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Joseph Allen is jack-of-all-trades who hopes only to be reasonably-good-at-just-one before the time he becomes flower fertiliser. Always fascinated by the phrase 'mixed business' used by many Sydney convenience stores, Joseph Allen adopted this phrase as an umbrella term for his unrestricted commercial art making. In the last decade Joseph has spent most of his time in London designing skateboarding periodicals and record sleeves. Now back in his birth town, Sydney, he has established Izrock Mixed Business as an (in)convenience store for general art tom foolery. Currently his main focuses are being the gallerist at Monster Children Gallery, other curatorial work and running Izrock Pressings, a platform for independent small run artist books, zines and editioned art prints. (Portrait by Rhys Lee.)

Latest Posts

  • Amanda Maxwell Reading Saturday the 23rd May

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  • Samuel Hodge Book now available for pre-order

    Pretty Telling I Suppose
    Samuel Hodge

    Available from the irrepressible RAIN OFF BOOKS
    There is a forward by GERT JONKERS from FANTASTIC MAN and BUTT.

    It’ll be hard cover and cloth bound
    72 pages
    20.3 x 26.6 cm

    http://www.rainoffbooks.com/news.html

    Read More
  • Cafe Legs wit curiosities curated by Aaron Rose

    11-6 4157 NORMAL AVE (corner of virgil) LOS ANGELES, CA. 90029

    Read More
  • Our Spot Pop Up Store in Darlinghurst

    I realise this may be old news to most as the store has been open for two weeks now but I keep forgetting to post it.

    Get up there. I know I have been!

    Our Spot is pleased to announce a ‘pop up’ store from Friday 1st May until Saturday 30th May.

    Located at 114 Burton Street Darlinghurst (entrance on Darley Street) between Forbes and Darlinghurst Road.

    The store will feature current Season Nom De Guerre, Rittenhouse, United Bamboo, Common Projects, James Cameron, YMC and Rachel Comey footwear.

    Open Monday through to Friday 12pm – 6pm and Saturdays 11am – 5pm.

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  • Rocket Time

    I am involved in Luca Ionescu’s new project that opens tonight.
    Come on Down!!!!

    ‘Record Time’
    24 Local and International Artists, Designers and Typographers explore the notion of time by laser etching and cutting their art on vinyl records.

    Featured Artists:

    ALIFE
    ANDREW VAN DER WESTHUYZEN
    ARBITO
    ALEX TROCHUTT
    ANDY HOWELL
    BIGFOOT
    BEN BROWN
    CODY HUDSON
    DAN FUNDERBURGH
    DEB
    ERIC ELMS
    JEREMY HOLLISTER
    JOSEPH ALLEN
    JEREMYVILLE
    JONATHAN ZAWADA
    KID ACNE
    KELVIN HO
    LUCA IONESCU
    MATT FRENCH
    MICHAEL C PLACE
    MICHAEL LEON
    MAROK
    PHIBS
    TILT
    TODD BRATRUD

    7PM FRIDAY 15TH MAY

    PALMER PROJECTS GALLEY
    2/238 PALMER STREET, DARLINGHURST

    A special thank you to MODULAR RECORDS for supplying the blank records!

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  • SlamX on SlamX – A trip to Auckland

    Took a flight to Auckland this week.













    I watched The Last Waltz on the plane. It was interviews and footage of The Band and their last gig by Scorsese. I hadn’t seen it before. It was amazing with heaps of cameos.




    Got off the plane and went straight to the auction house I was delivering 2 x Kill Pixie works and 4 x Cleon Peterson works too.
    It’s Webb’s if you wanna bid this Tuesday – great works


    There was heaps of taxidermy from some dude’s collection

    This guy reminded me of that Rachenberg



    This is Neil with the Koons. Super rad.
    The packaging and the box and the instructions! Ha!

    Then I took a walk around the city before dark.


    I saw Max Gimblet mounting this show.

    There he is in the back.

    Found amazing book stores. Parsons!!! – Thx Rene!
    Also this second hand one which was great.


    I found this there and meant to buy it.
    Robert is the curator at IMA Brisbane. I was psyched this book had travelled to here. Oh the life of a well loved book.

    Found the Auckland Art Gallery and hit the NZ section.

    This gallery had an amazing dimensional replication of that neverending reflection you get when you look in two facing mirrors. So great!


    Joy Bong.

    That night Erin picked me up and took me to dinner with her brethren the Slamxhype / Paything folks that I had never met.


    L-R. Leah, Ben and Nickie.

    Then Yasmine and Adam.

    Tepanyaki man with the most rye and jaded jokes like he sad said them millions of time.
    It was much better that way.

    The next day.

    I preferred to think of this as less of a demand and more of a suggestion for living.

    Went to see the SlamX offices and more importantly the new Plaything Gallery where Erin had a show.


    Then to the Museum

    Great weaponry

    And other fellows.

    The botanical gardens and hot house.
    Yes!


    Then the flight home.












    Ahhh. The reason to come home.


    Jules less so.

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  • Yes I Can-Brah!

    So it’s been a busy week and a half and there have been no posts for sometime. Serious backlog is upon me.
    Let’s see, last week Tristan and I drove to Canberra to see the Martin Bell of Martin Bell fame open his sculpture at New Acton. It was the same sculpture ‘Cowboy Style’ I had commissioned for Batteries Not included reassembled as a collaboration with Anat Ben-David from London/Israel. It was also the launch for the amazing Soft Sculpture exhibit at the NGA – so it was a pretty big thing.

    Good Point

    Yeah Nineties portraits.

    This was at the National Portrait Gallery – I hadn’t seen this before.

    I knew the Askill boys were gonna be in Canberra too – they came to the launch of a portrait show that had their mother Adrienne’s painting in it and there it was.

    Howard Arkley

    Sidney Nolan – kinda like a Rhys Lee right!?!

    Who was this again Tristan?

    Mombassa

    Rick James, Bitch!
    Just kidding.

    I forget

    Paul Worstead

    I forget again.

    This was rad to see in the portrait gallery.

    Then we hit the Soft Sculpture show and found Marty.

    Christopher Langton

    Beuys

    Oldenburg drum kit!

    This Chuck Close was just hanging tough in the middle of nowhere!

    Caught up with Daniel

    Then made it to why we came.

    Check out Martin’s sculpture here:
    http://www.spookyaction.com.au/html/exhibition.html

    This was Canberra to me!

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  • Steve Powers in St Louis – 2 fists of Iron and a Bottle of Beer

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  • Sam Smith x Ben Briand for Benah





    Ben Briand made this video for his girl Brenda’s new accessories company.
    Sam Smith dances in his apartment for it.
    Full length film will play at the launch at China Heights this Friday.

    http://www.thebenah.com/

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  • MOUNTAIN FOLD LAUNCH

    My best boys Douglas and Sinisa launched Mountain Fold at Black and Blue recently.
    Mountain Fold is a music journal that is published quarterly by that genius Douglas Lance Gibson. Sinisa did the art direction with Rain Off team mate Rob Milne as creative assistant. Of course there were a bunch of other people involved but these lads have come along way.

    Songs played the launch and many free mags were passed. Find Mountain Fold where you can or check their stockists HERE.
    You need to get one of these. The cover is by the one and only Stefan Marx.

    These video stills by guru Rene Vaile

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  • The New Yorkers curated by Todd James!

    No messing with this line-up!

    V1 – Copenhagen

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  • Rhys Lee Book – Revealed

    Holy Shit – You need this if you can get one! 100 only!

    Rhys Lee book – edition of 100 – available at Karen Woodbury Gallery

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  • Sneak Peak (as in mountain, not as in spelling mistake)

    Tru$t Fun and Kris Moyes – Glory Holes.

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  • Tru$t Fun! and Kris Moyes with Glory Holes at Monster Children Gallery

    Monster Children Gallery Presents “Glory Holes”
    An Exhibition by Trust Fun & Kris Moyes

    Opening night: THURSDAY 23RD APRIL 6.00PM
    Exhibition continues from 24TH APRIL – 9TH MAY, 2009.

    About the Exhibition:
    Award winning Australian designers Trust Fun! and international director Kris Moyes will present a series of works titled ‘Glory Holes’ at Monster Children Gallery from April 24, in an exhibition which explores the increasingly blurred line between art and commerce.

    Glory Holes will explore the ideas of the Animal, the Vegetable and the Mineral from a cosmic, mystical and aesthetic angle – all with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The space will be filled with pieces covering a range of mediums including high quality digital prints, hand screen-printed glass, video projections and sculpture. Many of the pieces in the exhibition have their origins in the concept stages of album covers, tour posters, music videos and marketing ideas that were later rejected by clients as either ‘too weird’, ‘too difficult’ or ‘too confusing’.

    Throughout their respective commercial careers, the Trust Fun! designers and Kris Moyes have each created many things that have been considered ‘not quite design’ while also ‘not quite art’, and Glory Holes attempts to find an outlet for these ideas and explorations. With the line between art and commerce having been progressively blurred since the 1960s and 70s, the Trust Fun! designers believe this line has recently become so fuzzy it’s almost totally unrecognizable, particularly where young audiences are concerned.

    The designers feel that in recent years art has managed to alienate many in the younger generations by demanding an academic and conceptual appreciation. As a result, they have increasingly found artistic and creative satisfaction in products and brands, elevating designers to artist status and coveting limited-edition products from multinational juggernauts beyond that of independent artist and craft. Through artistic collaborations and sponsorships, many brands are now bringing the younger audience back into the art environment and with ‘Glory Holes’, Trust Fun! and Kris Moyes hope to further blur that boundary between art and product and encourage people to scratch a little deeper at commercial creative expression and think a little shallower about art.

    Trust Fun! is a Sydney-based trio comprising award winning graphic designers Jonathan Zawada and Shane Sakkeus and fashion designer Annie Wright-Zawada. Under Trust Fun! the trio fuse art, fashion, graphic design and humour into a range of limited edition silk scarves that are sold in exclusive boutiques around the world. Kris Moyes is a multi-award winning director and artist whose instantly recognizable style can be seen in music videos for Franz Ferdinand, Beck and The Presets amongst many others.

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  • Gray Matters in Melbourne tonight!

    All your favourite Melbourne artists and mine too!
    See you there folks!

    Carlton Hotels and Studios, 193 Bourke St, Melb
    6pm Thursday 23 April

    A group exhibition of black and white painting, illustration, photography and video art from Melbourne and Sydney based artists.

    Featuring:
    Martin Bell
    Andy Murphy
    Polly Deadman
    Danny Young
    Sarah Larnach
    Nathan Gamble
    Tim Hillier
    Brad Barry
    Johann Rashid
    Mark Lording

    Opening night Thursday April 16 6 -9.30pm

    Show runs from April 17 – 23, 2009, 4-7pm.

    Read More
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More posts from Joseph Allen

Samuel Hodge Book now available for pre-order

Pretty Telling I Suppose Samuel Hodge Available from the irrepressible RAIN OFF BOOKS There is a fo... more

Cafe Legs wit curiosities curated by Aaron Rose

11-6 4157 NORMAL AVE (corner of virgil) LOS ANGELES, CA. 90029 more

Our Spot Pop Up Store in Darlinghurst

I realise this may be old news to most as the store has been open for two weeks now but I keep forg... more

Rocket Time

I am involved in Luca Ionescu’s new project that opens tonight. Come on Down!!!! ‘Recor... more

SlamX on SlamX – A trip to Auckland

Took a flight to Auckland this week. I watched The Last Waltz on the plane. It was int... more