Hello All.

Just to say a big thank you for your patience with the AOI being closed for 3 days.

The whole Shoreditch area was plunged into the dark ages from Monday 8th March till Wednesday 10th.

Hard to believe in this day and age!

Following on from their fantastic opening night, KKOutlet will be inviting artists from around the world to send work to the fax machine in their gallery space. The best work will be posted up as part of the exhibition. All submissions to be sent to the following number from Thursday 4 March +44 (0)207 0337681. Download your cover sheet here.(and here is a blurb about the concept and opening night sourced from the KKOutlet)

Four Brazilian Artists. Four UK Artists. Three fax machines. One exhibition.

Curated by Autista and KK Outlet, Fax Ex-Machina is a one off live art exchange between Brazilian and UK artists taking place simultaneously in KK Outlet, London and POP Gallery Sao Paulo.

Brazilian artists Ramon Martins, Eduardo Recife (Misprinted Type), Elisa Sassi and Carlos Dias will fax their original artwork from Brazil straight to the walls of KK Outlet whilst UK based artists Andrew Clark, Billie Jean, Mcbess and Jimmy Turrell will be drawing live at KK Outlet and transmitting their pieces to POP Gallery, Sao Paulo.

High taxes and blindsided customs laws make it impractical to import and export art in and out of Brazil. Using the lo-fi means of fax machines we aim to avoid these extortionate charges and showcase young talent in and outside of Brazil.

Following on from our interview with NoBrow and Creative Review’s nomination by Grant Parker as ones-to-watch in the next 30 years, we thought we would see what new publications are in the cannon.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, they have launched the new 17×23 intiative which is a new graphic short story project to help talented young graphic novelists tell their stories in a manageable and economic format. The hope is that, while the series encourages artists to write noe off stories, 17×23 can act as a springboard for more ambitious projects.

An example of this would be Ben Newman’s beautiful, disturbing and at times heartbreaking Ourobos. Printed with 4-spot colours and heavily stylised, the book tells a story of love, death and revenge centred around the mythical beast of the books title being a serpent that east it’s own tale. All this makes it sound a much heavier read than you would expect, but what you have is a nice edition to this exciting project that we cannot wait to see  what comes next. (buy your copy of Ouroboros HERE)

The illustrations featured in the best of British illustration annual 2009 are now available to view in an online catalogue.

To make commissioning the perfect illustrator even more convenient, you can now browse all artwork with search and zoom functions and contact details for the illustrators or their agents.
If you would like to buy a copy of the beautiful hardback book with essays by Malcolm Garrett, Mike Dempsey and many others for only £29.95 please get in touch directly with the distributor: regine@centralbooks.com

‘Portraits of My Life as a Bird’ explores the nature and aesthetics of the hybrid.
Building on a body of illustration, Cristina has recently expanded into sculpture. Alarmed by our disposable culture, she began rescuing dumped pieces of furniture from the street. Inspired by the craftsmanship of a by-gone era, Cristina gave these found objects a simple choice: be reborn as part of her evolutionary experiment, or be annihilated by progress. With a willing collection of subjects, she thus set to work creating this explosive homage to the power of diversity.”
The private view will be on Thursday 4th of March from 7.00 – 9.30
@
The Print House
18 Ashwin Street
London
E8 3DL

Peterborough-based illustrator Harvey Hartley has recently produced some interesting looking iPhone wallpapers. The initial idea was to design an image to Bluetooth strangers on the train but it has since evolved into what you see here.
You can find the iPhone wallpapers and other examples of Harvey’s work on the pages of his blog… http://harveyssketchbook.blogspot.com <http://harveyssketchbook.blogspot.com> and www.monoharvey.co.uk.

Ronald Searle celebrates his 90th birthday on 3 March 2010. Regarded as ‘The Master’ by cartoonists not only in Britain but around the world he is still drawing and continues to inspire cartoonists, illustrators, animators, film makers and artists in many fields. This exhibition shows 140 works from across his seventy- five-year career, from his early cartoons for the Cambridge Daily News in the 1930s to political cartoons for Le Monde in the 2000s.  Many of the pictures have been lent by Searle himself. The focus is particularly on his reportage drawings which show Searle’s skill for capturing the essence of an event, character or situation.

Ronald Searle – Graphic Master
A 90th birthday celebration
3 March – 4 July 2010

The Cartoon Museum
35 Little Russell Street
London WC1A 2HH

www.cartoonmuseum.org

‘To say he is an artist is no more than the truth, but he is more than that: he is our greatest living cartoonist with a lifelong dedication to his craft … His work is truly international, yet absolutely grounded in the English comic tradition.’ Steve Bell

‘I owe him a huge debt as an inspiration. In my workroom Ronald Searle’s books share the shelf with Rowlandson and George Grosz. He belongs with the masters in a great tradition.’   Posy Simmonds

‘The two people who have probably had the greatest influence on my life are Lewis Carroll and RonaldSearle’ John Lennon

AOI Member Sarai Vardi will be holding a solo exhibition in the famous Mario’s Cafe in Kentish town from the 1st to the 31st of March

“pop down for a brew and a browse. A collection of pen and ink drawings as well as a series of spacey collages, all work balances on the fine line between reality and make believe.”

Mario’s Cafe

6 Kelly Street, Kentish town, London, NW18PH

(Open 7.30am-4pm Mon-Sat)

The Images 33 Tour brought the sunshine with it to Suffolk when it was opened in Ipswich on Wednesday with a speech by Mark Wigan at the private view celebrating just how good we British illustrators are at our jobs. Don’t miss the opportunity if you are in that part of the country to pop by and enjoy the work in a superb new gallery setting. Click here for the opening times.

If any of you are in the EC2 area this Sunday please come down and visit this group show.

All sales go towards the people of Haiti which I’m sure you will all agree is a VERY worthy cause.