Bowie Neons Hit Halcyon Gallery for a Limited Time Only Show, Sept 23rd
Celebrated British artist Louis Sidoli is launching a solo exhibition of original neon art marking David Bowie’s greatest moments this month. Hosted by Castle Fine Art, the exhibition will be launched with a private event at Halcyon Gallery on 22nd September.
Born from the artist’s longstanding admiration of David Bowie, ‘Neon’ celebrates the pop icon’s artistic journey from 1970-1980. This was a prolific period for Bowie, during which he produced over 10 seminal albums – what Sidoli calls his ‘Golden Years’.
From performing as Ziggy Stardust during the Glam Rock years to his famed New Romantic Ashes to Ashes photoshoot, each piece of artwork reimagines iconic moments in Bowie’s career in a fusion of aluminium and neon.
Containing approximately 180 individual components and taking between four-six weeks to create, each work starts life as a pencil sketch. The artist then undertakes computer aided design, metallurgy, engineering, carpentry and neon glass making before the pieces reach the gallery walls.
Sidoli has carved himself a new niche in contemporary pop art as the only UK artist to combine text, imagery and neon elements in this way. Many of his pieces also contain hidden symbolism in the layers of imagery.
Inspired by popular culture in all its forms, Sidoli places a special emphasis on Bowie as a pop icon, crediting the release of his 1971 album ‘Hunky Dory’ as a defining moment in his development as an artist.
He explains: “It was the track ‘Andy Warhol’ on this album that from an early age, first ignited my curiosity and love of the pop art movement. It’s fair to say that without this album, I might not have become an artist.
“Today my work takes pop culture references from a variety of different sources such as newspapers, memorabilia and public records, to create artworks that are iconic and accessible.”
In addition to symbols of mass culture, 15 years spent working as a designer in the car industry also heavily influenced Sidoli’s style. His commercial experience working for brands including BMW, Mini and Land Rover formed a key building block for his artistic future – the engineering and craftsmanship in his work a result of his product design background.
After making a name for himself as a rising star of the contemporary art world, Sidoli was signed to the UK’s leading fine art publisher, Washington Green Fine Art, in 2007. His work has since been the subject of over 50 solo and group exhibitions throughout the UK and USA and is owned by collectors worldwide, including high profile personalities such as Liam Gallagher, Ozzy Osbourne and Henry Holland.
NEON
David Bowie: Golden Years
HALCYON GALLERY
144-146 New Bond St, London W1S 2PF Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th September 2016 Free entry Open Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
