5th-20th March 2010

Cat Johnston creates scenarios where monsters in Napoleonic uniform wage hideous and gory wars against each other. Set amongst an illustrated environment, transforming the space at the Concrete Hermit Gallery into a nightmarish dystopia, Cat will be presenting a series of new handmade models inspired by recent drawings, and a series of limited edition prints.

Originally from Somerset and now residing in London, Cat has produced commissioned work for Levi’s, Vice, Virgin Airways, The Financial Times, Fenchurch and Addict. Recent Group shows include “Silver and Black”, The Archipelago Works, Sheffield, 2010, “Urban Art”, Selfridges, London, 2009 “Bara Volante”, The Prescription Gallery, Brighton, 2009 and “Scrawl Collective” at No Borders Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 2009. Her Concrete Hermit show will be her debut solo show.

I’ve added some photos of the opening night, and for those of you who can’t make it to the show a full range is available from Conran Japan: http://www.conran.ne.jp/shop/

The mean (clean) streets of Tokyo

Setup in Shinjuku

Looking good. The display team did a really great job.

Ian Stevenson Signing stuff at the opening reception.

These kids were digging it!

You can see these photos and more on our Flickr page

To celebrate our excitement at this joyous event, we’ve put Jody’s Rasta Willy print – which we’ve had in the shop for a while – in our online store. Here it is, in all it’s slightly bizarre glory. It’s only £65.

A little shot of inside the exhibition (All snaps are taken from If You Could’s Website – http://www.ifyoucould.co.uk/ )

Anthony Burrill’s piece – A collaboration with Astronomer John Griffiths.

Lovely laser-cut wooden type by Craig Ward, Alison Carmichael and Sean Freeman. Reminded me a little bit of Seb Lester’s prints.

Get down there!

Concrete Hermit is proud to announce Switch Skatestore in Leigh-on-Sea Essex, as a stockist of it’s new tees. Having grown up in the town, having this shop as a stockist of our products fills me with joy, as the shop does a lot to support the local skate scene, and the scene accross Essex – which I began skating in as a starry-eyed 15 year old, back in 2000. Still the place I go to get bits for the old stunt-plank, it’s well worth a visit. Switch’s Bobby sent us this snap of our tees looking handsome in the shop – that’s Andrew  Rae’s Big Synth, Matt Dent’s Smile, and Maxwell Harrison’s Gym at the front. Concrete Hermit stuff is available instore, and in their online shop – www.switchskates.co.uk – go check it out!

Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration features profiles of 40 illustrators chosen via open brief, alongside simple explanations and dazzling illustrations of renewable technologies that could help prevent catastrophic climate change. Signed copies of this eminently collectible limited edition hardback will be available for purchase at the launch party. 10 illustrators featured in the book will be taking over the gallery space to create collaborative artwork based on their interpretation of renewable technologies.

Artists include – Karolin Schnoor, Merritt Studio, Laura Bird, Saffron Stocker, Thereza Rowe and Jess Wilson.

Mcbess brings his delicate line and musical characters to the gallery. Prints will be available as well as an exclusive test pressing of a record with Mc and The Dead Pirates called ‘Malevolent Melody’. Nobrow publications will also be launching their new Mcbess Monograph during the show.

Robert Rubbish and Chris Bianchi (of Le Gun magazine and Bare Bones tabloid) bring you a unique collaboration. They will be transforming the Concrete Hermit gallery into an interstellar installation that coincides with the 40 year anniversary of the first man on the moon.

They will be showing their cosmic collections of curiosities. The artists will be exhibiting their own individual artworks as well as collaborative paintings drawings and assemblages made specifically for the show. The pair take their inspirations from the time they spent creating and running a modern day curiosity shop in Hackney in 2007 as well as many other sources including the films of Alejandro Jodorowsky, space rock, dipsomania, the occult, magic, Catholicism, James Ensor, chemical memories, psychedelic experiences, death and Belgium. The exhibition will also have special events programmed including a requiem mass on the last day: Halloween.

Nick White’s new book People I’ve Never Met and Conversations I’ve Never Had. The hard back monograph features 32 pages of Nick’s work, and is the first in a new series of Nobrow Monobrow publications. The book will be available to purchase both at the launch and from our website. The exhibition features original artwork used in the book plus new limited edition screen prints.

Of the wall is a simple story about happiness, freedom, rebellion and its consequences, told across three pictures. Like a kind of triptych or a very simple comic. It forms the centerpiece of this show, Richards first since leaving Airside in 2007.

Also on show will be a selection of other screen-prints, some recent drawings and a preview of the forthcoming book ‘Car Boot Sale’.