Showing posts with label Rolf Carl Werner (Swe). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rolf Carl Werner (Swe). Show all posts

Friday 12 October 2018

Sweet Toof back, with friends


If there is one thing Shoreditch has lacked in the past few years it is the regular sightings of shocking pink gums and pearly teeth from Sweet Toof, the last proper dental checkup around Brick Lane was a paste up bombing session with Insect in 2013.

Paul Insect, Sweet Toof
Paul Insect, Sweet Toof, 2013


Last Christmas a glorious selection of shutter paintings appeared in Dalston around the time of a joint exhibition with Rolf Carl Werner at the BSMT Space. The Graffoto review of that show (here) has a selection of some Sweet Toof street art classics and indeed it neatly makes the point that Sweet Toof loves a collaboration.

Sweet Toof 2017
Sweet Toof & Rolf Carl Wener, Dalston 2017


The link to BSMT is significant as last week at Moniker Art Fair (here) BSMT exhibited for the first time in an art fair environment and their eye catching display included work from the aforementioned molar magician.

BSMT Space, Moniker
BSMT Space, Moniker Art Fair 2018, feat Sweet Toof, A.CE, Skeleton Cardboard, Rocco and Brothers


Sweet Toof’s presence in the Brick Lane area has resulted in several spots receiving a new set of snappers starting at the top end with the Brick Lane Gallery now sporting a Salt Toof Beigel facade to match the famous Beigel shops opposite.

Sweet Toof
Sweet Toof


Skewville was also spotted hanging around Moniker Art Fair (here) and this is significant as Skewville and Sweet Toof have previously connected in London and NY with each hosting solo shows for t’other in their respective cities. Skewville’s “Slow Your Roll” show was held at High Roller Gallery (covered here) whilst Sweet Toof took a bite out of the big apple at Factory Fresh.

Skewville  "YO!  - YO backatcha" shutters DSC_4815
Skewville, "YO"/"YO" London 2011


factory fresh toofpaste
Sweet Toof, Dark Horse, New York 2012 - photo Luna Park


Brick Lane saw them collaborating on an old Sweet Toof spot, Skewville giving it a big New York “YO” over the full Sweet Toof set.

, Skewville
Sweet Toof, Skewville 2018


tn_DSC01409
Sweet Toof, Burning Candy, Brick Lane same spot olden times


Back in 2008 Sweet Toof turned a hostile fencing feature into a set or razor sharp incisors, which lasted into 2014 and has now been reclaimed.

Sweet Toof
Sweet Toof 2018


tn_DSC01407
Sweet Toof razor sharp 2007


Sweet Toof
Sweet Toof v. Pez & Nylon 2018


In years to come people will sigh wistfully as they recall seeing Sweet Toof, Pez and Nylon on the same wall in an alleyway.

The biggest buzz for a street art spotter comes in chancing upon a significant piece of street art by a favoured artist and turning into the alley leading into the Seven Stars Car Park on Tuesday this huge set of gnashers was found. The teeth are by Cash4 and Skewville, and it was news to us that Cash4 was in London.

Sweet Toof, Skewville, Cash4
Sweet Toof, Skewville, Cash4


The significance of this spot for Sweet Toof spotters is that this alley way was once grazed by a massive Lenny Highroller by Sweet Toof and his Burning Candy mates and this did last years.

tn_DSC01478
Sweet Toof, Burning Candy, Seven Stars 2007


SO Sweet Toof does some business reclaiming some old spots, collaborates with old friends and hooks up with NY muckers.  Meanwhile, Skewville's invasion of London was put to good use with some of his old spots getting a fresh pair of screen printed converses.  As always, look closely.

tn_DSC_1011 copy
Skewville, London 2018


Dentists recommend you get your teef checked once in a while and Sweet Toof’s Instagram reveals more molar imagery that has been added in East London locations this week, something to track down and check out.

Links

Sweet Toof instagram
Skewville instagram
BSMT Space website

Photos as noted:

Luna Park instagram
Dave Stuart instsagram

Wednesday 10 January 2018

"Cut and Run" Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner 2 Man Show

Cut and Run
Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner

BSMT Space
5d Stoke Newington Rd, Stoke Newington, London N16 8BH

14 Dec 2017 - 14 January 2018

All photos: Dave Stuart


Long time ago in a ghetto far far away, pink gums and teeth chomped sections of roof tops, walls and anything else they could get their bite into. Scarcely a murder, robbery or car crash in the East End of London lacked for gnashing teeth on the walls in the background of the news outside broadcast.

tn_DSC_4462


tn_BC-ON-THE-WAGGON-web copy
Burning Candy On The Waggon by Sweet Toof


And not to forget of course he was a core member of the brilliant, now late lamented Burning Candy crew.

tn_DSC_4230
Burning Candy - feat Sweet Toof, Cept, Gold Peg, Mighty Mo, DScreet


tn_Mighty Mo Cyclops Sweet Toof
Sweet Toof, Might Mo, Cyclops 


tn_DSC01146 copy
Sweet Toof, Cyclops, Rowdy; Westmoreland House, Bristol (feat Xenz in foreground)


tn_DSC01951 copy 2
Sweet Toof, Rowdy, Mighty Mo, Gold Peg; Hackney Wick


tn_DSC01988 copy
Sweet Toof, Tek 33, Mighty Mo, Gold Peg & others


tn_DSC01508
Sweet Toof, Mighty Mo, Shoreditch


Just before Christmas, a bright shiny star travelled a long way North and came to hover over three shutters and clearly said unto Sweet Toof... "Paint" and lo, he did, and a wall as well.

Sweet Toof 2017
Sweet Toof, Dalston, Dec 2017


Sweet Toof 2017
Sweet Toof, Dalston, Dec 2017


Sweet Toof 2017
Sweet Toof & Rolf Carl Werner, Dalston, Dec 2017


Just to pick a few bits out from between the teeth; there’s joy and wit in the appearance of the teeth and gums, a kind of cheeky devilish humour; it looks like Sweet Toof has a lot of fun getting up on walls


Sweet Toof, the artist behind those dental records tuned in, turned on and buggered off to a foreign wilderness but recently emerged back in London for a collaborative exhibition with Rolf Carl Werner at the BSMT space.

BSMT_Cut+and+Run+flyer_New
Show Flyer courtesy BSMT Space


Sweet Toof met Rolf Carl Werner in Sweden, they painted a bit of stuff outdoors which clicked and so they paired up for this collaborative show. Sweet Toof is actually no stranger to a molar collaboration.

tn_DSC_4357
Route Canal Drill with ROA (Bel)


tn_P1090622 copy
Sweet Toof & Paul Insect


tn_DSC_5731-001 copy
Sweet Toof & Paul Insect (related "making of" video)


tn_DSC04217
Sweet Toof, Sickboy


tn_P1090620
Sweet Toof, Mr Penfold, Numskull


tn_Sweet Toof Rabodiga copy
Sweet Toof and Rabodiga (Esp)


One thing stands out about RCW – he seems to be Big In Sweden. Everything about RCW is written in Swedish, he appears to have no internet footprint on his own account and it appears he and his art have never crossed the Swedish border, so this joint show is literally breaking boundaries. Evidently he is a crack illustrator who also happens to have a decent pedigree as a below-the-radar graffiti writer. Not in a “hardly ever done any real graffiti” sense but in the sense that his style and practice was evolved in a completely understated home grown way away from the hip hop and the halls of fame and the metropolitan tracksides and tunnels where the legends competed for attention, RCW  kept it local, hardly mentioning even to other artists and illustrators that he did graffiti. Sweet Toof himself asserts that RCW is great to paint with and that he is recognised throughout Sweden, but nowhere else!


tn_DSC_0531 copy
Flying Cap, Rolf Carl Werner, spraypaint on wooden cutout


RCW has a very illustraterly cartoonish style and that is not a million miles from the Sweet Toof groove. Influenced by hip hop, metal and fantasy, RCS’s work is colourful and phantasmagorical featuring heavily segmented creatures.

tn_IMG_3368
"Fly Till It Burns" Rolf Carl Werner, spraypaint on canvas


Fly Till it Burns is a characteristic RCW work, albeit very large coming in at over 2m high, it features a pair of pair of characters, the tread on the trainers suggests both are RCW, being devoured in a fantasy scene of mouths, flying spraycan caps, flames, smoke and smashed landscapes. Notice the graffiti structure, not only has RCW got his name on the tread of the trainers but look at the Capital R in the smoke, the C in the bizarre ghetto blaster and the way the two pairs of legs make up the letter W.

There is only one of those stupendous oil paintings which Sweet Toof shows used to be dominated by.

tn_DSC_0533 copy
"Letting off Steam", Sweet Toof, Oil and enamel on linen


Often artistic pairings in shows typically brings together two separate artists each working individually on canvasses with, hopefully but not always, some kind of empathetic resonance, perhaps both providing their own idiosyncratic interpretations of a particular theme. Ok, you can reference Herakut, Faile and a few others who practice as a genuine team but generally a pairing of artists coats a deceptive gloss over the mundane reality that they may not have the strength individually to carry a show on their own. This is definitely not the case in “Cut and Run” where RCW and Sweet Toof paint together on collaborative canvases and objets.

Boner’s part zombie part cyborg face works brilliantly to show how Sweet Toof and RCW’s work compliment eachother.

tn_DSC_0534 copy
"Boner"; Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner


The Night Dweller diptych has been presented on a shelf with a very urban nightscape painted on the wall and it works perfectly, it is hard to imagine why anyone would want to separate those pieces from the background, though curiously the cut outs are being sold as two separate pieces.

tn_IMG_3347 copy
"Night Dweller" Sweet toof, Rolf Carl Wener, spraypaint on wooden cut out



In Flesh Easter, RCW’s futuristic multicoloured illustrations add a psychedelic looking robo-punk aesthetic to Sweet Toof’s ghoulish skeletal zombie heads.

tn_IMG_3338 copy
"Flesh Eater", Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner, spraypaint on wooden cut out


Humanoid Duet is also a piece that works incredibly well together but has been set up so that fans of each artist can just buy that artist's portion, which is a bit strange but, you know, shit's gotta sell!

tn_IMG_3367 copy
Humanoid Duet, Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner, spraypaint on wooden cutout


For those who have not had the pleasure of visiting BSMT space in Dalston, it is a fairly idiosyncratic basement with a large main room, a white cube back room, a couple of vaulted brick alcoves and a galley, in some respects it is reminiscent of Pure Evil’s compartmentalised basement gallery back in the early days.

tn_IMG_3894


tn_IMG_3893


Sweet Toof has made some cool installations in the cellar like brick cubby holes.

tn_IMG_3896 copy
Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner installation


tn_IMG_3895 copy
Sweet Toof


Many of the artworks in this show exist as objects rather than paper or canvas paintings. Both artists have contributed a large number of spray painted and acrylic wooden cut outs and in particular, paintings on artist palettes.

tn_IMG_3356 copy
Individual cut outs: Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner


tn_DSC_0532 copy
Sweet Toof, Rolf Carl Werner, various acrylic and enamel on artists palette


tn_IMG_3357 copy
Sweet Toof Dental Charts (Acrylic and enamel on canvas)


I am grateful for the gallery staff who broke it to me that two of RCW’s cutouts represented male and female sex toys. Perhaps it’s something that a Swede would spot easily.

tn_DSC_0544 copy
Rolf Carl Werner


This show ticks a number of boxes: first sighting of Sweet Toof in a London show since his epic 2012 warehouse clearance “Sweet Revenge”; first exposure to Rolf Carl Werner - for these eyes at least; a bright energetic two man show with genuine collaborative pieces and finally, yet another strong show which further enhances BSMT’s very impressive track record for urban art exhibitions

This show opened before Christmas and you’d think that meant plenty of time to bash out a few stuttering and possibly drunken observations and fling some wobbly photos into a blog post but it doesn’t work like that, specially over Christmas specially for Graffoto. So, sorry this is late but at the time of publishing there are still 4 days left before the exhibition closes and one suspects that some of the unsold works may continue to be available through the gallery after the show. If you have the time to pop into the show before it closes then, like all BSMT’s shows, this is definitely one worth making the trek for (look for the small A Frame sign outside a narrow door descending straight down into a basement).

More photos:

tn_DSC_0530 copy
"Horny Skull", Sweet Toof and Rolf Carl Werner collab, spraypaint on wooden cutout


tn_IMG_3354 copy
Sweet Toof, acrylic enamel on wooden bats, pipe, choo choo etc


tn_IMG_3363 copy
Sweet Toof: Skull Duet


tn_IMG_3360 copy
Sweet Toof Dental Chart (Acrylic and enamel on canvas)


tn_DSC_0543 copy
Character by Sweet Toof, Molotov spraypaint cap by Rolf Carl Wener


tn_DSC_0540 copy
Sweet Toof (as if you needed to be told), water jug, clay pipe


tn_DSC_0537 copy
"Hot Water", Sweet Toof, acrylic and enamel on old bottle