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Reflection.

This is a time to reflect and be active and think about the state of the world and how we can make change happen and stick and … I guess most of you are in a similar emotional place right now. I can’t tell you how often I have started to write a longer post and then didn’t post it after all because honestly I am not sure if this is the way I can show my support best, in adding more words on the Internet.

You know where I stand and that I will never keep my hands idle in times of terror and greed and racism and brutal injustice delivered by the hands of the elected such as the a*hole in the White House and his minions and anyone else supporting any of these or similar beliefs.

Fuck them. There is land to be farmed and a world to be build for the future of our kids so that they still have one worth living once we’re done with it.

Have a nice weekend if you are working the fields with me. The second image of this post is a painting for you by Flaum van Kreuzen aptly titled „The end of a Superpower“. It’s all in there.

Flaum van Kreuzen: THE END OF A SUPERPOWER, 2020Lino printing color, acrylic paint, spraypaint, oil pastels, marker, marker fluid, polychromos pens on wood. 65 x 60 cm.

On the other side of the storm

I have carved these waves for over ten years, inspired by the grandmasters of the japanese woodcut like Hiroshige or Hokusai. This year I return a bit to these more straightforward and clean works, in an even more reduced color palette (one in the backgound plus the wood).

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORM
Part 2 of a series of 4 woodcuts
Wood, acrylic paint, 40 x 30 x 3 cm (2020)

This is from a series of original artworks I am creating for my ongoing collaboration with Geberit.

Fear no evil

Well you might have heard that amongst all the other things I am trying to do right now I am writing my book these days ... and that is a trip down memory lane, browsing through hard discs from the past. Just stumbled across a series of small woodcuts I did in 2011 and this one kind of fits the mood. All I can say is - stay positive, stay healthy, we'll get through this only without fear, prejudices and panic, but with consideration, understanding and kindness.

I made my first woodcuts 10 years ago and compared to my work today they were pretty simple and straightforward. Thinking about doing some more straightforward pieces now, not sure yet. If you are an artist you might want to use this time to look back at older work too, it can be inspiring and there is no rush at the moment anyway ... ❤️

Places I write ...

So yeah, there is a lot of writing these days. I really prefer to write up north in the old farm house in (what I call) #cowboyland, but I still spend a lot of my time in Hamburg and yes, it is pretty great here in my studio at heliumcowboy as well, so I try to get some pages done here too.

Chapter one to three are ready, I am pleased with the flow of things and couldn't be happier for being able to write down my story, well the story of Alex Diamond. The book will be a big and beautiful art book, of course, but it will also be an autobiography, which is a great honor to be able to write and the experience of going back so many years and remember all those moments and stories is just beautiful .

This will take a longer time, for sure. And the gallery will not be as busy as before, during this period at least. But I'll keep doing the podcast and my art and might also be working with a few artists so there will always be something to look at and / or talk about at heliumcowboy - you are of course welcome to check in.

We plan something for April 3, when there is the next "Rundgang" of the Galerien in der Neustadt . Also Melvin might be up to something, so stay tuned.

Thank you for supporting me and everything that heliumcowboy stands for!

hugs/Jörg

PS: The book will be designed by Jan Müller-Wiefel and published by Gudberg Nerger Verlag. We are aiming for summer/fall 😉

PPS: This is not an advertisement 'cos I pay for my shit, but the shirt I am wearing is the 25 year anniversary shirt of the legendary RIDER’S ROOM in Hamburg (a colab with Pike Brothers Superior Garments ), so shoutout to Sven and Olli and the whole team for keeping it tight since 1995 ...

First “Daily Drawing” on a T-shirt - orders close March 11!

Here it is: The first work from the series "The Daily Drawings of Alex Diamond" on a T-shirt! Special "reverse white" edition on black, navy, grey and blue.

You can get it here: https://everpress.com/alex-diamond-circles

And here is how it works:

You have a limited time (until March 11) to select and order your T-shirt on the Everpress website! Afterwards they get printed and shipped to you. Once orders are closed this exact edition will not be reprinted.

Some background: From the 100 "Daily Drawings" I did last year I picked this one to be the first to be featured on a T-shirt. It's an adaptation of course - the original is drawn with blue ink (see image) and I made a "negative" single-color version for this print.

This is artist Jens Rausch's favorite drawing of the series, it is also the cover of the first catalogue and I hope you love its simplicity and depth as much as Jens & I do.

Happy New Year and the final drawings ...

Allright. So here we are, the year 2020 is pretty young, and so I think a Happy New Year is still in order! ❤️

Here’s a little update on last years’ project “The Daily Drawings of Alex Diamond”: I finished drawing number 100 in December 2019. I might continue with something similar in 2020, we’ll see, but this part of the project is closed now.

There's been a lot of requests lately, and most of them are gone now. This is humbling and beautiful, and in case you still want one - here is what is left (status while writing this post), and here you can find all 100 of them.

I will however produce the 2nd mini catalogue shortly (Nr. 1 was from drawing #001 – #050, Nr. 2 will be from #051 – #100). I took the liberty to frame them all and change the price a bit: they are 99 € (framed and with free catalogue Volume 1).

Still way too cheap if you ask me, except maybe for the number #100! If you want that - that’ll be 999 €.

Why? Well, because it is and alway will be the rarest one. 😉

Charley and The Farmer

ALEX-DIAMOND_THE-FARMER_WOODCUT-ACRYLICPAINT_40x30-cm_2019191203unbenannt0269-Bearbeitet.jpg

ALEX-DIAMOND_CHARLEY-WOODCUT-ACRYLICPAINT_40x30-cm_2019191203unbenannt0272-Bearbeitet.jpg

Most likely the last two woodcuts of 2019. It has been a challenging year, an interesting year, good in so many ways but too busy in so many others. Well.

Here you go with “Charley” (right) and “The Farmer” (left), both 47 x 37 x 5 cm in size, and shown for the first time at the group exhibition “I bought my wifa a painting for Christmas but all she really wanted were Jewels and Pearls” at heliumcowboy (Dec 6, 2019 – Jan 31, 2020), featuring Winnie Truong (CA), Jaybo Monk (FR), Victor Castillo (Chile), Jens Rausch (DE), Rune Christensen (DK), Jon Todd (CA), Fabian Wolf (DE), Various & Gould (DE) and Rasmus Rinhack (DK).

info on the show

New Series of work and final exhibitions 2019

Alex Diamond: Philomena (2019) Woodcut and acrylic paint, 100 x 7 x 3 cm — Alex Diamond: Philomena (2019)
Woodcut and acrylic paint, 100 x 7 x 3 cm

Just presented the first three works of my new series at the exhibition “X Jahre Kunst in Hamburg” at the Affenfaust Galerie in Hamburg, next to the beautiful paintings of Jens Rausch.

Next exhibition is at the heliumcowboy gallery opening December 6, 2019, featuring work by Winnie Truong, Various & Gould, Rasmus Rinhack, Jaybo Monk, Fabian Wolf, Victor Castillo, Jens Rausch, Rune Christensen and Jon Todd.

Work in progress

Exhibition views “X Jahre Kunst in Hamburg” at Affenfaust Galerie Nov 2019

Philomena | new series of woodcuts (WIP)

A little update from my new series ... the special and new thing with this one is that I am working really colorful and that I am using my woodcutting technique to bring out different layers of colors in the work itself after I’ve painted over it .. well, it may not make sense in words, but then again most art doesn’t, so I hope these pictures help.

I am going to show the first few works of this series at "X Jahre Kunst in Hamburg"** Nov 14-17 at the Affenfaust Galerie in Hamburg (Vernissage Nov 14 at 7 pm).⠀⠀

** [ "X Jahre Kunst in Hamburg" is an annual group show of several Hamburg art galleries in the huge space of the Affenfaust Galerie . I will show with heliumcowboy alongside my dear friend Jens Rausch. Other galleries in the show:Feinkunst Krüger, Galerie Kai Erdmann, heliumcowboy, Galerie Oel-Früh, xpon-art, Oberfett, Evelyn Drewes I Galerie, Gudberg Nerger Gallery, Affenfaust Galerie ]

Study of a cowboy

Study - woodcut, acrylic paint (40 x 30 cm) © Alex Diamond / Jörg Heikhaus

A study of a Cowboy for a new direction of woodcuts/paintings I am working on. I am really happy with where this is going so far. Now it is time to start with the larger format and see where it takes me. ⠀
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Some people may wonder why my work varies a lot between series. There is a 100% similar handwriting, but still, I am exploring new ways a lot. ⠀
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Simple reason: curiosity. Bundled with my dedication and passion, it lets me search for different paths quite often. And at the end of the day, the only person my process has to satisfy is me.⠀
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I still hope you like it ;)

Latest works

I have finished some new work lately, it is great to be at the studio again.
If you are interested in these woodworks, please visit either heliumcowboy.com/store or get in touch with heliumcowboy.

Think of me only when you dance (2019) Acrylic on wood / woodcut 50 x 30 cm — Think of me only when you dance (2019)
Acrylic on wood / woodcut
50 x 30 cm

Come away with me (2019) Acrylic on wood / woodcut 50 x 30 cm — Come away with me (2019)
Acrylic on wood / woodcut
50 x 30 cm

Monkey eyes (2019) Acrylic on wood / woodcut 40 x 30 cm — Monkey eyes (2019)
Acrylic on wood / woodcut
40 x 30 cm

Current exhibition: We're still here (Group)

Some of my work is currently part of the group exhibition "We're still here" at the heliumcowboy gallery in Hamburg, featuring: Mercedes Helnwein, Ben Venom, Mikael Takács, Jens Rausch, Victor Castillo, Boris Hoppek, Jordy Kerwick, Henning Kles, Jaybo Monk, Rune Christensen, David Shillinglaw, Bene Rohlmann, Hyland Mather and Jon Todd.

All the artwork can be found on the artsy portfolio of heliumcowboy.
I've recorded a special episode of my heliumTALK Podcast live at the opening (german), you can find it on iTunes, spotify or heliumtalk.com

Exhibition is on display until May 17, send me a message if you want to take a look.

Consolidating my social media and great photos by Jo Fischer

This is one off the photos my friend Jo Fischer shot recently when he visited me in at my farmhouse up north in my own personal #cowboyland … Jo truly is a remarkable photographer.

But I’d like to say something else with this series of images (2 more below) …

I am making some changes to my social media channels, it is just too much to post to AlexDiamond-heliumcowboy-heliumtalk on facebook-instagram-twitter all the f***ing time … that is unhealthy. I think. So I decided to consolidate all this and post mostly on the @heliumcowboy instagram from now on.

Don’t worry, it’s all gonna be there: All the gallery news and artists work, all the new podcasts, my art, my woodworking, my tractor, my public life … so if you don’t already - please follow me on @heliumcowboy⠀

The @alexxxdiamond account on instagram will stay, sure, but it will be a portfolio of my work. Let’s see if my life gets easier. And thank you if you’ve read all the way down to here.

First "Daily Drawings"-Fanzine released

Here it is - the first volume of my Daily Drawings project. I want to print a fanzine every 50 drawings. They are limited, and you can pick them up at the heliumcowboy gallery or order them online here on this page.

"The Daily Drawings of Alex Diamond"
Volume I (drawings 1 - 50)

15 x 15 cm, 28 pages (120 g/m3 offset)
Edition of 250

signed

New label for Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei

Always happy like a little child on Christmas when I hold one of the beers by Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei with a new label created by me in my hands! The latest one is for FOFFTEIN, a blonde Ale that Oliver Wesseloh created jointly with Dominik Großefeld, the owner of the legendary St. Pauli bar Silbersack as their house brew.

It is the most-Hamburg-related label I created for Kehrwieder so far, and I am superhappy with the result. And the beer is super nice as well, as always with the beers that master brewer and beer artist Oliver produces!

Enjoy responsibly!

Hands and carburetor by my buddy Mario Kleinschmidt / Kleinschmidt Kustoms.

Daily Drawings | Meditations on Paper

A project to calm me down and to reset my hyper active days. Instead of meditating I stop everything I do, (literally) disconnect myself and get my mind free for a little bit of time (almost) every day by taking up pencil and paper for a short time. The result are these little drawings, all 19 x 18.5 cm in size.

And the best part: they are all for sale here - way below my usual price range. Because once they are done, I want to let them go: check my little online store for available pieces here.