Croydon Citizen - Gentrification Issue

March 17, 2015 Matt Bannister

A recent commission for The Croydon Citizen, to illustrate their issue about the (possible) gentrification of Croydon.

I've included here the different stages that lead up to the final images being published. Enjoy!

Buses on Film

February 22, 2015 Matt Bannister

To help promote the forthcoming auction of all the TFL Year of The Bus sculptures for charity, I've created a couple of enhanced 'slide shows' (with a bit of new footage) for each of my vehicles.

Croydon Layers from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.

Surrey Street Market from Matt Bannister on Vimeo.

For more details of the auction, visit the i-Bidder online site. The proceeds from all the sales of the buses (all sixty of them, not just mine) will go to Kids Company, Transaid and London Transport Museum.

A Place in Dalston

February 9, 2015 Matt Bannister

A new private commission of a house of flats in Dalston, east London.

I visited them ages ago last year (on a very hot and sticky Saturday in the summertime) to chat, have a look and to take some photos, etc. Finally, as the winter weather was rolling past my window, I completed the work for them. The were pleased (and so was I!).

Year Of The Bus – Croydon Sculpture Trail – Olympic Park

February 6, 2015 Matt Bannister

The Croydon Bus sculptures have moved! They have joined the other buses at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, East London.

As required, I took a couple of friends with me to see how my buses were settling in with their new friends and views. Luckily, it was a perfect crisp and sunny day, so there were plenty of other bus-spotters at the park. To see all the other buses lined up across the (very long and wide) bridge near the Orbit was great. I was particularly impressed to overhear one of the volunteer guides (made famous by the 2012 Olympics/Paralympics) explaining the different types of fruit and veg on my Surrey Street Market design. They had obviously done their homework and read the blurb I wrote for the TFL website.

All the buses will be auctioned on 24th March, by Christies live and also on the online website i-bidder.com, for the following charities:

Kids Company, who provide practical, emotional and educational support to inner city children, young people and vulnerable families.

Transaid, an international development charity who identify, champion, implement and share local transport solutions to improve access to basic services and economic opportunity for people in Africa and in developing countries.

London Transport Museum, a popular Covent Garden museum highlighting the vital role transport has played in the life of the Capital. They also work with more than 150,000 children each year delivering essential travel safety education to keep our children safe, and they run programmes to help young people into employment.

London Art Fair 2015

February 4, 2015 Matt Bannister

I visited the London Art Fair for the first time, last month.

Held in the large, light and airy venue of the Business Design Centre, in Islington, it showcases the work and artists of many galleries, with much of the art on sale (for a range of prices). It is a maze of booths, spaces, corridors and rooms, and definitely something to explore over a course of hours, with stops for coffee and chats. What is sometimes referred to (by me) as Gallery Back (a.k.a. Festival Back) can kick in, without finding somewhere to pause.

However, I did discover work that I really liked by two artists: one contemporary, the other no longer alive.

John Stark.

Showing work at the Charlie Smith London stand, the ones by Stark that caught my eye were painted on wood panel in rich intense colours. They were very jewel-like, depicting mysterious landscapes populated by people who appear to be beekeepers, and with a nod to the Italian Renaissance. The groups of faceless hood wearing figures were sinister but also calm and monk-like.

CHARLIE brings his A-game @LondonArtFair - John Stark on stand 4 #LAF15 pic.twitter.com/2VKXy1Xt6K
— Zavier Ellis (@CHARLIESMITHldn) January 20, 2015

I don't think this piece was at the fair, but it's very similar to the paintings I saw, and would appear to also be in that series.

Other work by the artist includes brooding landscapes, with an even closer reference to the European art of the past.

Oskar Schlemmer

I saw a print of one of his drawings on a gallery stand (I'm afraid I can't remember which. Bad blogger, bad blogger). It really intrigued me so I looked him up, and discovered his work with the Bauhaus school and many of his designs for theatre and opera. This piece Konzentrische Gruppe is very like the one I saw at the fair.

You can see some of his designs, in their final form, in this beautifully odd film Das Triadische Ballet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87jErmplUpA