Fresh work in the studio. Made some good progress recently on a new series, working title „r.evol.ution“. It might still change though. Everything is in a state of flux.
All in preperation for an installation planned for the upcoming exhibition “in other words: <_blank>” opening May 8 at heliumcowboy (in Hamburg and online).
In times like these turning to nature it is a great way to calm the nerves a bit. At least for me. Here’s a woodcut I finished a few days ago showing a topographical view (or adaptation rather) of a small stretch of the Danube river, in the „young“ course of this waterway. There is mist along the shore, clinging to the trees and the embankment. Which gives the work its title: „Misty“.
It is part of the collection of woodcuts I am creating for Geberit.
And it kinda works. The sabbatical I mean. From Instagram. I am not really thinking about it and have managed to focus better on my upcoming exhibition in May. I have a strong concept now and need to work out how to present it. It will integrate the space, it will be radical, and is still a lot of work to complete until it opens in less than two months, but hey, everything else would be boring, right?
Just a little bit of background why I am currently not on Social Media. I haven’t been on Facebook since 2019, and now it is time for me to take a sabbatical from Instagram too.
- March 10, 2021 -
Hey. I need a break.
No worries, I’ll be back shortly, just need a personal moment, and we all know there is no way escaping this mess if the App on your phone stares at you and cries for attention like a baby. Hell, often it’s even quite fun being in this time-/energy-consuming and creativity-exploiting capitalistic trap we call „social“ media. But if there is one thing my day long #instagramtakeover of the @heliumcowboy account - which I took dead serious and worked passionately all day on - showed me, than it’s that I really should take some time off of it for real … like a vacation, or even a therapy you might say.
I know many people still see me as the gallerist who is great at marketing and business and shit and some won’t even accept that I am no longer that, probably also because heliumcowboy is still so close to me which weirdly enough is still frowned upon after at least a century of artist-run galleries. But I couldn’t even give a single fuck about this opinion, cos it’s only that - an opinion, subjective and prejudiced. What few might believe is that it is extremely exhausting and often hurtful to run full force against windmills for close to two decades, and that this I-got-it-all-covered-and-under-control person I can be is not there all the time. Most and foremost I have been an artist since I can think, and now that I managed to free myself from the business side and just want to embrace not being a dealer anymore, there are new barricades in the way that I first need to figure out how to kick to the ground.
What I am trying to say with all this is that a few things have reached and kind of attacked my, hmmm, more touchier side lately, and that I need to take better care and protect myself for the sake of creating the art that is still in me after all these miles I made on both sides of the art world for such a fucking long time.
I have to concentrate on some meaningful new pieces, find a strong direction for my next exhibition (May 8), get projects done that really matter, find another gallery that is seriously interested (and only that!) in working with me, continue to write my book (release moved to 2022) and dig deep into the restoration of our 260+ year old farmhouse. I have to keep my strength for what is really important right now and take a long, deep breath.
Don’t worry, I am all good. But I need some silence and peace for a bit.
You can always reach me, I have a phone number and a vintage but very active email-address (studio@alexdiamond.net), I have a great website (www.alexdiamond.net), so I am never really far. And most likely it’s only gonna be a few days, you won’t even notice.
Big hugs, stay vigilant and off your phone from time to time.
Jörg aka Alex-too-many-things-Diamond.
Here’s the full artist talk from my heliumcowboy-lockdown-exhibition „einblick“ Feb 26 - March 11.
I also did a 24-hour instagram-takeover of the heliumcowboy account - go check it out (in highlights and posts)
Enjoy!
I am very excited to be part of Melvin’s new heliumcowboy-lockdown-exhibition-project „einblick“ - every week there is a new show with a different artist in the windows of the heliumcowboy gallery, starting Friday’s with a live-opening (Zoom & Facebook).
I freshly created 34 drawings for this exhibition, all very spontaneous but heartfelt explorations, all honest and blunt, some angry, some political, and some even vagely romantic.
This small video here is just a fast forward preview, the originals will be online Friday. Hope you can join Melvin and me for our talk live from the gallery, starting a 8:15 pm. Links in my profile here and of course over at heliumcowboy . Please spread the word, I love to see you all again, even though it is just through the wire!
Vernissage: Fr 26.02., 20.15 Uhr
https://zoom.us/j/95854608761
(Kenncode: einblick, Meeting-ID: 958 5460 8761)
“LIfe Goals”, ink on paper, 29,7 x 21 cm (2021)
check availabiliy here
I have been asked recently why there is not more new work online this year. I guess a lot of people are assuming that as an artist there is not much to do these day but be in the studio and churn out new pieces.
Well. I doubt that is applicable to every artist. Definitely not to me. The whole lockdown situation with homeschooling is taking a major toll. And while I love nothing more than spending time with my young son, you don’t get any work done when trying to support your kid while school and politics are failing in doing a proper job in this crisis. I know, this is a bit too general as well, I am sure there are teachers out there giving everything to help their students. Not in our case though, sorry.
But that is only a part of the reason why I am not spending every workday in the studio. There is the issue of transitioning the gallery to my oldest son, Melvin. He is in tough spot as well, considering the difficult situation he is in with not being able to show art at the physical space in Hamburg. He now moved most of it to the online world, but I am currently building him new moveable walls so he can make exhibitions in the windows. He has an exciting plan for this, it is going to be good! However, being the carpenter and builder in our set up, I am working a lot in the wood-workshop now too (which I just optimized in the beginning of the year, it’s a beauty to work there now! It is not all bad ;))
Then there are a lot of (art) projects I am working on, for my partners at Geberit and the Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei for example, and also I have two bigger shows coming up this year, that need preparation. I still have to find a way to squeeze in my writing for the book, and yes, my farm in the countryside is another thing that needs a lot of attention this year, with some part of it in desperate need of repair and redevelopment. That house is very, very old.
I did not yet mention my podcast heliumTALK. But … well. That is an issue for a separate update, as I am not sure that it is really necessary any longer, with the digital overload of the times and new conversation platforms rising (such as Clubhouse for example). I need to think on that one a bit more.
I don’t need to get into the part of my life that is private, my family, my taking care of them and being the cook and handyman and loving father and such, and how I manage to get some hardcore fight workouts somewhere into this schedule, but let me just say this: I usually get up at 5. I dig into computer work right away with a cat and a coffee on my lap on the sofa, still in my pajamas. And after a looooong day I fall to sleep exactly five minutes after I go to bed, which can be anytime between 10:30 pm and way past midnight, depending on the workload …
The update about my art? I recently started one large work in my Hamburg studio. It is going to be big and it will take a few weeks to complete. And I also took out pens and paper again so I can do some drawings in between, because those are perfect for me to get into the zone when time is scarce.
If anything is available to acquire, it will be in the artwork section on heliumcowboy’s online portfolio here. Or just contact Melvin. I also updated this website with a lot of my current and earlier and vintage works on paper.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay sane, stay radical and anti fascist and help those in need wherever it is possible for you. And keep in touch, I love hearing from you all.
Jörg aka Alex Diamond aka FvK ;)
Exhibition view. To view the show: Click image.
My first exhibition this year is titled ROOTS and it is obviously different like everything else … I am showing at the Vinothek of long time friends and partners from Weingut Tesch, and while my artwork is really there it will be tricky (but not impossible) to see it live. But there’s an interactive 360 degree view of the show so you can experience it from your home office or couch or … check: weingut-tesch.de/roots . The exhibition is curated by Melvin / heliumcowboy.
I am really looking forward to the online opening on February 3rd (8:15 pm), I will be in my studio and Martin Tesch in the exhibition and we will talk (in German) about my work, you can hang out with us live on instagram, Facebook and YouTube. You can of course also purchase the art online.
Click to see the virtual tour.
If you didn’t know already, this vinery is very different from most others, Martin Tesch is very close with German Punk heroes Die Toten Hosen, producing their tour wines for a very long time now, and he is also the supplier of the official wine of the Wacken Festival. Martin is the Rockstar among winemakers and he is known to support progressive culture, like he is supporting heliumcowboy for close to a decade now.
With this exhibition he is bringing a few other partners that are all connected to the virtual table as well: there will be online tastings with Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei, whose label artist I am since 2014, and with Uerige Hausbrauerei from Düsseldorf, who are brewing collaboration beers with Kehrwieder and the Toten Hosen. There is a wine/beer package you can order for these tastings at the Tesch-website.
So, please support the arts, support the small manufacturers of beer and wine, and generally enjoy different cultural and sensory experiences while being in lock down.
If you know me you know how much I like a well done artist website, more than I like instagram profiles and such, cos you know, a website is like a house you build and that you own, but of course it needs a lot of attention to be kept in shape.
I lacked this necessary attention a bit these past months, but that is only because I spend all my time in the studio working on new pieces for my upcoming solo-exhibition with heliumcowboy in Hamburg this June. Thsi exhibition will be my largest ever (so far), and there is a lot (a lot!) of space in the beautiful Barlach Halle K where it tales place.
Also there was the work I made for another upcoming exhibition: in New Orleans with the fabulous Mortal Machine Gallery in May, but those pieces have been crated and shipped and already arrived in April. So that’s done.
So let this be a short post, mainly with the dates of my exhibitions, I really hope to see you there! For daily updates please visit my instagram … (yeah I know 😂).
Hope you are all great, despite the insanely shitty times, I’ll try to condense some of the anger and frustration and hope and hate and love and general shit that is happening in the world and to our society in my work, like the good old punk cowboy you know me for.
DATES:
Memory Patinas (group)
at Mortal Machine Gallery, New Orleans
feat. Drew Leshko, Albert Reyes, TMRWLND, Alex Schaefer, Alex Diamond
Opening May 13
It’s all good (solo)
with heliumcowboy artspace
at the Barlach Halle K, Hamburg
June 6–13.
open daily 12–6
Special events:
June 6: Soft opening
June 10: Vernissage
June 11: Finissage with Concert
More to be announced - see heliumcowboy.com and/or their instagram for details.
“Harmony” | woodcut - wood, acrylic paint. 30 x 40 cm. 12/2020
Not much to say yet. Too early. But it is all good - looking forward to this brand new year, looking back grateful for how it all turned out despite a f***ed up 2020, and always staying positive.
Love you all, thanks for stopping by, for the endless support and appreciation of my work.
First show of the year opens already this January at Weingut Tesch - find out more here.
Click image to go straight to the online store. This is a timed edition, so all orders must be made before December 13 at midnight (german time).
When I was thinking about releasing one last print for this messed up year, I didn’t have to look far: Personally I feel that my Flaum van Kreuzen (FvK) painting “The end of a superpower” is most likely the artwork that kind of captured 2020 the best, if you can put it like that.
Why? Well. My work process in the FvK project is one I describe as „irreversible decision making“, and “purely honest, unpretentious, unintentional and unfiltered" (you can read my full FvK artist statement here), so the result is never planned but influenced by chance and the time spend on the work itself and the things that happen etc.
“The end of a superpower” was only the fourth artwork of the project and the first for which I “constructed” a wooden base (= loosely connected some wood that was lying around the workshop in a totally random way). I smashed things, I tore things off again, I even threw parts of this in the fire pit, I painted layers on layers, rough and wild and in a punk rock kind of way, before I finally scratched the words of the title into the still wet spray paint and printing color because it reminded me of a well known flag. But the title was not just aimed at the self destruction of the United States under the idiot Donald Trump and his braindead minions. It is also a reference to what happened in general in our world this year, with the pandemic (at least initially) affecting everyone regardless of their position on the food chain or their role in suppressing the poor, exploiting capitalism and the general destruction of the world.
So yeah, there is a lot of anger and compassion in this one, after all, even though it was created in a flow that turned from experimental to free jazz to punk to hardcore death metal in a few days.
It is also one of these ominous artworks that a lot of collectors are drawn to when they are looking for a signature piece of an artist or a new series by one. Needless to say it was also one of these works in the show this September that could have been sold 10 times - after the red dot was sticking next to it. I personally believe there is some truth in this, but also a lot of psychology. I think a bunch of the other pieces in that exhibition should have registered as iconic as well (not just but “No monkey’s in this picture” for example is a very important work too).
So. All of this combined is why I felt this one should become a print.
And that you can buy online now at heliumcowboy as part of their Christmas-Print Special.
VERY IMPORTANT THOUGH: It is a timed edition. This means that you can only oder it until Dec 13 (Sunday) at midnight (german time). The amount of orders defines the total edition number. And after that deadline this work will NEVER EVER be reproduced or offered as any kind of edition ever again.
So. What are you waiting for:
Specifics:
Archival Pigment Print on 320 gsm Hahnemühle William Turner Fine Art Paper
36 x 39 cm
Signed and numbered
THE END OF A SUPERPOWER, 2020
Lino printing color, acrylic paint, spraypaint, oil pastels, marker, marker fluid, polychromos pens on wood. In handmade artist frame. 69 x 64 cm
I’ve created a small group of apparently angry beasts for the 15th edition of the annual super-exhibition “Don’t Wake Daddy” at Feinkunst Krüger Gallery in Hamburg. This is the biggest Low Brow-exhibition in Europe, and the artist line-up is full with insanely great talent:
Alexandra Lukaschewitz, Ana Juan, Aniela Sobieski, Andrey Klassen, Anthony Pontius, Brad Woodfin, Brian Serway, Caitlin McCormack, Claudia Six, Dewi Plass, Dolce Paganne, Elmar Lause, Erlend Tait, Ewa Pronczuk-Kuziak, Fred Stonehouse, Gregory Hergert, Hazel Ang, Heiko Müller, Jason Limon, John Casey, Kisung Koh, Marc Burckhardt, Marco Wagner, Marcus Schäfer, Mario Maplé, Miriam Zadil, Martin Nill, moki, Naive John, Pamela Tait, Paul Neberra, Susanne König, Stig Bergas and Tripper Dungan.
Honored to be part of this again! The exhibition is curated by Heiko Müller and Ralf Krüger.
Even though it is tricky times you should visit the gallery - it is open Thursday – Saturday 12 – 7 pm, and aditionally December 21 - 23 from 12 – 6 pm (or get in touch). You can also check out more information and images through the website of the gallery and download a pdf with the exhibited artwork here (7,3 mb PDF).
Photos by Julia Schwendner / thisisjulia.de
Alright. That was it. There is a change in management, not just in the US of A, but also here in Hamburg at heliumcowboy. I am back to only being an artist again, and no matter how much I loved building the gallery, it is a fucking relief. Here’s why:
This November I am handing over the reins to of the gallery to my son Melvin. I founded the heliumcowboy artspace back in 2002 but am resigning now from all my operative gallery work after almost two decades, so I can focus solely on my work as an artist. Melvin is now the new gallerist on the Ranch, and I couldn’t be any prouder: The exhibition „Hurry up please, it’s time“ that opens this weekend (Nov 14 & 15) is the first exhibition he curates in his new position.
Stepping back from my leading role at heliumcowboy has been my plan for a few years already, because running two full time jobs at the same time has always been very tough. So now I am finally again concentrating only on my art, which I create under the name of Alex Diamond since 2004 (and most recently with my Flaum Van Kreuzen-project). Looking back, my art was at the foundation of heliumcowboy all along: In 2002 I began to make exhibitions in my new artist studio in Hamburg St. Pauli, which I eventually turned into the internationally acclaimed gallery heliumcowboy … most of you probably know the story. It’s a good one, and it feels great to look back.
In 2016, Melvin assisted me for the first time setting up and executing an exhibition. With the 15-years anniversary show „Cowboyland“ in 2017 he came on board more permanently and has been my right-hand man for most of the shows at the gallery and on fairs since.
He is ready now to take on the whole business with a set of fresh eyes and new ideas for the art world. I will help out only with strategic issues if needed, but apart from that Melvin (22) is now most likely the youngest gallerist in town - and the new Head Honcho on the Ranch, to stick with our heliumcowboy lingo.
I hope you all will support him in this big new task ahead. Make sure to help keep a vibrant gallery scene alive by visiting the shows, spreading the word and of course by buying art.
Love and hugs
Jörg
PS: “Hurry up please, it’s time”, Melvin’s „inaugural“ exhibition as the gallerist of heliumcowboy opens this weekend (Saturday, November 14 from 2 – 8 pm and Sunday, November 15 from 12 – 5 pm). Unfortunately the times don’t allow for a big celebration, but you can book a timeslot at heliumcowboy.com/booking to make sure to congratulate him personally.
November 3, 2020
Allright, it’s time for another politically infused (or rather inflamed) painting, this one here is a brand new Flaum van Kreuzen that I have been working on and off for some weeks now, aptly titled
NO FLAG
and still unavailable at the moment, as I am not sure if I will continue working on it after the coming night. It might need more rage, but maybe it also needs a bit more healing powers, let’s see how it all goes down on this rough day. One good thing about my van Kreuzen-project is that there are no other goals for these works than the process of creation itself. If that makes sense.
Now dear people with their brains still attached to the values of humanity and democracy - go put an end to the shit show. The world deserves a break.
Or better: Why?
It is all here, at this link.
Inaugural group exhibition
ANDERSEN
SCHRADER
VAN KREUZEN
at heliumcowboy, September 5 - October 17, 2020
This video shows the new catalgue we published with heliumcowboy - the very first ever of the work of Flaum van Kreuzen. You can buy it online here.
Video from the exhbition (fast forward)
heliumcowboy goes fully abstract - with three heavyweights of the game, starring danish painter Morten Andersen, Hamburg based shooting star Paul Schrader and Jörg Heikhaus‘ latest side project Flaum van Kreuzen.
Three very different positions in one space, all strong, passionate, emotional and engaging in their very own way.
Together with Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei I launch a special edition print on FRIDAY, August 7th, starting at 10 am. You can get it online, of course, but if in Hamburg - heliumcowboy is open Friday from 10 am - 6 pm.
ABOUT THE EDITION:
Special silk screen print edition celebrating friendship - and alcohol free craft beer. It is exclusively available as standalone print at the heliumcowboy online store and the gallery, or packed into an 18-bottles ü.NN-beer box at shop.kehrwieder.beer (or directly at the brewery). In connection with the beer, the print is reduced in price (10 € less). The proceeds from the complete print run will be shared between Kehrwieder & heliumcowboy because, you know, as friends more than business partners we support each other.
The artwork is an adaption of the label created by Alex Diamond for ü.NN, the celebrated and award winning alcohol free beer of the Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei in Hamburg.
It is called „Hoppy waters“ and was printed in an edition of 80. There are 6 additional prints available that are hand embellished by the artist (see below). You can purchase them online and at the gallery as well.
Print details:
Edition of 80
Paper size: 30 x 24 cm
3-color silkscreen print on Canson Edition
320 g/qm paper
Signed & numbered by the artist
Embossed with the artists’ seal
We are almost ready to launch the ü.NN-print edition! From August 7 you will be able to purchase my newest silkscreen print either inside a box of the best alcohol free beer on the planet (ü.NN by Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei) via the brewery or just the print through us. More details soon!
In the video I am embellishing one of the prints by drawing over them. I did that with six of the additional prints, and these will be offered as well Aug 7, if you are looking for that extra special special edition …
