Biography
The thinking man of the British graffiti movement has recently returned from self-exile in Paris. Like seminal comic 2000AD if it had ever managed to get laid, Mode's work is immediately refreshing due to its lack of posturing and antagonism, concentrating instead on very different themes (friendship! Love! Dancing! The latter stages of pregnancy!) Mode was recently made artist-in-residence at Coco de Mer, the peerless erotic emporium masterminded by Sam Roddick, daughter of Body Shop founder Anita, where he has developed an offshoot style mixing his graffiti-based art with more traditional portraiture. He paints customers from his vantage point of a cubby-hole in the changing rooms (with their prior request, of course). He is available for private commission.
News
David Choe and DVS - Wenlock Road, N1, Great Western Studios, W9, and Perry's Place, W1
Charlie Isoe - Kean Street, WC2 and Prestwood Street, N1
Vhils - Oval Road, NW1, and Truman Brewery, E1
Paul Insect - Broadwick Street, W1, and Southwick Mews, W2
Mode 2 - Rathbone Place, W1
Teach - Great Western Studios, W9, and Shelton Street, WC2
Invader - Truman Brewery, E1, and balloons tied to practically every lamp post in W1
Lucy McLauchlan - St John's Hill, SW11
Conor Harrington - Mercer Street, WC2
Many thanks, as always, to Ian Cox for the superb photography and dedication to comprehensively documenting the project, and to all of the artists involved in the event, many of whom proved without doubt that painting in the rain is both stupid and clever at the same time.
Search and enjoy.
David Choe and DVS - Wenlock Road, N1, Shoreditch House, E1, Great Western Studios, W9, and Perry's Place, W1
Charlie Isoe - Kean Street, WC2, Prestwood Street, N1, and Wenlock Road, N1
Vhils - Oval Road, NW1, and Truman Brewery, E1
Paul Insect - Broadwick Street, W1, and Southwick Mews, W2
Mode 2 - Rathbone Place, W1
Teach - Great Western Studios, W9, and Shelton Street, WC2
Invader - Truman Brewery, E1, and balloons tied to practically every lamp post in W1
Lucy McLauchlan - St John's Hill, SW11
Conor Harrington - Mercer Street, WC2
Search and enjoy.
Besides the new paintings on cardboard in the basement, the ground floor of the gallery displayed a selection of Mode's somewhat eye opening (or indeed eye-watering for many of our guests due to their sexually explicit content) sketches and drawings. We very much enjoyed listening in on viewers reactions to the pieces, most of which cannot be repeated here, suffice to say the words 'moist', 'hard', and 'cold spoon' were used with consistent regularity.
Many thanks to Ian Cox for photos of the show, see them all here.
The show runs until the 10th October. The gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday 12pm-6pm.
