The PROJEKT

Edge of Love is an exciting new group show curated by Artsprojekt founder Andy Howell and Yasha Young from the Strychnin Gallery in Berlin.

The show features original art from thirteen Artsprojekt Global Creative Network artists. Artsprojekt challenged these artists to capture the “Edge of Love” a moment of collision between passionate love and volatile obsession resulting an explosive and colorful experience. Check out the results!

Featured Artsprojekt Artists.

Amandalynn
Amandalynn works by day as a custom motorcycle and sculpture painter and restoration expert, as well as a freelance muralist. Her evenings are dedicated to her fine art career. Painting late into the evening is one of her favorite vices. She also enjoys painting murals with graffiti artists, and has covered many walls and doorways around the country with her seductive female imagery.
http://www.zazzle.com/amandalynn

Amos Goldbaum
Amos Goldbaum is a 24 year old San Francisco artist working primarily in line. His drawings are interpretations of photos curated from his extensive online image searches. In addition to showing in exhibitions, he operates a curbside vending stand offering his shirts, prints and original drawings.
http://www.zazzle.com/amosgoldbaum

Andy Howell
Andy Howell is the founder and general manager of Artsprojekt, a curated platform that enables emerging and established artists to connect, collaborate and expand original art, designs and ideas with fans and consumers. It’s a playground in which the world’s most creative individuals and brands can turn unique ideas into dynamic product experiences that best represent each individual artist and brand.
http://www.zazzle.com/andyhowell

Christian Rothenhagen
“deerBerlin” – that is how addresses his native city Berlin. Living in Berlin for more than three decades he has many stories to tell. He works in graphic design, illustration, fine art and art installations. His works confront his urban surroundings including the decay, conurbation and agglomeration. His style is is a crossover of design and art that lets his viewers enter the street life of Berlin.
http://www.zazzle.com/rothenhagen

Emilie Record
Emilie Record is a French artist living and working in Shanghai China. She started to paint at the age of 8 and never lost her curiosity for those quiet mutations of human beings. She has designed work around the world including Canada, the US, Europe and Asia.
http://www.zazzle.com/emilie_r

Ginger Che
Ginger Che was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1970. She moved to Germany with her mother and brother when she was eight-years old. Che lived in Bremen, Germany for 13 years and was a resident of San Diego from 1992 to 2009. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Che is the founder of ‘fathom design’ one-of-a kind jewelry, accessories & clothing, red-ginger clothing & accessories, daydream apparel, jewelry & accessories, Ginger Che Boutique, and ‘gingerche.com’, an online gallery.

Che studied under Barbara Krueger, Faith Ringgold, Eleanor Antin, David Antin, Italo Scanga, Li Huai, Kim MacConnel, Ernest Silva, and Raul Guerrero. Che earned her BA in Visual Art (Studio) with Honors from University California San Diego.
http://www.zazzle.com/gingerche

Jayson Atienza
Jayson Atienza was born in Batangas City, Philippines, and began drawing at the tender age of five. He perfected his craft in advertising and graphic design at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. After graduating in 1999, he began a now decade long advertising career.

Atienza has produced award-winning work for clients including Guinness, HBO, FedEx, Pepsi, Milky Way & the Financial Times. While at BBDO, he won the agency’s first One Show Gold Pencil for a non-traditional media concept created for Guinness in 2002.

Now a freelance rt director and artist, Atienza is expanding the possibilities of his signature style achieved through meticulous watercolor and ink designs. He produced “We As One,” a Barack Obama-inspired painting for Manifest Hope (Washington, D.C. 2009), and is currently working on an encore piece for Manifest Equality (Los Angeles 2010).
http://www.zazzle.com/jaysonatienza

Jeremy Forson
Jeremy Forson is a San Francisco based artist and illustrator. In addition to his freelance illustration work, he is a regular participant in group and solo gallery exhibitions throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
http://www.zazzle.com/jeremyforson

Jeremyville
Jeremyville is an artist, product designer, animator and human. He wrote and produced the first book in the world on designer toys called Vinyl Will Kill, published by IdN, interviewing people like Fafi, Sarah from Colette, Baseman, Biskup, Pete Fowler, Jason Siu, Kinsey and Kozik.

Jeremyville has worked with clients such as Converse, Rossignol, Colette, Coca Cola, MTV, Kidrobot, Refill, Graniph in Japan, Adio Shoes, STRANGEco, Wooster Collective, Super Rad Toys, Play Imaginative, sketchel, Adidas, Tiger Beer and Tiger Translate, Artoyz in Paris, Domestic Vinyl in Paris, Corbis, Thunderdog, Red Bull, Pop Cling, 55DSL and Beck.
http://www.zazzle.com/jeremyville

Jesse Reno
In the latest series of paintings by Portland-based artist Jesse Reno, shamanic beings struggle to find their place in a world simultaneously on the verge of expanding and collapsing. Totem animals and Native American figures reverberate memories of people who once lived as one with nature. Marked by symbols, these figures seek their dreams in the growth of trees and the passing of spirits. On their quest to find their true selves, they collect feathers and relics left by past encounters and past lives. They learn to transcend the boundaries of the rational world evolving into a collage of what they have become and encountered. In this body of work, Reno presents us with a journey leading inward to ultimately expand outward:
http://www.zazzle.com/jessereno

Mike Kershnar
Mike’s influences are indigenous art styles from around the world especially Northern Formline, Aboriginal dreamtime art, and the Huichol aesthetic. It is one of his goals to complete an exhaustive series on North American wildlife to draw attention to the beautiful creatures we co-inhabit this land with.
http://www.zazzle.com/mikekershnar

Pale Horse
Since opening the doors in 2006, Pale Horse has had the opportunity to create artwork for Iron Fist, Nike, Vans, Etnies, Globe, Red Bull, Hurley, Sullen, Mattel, The Cartoon Network and many others. Pale Horse focuses on apparel, action sports market and entertainment industry graphics, logos and typography. Pale Horse, aka Chris Parks, has also shown his illustrations in galleries throughout Florida and across the United States.
http://www.zazzle.com/palehorse

SIT
SIT was part of the Amsterdam creative scene for years. He created action paintings, graphic design, advertising and other things, until he got fed up. Wanting to escape our ruthless 24/7 society of drugs, alcohol, money, deadlines, media, perfection and many expectations, he went back to square one to find his true essence. Back to head and handcraft. Back to basics. No more digital drama. No more wires. No BS. Only black and white. Right and wrong. Love and hate. Adore and despise.
http://www.zazzle.com/SITartwork

Yan Wei
Yan Wei is a Beijing-based artist, whose distinctive style and vision is inspired by her love of reading, films, traveling, and daydreaming. Her illustrations often appear cute and childish, but upon further examination reveal a darker, more sinister sentiment.
http://www.zazzle.com/kokomoo

Edge of Love. An international group show curated by Andy Howell and Yasha Young.

Show opens April 9th at 7 pm. Runs until May 9th.

Opening times: Thursday- Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm

Strychnin Gallery Contact: Miriam Bischoff

Boxhagenerstr. 36 pr@strychnin.com

10245 Berlin phone: 0170 - 4161108

www.strychnin.com

www.artsprojekt.com

Artist Proof: Yan Wei is currently one of China’s leading-edge creatives and our buddies over at Neocha have been following her every step of the way. Sprinkled throughout the interview Neocha did below, You’ll find is some of Yan Wei’s black-and-white work for which she is most well-known for.

They also provided the video above, in which Yan Wei shows us the creation process of one of her new characters and discusses an ever-changing Beijing, influences in her work, what others think of her style, a messy sketchbook, and her philosophy on venting.

Neocha: Tell us how you got into illustration? Do you have any formal art training?

Yan Wei: Drawing and painting has been a hobby of mine ever since childhood. I started taking art classes during high school and in 2003 I graduated with a bachelor‘s degree in graphic design from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Neocha: A few years ago you resigned from your then job to become a full-time freelancer. What was the decisive moment when you realized that you wanted to create your own work? Was it difficult for you to make that decision?

Yan Wei: In the years following my graduation from university I worked full time as an illustrator and story-boarder at an advertising agency. However, I soon felt quite restricted by the requisitions of clients and thought that the job did not suit me well. I wanted more freedom to explore my passion, to concentrate on drawing and develop my own style. In 2006 I resigned from my full-time position and became a freelancer. It wasn’t until sometime later that I had found my way and developed my own style.

It was not a hard decision to make. And, so far, I believe I made the right one. I have no regrets.

Now, I try to work in different areas, because I like everything interesting, no matter whether they are fine arts, design, or illustration. I enjoy the freedom of not having to I define myself by just one field.

Neocha: When are you most productive? Day or night?

Yan Wei: Daytime for sure, as I like getting up early. I like using the night to think and read, but the day is for my hands.

Neocha: When you’re not working, what do you usually like to do? Any hobbies or favorite past-times?

Yan Wei: I like hanging out in the park and being online. I enjoy traveling, especially in different countries and among different cultures. My favorite activity is probably having hot tasty milk tea, watching films, and reading.

Neocha: How important do you think college art education is to be an artist?

Yan Wei: I believe art education just opens a gate for you, but the rest has to be your own effort. Art education is valuable because of the skills training and mind exchanges. But I think that being an artist is more based on your own will and talent. I have seen many art students who are not doing anything related to art and design now.

Neocha: What are some of the things art students should keep in mind before they start to create? How can somebody prepare for a career in illustration? How do you succeed in the art industry?

Yan Wei: I think they should remember that time is scarce. They need to learn and read as much as they can, in order to to gain more and more understanding. It‘s not enough just to look at an interesting image. One has to try to see behind it.

They need to try and find their own way. There should be no rush or pressure – finding oneself does take time.

If someone wants to pursue a career as an illustrator, I think they don‘t just need drawing skills, they should also work on developing good communication skills, as they will have to manage clients. And they should learn how to follow a strict working schedule.

Neocha: From where do you draw inspiration from?

Yan Wei: I belong to a generation that grew up being strongly influenced by manga, anime, comics, street art, and 80’s Chinese pop style. Therefore, most of the themes in my art are centered around childhood, memory, games, and toys. I read many comics as a child, as a result, my imagination and some of my artwork have been influenced. Also, fairy tales have a special meaning to me: The feeling of helplessness in many of the stories is masked with innocence, which creates a world of contrasts and contradictions, hence exposing the reality of the world as it really is. I also like to follow other creatives’ work and love reading books on various subjects. Books are a good way to understand the world and myself. Many times one simple sentence inspires a whole collection of ideas and paintings. When I’m calm and undisturbed is usually when the most ideas emerge.

Neocha: What kind of message you are trying to convey with your art?

Yan Wei: I think my art is a way for me to speak. I express all kinds of thoughts through my work. My ideas about people, and the world. I like to use contrasts to portray a disturbing reality under a lovely disguise. My art is grotesque, but also apparently cute and childish, all while incorporating dark and sinister elements.

Neocha: Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process? How does one of your illustrations emerge?

Yan Wei: Normally 10 minutes before I fall asleep, haha! Sometimes an image just shows up in my mind and I record it. Then I take the time to think about what it means to me and what it makes me feel. Finally, I work on further defining it and put it on paper.

Neocha: What tools and materials do you use in your work?

Yan Wei: I have done a lot of black and white paintings. I also completed some color paintings. I enjoy exploring new ideas and trying different types of media. I basically use spray, pens, and Chinese ink and brushes. Acrylic, and paper cut sometimes.

Neocha: What shows, projects or collaborations are you most proud of?

Yan Wei: The show I did at the Shanghai art museum and a recent commercial project with Levi’s.

Neocha: What projects do you have planned?

Yan Wei: I like cooperating with brands on interesting commercial projects. And I like street fashion. I might work on that if possible. Now I don’t have any specific shows or projects planned. I’m the kind of person who first draws, then sees what happens.

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