Here’s the full artist talk from my heliumcowboy-lockdown-exhibition „einblick“ Feb 26 - March 11.
I also did a 24-hour instagram-takeover of the heliumcowboy account - go check it out (in highlights and posts)
Enjoy!
I am very excited to be part of Melvin’s new heliumcowboy-lockdown-exhibition-project „einblick“ - every week there is a new show with a different artist in the windows of the heliumcowboy gallery, starting Friday’s with a live-opening (Zoom & Facebook).
I freshly created 34 drawings for this exhibition, all very spontaneous but heartfelt explorations, all honest and blunt, some angry, some political, and some even vagely romantic.
This small video here is just a fast forward preview, the originals will be online Friday. Hope you can join Melvin and me for our talk live from the gallery, starting a 8:15 pm. Links in my profile here and of course over at heliumcowboy . Please spread the word, I love to see you all again, even though it is just through the wire!
Vernissage: Fr 26.02., 20.15 Uhr
https://zoom.us/j/95854608761
(Kenncode: einblick, Meeting-ID: 958 5460 8761)
Exhibition view. To view the show: Click image.
My first exhibition this year is titled ROOTS and it is obviously different like everything else … I am showing at the Vinothek of long time friends and partners from Weingut Tesch, and while my artwork is really there it will be tricky (but not impossible) to see it live. But there’s an interactive 360 degree view of the show so you can experience it from your home office or couch or … check: weingut-tesch.de/roots . The exhibition is curated by Melvin / heliumcowboy.
I am really looking forward to the online opening on February 3rd (8:15 pm), I will be in my studio and Martin Tesch in the exhibition and we will talk (in German) about my work, you can hang out with us live on instagram, Facebook and YouTube. You can of course also purchase the art online.
Click to see the virtual tour.
If you didn’t know already, this vinery is very different from most others, Martin Tesch is very close with German Punk heroes Die Toten Hosen, producing their tour wines for a very long time now, and he is also the supplier of the official wine of the Wacken Festival. Martin is the Rockstar among winemakers and he is known to support progressive culture, like he is supporting heliumcowboy for close to a decade now.
With this exhibition he is bringing a few other partners that are all connected to the virtual table as well: there will be online tastings with Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei, whose label artist I am since 2014, and with Uerige Hausbrauerei from Düsseldorf, who are brewing collaboration beers with Kehrwieder and the Toten Hosen. There is a wine/beer package you can order for these tastings at the Tesch-website.
So, please support the arts, support the small manufacturers of beer and wine, and generally enjoy different cultural and sensory experiences while being in lock down.
If you know me you know how much I like a well done artist website, more than I like instagram profiles and such, cos you know, a website is like a house you build and that you own, but of course it needs a lot of attention to be kept in shape.
I lacked this necessary attention a bit these past months, but that is only because I spend all my time in the studio working on new pieces for my upcoming solo-exhibition with heliumcowboy in Hamburg this June. Thsi exhibition will be my largest ever (so far), and there is a lot (a lot!) of space in the beautiful Barlach Halle K where it tales place.
Also there was the work I made for another upcoming exhibition: in New Orleans with the fabulous Mortal Machine Gallery in May, but those pieces have been crated and shipped and already arrived in April. So that’s done.
So let this be a short post, mainly with the dates of my exhibitions, I really hope to see you there! For daily updates please visit my instagram … (yeah I know 😂).
Hope you are all great, despite the insanely shitty times, I’ll try to condense some of the anger and frustration and hope and hate and love and general shit that is happening in the world and to our society in my work, like the good old punk cowboy you know me for.
DATES:
Memory Patinas (group)
at Mortal Machine Gallery, New Orleans
feat. Drew Leshko, Albert Reyes, TMRWLND, Alex Schaefer, Alex Diamond
Opening May 13
It’s all good (solo)
with heliumcowboy artspace
at the Barlach Halle K, Hamburg
June 6–13.
open daily 12–6
Special events:
June 6: Soft opening
June 10: Vernissage
June 11: Finissage with Concert
More to be announced - see heliumcowboy.com and/or their instagram for details.
“Harmony” | woodcut - wood, acrylic paint. 30 x 40 cm. 12/2020
Not much to say yet. Too early. But it is all good - looking forward to this brand new year, looking back grateful for how it all turned out despite a f***ed up 2020, and always staying positive.
Love you all, thanks for stopping by, for the endless support and appreciation of my work.
First show of the year opens already this January at Weingut Tesch - find out more here.
I’ve created a small group of apparently angry beasts for the 15th edition of the annual super-exhibition “Don’t Wake Daddy” at Feinkunst Krüger Gallery in Hamburg. This is the biggest Low Brow-exhibition in Europe, and the artist line-up is full with insanely great talent:
Alexandra Lukaschewitz, Ana Juan, Aniela Sobieski, Andrey Klassen, Anthony Pontius, Brad Woodfin, Brian Serway, Caitlin McCormack, Claudia Six, Dewi Plass, Dolce Paganne, Elmar Lause, Erlend Tait, Ewa Pronczuk-Kuziak, Fred Stonehouse, Gregory Hergert, Hazel Ang, Heiko Müller, Jason Limon, John Casey, Kisung Koh, Marc Burckhardt, Marco Wagner, Marcus Schäfer, Mario Maplé, Miriam Zadil, Martin Nill, moki, Naive John, Pamela Tait, Paul Neberra, Susanne König, Stig Bergas and Tripper Dungan.
Honored to be part of this again! The exhibition is curated by Heiko Müller and Ralf Krüger.
Even though it is tricky times you should visit the gallery - it is open Thursday – Saturday 12 – 7 pm, and aditionally December 21 - 23 from 12 – 6 pm (or get in touch). You can also check out more information and images through the website of the gallery and download a pdf with the exhibited artwork here (7,3 mb PDF).
Or better: Why?
It is all here, at this link.
Inaugural group exhibition
ANDERSEN
SCHRADER
VAN KREUZEN
at heliumcowboy, September 5 - October 17, 2020
This video shows the new catalgue we published with heliumcowboy - the very first ever of the work of Flaum van Kreuzen. You can buy it online here.
Video from the exhbition (fast forward)
heliumcowboy goes fully abstract - with three heavyweights of the game, starring danish painter Morten Andersen, Hamburg based shooting star Paul Schrader and Jörg Heikhaus‘ latest side project Flaum van Kreuzen.
Three very different positions in one space, all strong, passionate, emotional and engaging in their very own way.
Most likely the last two woodcuts of 2019. It has been a challenging year, an interesting year, good in so many ways but too busy in so many others. Well.
Here you go with “Charley” (right) and “The Farmer” (left), both 47 x 37 x 5 cm in size, and shown for the first time at the group exhibition “I bought my wifa a painting for Christmas but all she really wanted were Jewels and Pearls” at heliumcowboy (Dec 6, 2019 – Jan 31, 2020), featuring Winnie Truong (CA), Jaybo Monk (FR), Victor Castillo (Chile), Jens Rausch (DE), Rune Christensen (DK), Jon Todd (CA), Fabian Wolf (DE), Various & Gould (DE) and Rasmus Rinhack (DK).
Alex Diamond: Philomena (2019)
Woodcut and acrylic paint, 100 x 7 x 3 cm
Just presented the first three works of my new series at the exhibition “X Jahre Kunst in Hamburg” at the Affenfaust Galerie in Hamburg, next to the beautiful paintings of Jens Rausch.
Next exhibition is at the heliumcowboy gallery opening December 6, 2019, featuring work by Winnie Truong, Various & Gould, Rasmus Rinhack, Jaybo Monk, Fabian Wolf, Victor Castillo, Jens Rausch, Rune Christensen and Jon Todd.
Below are the photos from the opening of my exhibition “Kind, gentle and fully dressed” by the wonderful Julia Schwendner / ThisIsJulia Photography. Once again she managed to capture the beautiful spirit of that night so well!
And what a wonderful and very special place this version of the heliumcowboy artspace is! And not just to me. Not sure of there are many galleries with this atmosphere. Thank you to everyone who visited this show or one of the openings this year.
The exhibition is on display until January 20, 2019. If you wish to visit, please drop me a note or contact the gallery. And of course Follow me on instagram, I’ll post all valuable info and opening times there too.
The exhibited work can be seen on Artsy. Exhibition views are here on this site.
There is a (german language) podcast out where I talk with Andreas O. Loff about the new work and the exhibition, you can find it here:
Wow. The show is open. On Saturday, Nov 24 we had a tremendously wonderful Vernissage!! I couldn’t have wished for a better night for this! THANK YOU!
Below are some installation photos from the complete show. Hope you like them! They are also on my facebook, if you are still using that. There are some words about the exhibited work series here.
The exhibition is on display at the heliumcowboy artspace until January 20, 2019. If you wish to visit, please drop me a note or contact the gallery. And of course Follow me on instagram, I’ll post all valuable info and opening times there too.
There is a (german language) podcast out where I talk with Andreas O. Loff about the new work and the exhibition, you can find it here:
November 24 - January 20, 2018:
KIND, GENTLE AND FULLY DRESSED
Solo-Exhibition at heliumcowboy, Hamburg
Vernissage Saturday, November 24, 7–11 pm
Follow me on instagram to see updates from the work in progress towards this exhibition
There is a (german language) podcast out where I talk with Andreas O. Loff about the new work and the exhibition, you can find it here:
heliumtalk.com | Spotify | iTunes / Apple Podcast
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
For „Kind, gentle and fully dressed“ Alex Diamond (Jörg Heikhaus) retreated into the solitude of the rural north and produced a very personal new series of work. He looked at our society from the distance to the restlessness of the City, our social-media driven cohabitation and the oversaturation of our daily life. The artworks – a mix of woodcut and painting - were created intuitively and dynamic in a spontaneous process.
This series consists of flat wooden boards instead of the layered, stage-like constructions of Alex Diamond’s major work of the past years. The results are unique woodcuts that are abstract, graphic and figurative at the same time, interspersed with quotes and text fragments from music and film.
At first glance these new artworks seem to account for the assumed lightness of the impulsive work process in the studio. Their stories unfold when taking a closer look, when following the numberless cuts into wood – in some works amounting to thousands of carvings – and when putting the text fragments into context with current events. Doing so you can discover the intensity and complexity of the paintings and their subjects.
There is an underlying political and social discomfort in this new oeuvre, like in most of the work of Alex Diamond. As an artist he takes responsibility and comments through his medium and craft and in his very own, intimate way. There is anger, rage even, but also hope and encouragement. This depth in regard to the content however isn’t pushed into the aesthetic and thus visible foreground, but develops more like a good song, by engaging into melody and rhythm, harmony and disharmony, lyrics and voice.
ABOUT ALEX DIAMOND
‚Alex Diamond‘ was initiated as a stand-alone art project by Jörg Heikhaus in 2004. Although it outlived its original intent around 2009/10, it has become Jörg‘s stage name as an artist since.
Essentially being a determined and straightforward storyteller, most of his artwork can be seen as an exploration of contemporary culture and its recurring social recognition patterns, with strong references to popular content and aesthetics.
Jörg has been an exhibiting artist since 1987. He founded the heliumcowboy gallery in 2002 as a unique place to show and experience art. Today he spends most of his time creating his complex woodwork in Today he spends most of his time creating his complex woodwork in one of his studios - one he built from vintage wood inside the exhibition space, another one that lies in the remote countryside. He also runs the podcast „heliumTALK“.
IMAGES FROM ‘THE WORK IN PROGRESS’
Can‘t wait to show you my new series of woodcuts/paintings I am working on right now to be finished for Hello my Dear, the Re-opening of the Heliumcowboy Artspace this Saturday (March 24, 7 pm).
Inspired by the music of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis and blending it with country and punk in my head (and on the record player at the studio) it is a sweet little in-between group of works that merges my past as a painter with my woodcutting techniques of today.
Feels really good to be working this way for now ... Well. Lot’s of words, best you come around this Saturday in Hamburg and take a look yourselves:
HELLO MY DEAR
Opening Saturday March 24, 19:00 – 23:00
more information | facebook event
Work in progress on my new series of work - THE FREEDOM PAINTINGS. To be launched Saturday, March 24, at heliumcowboy in Hamburg.
This was actually the last piece I've finished for my exhibition "Weapons Of Mass Seduction 2", my show together with Victor Castillo at heliumcowboy Nov 11 – Dec 16 in Hamburg.
"Finally A Cowboy" is a sculptural, painted woodcut that floats on the wall. It includes a bit of my biography ;) and seemed to be the perfect work to close* this eventful year in which I turned 50 and heliumcowboy 15 years old and I had the privilege to share so many beautiful moments with so many wonderful people over the course of the past 12 months.
To early for an annual review, I stop myself here and hope we find an opportunity to chat personally about all this at some other time. If you are in Hamburg, this could happen at the exhibition, which is open until Dec 15, or at the Finissage we'll host on the 16th (more info / FB event).
PS: If you are interested - you can check the availability of this work at the heliumcowboy artsy page.
PPS: this is the work I have been working on when the NDR was at my studio to film and interview me. Here's the vimeo-link to the feature if you haven't seen it yet.
* note: well it ain't the last piece I made in 2017, but still ...
Video from the opening of the exhibition "Weapons Of Mass Seduction 2" by Philip Simon / Silberblick.co
This winter, from November 11 – December 15, my friend and fellow artist Victor Castillo and me embark once again on the journey of a joint exhibition. A cooperation we begun in 2014 with the first edition of "Weapons Of Mass Seduction" - we feel our work fits very well together, in it we tell stories of similar reference and we do have the same taste in art, movies and music, which mirrors a lot in our pop-oriented creations. A perfect match, despite the very different techniques we use.
We always wanted to do a sequel to this 2014 show, and finally we managed to find the time and the support for a second edition. While our concept is not exclusively tied to the heliumcowboy gallery in Hamburg, it was the most obvious to do it here again. Which said - we are both open to show the third edition in a different city, country and gallery ...
Anyway. The Opening on Nov 11 was a blast! Here are a lot of gallery views from the exhibition. There will be a video and some images later from the opening, too. And all the exhibited artwork can be found on the gallery's artsy-page.
Oh and here's a video from the opening back in 2014 ....
Video from the exhibition Victor Castillo & Alex Diamond WEAPONS OF MASS SEDUCTION September 13-27, 2014, in Hamburg presented by heliumcowboy gallery / Film by Kool Motion Pictures / Tobias Sundermann / Music: Walkin' by NITRO17
This is probably one of my more self-explanatory works. So no words of wisdom from me this time. You‘ll figure it all out yourselves! 🙏
One thing though: This work was created for the 25-year anniversary exhibition of the Galerie Wolfsen in Aalborg (Denmark), opening September 23. Kent Wolfsen and Rasmus Fischer picked me up for their fine gallery in January 2016, and I am super grateful for everything they did for me since.
