Joseph Allen
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.)
Website — http://izrock.com
Latest Posts
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The New Yorkers curated by Todd James!
April 23rd 09, 22:05
No messing with this line-up!
V1 – Copenhagen
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Rhys Lee Book – Revealed
April 22nd 09, 2:10
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)
April 22nd 09, 2:06
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
April 21st 09, 18:29
Monster Children Gallery Presents “Glory Holes”
An Exhibition by Trust Fun & Kris MoyesOpening 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!
April 15th 09, 18:37
All your favourite Melbourne artists and mine too!
See you there folks!Carlton Hotels and Studios, 193 Bourke St, Melb
6pm Thursday 23 AprilA 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 LordingOpening night Thursday April 16 6 -9.30pm
Show runs from April 17 – 23, 2009, 4-7pm.
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Christopher Day @ Utopian Slumps – Friday 17th April
April 15th 09, 18:31
AT UTOPIAN SLUMPS
5/25 EASEY STREET COLLINGWOOD
GALLERY HOURS: WED-SAT 12-6PM
OTHER TIMES BY APPOINTMENT: 0403 009 291Non-profit curator-run arts initiative Utopian Slumps is pleased to announce the opening of After the Breadcrumbs by Christopher Day from 6 – 9pm on Friday 17 April 2009.
When the children woke in the dark night they found that the trail of crumbs had been eaten by the forest and they headed off in search of their lost home. They came upon a sugar-coated house. They were starving kids, abandoned to the wilds, and here was an edible dream, the answer to their prayers. And here was a mother figure welcoming them, luring them in.
Randomness can be terrifying. Surfaces can lie and melt away.
The unfamiliar resides in the dusty corners of the known, the trimmed comforting edges of the real world.
Beware: Starving eyes can’t see beyond sugar-coated walls.
Pebbles, breadcrumbs, Ariadne’s thread. The innocuous pot plant in the corner. The alluring peach held by a mysterious figure. All the signs pointing the way are pointless. Never trust the obvious. Photographs are just surfaces after all. The superficial once ruled and now can’t sing for shit. The promised land is a furphy. Put your trust in the everyday at your peril. It might turn up one day abandoned in a field, burnt out and flipped over.
The true path can no longer be depended on.*
Day’s unique style of photography has featured in numerous publications including Photofile and Hijacked. He held his first solo exhibition, A Little Boob, at Victoria Park Gallery in 2008. Group exhibitions include Wipe The Shit Off Your Shoes Before Entering, The Projects, Melbourne, 2008; Neverness Part I, Right Angle Studios, Melbourne and Black & Blue Gallery, Sydney, 2008; Everything Forever, Palm Court Gallery, Perth, 2007; White & Black, Nellie Castan Gallery, Melbourne, 2002 and 1000 Words, Meat Market, Melbourne, 1998.
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Rhys Lee at Karen Woodbury! And a book release!
April 13th 09, 1:41
RHYS LEE
Everglades CavalierEXHIBITION OPENING AND
BOOK LAUNCHTuesday 21 April 6 – 8pm
7pm opening address
Ashley Crawford, author and art criticThe publication Rhys Lee, is a limited edition, fully illustrated monograph with original artist’s page. Contributions by Edward Colless, Ashley Crawford, and Hannah Matthews.
Exhibition current until 16 May 2009
RSVP acceptance only on 9421 2500
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or info@kwgallery.com -
Izrock Pressings at Motto Books in Lithuania!
April 13th 09, 0:36
http://mottoberlin.wordpress.com/
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Road Kill get raided!
April 11th 09, 1:37
When I was in England last year we went to Whitstable to skate the park. French’s buddy the Road Kill crew showed us about.
They are a bunch of good kids, just living their obsessions which pretty much equal skating and drawing. Anyhows, they made the papers and got raided at some over-cooked dawn raid on their homes. Can you believe it! For painting on the skate park no less.
Damn. I will never watch the Bill again.Look at those smug cops.
Heavy handed tactics and proud of a bag of paint. Isn’t there any other crime in the South-East worth tackling? 20 tags! Shit.
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Strangeness – Lyn Balzer & Tony Perkins
March 31st 09, 22:14
My good pals Lyn and Tony just had a show at Helen Gory in Melbourne. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make so it was great to get these shots sent through.
Enjoy the strangeness!
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