Ciao (we’re feeling friendly and cosmopolitan) Addictees!
Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, roses, Louboutins, Neo's pill-popping decision in The Matrix, the colour of one Addictee’s cheeks after a few Fire Engines - all have one thing in common. Red.
Red represents fire. It’s bold, hot, daring, lucky and is also the Feng Shui energy colour of arousal (please do not lick your artwork - there's no happy ending here and it’s unlikely insurance will cover it).
Let’s not forget, it also enhances your metabolism and increases respiration rate. To translate, it will turn you into a skinny, heavy breathing, errr… art lover?
Ahem, so let us bombard you with glorious red. Red-dy? Is this getting old al-red-y? Snickers…
Paint your walls red with these pieces. Let’s go!
Lakshmi Mohanbabu
"Primary Interactions Reverse Light - Red", Acrylic on canvas, 2017
Arty-Fact: "My Interactions series draws from the cross-cultural patterns and paths of the Mandala – a concept common to all religions; a representation of the universe, a microcosm and macrocosm seen as a motif in Hindu temples, Buddhist stupas, Muslim mosques and Christian cathedrals. Patterns and lines drawn from ancient times coalesce beautifully with a series of bold colours, to illustrate the magicialwonders of achieving balance in our lives – the yin and yang of our personal dualities. Add a dash of Sir Isaac Newton’s colourwheel and you have the basis of my Interaction pieces."~ Lakshmi Mohanbabu
Eleven
"Everywhere", Acrylic on canvas, 2018
Arty-Fact: "When we made our first monochrome painting it was like we discovered alchemical gold. We experienced a calm we had never experienced before. There was a presence, a timeless quality, a sense of mystery to it. It was like a rebirth, an awakening. Eleven marks a new era." ~ Eleven
Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)
"Amoureuse", Hand signed, limited edition serigraph on paper, #199/300, 1977
Arty-Fact: Erte was perhaps best known for his fabulous costume designs. A career change came in 1965 when the eccentric artist was 73. It was during this time Erte met Eric and Salome Estorick - founders of Seven Arts Ltd. They persuaded Erte to liberate thousands of drawings from trunks in his cellar. The result was a resurgence of Art Deco in the late 60s, 70s and 80s - in addition Erte enjoyed popularity in the United States. Erte began producing lithographs and serigraphs. With graphic art, he concluded, “I could reach the very large public that these Exhibitions had created." Amoureuse is a part of Erte’s “Twenties Remembered” suite.
Virginie Pringiers
"Mr. President", Mixed media (acrylic, paper collage, oil) on canvas, 2017
Arty-Fact: “I created this painting in response to what I was feeling about current global events shaping western society. I felt like an alien had come from outer space to guide us into a new era. What I like about the face is its lack of emotion - the emptiness of the eyes. It is impossible for us to know what the future will be.” ~ Virginie Pringiers
Razzia (Gérard Courbouleix-Deneriaz)
"Cigar", Ink sublimation on aluminium, numbered and signed by the artist, Limited to 250, 1994
Arty-Fact: Over the past 25 years, Razzia has created some of the most memorable graphic images to grace the contemporary market place – his exemplary Louis Vuitton series, the Deauville diver, his spectacular 1984 French Open design, his Pasta poster (undoubtedly his signature design), the seductive Cigars composition. The list goes on.
Shepard Fairey
"War by Numbers (Red)", Hand signed, limited edition serigraph on paper, #161/300, 2007
Arty-Fact: “Tactics to create a climate of fear are nothing new. LBJ [Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969] escalated U.S. military presence in Vietnam as soon as he took office. The irony is that as we worry about outside threats to our kids, we are creating a culture where it is fine to bomb kids from other countries like Vietnam or Iraq. The Iraqi civilian body count due to U.S. forces is between 56 and 62 thousand. No wonder there isn’t a lot of popular support in Iraq for the American versions of freedom and democracy. I feel just as bad for our troops who are being killed. Now we are mired in a civil war that is terrible for us and them. Try to keep in perspective that for every media image of a disabled U.S. veteran of the war in Iraq, there are 20 Iraqis who are in a similar or worse situation.” ~ Shepard Fairey, 2007; Source: Obey Giant
“War By Numbers” is Shepard Fairey’s reaction to the thought of being a part of a society that cultivates the justification of killing foreign innocent children, and people for that matter, to protect “our” [America] idea of freedom and democracy.
Sara Pope
"Hard Candy", Hand signed, limited edition gicleé on paper, AP, 2016
Arty-Fact: "The industries I’ve worked in, fashion, magazines, beauty, all very much inform my style of painting, not only in terms of subject matter, but also aesthetic. I tend to emulate the slickness and perfection of advertising. I usually paint with oils, painting many thin layers on top of one another to create an extremely glossy and ‘perfect’, slightly hyper-real image." - Sara Pope
Tinker Brothers
"Who Shot the Sheriff?", Acrylic on canvas, 2017
Arty-Fact: “This artwork elaborates on the idea of dualism. No one is ever a saint without at the same time being a sinner. So, who shot the sheriff?” - Tinker Brothers
TB Fun-Fact: “After quitting our jobs we gathered all of our belongings until all we had left were the essentials - passport, wallet, some clothes, a few books, flashlight, knife, notebook, laptop, phone, earphones, canteen, photo books. We then wrapped everything else up and gave it away as hidden gifts in stores and throughout the city centre of Eindhoven.” – Tinker Brothers
Booda Brand
"Cloud Dance – Red (Special Edition)", UV printed on brushed gold aluminium, signed by the artist, Limited to 5, 2016
Arty-Fact: A visual blend of art deco against a central motif of soft organic forms bordering on the surreal.
ArtLap
"Blindness 1", Acrylic paint and woodchips on box canvas, 2018
Arty-Fact: Red is the colour of life. The moment of creation and birth. The instance of violent death.
Red is the colour of love, from tender rose, through passionate, screaming red, to ripe burgundy.
Red is the colour of creation, enlightening as Danko’s heart, maximizing the strength of feelings and singularity of each artwork.
“I love bright red drinks, don’t you? They taste twice as good as any other colour.” - L.M. Montgomery
Email us if you're feeling blue and need some red to spice up your life:
blair@addictedgallery.com or elena@addictedgallery.com
Don’t forget to "See It On Your Wall" to make sure it's the right shade of red for you.
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said: "I like the colour red because it's a fire. And I see myself as always being on fire." Well, we guess he'll be back all red and fiery-like.
Until the next one Addictees...
Blair & El xoxo