Today I'm looking at the artwork of Stuart Allan! I've know Stuart for longer than I care to share but I have fond memories of seeing him at The Palace back when Nu Metal was still new and we became good friends through a shared love of music and comic books, Hellboy being a particular favourite. Of course early on I found out Stuart was hiding a secret, he could paint and not just that but he was really good at it!
During his time at Grays School of Art he painted two portraits of me which was a real honour, seeing oneself immortalised in that way. I'd originally intended to wait until Stuart was skint and make him a lowball offer for my portrait but it was purchased straight away on the opening night of his degree show with many of his paintings selling out. Thankfully he tool the time to paint a second portrait a few years later when I got a bit fatter and it looks down on me from my living room wall. Stuart has a magical ability to capture people as you'll see from his portrait of swimming Gold medalist Hannah Miley, whether its in oil paint or using modern technology like an iPad Pro. He's created a number of special commissions for dear friends and its quite special to see them hanging in homes across the North East.
Of course his work has shifted over the years as his focus changed from intimate portraits of friends to icons of the big and small screen including cult classics like Blade Runner and the iconic Xenomorphs in Alien to Mayday Queens like Dani in Midsommar (warning that film is scary as hell!). His last show a collaboration with Craig Fisher titled 'TEETH' saw the duo create a joint mural along with individual pieces for sale including a full set of Xenomorphs from the chest burster right up to the Alien Queen along with a special Alien woodcut complete with retractable proboscis. Being the proud owner of his Godzilla & Mecha Godzilla woodcuts, I left the show empty handed but impressed.
Jumping between projects Stuart has also produced numerous pieces on the streets, swapping brushes for spray cans working on large scale collaborative murals with Fisher both in the UK and America whilst also producing work for Painted Doors Aberdeen (check out my video below) and the Victoria Art Road project in Torry. It seems whatever Stuart turns his hand to it comes out great from giant murals to spicy hot sauce labels, he's a true jack of all trades but I'd argue he's mastered them all too.
His latest work continues to play with cultural icons and death metal iconography while he jumps between bold graphics and fine detailed portraits. The bold graphic tattoos of Paul Slifer are also evident both on his arms and in his graphic work but Stuart always manages to add flourishes and expressions on the canvas that give his work a unique feel. More recent experiments with woodcut paintings have also brought a new dimension to his work, allowing him to step off the screen and use a more hands on traditional approach to painting but still with a Stallan twist.
With his last major solo show taking place at Foodstory in 2018, I hope we'll be seeing a big project from Stuart in 2022 but in the meantime you can spy some of his work for sale at the newPoison Hearts Studio in the Castlegate and with various prints and zines in the works be sure to check out more of Stuarts work on Etsy here.
Its almost a month since the MoC x 10 show and I don't think I've had a minute to stop and think about it all. It came about in a whirlwind and 9 days later it was over. Although we did have some late visitors who managed to get a look before the photos and artworks came down. It was a real pleasure for me to show artwork from such talented friends, most of whom I met through the blog and looking back through a decade of photos and videos really brought back some happy memories. But before getting into the show I really need to jump back to the start. So 10 years of writing about art and culture in little old, boring Aberdeen , the place where nothing cool ever happens and everyone's just sitting counting their money in granite castles. The fact I've been writing about art, in Aberdeen for 10 years is hopefully a beacon of light to anyone who might believe the above statement to be true. Back in 2007 I was busy doing stencils and paste ups, many in tribute to an ol...
Phelgm is the alias of Sheffield based graffiti artist ....... Phelgm? Ok so I don't know his real name and to be honest it doesn't really matter. What matter is that his work is incredible. What also matters is that I was told about his show and given directions by a member of staff at StolenSpace Gallery and although I took a couple of wrong turns when I finally found the derelict shop front and saw the work I was in awe! The first thing is the sheer volume of work on display. Floor to ceiling of painted jars containing all manner of mythical creatures, many of Phlegm's own signature characters but also a few guest appearance from some other big names in the graffiti / street art world. Your sucked down into this world of caged creatures, floating heads, amputated limbs and then you come out into a clearing, an open space where the characters and the animals are literally coming out of the walls! I don't think I've ever really seen a show like it, the paintings...
A brilliant wee video by Fraser Denholm & The Kiosque about visual artist John Walter's recent show " The Oil Baron's Club " which took place at the Smart Gallery space a few months back. Super interesting guy and mental work, but in a good way! Five Minutes With... John Walter from Fraser Denholm on Vimeo . Via The Kiosque !
.JPG)