Brit Pop Kingpin & President of Creation Records Alan McGee comes to

Sheffield on Saturday 28 April

to launch exhibition at city gallery with exclusive DJ set

Alan McGee will be attending the exhibition at Smart Art Galleries which is the first major showcase of paintings by abstract artist Alex Lowe.

The event is in support of Teenage Cancer Trust and will be taking place on 28 April from 7 till 10pm at the Galleries in Totley, Sheffield.  Admission is free with donations on the night going to the charity.  Andrew Hunt, Smart Art Galleries said:  “We are supporting Teenage Cancer Trust because the charity recognises the importance of providing the essential care and education required to ensure young people have the best chance of life”.

Alex Lowe, the former front man of Creation Records act Hurricane #1, launches his new career at the event with full support of his former label boss.  Alan McGee, the man who discovered and signed Oasis, Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream and Hurricane #1 to his legendary label Creation Records has described Alex Lowe as “a great artist, good singer and an amazing painter. 2012 will be his.”

Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for the six young people aged between 13 and 24 diagnosed with cancer every day.  The charity builds specialist units within NHS hospitals, bringing young people together to be treated by teenage cancer experts in a place designed just for them.

Teenage Cancer Trust has funded, built and now maintains 21 of these units across the UK including two in Sheffield, one at Weston Park Hospital and one at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.  The charity plans to build a further 11 so that all young people needing hospital treatment for cancer across the UK have access to the dedicated, specialist support they provide, no matter where they live.

Alex Lowe shot to fame in the late 90’s as the singer with Hurricane #1 who lit up the Brit Pop era with a string of top 40 hit singles and two top 20 albums.  His new vocation, however, is taking him to even wider reaches than his illustrious Brit Pop career. Woody Allen, Mike Tyson, Donald Trump all own original paintings by Alex Lowe as does his old boss Alan McGee.  Alex Lowe and Alan McGee are also working on a new art project entitled ‘The Aquarian Conspiracy’ which is due to appear in spring 2012. There are no further details at present but Alex promises that it will be “genius with a twist”.

The exhibition at Smart Art Galleries will also include an acoustic set by Alex Lowe. Alex has continued to write and perform music alongside his painting and plans to release new music this year.

For anymore information you can contact us on 0114 236 4355

www.smartartgalleries.com

viagra

Mixed Mayhem

ORIGINAL acrylic on canvas – 24″ x 32″

£1500.00

Available from our gallery or here online

Smart Art Galleries

249 Baslow Road, Totley, Sheffield, S17 4DU. ENGLAND

+44(0)114 236 4355

info@smartartgalleries.com

http://www.smartartgalleries.com

THE AWARD CELEBRATING THE BEST OF RECORD COVER ART NAMES BRIGHT EYES, CULTS AND BON IVER AS WINNERS

1st January 2012: Today, Art Vinyl announces the winner of Best Art Vinyl 2011 with the Bright Eyes LP – The People’s Key taking first place, Cults self-titled debut coming second and Bon Iver’s eponymous effort in third place.

The 2011 winners display a diverse mix of art and design with the Bright Eyes album’s intensely detailed sleeve designed by Zack Nipper at Saddle Creek, to the strikingly dynamic photographic work on the Cults LP to the quietly beautiful, intricate collage work of Gregory Euclide on the Bon Iver cover.

“With the Best Art Vinyl Award now in its seventh year,” Sarah Reeve, Art Vinyl’s Exhibitions Curator comments, “for 2011 we’ve really seen the award grow. Sleeve art is such an important and evocative part of our music experience but the designers of these works are often overlooked. This award gives us a chance to celebrate the creativity behind the sound.”

“This has been a particularly great year for the award as we have seen a hugely diverse range of styles which are really pushing the boundaries of the record sleeve as an artistic platform. This year there has been lots of new talent mixing with some of the well known names of the sleeve design and art world such as the Tom Hingston Studio, Big Active, Vaughan Oliver and Tappin Gofton. In 2011, it’s not just been graphic designers involved but the musicians themselves, with The Horrors, Brian Eno and Nick Cave amongst others taking part in the artistic process. We’re also excited to see that some big names not usually associated with the music world have entered the world of sleeve design, such as artist Damien Hirst and fashion designer Riccardo Tisci.”

As the winner of Best Art Vinyl 2011, Bright Eyes and sleeve designer Zack Nipper will join a diverse list of other notable bands and artists who have won the award in the past. This includes the winner for 2010, Richard Robinson’s cover for Klaxon’s Surfing the Void, as well as Fleet Foxes self-titled debut LP, whose sleeve featured a painting by 16^th century artist Pieter Bruegel, and the prolific contemporary designer Stanley Donwood, whose breathtaking work can be seen on the cover of Thom Yorke’s The Eraser.

Sarah Reeve continues, “We’re looking at a year when vinyl sales in the U.K. have increased again by more than 40% and it seems that music lovers are really searching for added value with their music collection. Vinyl records can provide this as you’re also purchasing a piece of collectible art – we’re pleased to see that record labels are releasing a lot of music (both old and new) on the vinyl format and continuing to invest in a really exciting medium.”

From January 2012, the winners of the Best Art Vinyl 2011 award will be featured in exhibitions in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia as well as on www.artvinyl.com. All of the designs will be displayed in the unique Art Vinyl Play & Display Flip Frame.

Information on Top 3 Winners

1^st

Artist: Bright Eyes

Title: The People’s Key

Record Label: Saddle Creek

Designer: Zack Nipper

http://saddle-creek.com/

2^nd

Artist: Cults

Title: Cults

Record Label: Columbia

Designer: Art Direction and Design by Dave Bett and Jeannette Kaczorowski at Sony Music Entertainment

http://cultscultscults.com/

3^rd

Artist: Bon Iver

Title: Bon Iver

Record Label: 4AD

Designer: Gregory Euclide

http://www.gregoryeuclide.com/

A word from winning designer Zack Nipper:

“The basic idea for the artwork came from Conor (Oberst). He wanted it to look like a wall of fire, as this was one of the themes/images of the album. He left the execution up to me, but he said he wanted it to be visually striking.

I used cut paper, as this was the technique I did for the first release I worked on for him–the “Every Day and Every Night” EP from 1999. I thought it would be fitting to return to the original style of artwork I did for Bright Eyes, since at that time the word was that it would be their final album. It was made at roughly actual size as it appears on the LP jacket (three panels wide for the deluxe version). I cut the flames out using a surgical scalpel and glued them onto a board. This was scanned and pieced together in Photoshop.

The deluxe version of the LP and CD were printed on an iridescent foil, which gave a shimmering effect to the inside and outside of the jackets. They were done at Stoughton Printing, and are the old style “tip on” jackets, tri-fold, with the front flap having die cut flames along the top.

I think first about the vinyl format when designing an album package. I couldn’t care less what something looks like as a tiny thumbnail on someone’s phone. At that point, does it even matter? Music packaging should be designed for vinyl first, then CD, and MP3 last, because that’s the order in which viewing it matters. In my opinion, listening to an LP while viewing jacket artwork is the ideal way to experience an album. Anything other than that is a compromise–for convenience, for cost, etc.”

“I was born and educated in Sheffield, studying for four years at the Faculty of Art and Design on Psalter Lane obtaining a B A Honours Degree in Painting and Printmaking. Followed by a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in Teaching at the Collegiate Crescent site. I have taught in various local schools and at the Sheffield Mappin and Graves Art Galleries.

I now dedicate my time to my painting, and I exhibit in local shows, galleries, restaurants and shops, in both Sheffield and Derbyshire, winning various Competitions throughout the UK over the years.

I am a member of Peak District Products a Derbyshire based group of professional fellow artists who I share shows, exhibitions, ideas and exchange of views.
My studio based at Summerley near Dronfield, this tranquil rural environment has provided my artistic stimulation and inspiration with the opportunity to study my subjects on a daily basis at close quarters.

I work directly on the canvas, I do not sketch out a plan, my pictures evolve in a similar way to arranging a pile of furniture in a room, ultimately everything has it place. I make mistakes along the way, and make adjustments, but this is all part of the process of how I paint.
Completing a picture gives me a real buzz, but parting with it can be difficult. But there’s no greater compliment when somebody buys my work and takes it into their home.” – Lynne Wilkinson.

Lynne Wilkinson Original and Limited Editions. Available Lynne Wilkinson Originals include, A New Day, Looking On, Hounding About II, Poppies with Rapeseed, Sunflowers, Together, Woodland at Sunset, Woodland at Dusk, Grazing Over, Standing Together, Looking Over Chatsworth, Follow On and Moo-ve Over for the Longhorn. Plus a number of Limited Edition giclee prints.

Smart Art Galleries
, 249 Baslow Road ,
Totley,
 Sheffield,
 ENGLAND,
 S17 4DU
Tel: +44(0)114 236 4355
   Email: info@smartartgalleries.com
   www.smartartgalleries.com

Coming 28th April 2011

Guests to be announced shortly

16 Red

ORIGINAL acrylic on canvas – 24″ x 36″