As much as I dont like talking about my art, I feel there maybe some confusion about the breadth and chaotic nature of my practice, so here I feel it necessary to attempt to explain.
Increasingly since moving to London in 2009, influenced by the abundance of street art all around me, I have found myself making art in outdoor spaces. Alongside this I have also continued my studio practice- usually painting and often with galleries/ indoor spaces in mind-but the boundaries blur. Audience response is also crucial to my development. I want to make art that the public will engage with/find interesting. On the street/ in outside spaces, where there are people around, there might become a performance aspect to my art making, or it might become interactive.
For a few years now, I have worked part time in a primary school making art with children so this has had a huge influence on my work.
As for the diversity and varied choice of subjects/handling, I want to make art that is not contrived or elitist so I try to trust and follow my instints with regard to ideas/media choice. Once i am involved in making, the work usually becomes process lead and my mood at the time will dictate how the artwork is resolved.
My art is usually signed 'Alex Arnell' or tagged 'Sell Out'. 'Sell Out' is simply a tag for my outdoor work, when sometimes I might give away work for free, blu tack it to a wall or make it in a medium that can rub off (like chalk). The words 'Sell Out' have become synonimous with the world of Graffiti/street art (an insult thrown at artists who have used the streets as a platform make money from their art) seemed somehow humorously appropriate.
Curriculum Vitae (why not?)
DOB: 17/11/1976 (Bristol,UK)
Education:
1996-1999 BA (HONS) Fine Art Painting, University of East Anglia
1999-2000 PGCE Art and Design, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
Exhibitions:
Since 2011 most of the bigger pieces/exhibitions of art that I have made have been on the streets or in outdoor locations but for the purposes of a traditional CV I will only include my shows in indoor spaces, otherwise it will get a bit silly!
Kissing in Traffic Gallery, Stoke Newington high Street, London 2014
Degree Art, Vyner Street, London 2012, 2013, 2014
Vauxhall art car boot fair, Brick lane, London 2014
Wimbledon Fine Art, London 2012
Stafford Gallery, London 2012
The Gallery Cafe, Bethnal Green, London 2010 (solo), 2012 (solo)
Cultivate, Vyner Street, London 2012, 2013, 2014
Pontcanna street Gallery, Cardiff 2012
The Nick Holly Gallery, Swansea 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
The Gallery Cafe, Bethnal Green, London 2010 (solo)
The Basemement Gallery, Pages of Hackney, London 2010 (solo)
The Mall Galleries, London 2009
Oriel Ty Coch, Cardiff 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Albany Gallery, Cardiff 2000,2005,2006,2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,2011
Barnabas Arts House, Newport 2009 (solo), 2010, 2011, 2012 (solo) ,2014 (solo)
The Attic Gallery, Swansea 2007,2008, 2009, 2010
3D Gallery Bristol 2008, 2009, 2010
The Great Atlantic Gallery, Monmouth 2008, 2009
The Kooywood Gallery Cardiff, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,2011
The Washington Gallery, Penarth, Cardiff 2005-2009
Jersey Arts Centre 2007,2008 (solo)
GPF Gallery, Newport 2005, 2006 (solo), 2007, 2008 (solo),2010, 2012
Studio 18, Jersey 2007,2008 (solo)
The Victoria Fern Gallery, Cardiff 2006-2008
Riverfront Arts Centre, Newport 2007 (solo)
The Art Shop, Abergavenny 2007
The Courtyard Gallery, Cardiff 2007 (solo)
Oriel Tri, Cardiff 2006 (solo), 2007
St David's Hall, Cardiff 2005,2006
Holme Grange Gallery, Wokingham 2003,2004
Hexagon Gallery, Reading 2003
The Forferont Gallery, Ipswich 1999
Opens/Competitions:
I never liked putting work in to Opens/competitions and don't do it anymore (mainly because of all the rejections!) but these are some I managed to get into:
Welsh Artist of the Year Award, Cardiff 2010
Discerning Eye, London 2009
Butespace 1001 Open, Cardiff 2008
JJ Fox International Open, Jersey 2007
The Welsh Artist of the Year Award, Cardiff 2006
The Gate Open, Cardiff 2006
Artist's Statement:
Not been changed since 2007 but still relevant to the studio based painting
I paint in attempt to realize and communicate ideas and feelings inspired by my surroundings, mass media, and the process of picture making itself. At present it is found images and objects that generate the ideas that excite me most.