krink”, Lisa Leone, Patrick Trefz, Purienne, Ray Potes, Tim Biskup, Tyler Warren, Tofer Chin, and more.

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