September 1, 2011 |
Jim Lambie is one of the contributors to our Art Issue (out now). We think he’s fab and we’re loved him for ages, been to all his shows, can’t get enough. So much so, here’s ten extra points about Mr Lambie we put together while doing some “research”.
1. Turner-prize nominated artist Jim Lambie was born in Scotland and studied in his hometown at Glasgow School of Art. He still lives and works in the city, but has been exhibited throughout the world from Tokyo to Washington DC and is represented by Sadie Coles in London.
2. His kaleidoscopic and psychedelic installations are reminiscent of the 60s and 70s British pop scene, part of a strong theme of musical influences, reflected in choices of titles that sound fit for a concept album such as Psychedelicsoulsticks, Zobop or Sonic Reducer.
3. He represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale in 2003 and received his Turner Prize nomination for his installation, the Kinks in 2005.
4. Incorporating found objects – often in altered states – such as crushed cars into his sculpture, he playfully re-appropriates everyday items.
5. Lambie is also known for his treatment of surface, frequently transforming the gallery spaces around his sculptures with vinyl tape to create graphic op-art patterns, the practice that he is best known for, or altering his outsized ceramic bird ornament sculptures with a drenching of neon paints…
6. Behind the confrontational colours and familiar pop-culture present in his work is ambiguity; his sculptures and references melt into each other creating something strange and unfamiliar.
7. His work is upbeat, his Day-Glo bright aesthetic is as infectious as it is impactful, winning him many fans in fashion as well as art, leading to a series of collaborations that have seen his psychedelic decoupages of eyes, flowers and signature strips of tape variously adorning designer Maia Norman’s Audi (Lambie also designed prints for Norman’s brand Mother of Pearl), Adidas trainers and the Atelier Hermes in Seoul, Korea.
8. In the series Found Flower Paintings images of flowers from oil paintings are layered over found pop memorabilia and press photos, turning Grace Jones’ right-angled shoulders into a vase by covering her face with flowers or leaving just Marianne Faithful’s eyes visible under drifts of blooms.
9. Though consciously surreal, in Lambie’s own words “they are anchored in a number of observations of actual events in the real world: someone carrying a bunch of flowers in front of them as I passed them in the street; someone sitting behind a vase of flowers in a restaurant window…”
10. In new Art Issue of 10 Magazine, out now, he applies this technique to our Dolce & Gabbana special, shot by Andreas Larsson.
by Zoe Wulfsohn-Dunkley
