FriendsWithYou Art Collective » Blog

Super Malfi

Friendship — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:08:08 +0000

Super Malfi is a FriendsWithYou icon- a magical wizard who is always full of surprises and brings joy to everyone. His spots are magic so you can rub them for good luck. Super Malfi brings great adventure to your life by opening all doors for you to play in any which way. Wrestle him, kiss him, or throw him on the ground- you never hurt his feelings, you only make him proud. His spirit is undeniably uplifting, allowing the viewer to resonate positivity through his radiating energy. Super Malfi is a good buddy to throw around as you please. He loves to party!

Born when the collective first created hand sewn amulets in 2002, and featured in FWY’s Skywalkers beach parade for Miami Art Basel in 2006, Malfi has been the symbol of FriendsWithYou art for over a decade. To celebrate this icon, FriendsWithYou brings you the Super Malfi inflatable bop bag- a large 52” inflatable, with a sand weighted base, built for playing. Malfi truly comes alive in all of his glory via a unique, kinetic and sculptural artwork. Uplifting and simple, Super Malfi bop bag is lovable, huggable and a joyous art piece for any collection.

Manufactured by our friends at The Loyal Subjects, this art object is in a limited edition of 350, weights 12.5 lbs, and is officially available today for $99 USD. Purchase yours here while supplies last.

We hope Super Malfi finds a great home with you! Give him a bop, he always comes back…

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StarBurst

Friendship — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:09:29 +0000

For its winter 2013 exhibition, Arts Brookfield is presenting Starburst by FriendsWithYou, an inflatable smiling sculpture, known for its dynamic characteristics through its playful presence. Starburst showers unbridled joy on all who pass beneath it and lift the spirits of all who engage with it. Commissioned by Luminato Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, Starburst first premiered in Brookfield’s Bay Adelaide Centre in June 2010.

Starburst’s story resembles that of a phoenix or a star. Through our emotions and ideas we are constantly changing, exploding and being reborn as each day dies. This is a figurative expression of all the daily emotions and the constant movement and flow of our feelings. The artists take the pure spirit archetype and give this visual story thought its color filled template and its’ extruded tentacles.

The exhibit opened on February 26^th, and will be showing until March 15^th, 2013, from 9am to 9pm daily, at Brookfield Place.
Address: 181 Bay St.
Toronto, ON M5j 273
Canada
(416) 777- 6480

A special thanks to curator and producer, Robert BanderBerg and the Arts Brookfield Group.

Inner Vision in Between

Friendship — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:01:00 +0000

MCLEMOI Gallery and FWY are pleased to announce “Inner Vision in Between”, the exhibition of FriendsWithYou’s first Australia solo show, opening in Sydney on February 16th. This exhibition is a reflection of a journey from one chapter to another. Sam and Tury jump into a vortex of the unknown, further highlighting the true mission of creation with the embodiment of the living amulet. Animism plays a large role, as FriendsWithYou continues to explore artifacts of the archetype; minimal, peaceful, stoic, and sometimes foreboding. FriendsWithYou’s works for this exhibition span the spiritual gamut from play to ritual.

Each piece represents a simple dialogue, taking place inside each person who engages it. In its simplified form the works act as a mirror for which the viewers place whatever emotions and feelings, allowing for an honest and pure interaction. The artists have created a series of new sculptures for this exhibition- a selection of images are highlighted below.

MCLEMOI Gallery is a contemporary art gallery established in 2012 by Sara Leonardi-McGrath, Glenn McGrath AM and curated by Kristia D. Moises, former assistant director at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin. The primary focus of the gallery is to center itself as an open forum, representing international and Australian artists, and introducing young emerging artists through exhibitions, conversations, consulting and partnerships with Cultural Institutions. The Gallery’s mission is characterized by an adherence to a curatorial program, which aims to create a sense of community and learning. Represented artists include Daniel Arsham, Diego Singh, Luis Gispert, Rhonda Dee, Sarah Harvie, Guy Martin, among others.

For additional information and sales please contact: info@mclemoi.com

Opening Saturday, February 16th from 4pm to 8pm, running until March 30th
MCLEMOI Gallery
45 Chippen St., Chippendale
NSW 2008 Australia
P: +61 (0) 296 988 177

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MOCAtv’s “Artist Talk” Premiere, Featuring FriendsWithYou

Friendship — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:16:51 +0000

MOCAtv is premiering “Artists Talk with Alia Shawkat and Lance Bangs,” a new six part web series hosted by American actor, producer and artist Alia Shawkat and directed by American filmmaker, documentarian, and music video director Lance Bangs. The artists featured in the series include David Choe, Marcel Dzama, FriendsWithYou, Andrew Kuo, Geoff McFetridge and Raymond Pettibon. MOCAtv will release their series with the FriendsWithYou episode at 10am PST, Friday, February 15, 2013 on MOCAtv’s YouTube Channel. This first time collaboration between MOCAtv, Bangs, Shawkat and FriendsWithYou will take the audience inside the artists’ studio, with Bangs behind the camera offering a glimpse into FWY’s rarely seen creative space and Shawkat in conversation with Sam & Tury to discuss the artistic process behind their work.

MOCAtv, which launched October 1, 2012, is a new online contemporary art video channel and a digital extension of the education and exhibition program of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. MOCAtv aims to present contemporary art and culture to a wide global audience. Shawkat brings her own vision and expertise from her work in film and television projects, such as “Arrested Development”, “Whip It” and “Three Kings”, and her work as an artist exhibiting in galleries in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Paris. Lance Bangs is a filmmaker, documentarian, and visual artists. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, and has been presented at Kunst Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Walker Art Center, and Art Basel Miami. FriendsWithYou is honored to have collaborated on this project with such creative and insightful artists!

A big thanks and lots of love to the MOCAtv Team, Alia Shawkat and Lance Bangs.

Watch episode one here!

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Sunset #5 and In Between

Friendship — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:57:14 +0000

With the launch of FriendsWithYou’s first Australia solo show this month, the artists are releasing two sets of prints in connection with their Sydney exhibition. The prints are entitled “Sunset #5” and “In Between”, both measuring 38” by 50”, silk-screened and within a special color edition of prints that will be exhibited during FWY’s show- Inner Visions in Between. Sold exclusively through FWY’s online store, the prints go on sale today.

Sunset # 5 is in an edition of 24, featuring a large-scale rainbow gradient within a dot pattern. The print is an experiment and exploration of a gradient conveying an illusion of a sunset. Zoomed in the work becomes a magical rainbow dot pattern made with the number 5. Its purpose is to create an effect that the viewer can interact with by playing with distance. Depending on how close or far you are form the print, the work evolves and changes before your eyes.

In Between is featured in two color-ways- gray or white, both in an edition of 12. The print represents a mascot for finding yourself in between the lines and within the pattern.
FWY brings life to the pattern by creating a figurative story inside the piece. Within the artists’ theme of reflection, the viewer can utilize this print as a self-expressive mirror.

Purchase yours here!

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“Power” to benefit The Art of Elysium

Friendship — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:23:26 +0000

The Art of Elysium is a non-profit organization founded in 1997, which encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions. The organization is dedicated to enriching the lives of critically ill children via the arts. FriendsWithYou is proud to collaborate with such an astounding program.

Art of Elysium is hosting the 6th annual “Pieces of Heaven Art Auction” to benefit the fine arts program- Elysium Project. FWY has donated the unique piece entitled “Power” to the auction, happening via Paddle8 silent auction and live from the Ace Museum by Christie’s LA on Wednesday, February 20th. The piece being donated is engineered to bring its owner exactly what it claims- Power! The artists feel that people who participate in the action of healing others deserve good energy power. The piece also symbolizes the struggle of “Power” when facing sickness. Other artists participating include Alvaro Ilizarbe, Bert Rodriguez, Terence Koh, Shepard Fairey, Cheryl Pope, Dennis Oppenheim, among many others. To preview and bid on the 2013 auction works, please visit Paddle8.

Online bidding opened on Feb 1st, and will be available on Paddle8 until February 20th at 12pm EST. Online bids will transfer to the live event on the 20th auctioned by Christie’s Los Angeles.

Follow The Art of Elysium and help us spread the word about this amazing cause!

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