In pictures: 13 D'Angelico guitars reimagined as works of art
Nick Walker working on his piece for the show
Introduction
New York's art-keen Quin Hotel has hosted artists and musicians plenty of times before, but its latest exhibit combines the two, showcasing 13 D'Angelico guitars reimagined by a host of renowned artists.
Each of the artists has collaborated with the hotel in the past, but here, they were challenged to use a D'Angelico guitar as their canvas.
For those of you unable to get to New York in time to catch the guitars, we're lucky enough to be able to host the next-best thing: a gallery of the guitars and brief description of the artists' work - click on through for a closer look.
The exhibition runs through to mid-January but some of the collection will be permanently included in the Quin's art collection.
To see the guitars in person or for more info, head over to the Quin Hotel.
D'Angelico guitars was of course founded in New York in the early 1900s, but has seen a revival in recent years with the launch of several well-received models, including the semi-acoustic EX-DC Standard.
Eric Zener
Photo-realist painter Eric Zener, who served as artist-in-residence at the Quin in 2014, is represented in the group show with a guitar drawing inspiration from his series of paintings illustrating people or objects submerged in water.
Zener referred to the work in the D’Angelico group show as, “The ‘sound’ of art.”
Nick Walker
Nick Walker, an acclaimed street artist from the UK who has twice served as artist-in-residence at the Quin, is among the artists participating in the group show. His reimagining of a D’Angelico guitar blended the conception of musical notes as numbers.
Walker commented, “The curves of the numbers really leant themselves to the shape of the guitar and almost resembled notes - only in number form.” After all, he added, “Everything is based on numbers.”
ABOVE (Tavar Zawacki)
International street artist Tavar Zawacki, best known to his fans as ABOVE, participated in the global street art series at the Quin hotel in July of 2016 as artist-in-residence.
Quin Arts curator DK Johnston comments, “ABOVE has distinguished himself from many of his peers in the street art community with a move from figurative expression to geometric abstraction. He’s really one of the only artists in the street art movement speaking with this style of voice. And what’s more, he’s always thinking upwards, with an optimism and enthusiasm that resonates through his art.”
In reimagining a D’Angelico Guitar, ABOVE applied his signature upwards arrows to full effect.
Pure Evil
Pure Evil (born Charles Uzzell Edwards in South Wales) has emerged as one of the leading British artists of the thriving international street art scene, exhibiting worldwide and launching the Pure Evil Gallery in London.
Pure Evil’s reimagining of a D’Angelico Guitar includes reference to his signature “Nightmare Series,” featuring doomed and dripping celebrity portraits. Why are they crying? “It’s an illustration of the heartbreak and sadness we have all experienced in relationships in the past,” he comments.
ASVP
The Brooklyn-based street art duo known as ASVP began working as a team in 2008, developing a unique, hand drawn, multi-layered graphic style, often marrying iconic eastern and western imagery with recurring nods to advertising, pop and comic book culture.
The duo drew on their use of western imagery with an evocative guitar-strumming cowboy for their contribution to the D’Angelico group show at the Quin.
ASVP’s work has been showcased internationally in auction houses and galleries, including Doyle New York’s Street Art Auction and Doyle’s Annual Contemporary Sale and most recently at the 2015 Art Basel Festival in Switzerland. Their “Make Your Own Luck” exhibition at the Quin debuted in October of 2015.
Mando Marie
Amanda Marie, or simply “Mando” to her peers and rapidly growing base of fans and collectors, is a U.S. born artist known both for her large-scale stencil street art and her refined gallery work.
Mando, who served as artist-in-residence at the Quin in June of 2015, employs a vast visual language of graphic stencil imagery that she has been building on for more than a decade. Hallmark attributes include the use of images of children and animals, often as twin or repeated patterns, for a signature aesthetic that’s instantly recognizable.
In reimaging a D’Angelico Guitar for the group show at the Quin, she applied an image evocative of the Golden Books era.
Robert Christian Malmberg
Photographer Robert Christian Malmberg’s distinctive approach in blending older technology with contemporary subject matter has earned the New York-based photographer an international following for both commercial and fine photography.
Malmberg, who exhibited at the Quin in March of 2015, will return with a March 2017 exhibition focused on his “neon” series. He offered a glimpse of the new theme in his work for the D’Angelico group show, adorning the guitar with images shot on expired film for a compelling, grainy sensibility.
SP38
SP38 is a French street artist, painter, and performer who has been based in Berlin for the past 20 years. He papers the walls of his city, and many others across the globe, with what he calls “urban poetry.”
For his September, 2015 exhibition at the Quin, SP38 mixed silk-printing and painting techniques applied on posters. He applied his iconic, text-based work to a D’Angelico Guitar for the current group show.
The London Police
The Amsterdam-based street-art duo known as The London Police epitomize both the evolution of the street art form and the increased attention it continues to garner.
Known for their iconic LADS characters and precision marking, The London Police have celebrated more than 10 strong years in the art world and their work has graced streets and galleries in 35 countries during this time.
Following their August 2016 exhibition at the Quin, the duo is represented once again at the hotel with a striking contribution to the D’Angelico Guitar group show.
Wulf Treu
Renowned German artist Wulf Treu was born in Potsdam, Germany and grew up in East Berlin, before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Treu escaped from his strict upbringing and an oppressive regime through the pursuit of his art and by fleeing to West Berlin. He has gone on to live and work in London, Johannesburg, New York, and Miami and has exhibited his work in prominent galleries and collections in major cities around the world.
Wulf Treu’s art straddles the line between abstract and figurative and his May 2015 exhibition at the Quin was titled, “Figurative Destruction.”
This combination of figurative and abstract work is carried forward on Treu’s treatment of a D’Angelico Guitar for the current group show at the Quin.
Blek le Rat
The Quin welcomed Blek le Rat as its artist in residence in fall of 2014 with an exhibit titled, “Blek le Rat | Escaping Paris.”
Widely recognized as the “Father of stencil graffiti,” Xavier Prou first rose to prominence under the pseudonym, Blek le Rat, in Paris in the 1980s. Inspired by the early graffiti of the 1970s in New York City, Prou’s iconic work rapidly spread throughout Paris and Europe.
Today, Blek le Rat is celebrated globally and is credited for having paved the way for street artists such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and Kaws.
For the D’Angelico Group show at the Quin, photographer Robert Christian Malmberg celebrated Blek le Rat by applying his portrait to the guitar, using Malberg’s “Wet Plate Collodion” process.
Mindy Linkous
Acclaimed impressionist painter Mindy Linkous is known for her distinctive brush stroke and her entree into collage and vibrant use of color, evident in her contribution to the D’Angelico Guitar group show at the Quin.
Mindy has had solo exhibitions at Capri South Beach, Moraya Bay Naples, and The Workshop, Wynwood. Mindy has received high acclaim including the NY Intentional Art Festival First Place Grand Jury Winner and has sold works at International art shows including Scope Miami.
Alex Yanes
Whimsical and yet relatable, Alex Yanes' art embodies an innovative use of color and imaginative subject matter and speaks to collectors and new art lovers, alike.
Along with vivid colors, such as he used in reimagining a D’Angelico Guitar for the group show at the Quin, Alex uses bold outlines to define his intricate figures. His most recent works are multi-media, three dimensional images.
His work is now a staple in Miami's Wynwood art district and he has been taking his art across the U.S. and internationally, with upcoming shows planned in California, Germany, The United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil.
Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.