Sunday 25 November 2012

Midwinter Bookscape book sculptures

 Christmas is fast approaching and it is time for another Cambridge University Press bookshop window display.
 Midwinter Bookscape is a modular sculpture of four book sculptures that fit together to make one piece. There is also a fifth paper sculpture, a version of the Mathematical bridge that can be found in Cambridge, this links two of the book sculptures together.
 All the pieces are available to win via a Charity raffle, tickets cost £1 and are available from the bookshop the draw will be during January 2013, though the lucky winners will have to collect in person. There are also cards for sale in the bookshop, or my Etsy shop.

More images at my website.

Saturday 8 September 2012

Harry Potter paper maquettes

 We recently went on to the Harry Potter studio tour in Leavesden, just outside London. Rather than a theme park this is the actual sets and stages where the film were shot.
 After a grueling first few minutes where we were constantly having 'ARE WE HAVING FUN YET' yelled at us by pretty young tour guides (Warner Brothers don't seem to realise this does not go down well in the UK) we were left to our own devices to explore at will.
 As well as a myriad of props and sets including Diagon Alley and the Great Hall amongst many others, there were these amazing paper and card maquettes. These are the original three dimensional designs for Hogwarts etc.
 The detail in these architectural models is amazing, I really like that they are not painted and 'finished' - it is possible to see the making in them, which really makes you see the level of skill required to produce them.
 Very inspirational, lots of good ideas for future book sculptures.
 I would really recommend the Harry Potter studio tour, you don't have to be a fan of the books or films,  or have children (in fact you might get more out of it if you leave them at home!). If you have even a slight interest in the creative process the is an almost overwhelming wealth of things on display. It makes you realise how much time and effort goes into making a film with a fantastical setting, and you can see where all the money goes in making them.


Thursday 16 August 2012

Another new Jenny Saville print - Reproduction drawing IV (after the Leonardo cartoon), 2010

'Reproduction drawing IV (after the Leonardo cartoon), 2010' is another newly released limited edition Jenny Saville print from the Modern Art Oxford exhibition. The last one sold out in about a week, so move fast if you want one! Buy yours here.

Digital print on Somerset photo 300gsm paper
Edition of 50, signed by the artist
Dimensions 594 x 420mm

UPDATE: - Also sold out, even quicker than the other print I think!


Tuesday 7 August 2012

Jenny Saville - Norton exhibition catalogue

Here is yet another new Jenny Saville catalogue, this if from the Norton Museum of Art, Florida for the exhibition of 2011-2012.
 Where the Oxford catalogue was large format and paperback, this is a little smaller and bound in cloth.
 It has some interesting and unusual reproductions not seen in other catalogues and books like these two transvestite studies for 'Passage'.
 Well worth buying for these images alone, the catalogue took me a while to track down, but it is currently in stock at a good price here. The Norton museum doesn't seem to have an online shop, Modern Art Oxford were advertising this for sale last week, but I was there for the exhibition on Friday and they had sold out! Get it where you can...
 Head Study 2000-2001
 Reflective flesh study 2001
Study for Suspension2000-2001

Thursday 5 July 2012

John Stezaker print at Counter - Recto/Verso (2012)

Recto/Verso (2012) is a new print by John Stezaker, just released by Counter editions.

Normal price is £420, but you can get it for £350 if you enter the promotional code STEZ20. Get yours here.


  • Edition of 100
  • Photo-lithograph on 300gsm Somerset paper. Produced by Paupers Press, London.
  • 61 x 51cm (24 x 20in)
  • Signed, numbered and dated by the artist on the reverse
John Stezaker intervenes with found images - typically old film stills, vintage postcards, or Hollywood headshots - by excising critical parts of the composition or by juxtaposing two seemingly unrelated images. His concise alterations have surprising surreal effect and psychological force.

John Stezaker has created the limited edition print, 'Recto/Verso' (2012) exclusively for Counter Editions. The image arose from Stezaker's early 'Dark Star' series of silhouettes cut out from mid-century actor's portraits. The layered profiles confound a straightforward reading of presence and absence. The overlaying of male and female profiles, of colour and shadow, of empty flatness and carefully modelled detail, gives rise to sensations of nostalgia, romanticism, and perhaps of voyeurism. In a world saturated by images, Stezaker's manipulations create space both physically and metaphorically for alternative interpretations, for exploring the seams and fissures of the visual world.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Jenny Saville - Modern Art Oxford catalogue 2012

It's looking like a bumper year for Jenny Saville books. Hot on the heals of the Continuum catalogue comes this, the catalogue for the Saville retrospective exhibition in Oxford this year.
This is a paperback on fairly large scale with 25 full page reproductions, starting with a good overview of early work and then focusing on more recent paintings and drawings.
 Only 2,500 of these have been printed and at £15 represents really good value. It looks to be only available from the gallery itself, you can buy it online here.


Tiina Heiska - Waiting Room

 So I had a birthday recently, of the round number variety, so to mark the occasion I asked all potential gift buyers to chip in so I could buy a nice painting.
 After a few months of searching I settled on Finnish artist Tiina Heiska. I has seen some works from her Patent Shoes series a number of years ago and they really stayed with me.
 Her painting has a lovely film like quality to it (she works from photographs she has staged and taken of herself). Brilliant economy of brushstroke.
 Waiting Room is a new painting from a potential new series. It was shipped in from Finland for us by Rollo Contemporary art, many thanks to Philippa Found for getting it for us on our tight budget.

The back is nearly as pretty as the front!

Tuesday 26 June 2012

New Cecily brown print Untitled 1 & 2

 These two prints, Untitled 1 and Untitled 2, by British painter Cecily Brown have just been released by 20x200. Available in several sizes and starting at $60, they come with a signed COA. Worth a look, I'm sure the $60 edition of 50 will sell out quickly. Go to 20x200 to buy.

Friday 22 June 2012

New Jenny Saville print available - Mirror, 2011-12

Mirror, 2011-12 is a new Jenny Saville print released in conjunction with her new retrospective show at the Modern Art Oxford gallery. As far as I know this is only the second ever Jenny Saville print after Separates the Gagosian print from 2001.

This is in an edition of only 50, for £650 a real bargain. To get yours go here. (There are only 49 left...!)

Update 8th July. So this edition sold out in 8 days! A few pictures below. Congrats to anyone else who managed to get one.





Jenny Saville Limited Edition Print Mirror, 2011-12 Digital print on Somerset photo 300gsm paper Edition of 50, signed by the artist Dimensions 594 x 420mm To accompany the Jenny Saville exhibition 23 June - 16 September 2012 at Modern Art Oxford

Justin Rowe book sculpture exhibition 14th/15th July 2012

Just a quick post to publicise my forthcoming exhibition here in Cambridge. There will be a few new sculptures on display as well as some old favourites. There will also be an extensive range of cards and prints to buy, all with a 10% discount if you print off the above flyer.

Thursday 24 May 2012

New Damien Hirst prints available at White Cube

Red Bird and Parrot with Shark Jaw

The White Cube gallery has three new Damien Hirst prints available to buy in their online shop. They are of paintings in the 'Two Weeks one Summer' exhibition. Each print is in an edition of 75 and measure 19.5" x 15". The price is £1800 each, which is more affordable than a lot of Hirst's recent prints have been, but these are only lithographs, so posters really...

Having said that I like the paintings, particularly 'Two Parrots' - very nice! For more info go to White Cube's web shop here.

Two Birds with Blossom

Two Parrots

Monday 21 May 2012

Jenny Saville - Continuum exhibition catalogue

 Continuum is the new book of Jenny Saville's paintings from the Gagosian Gallery. It is both a catalogue for the exhibition of the same name, as well as an overview of other works from 2005-2011.
 I have all of the other books and catalogues about Jenny Saville (most of them are detailed in other posts on this blog) and I have to say this might be the best one yet.
 It is large scale both in size and page number (120 pages) and has many reproductions of paintings that do not appear in any of the other books including the many different studies for the 'Stare' painting, it is very interesting to see the processes involved here.
 There are also installation views from the Continuum exhibition at the Gagosian, these go some way to giving an idea of the impact of scale at work.
 The book has a retail price of $100, but is currently available at a great price here. I strongly suggest you get hold of a copy of this book while you can, the earlier monographs like Territories and Closed Contact sold out very quickly and have increased in value quite considerably.