.

Too busy in the studio. But things are going great and: Save the date(s)! (Kopie)

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.

Happy New Year

“Harmony” | woodcut - wood, acrylic paint. 30 x 40 cm. 12/2020 — *“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.

Final print release of the year: The end of a superpower (timed edition)

Click image to go straight to the online store. This is a timed edition, so all orders must be made before December 13 at midnight (german time).

When I was thinking about releasing one last print for this messed up year, I didn’t have to look far: Personally I feel that my Flaum van Kreuzen (FvK) painting “The end of a superpower” is most likely the artwork that kind of captured 2020 the best, if you can put it like that.

Why? Well. My work process in the FvK project is one I describe as „irreversible decision making“, and “purely honest, unpretentious, unintentional and unfiltered" (you can read my full FvK artist statement here), so the result is never planned but influenced by chance and the time spend on the work itself and the things that happen etc.

“The end of a superpower” was only the fourth artwork of the project and the first for which I “constructed” a wooden base (= loosely connected some wood that was lying around the workshop in a totally random way). I smashed things, I tore things off again, I even threw parts of this in the fire pit, I painted layers on layers, rough and wild and in a punk rock kind of way, before I finally scratched the words of the title into the still wet spray paint and printing color because it reminded me of a well known flag. But the title was not just aimed at the self destruction of the United States under the idiot Donald Trump and his braindead minions. It is also a reference to what happened in general in our world this year, with the pandemic (at least initially) affecting everyone regardless of their position on the food chain or their role in suppressing the poor, exploiting capitalism and the general destruction of the world.

So yeah, there is a lot of anger and compassion in this one, after all, even though it was created in a flow that turned from experimental to free jazz to punk to hardcore death metal in a few days.

It is also one of these ominous artworks that a lot of collectors are drawn to when they are looking for a signature piece of an artist or a new series by one. Needless to say it was also one of these works in the show this September that could have been sold 10 times - after the red dot was sticking next to it. I personally believe there is some truth in this, but also a lot of psychology. I think a bunch of the other pieces in that exhibition should have registered as iconic as well (not just but “No monkey’s in this picture” for example is a very important work too).

So. All of this combined is why I felt this one should become a print.

And that you can buy online now at heliumcowboy as part of their Christmas-Print Special.

VERY IMPORTANT THOUGH: It is a timed edition. This means that you can only oder it until Dec 13 (Sunday) at midnight (german time). The amount of orders defines the total edition number. And after that deadline this work will NEVER EVER be reproduced or offered as any kind of edition ever again.

So. What are you waiting for:

Go get it!

Specifics:

Archival Pigment Print on 320 gsm Hahnemühle William Turner Fine Art Paper
36 x 39 cm
Signed and numbered

Print details:

Original artwork:

THE END OF A SUPERPOWER, 2020 Lino printing color, acrylic paint, spraypaint, oil pastels, marker, marker fluid, polychromos pens on wood. In handmade artist frame. 69 x 64 cm — THE END OF A SUPERPOWER, 2020
Lino printing color, acrylic paint, spraypaint, oil pastels, marker, marker fluid, polychromos pens on wood. In handmade artist frame. 69 x 64 cm

Some angry beasts at Feinkunst Krüger

No worries, no worries at all. 2020 Woodblock, broken plywood, acrylic paint, ink, pencil, nails. In slightly uneven artist frame. 30 x 24 cm — *No worries, no worries at all.* 2020
Woodblock, broken plywood, acrylic paint, ink, pencil, nails. In slightly uneven artist frame. 30 x 24 cm

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).

Installed group of my five woodcuts at Feinkunst Krüger.

A new sheriff in town

Photos by Julia Schwendner / thisisjulia.de

Alright. That was it. There is a change in management, not just in the US of A, but also here in Hamburg at heliumcowboy. I am back to only being an artist again, and no matter how much I loved building the gallery, it is a fucking relief. Here’s why:

This November I am handing over the reins to of the gallery to my son Melvin. I founded the heliumcowboy artspace back in 2002 but am resigning now from all my operative gallery work after almost two decades, so I can focus solely on my work as an artist. Melvin is now the new gallerist on the Ranch, and I couldn’t be any prouder: The exhibition „Hurry up please, it’s time“ that opens this weekend (Nov 14 & 15) is the first exhibition he curates in his new position.

Stepping back from my leading role at heliumcowboy has been my plan for a few years already, because running two full time jobs at the same time has always been very tough. So now I am finally again concentrating only on my art, which I create under the name of Alex Diamond since 2004 (and most recently with my Flaum Van Kreuzen-project). Looking back, my art was at the foundation of heliumcowboy all along: In 2002 I began to make exhibitions in my new artist studio in Hamburg St. Pauli, which I eventually turned into the internationally acclaimed gallery heliumcowboy … most of you probably know the story. It’s a good one, and it feels great to look back.

In 2016, Melvin assisted me for the first time setting up and executing an exhibition. With the 15-years anniversary show „Cowboyland“ in 2017 he came on board more permanently and has been my right-hand man for most of the shows at the gallery and on fairs since.

He is ready now to take on the whole business with a set of fresh eyes and new ideas for the art world. I will help out only with strategic issues if needed, but apart from that Melvin (22) is now most likely the youngest gallerist in town - and the new Head Honcho on the Ranch, to stick with our heliumcowboy lingo.

I hope you all will support him in this big new task ahead. Make sure to help keep a vibrant gallery scene alive by visiting the shows, spreading the word and of course by buying art.

Love and hugs

Jörg

PS: “Hurry up please, it’s time”, Melvin’s „inaugural“ exhibition as the gallerist of heliumcowboy opens this weekend (Saturday, November 14 from 2 – 8 pm and Sunday, November 15 from 12 – 5 pm). Unfortunately the times don’t allow for a big celebration, but you can book a timeslot at heliumcowboy.com/booking to make sure to congratulate him personally.

heliumcowboy_melvin+joerg_112020-026.jpg

No flag

November 3, 2020

Allright, it’s time for another politically infused (or rather inflamed) painting, this one here is a brand new Flaum van Kreuzen that I have been working on and off for some weeks now, aptly titled

NO FLAG

and still unavailable at the moment, as I am not sure if I will continue working on it after the coming night. It might need more rage, but maybe it also needs a bit more healing powers, let’s see how it all goes down on this rough day. One good thing about my van Kreuzen-project is that there are no other goals for these works than the process of creation itself. If that makes sense.

Now dear people with their brains still attached to the values of humanity and democracy - go put an end to the shit show. The world deserves a break.

Who the fuck is Flaum van Kreuzen?

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.

more info

200610_FlaumVanKreuzen_04_THE-END-OF-A-SUPERPOWER_1684.jpg

"HOPPY WATERS" | new print edition

Together with Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei I launch a special edition print on FRIDAY, August 7th, starting at 10 am. You can get it online, of course, but if in Hamburg - heliumcowboy is open Friday from 10 am - 6 pm.

ABOUT THE EDITION:

Special silk screen print edition celebrating friendship - and alcohol free craft beer. It is exclusively available as standalone print at the heliumcowboy online store and the gallery, or packed into an 18-bottles ü.NN-beer box at shop.kehrwieder.beer (or directly at the brewery). In connection with the beer, the print is reduced in price (10 € less). The proceeds from the complete print run will be shared between Kehrwieder & heliumcowboy because, you know, as friends more than business partners we support each other.

The artwork is an adaption of the label created by Alex Diamond for ü.NN, the celebrated and award winning alcohol free beer of the Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei in Hamburg.

It is called „Hoppy waters“ and was printed in an edition of 80. There are 6 additional prints available that are hand embellished by the artist (see below). You can purchase them online and at the gallery as well.

Print details:

Edition of 80
Paper size: 30 x 24 cm
3-color silkscreen print on Canson Edition
320 g/qm paper
Signed & numbered by the artist
Embossed with the artists’ seal

Hand-embellishing one of the prints of the edition for Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei by drawing over them. I did that with six of the additional prints, if you are looking for that extra special special edition …

New Print Edition - Coming soon.

Alex Diamond Print Edition "ü.NN" / Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei from alex diamond on Vimeo.

We are almost ready to launch the ü.NN-print edition! From August 7 you will be able to purchase my newest silkscreen print either inside a box of the best alcohol free beer on the planet (ü.NN by Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei) via the brewery or just the print through us. More details soon!

In the video I am embellishing one of the prints by drawing over them. I did that with six of the additional prints, and these will be offered as well Aug 7, if you are looking for that extra special special edition …

Reflection.

This is a time to reflect and be active and think about the state of the world and how we can make change happen and stick and … I guess most of you are in a similar emotional place right now. I can’t tell you how often I have started to write a longer post and then didn’t post it after all because honestly I am not sure if this is the way I can show my support best, in adding more words on the Internet.

You know where I stand and that I will never keep my hands idle in times of terror and greed and racism and brutal injustice delivered by the hands of the elected such as the a*hole in the White House and his minions and anyone else supporting any of these or similar beliefs.

Fuck them. There is land to be farmed and a world to be build for the future of our kids so that they still have one worth living once we’re done with it.

Have a nice weekend if you are working the fields with me. The second image of this post is a painting for you by Flaum van Kreuzen aptly titled „The end of a Superpower“. It’s all in there.

Flaum van Kreuzen: THE END OF A SUPERPOWER, 2020Lino printing color, acrylic paint, spraypaint, oil pastels, marker, marker fluid, polychromos pens on wood. 65 x 60 cm.

On the other side of the storm

I have carved these waves for over ten years, inspired by the grandmasters of the japanese woodcut like Hiroshige or Hokusai. This year I return a bit to these more straightforward and clean works, in an even more reduced color palette (one in the backgound plus the wood).

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORM
Part 2 of a series of 4 woodcuts
Wood, acrylic paint, 40 x 30 x 3 cm (2020)

This is from a series of original artworks I am creating for my ongoing collaboration with Geberit.

Fear no evil

Well you might have heard that amongst all the other things I am trying to do right now I am writing my book these days ... and that is a trip down memory lane, browsing through hard discs from the past. Just stumbled across a series of small woodcuts I did in 2011 and this one kind of fits the mood. All I can say is - stay positive, stay healthy, we'll get through this only without fear, prejudices and panic, but with consideration, understanding and kindness.

I made my first woodcuts 10 years ago and compared to my work today they were pretty simple and straightforward. Thinking about doing some more straightforward pieces now, not sure yet. If you are an artist you might want to use this time to look back at older work too, it can be inspiring and there is no rush at the moment anyway ... ❤️

Places I write ...

So yeah, there is a lot of writing these days. I really prefer to write up north in the old farm house in (what I call) #cowboyland, but I still spend a lot of my time in Hamburg and yes, it is pretty great here in my studio at heliumcowboy as well, so I try to get some pages done here too.

Chapter one to three are ready, I am pleased with the flow of things and couldn't be happier for being able to write down my story, well the story of Alex Diamond. The book will be a big and beautiful art book, of course, but it will also be an autobiography, which is a great honor to be able to write and the experience of going back so many years and remember all those moments and stories is just beautiful .

This will take a longer time, for sure. And the gallery will not be as busy as before, during this period at least. But I'll keep doing the podcast and my art and might also be working with a few artists so there will always be something to look at and / or talk about at heliumcowboy - you are of course welcome to check in.

We plan something for April 3, when there is the next "Rundgang" of the Galerien in der Neustadt . Also Melvin might be up to something, so stay tuned.

Thank you for supporting me and everything that heliumcowboy stands for!

hugs/Jörg

PS: The book will be designed by Jan Müller-Wiefel and published by Gudberg Nerger Verlag. We are aiming for summer/fall 😉

PPS: This is not an advertisement 'cos I pay for my shit, but the shirt I am wearing is the 25 year anniversary shirt of the legendary RIDER’S ROOM in Hamburg (a colab with Pike Brothers Superior Garments ), so shoutout to Sven and Olli and the whole team for keeping it tight since 1995 ...

First “Daily Drawing” on a T-shirt - orders close March 11!

Here it is: The first work from the series "The Daily Drawings of Alex Diamond" on a T-shirt! Special "reverse white" edition on black, navy, grey and blue.

You can get it here: https://everpress.com/alex-diamond-circles

And here is how it works:

You have a limited time (until March 11) to select and order your T-shirt on the Everpress website! Afterwards they get printed and shipped to you. Once orders are closed this exact edition will not be reprinted.

Some background: From the 100 "Daily Drawings" I did last year I picked this one to be the first to be featured on a T-shirt. It's an adaptation of course - the original is drawn with blue ink (see image) and I made a "negative" single-color version for this print.

This is artist Jens Rausch's favorite drawing of the series, it is also the cover of the first catalogue and I hope you love its simplicity and depth as much as Jens & I do.

Happy New Year and the final drawings ...

Allright. So here we are, the year 2020 is pretty young, and so I think a Happy New Year is still in order! ❤️

Here’s a little update on last years’ project “The Daily Drawings of Alex Diamond”: I finished drawing number 100 in December 2019. I might continue with something similar in 2020, we’ll see, but this part of the project is closed now.

There's been a lot of requests lately, and most of them are gone now. This is humbling and beautiful, and in case you still want one - here is what is left (status while writing this post), and here you can find all 100 of them.

I will however produce the 2nd mini catalogue shortly (Nr. 1 was from drawing #001 – #050, Nr. 2 will be from #051 – #100). I took the liberty to frame them all and change the price a bit: they are 99 € (framed and with free catalogue Volume 1).

Still way too cheap if you ask me, except maybe for the number #100! If you want that - that’ll be 999 €.

Why? Well, because it is and alway will be the rarest one. 😉

Charley and The Farmer

ALEX-DIAMOND_THE-FARMER_WOODCUT-ACRYLICPAINT_40x30-cm_2019191203unbenannt0269-Bearbeitet.jpg

ALEX-DIAMOND_CHARLEY-WOODCUT-ACRYLICPAINT_40x30-cm_2019191203unbenannt0272-Bearbeitet.jpg

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).

info on the show