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16.06.14More on Le Tour…
The Tour de France campaign i've worked on with M&C Saatchi for Transport for London is 'Ad of the Week' in Creative Review.
The posters are now available to buy from the London Transport Museum Shop, and will be followed by various different merchandise featuring the designs. Limited edition, signed prints will also be available at a later date.
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12.06.14Since the beginning of February I've been busy working on a poster campaign for Transport for London with M&C Saatchi. Barclays Cycle Hire- or 'Boris Bikes' was the subject of the campaign- and suffice to say, I've drawn a lot of bikes over the last few months! Seriously though, it's been a fun project- and great to work with my good friend Grant Parker, head of art at M&C. You can see a selection of the posters over on my .
Following on from that campaign- came a project I'm especially excited about. Again for Transport for London, again involving bikes (!) but this time for Le Tour de France. I'm quite a fan- and a keen cyclist too- so to be involved with such an iconic event as Le Tour is a huge honour. The campaign has just started running around London now- and I'm especially proud of it. -
12.09.13a long overdue update here. Obviously 'Basilicas' has taken up a lot of my time of late, and I'm extremely grateful and flattered by all the positivity the project has garnered so far. It was a bit of a leap of faith to be honest- I'm the first person to admit I need to be more proactive in making these personal projects come to life. It's very much an on-going project, and I'm thrilled to say it's already opened doors to some very exciting collaborations and projects happening in 2014.
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15.07.13I'm proud to announce the launch of a new print project:
'Basilicas' by Adrian Johnson
July 25-27 2013
Private view: 6-9pm, 25 July
Kemistry Gallery
43 Charlotte Street
Shoreditch
London
EC2A 3PD
kemistrygallery.co.uk
Sponsored by The Brooklyn Brewery
brooklynbrewery.com
About ‘Basilicas’
Adrian Johnson’s ‘Basilicas’ is a series of prints that celebrate the form and
function of classic cameras. The drawings have been made from a combination
of found reference and life. They have been created using a bold, consistent
palette of nine colours.
Classic cameras from the past and present inspire the ‘Basilicas’ series, in which
the first nine images in an on going project focus on cameras by Leica, Hasselblad,
Rolleiflex, Mamiya, Olympus, Linhof and Polaroid.
‘Basilicas’ was undertaken with the blessing of these legendary manufacturers.
The series is titled ‘Basilicas’ as a nod to the likeness of these cameras to
cathedrals. With towering lenses and dark chambers, each is strongly architectural. Through his work, Adrian relates the photographer’s instrument to great places of worship. The name also references less literal characteristics that camera and
cathedral share. Both capture people – one in a moment in time, the other in
reverential awe.
Prints are available to pre-order from the Kemistry Gallery between 25-27 July,
then exclusively for sale through Basilicas from 1 August.
Print dimensions are 50x70cm (large) and 30x40cm (small).
All prints are limited edition, signed, and numbered by the artist. -
11.09.12The first two prints of a series of artworks based on photography are now up on the site.
'Cathedral No.1' and 'Cathedral No.2' are studies exploring the graphic functionality and aesthetic appeal of the camera. There will be a total of five prints in this series. Please register your interest here via e-mail.
The prints should be going into production when the set is complete, hopefully by the end of October. -
11.07.12Some new work added for IBM / Ogilvy Singapore...
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17.05.12UPDATE
Stüssy Guest Artist Series 'Stüssy x Adrian Johnson'. Check out the new line of S/S2012 designs for the surf-inspired series in the 'work' section now. The tees are available at stussy.com and at Stüssy Chapter Stores.
Stüssy also came and visited me at my studio to make a short film about what makes me tick. You can watch it here. -
14.02.12Some new work... two editorials (nice to be back doing editorial again) and another self-initiated lil' thing that hopefully may lead on to other things.
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17.10.11BOOM!
At long last the website has been polished, improved, and updated, and most importantly, I'm really happy to unveil 'The Tear Trilogy' screen prints, now available in the 'store'. It's taken a while to actually get these into production- almost a year in fact, but due to other work commitments this personal project got put on the back burner for way too long- and I'm really thrilled with the results. The printing was done by Sally and Angus at Artizan Editions, and to say that they've done an amazing job in brining the prints to life would be a massive understatement. Unfortunately it's near impossible to get a perfect representation of the prints on screen- but I've done my best. In the flesh the colours really pop- bright, primary, and full of impact. You can check out some close-up photographs .
Elsewhere, once I've got the green light from the respective powers that be, I'll be posting work from a new project with Stüssy, and also a series of covers for Shop Magazine, produced with Studio8. I believe Grafik are doing a feature on the project in the next issue so once that's on the shelves I'll post a few bits and pieces from that.
That's all for now.
AJ -
05.08.11Portfolio update coming soon... Sorry for the radio silence. For up-to-date witterings and nonsense check me on and .
AJ
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14.03.11Some News for London folk...
'One of One' is a live drawing event curated by 'Its Nice That' at Pick Me Up kicking off this Wednesday (16h March) at Somerset House. I'll be there drawing 'live' (!) for three sessions, on the opening night* from 6-9pm, then from 1pm through to 7pm on Saturday 19th, and again on Wednesday 23rd, same time. You lucky punters get to purchase the artwork, created right in front of your very eyes by the likes of fellow Big Active artist Jim Stoten, Ian Wright, Mr.Bingo, Tom Gauld, Supermundane, Rose Blake, and myself- all just for the princely sum of just £40 per drawing. I'll be donating any money created by sales to the British Red Cross to help the disaster in Japan, as if the incentive to help was needed...
*Hopefully I'll make it for the launch this Wednesday, but that depends on recovering from an 'orrible bout of lurgy...
Elsewhere, on 31st March I'll be giving a talk about 'my work / the industry / the usual moaning about stuff', along with the super-talented animator / director / illustrator Steve Scott, to help celebrate the 2nd anniversary of See No Evil.
It promises to be a fun night, with DJs, screenings, and would you believe it, a late license... (Reach for the lasers!).
As for new artwork (like that's what you're here for or something), I'm currently in the middle of a 'quite big' campaign for Ogilvy New York- more details to follow. Unfortunately it's taking up all of my available time and therefore I don't foresee I'll be available for editorial work until mid-May at the earliest. Sorry 'bout that folks...
In other news, I'm revamping the store- no more Giclees. Rainbow Warrior sold out a week or two ago, and in order to clear the decks, the remaining prints are now all 50% off, retailing at £50 inclusive of post and packaging.
That's all for now...
AJ -
03.11.10UPDATE...
Four new illustrations up in the 'work' section for Macmillan Cancer Support, Design Week, The National Trust, and POC Magazine.
Elsewhere, I now have a 'proper' blog on . I'll be posting up stuff I've seen, stuff I like, occasionally stuff I've done / I'm doing- but generally I'll be posting anything I think is 'good'.
I'm still new to all this, so please be patient- I've only just got my head around Twitter- but if you're generally interested in what's going on around here then check it out.
More to come soon...
AJ -
06.07.10SITE UPDATED...
There's now six new images added to the work section. To start, there's a series of screen prints called 'The Tear Trilogy'. Figuring all my work is created with line, I decided it was high time to reintroduce some key lines for this particular project. I was trying to evoke a feeling of melancholy through bright and cheerful imagery- giving each character a subtle narrative. The Minotaur has subsequently been chosen to adorn the Epos credit card in Japan.
Next up, a screen print for Arkitip /10x10 / Dwell on Design. The prints were produced to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Dwell. Many of the artist and or illustrators have all been past contributors to the magazine. Each print has been inspired by a past Dwelling that was featured in Dwell, who selected one story for each of the past 10 years.
I've recently worked with The Flicker Club in creating posters, promotional material, and a limited edition flick book for their screening of the classic Speilberg film, Jaws. Screening on Sunday 25th July, if you're in the London area be sure to check it out. You can purchase tickets for the event at:
The Lexi Cinema
This month, I'm very proud to be disappointing Darcel. Darcel Disappoints is the home of Darcel, he fantastically negative one-eyed character created by Craig Redman of Rinzen fame. Each month a different artist is asked to create an image incorporating / interacting with Darcel.
darceldisappoints.blogspot.com/
It was Craig who persuaded me to drag my sorry self into the 21st century and start 'Tweeting'. I'm new to all this, so be patient, but should you be interested, you can check me out on Twitter at:
That's all for now. I'll try and get up to speed with 'Tweeting'.
I can't believe I just said that... What has the world come to??
AJ
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07.06.10I am no longer represented in the US by Bernstein & Andriulli. For all commercial enquiries from the States, please contact my agent here in the UK, Big Active.
I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at B&A for all their sterling work over the last six years.
AJ -
19.05.10Some T-shirt news...
My design for Adidas Originals celebrating the imminent 2010 World Cup is now available at selected Adidas stores and online here.
Norse Projects in Copenhagen have produced a limited number of tees for my ongoing Nordic Gods project. Here's Odin,Thor and Freyr.
Enjoy the sunshine.
AJ
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08.04.10The 'work' section has now been updated with a few new pieces...
About time too...
AJ -
05.03.10BIG NEWS
I'm now represented by
Big Active
A site update will follow shortly... Hold tight.
AJ -
15.09.09Summer is so last season.
Some brief news, some new briefs... and some new work. Behold, new work for Creative Review, Monocle, and a couple of pieces I did just for little old me.
Starting this week, I'm having a dinky little show at the Soma Gallery in Clifton, Bristol. Showcasing a couple of new prints, three of a series of The Pillage People, and some golden oldies, it should hopefully be a jolly good show, so if you're in the West Country go check it out. I believe you may be able to purchase prints too...
And talking about purchasing prints... the store has FINALLY be updated. There are four prints on sale at a time, each with a limited run of 50.
I am now proud to be represented in Australasia by Rock Of Eye. A bespoke agency representing some serious heavyweight illustrators and designers including Non Format, Aesthetic Apparatus, the lovely Chrissie MacDonald, and the mighty Rinzen, hopefully it should open up a whole load of opportunities Down Under and in Asia.
What else? Oh yeah, I've been working on a whole bunch of animations with Aardman (also in Bristol) for Generalitat Catalunya and BUS in Barcelona and Madrid. 'La Revelucio del Petits Gestos ha Comencat' is a series of animations with an environmental slant. The first in the series, 'Water' is in the animation section now.
That's all for now.
Ta ta,
AJ -
23.06.09British summer time... blink and you'll miss it...
HEAVY PENCIL
2nd July 2009
Institute of Contemporary Art
The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH
'Heavy Pencil' is a rather cool night on at the ICA. I'll be doing some 'live drawing in response to music'- the drawings will be projected onto the walls of the bar! Madness! I figured an event so daunting couldn't be tacked alone so I'll be joined at the easel of justice by the one and only Mark Taplin.
The music will be provided by the rather splendid Dallas Guild.
And as if that wasn't enough, the next day it's:
LITTLE PENCIL
More live drawing in response to music, except for kids!! Lunacy!
Both should prove to be lots of fun.
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16.06.09Latest happenings:
Inbetween//an exhibition by Peepshow Collective
Dreamspace Gallery, 1-3 Dufferin Street, London, EC1Y 8NA
Private View, Thursday June 18th, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
RSVP
Show runs: 17th June to July 15th 2009
Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm
Free admission
In between their day-to-day studio activity, there are always thoughts,
ideas, possibilities and fragments growing and developing after the work
has been done. Peepshow has chosen to show these personal investigations,
drawings, prints and objects at the dreamspace gallery, EC1, offering a
secret insight into the personal minds of the Peepshow Collective.
New work from:
Luke Best, Jenny Bowers, Miles Donovan, Matthew Hawkins, Adrian Johnson,
Chrissie Macdonald, Marie O Connor, Andrew Rae, Elliot
Thoburn, Lucy Vigrass & Spencer Wilson.
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19.04.09Everton 4-2 Manchester Utd.
Come On You Blue Boys!!!
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17.03.09Wallop!!
After a good three and a half months at home with our little boy I'm back in the studio full time. So nose to the grindstone, and here be a dinky update.
First up there's a new animation. 'Magnet' for Frito Lay was commissioned by Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco back in September of last year. Directed by Tom and Mark at Nexus Productions, this was originally meant to to a one minute film. Sadly it was not to be though, and with a fair degree of expert butchery, we managed to squeeze the basic story into just under 25 seconds for TV...
In the 'Editorial' section there's some more work for the Taiwan Tourism Board and Monocle, and in 'Artwork' there's some self-initiated projects including a sneak preview of 'Odin'- one of a series of prints for 'The Pillage People', a project based on Norse mythology.
I'll also shortly be updating the store with a select number of limited edition and signed prints.
AJ
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14.01.09Happy New Year.
A New Year, and a new studio. I've made the short hop and skip to Shoreditch. Cool. Don't worry though- I'm not going to get all zeitgeist on yo' ass.
Please note that from now on I'll only be contactable on my mobile- I've ditched the old studio line. I'll change the bit where my old address is down at the bottom of this page once I've worked out how you do that. Techno.
I'll be updating the site in the next few weeks. Enjoy your short lived sobriety!
AJ -
02.10.08Hello Planet Earth,
Grain Edit… It's the one site I check out every day. You should too, and as part of their one year anniversary I'm honoured to be interviewed. I simply cannot describe how flattered I am to be part of such a magnificent occasion – this website constantly torments me in that 'I'm a bit rubbish at this whole graphic / illustration / image-making (what a load of shite that is) shebang'.
You check out what they do. You'll be enriched.
Ladies and gents, boys and girls, I give you… (drum roll)… GRAIN EDIT! Happy birthday to you.
grainedit
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07.08.08The 'Insiders, Outsiders, and The Middle' show at Scion Installation L.A was a huge success- thank you all of the 800+ who turned up to make it a memorable affair. A big shout goes out to Eric Nakamura at Giant Robot firstly for inviting me over to L.A in the first place, but also for being such a hospitable host. He knows where the fine dining is for sure...
The show is on until 23rd August so if you're in L.A and didn't get a chance to come to the opening night make sure you get a chance to check it out- there's some amazing artwork to be seen including some beautiful abstract paintings by Kami and an incredible portrait of the Dali Lama constructed from knock-off Chinese Rubik's Cubes by Space Invader.
You can also take a peek at a selection of images I made for the show right here under 'Artwork'.
To see more from the show, have a peruse around Eric's Flickr site :
here
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28.07.08Insiders, Outsiders, & the Middle
Dedicated to fostering independent artistic expression, Scion Installation L.A. is a space that allows artists to explore their creative visions. The Scion Space hosts art shows and art-related events for cutting-edge urban artists from across the globe.
In conjunction with Giant Robot, Scion presents Insiders, Outsiders, & the Middle at its 4,500 square foot Installation L.A. Gallery. At Giant Robot, the definition of art ranges from straight contemporary painting to sculpted figures (which were considered action figures just a few years ago). This exhibition celebrates not the disparate mediums, but the divergent mindsets of artists—as well as the gray areas.
Although there is no obvious correlation between the artists, they form a powerful cross-section of creative forces that are physically active with their art. They belie the image of the stationary artist and pose the question of how they will co-exist in a restrained gallery setting.
Scion Space Presents: Insiders, Outsiders, & the Middle
August 2 - August 23, 2008
Curated by: Giant Robot
Original work by: Noriko Ashino, Nao Harada, Space Invader, Adrian Johnson, Kami, Ed Trask, Shinya Yamamoto, ZariganiWorks
Opening Reception: Saturday August 2, 2008 from 7-10pm
Free Valet Parking
Scion Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Avenue (at National)
Culver City, CA. 90232
Hours: Wed-Sat 11am-6pm and by appointment
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07.07.08Ahh, British Summertime... rubbish.
It's been a while so here's some more stuff. I've been busy working on two animated TV ads for the last few months, the first, another (and alas ill-fated) animation for Robinsons, this time with Aardman in Bristol. Probably a blessing it's not going any further for my sanity's sake...
The second ad, for Vodafone, is currently getting plenty of airtime aided by a gazillion posters I've done on billboards, tube stations etc. all over the UK. Any way, they're both on the 'animation' page.
In June I completed a line of five tee designs for Stüssy (two of which are shown here), and I'll be in LA for a week or so beginning of August where I'm taking part in the Scion show alongside the mighty Space Invader and a couple really cool artists from Japan. Eric Nakamura from Giant Robot is curating the show and it promised to be a good'un.
What else? Oh yeah, one of the ads I did for the Robinsons campaign last year, 'Apple Halo' has won this years AOI Images Gold Award for Advertising, which is nice...
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22.04.08Is that Spring in the air?
A cheeky update due. A couple of new illustrations for Monocle and The Guardian in the Editorial section, along with two tee designs for Fenchurch under 'Artwork'. Oh yeah, and another poster for Vodafone under 'Advertising'.
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29.02.08****NEWSFLASH****
T-Shirts are finally available from the store. Just click on the '2ktshirts.com' link on the design you're after and it'll take you straight through. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
In the meantime, I've added a couple of editorials for Monocle and GQ, and a tote and T-shirt design for Part Of It. -
11.02.08STORE NOW OPEN!
...it's just like 'Are You Being Served?'.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused. There are now six prints available to purchase with more to come in the not-too-distant future. If you have any questions, just drop me an e-mail.
Many of you have got in touch asking about purchasing tees. Hopefully 2K's website should be up and running again soon, although I don't know exactly when. As soon as it is, I'll post the news right here.
Finally, I just wanted to thank all the blogs and portals that have posted news of the relaunch of this site, and thanks for all the kind words. It's nice to be back.
AJ
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01.02.08A New Beginning…
Without fanfare, pomp, or ceremony, I’m proud to announce to the world (that's you Mum and Dad) a new and improved website. It's been a long time coming, hell, too long – I think the last time I updated the old site must have been well over a year ago, which quite frankly isn't good enough. Must try harder…
First things first, the store isn't open yet- a couple of technical hitches need sorting out. It should be up and running early next week though...
So onwards and upwards, here we are. If you want to get stuck in to what I've been up to for the last year then haste not, go forth, and take spectacle in a cornucopia of new (and not so new) prints, illustrations and animations. Or alternatively, if you're a nosey parker and wish to know just why things have been so quiet around here then please, carry on reading…
January 2007 began with three billboard posters for Vodafone (with BBH London). It was whilst working on these posters that I was asked in to have a look at pitching on a campaign for Robinsons, a soft drink manufacturer that's been around in the UK since the dawn of time. After much to-ing and fro-ing, I was very fortunate to win the pitch and subsequently devoted much of the next six months to the campaign.
Fourteen press and poster ads and five animated TV shorts took their toll. I had to turn down a great deal of editorial work, which I still consider to be very much 'my thing', and also missed the chance to go to Tokyo, where I exhibited a selection of my work for the Happy London show at Paul Smith's SPACE Gallery. The show, however, was a great success and subsequently limited edition prints have been sold through the Paul Smith website and various stores across the globe.
Back in London with Robinsons, I was incredibly honoured to work with the esteemed, award winning (and devilishly handsome) directors, Smith & Foulkes at Nexus Productions. It was through Nexus that the next project came along, an animated TV ad for MasterCard in the US (with McCann).
MasterCard signaled a welcome change in direction from the cute-yet-cool-but-slightly-saccharine world of Robinsons – a nice grown-up brief with a cool 50s edge. Again, it was a real pleasure working with Smith & Foulkes. On the back of the TV ad, six press ads and posters have since followed.
Soon after MasterCard, more work for Vodafone came in. I've now produced nine posters for them in total, and it looks likely there will be plenty more to come in 2008.
2007 also saw my first range of T-shirt designs launched by 2K By Gingham. It's been a total pleasure working with them, and producing bespoke, self-initiated images has gone a long way to keeping me sane over the last 14 months. Hopefully 2008 will bring much more self-initiated (and good-for-the-soul) work, all of which should grace these pages as soon as the paint dries.
In November I produced something I thought I'd never would again: a children's book. Commissioned by The Brooklyn Brothers in New York and written by Guy Barnett, 'Gently Elephant' should be published sometime early this year. It reminded me that despite taking more time than I had on my hands to complete it, children's books can be really satisfying to illustrate. I should probably take this opportunity to apologise to Guy and Clarissa for taking so long to get my ass in gear for this one, and hope you guys like it!
As for what happens next, well, after a much-needed two-month break over December and January, I'm now back in the studio and braced for another campaign for Robinsons that looks like it will be 'different' to say the least. I'm back doing my slots for The Guardian and other regular editorials, and I'm pretty excited by what I'm currently working on for Stussy in LA.
It's in New York that I'll be a judge at the 2008 Adobe Design Achievement Awards in early May, then back for the awards ceremony in August. A real honour if ever there was one, and any excuse to visit my favourite city is always welcome.
So that's it. I'll be updating every month or so, and hopefully pushing things on with my work. I hope you enjoy seeing how things have been going so far. Thanks to Radio Design for putting the new website together, and to Zenjiwebworks for all the teccy stuff.
Over and out.
AJ
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