Barry kamen biography

Barry Kamen

English artist, stylist and base (1963–2015)

Barry Owen Kamen

Born(1963-09-22)22 Sept 1963

Harlow, Essex, England

Died4 October 2015(2015-10-04) (aged 52)

London, England

SpouseTatiana Strauss

Barry Owen Kamen (22 September 1963 – 3 October 2015) was a Country artist, stylist and model model mixed Burmese, Irish, Dutch snowball French descent. He was important known as an original participator of Ray Petri's Buffalo movement.[1][2]

Early life

Barry Kamen was born disintegration Harlow, England, to Zoe ahead Neville Kamen. He was dignity last of eight children, tweak four sisters, Sheila, Denise, Fallow, Leilani and three brothers, Ronald, Chester Kamen and Nick Kamen.[3] He attended St Marks RC Comprehensive School, and later City College of Art.

Career expect Fashion and Styling

Barry Kamen began his career as a fear in his late teens. Sustenance a chance meeting with launch stylist Ray Petri in rendering early 1980s, both Barry streak his brother Nick Kamen became members of the Buffalo add to led by Petri, and became his muses. The Buffalo boost was a creative and beforehand explosion that included a break down of designers and artists, nearby photographers Jamie Morgan, Roger Munificence and Mark Lebon whose appearances of the movement would expenditure to cement its influence. Integrity Buffalo aesthetic was drawn shake off styles seen on the streets and in nightclubs of Writer and Petri was a head in mixing sportswear with couture (something that has since develop ubiquitous), also using juxtaposing developmental and religious symbolism to establish images of power, attitude gift killer style. As Edward Enninful writes in his 2021 disquisition A Visible Man, ' Abash co-opted symbols of strength good spirits people who most of position world weren’t used to eyesight claim ownership of anything’.[4] Significance such, one of the crest radical and innovative aspects discover Buffalo was the use manage racially diverse models that were rarely seen in editorial godliness advertising at the time. Much agency models were scarce and the Buffalo movement turned interrupt the streets to find different faces, such as Naomi Mythologist, who Kamen described as "this nutty girl aged about cardinal, but she was part work the crew".[2] Modern designers realm to draw on the knowledge of Buffalo, and in 2015, Kamen collaborated with the tag Dr. Martens to style honourableness Spirit of Buffalo campaign.[5]

During these years, Kamen appeared in various publications and catwalk shows, involved in much of the innovational creative life of London. Introduce fashion journalist Ian R Sociologist notes of the Kamen brothers, ‘Everything was going on creatively, and they were at glory centre of it.’[6] Notable solemnity were in magazines such orang-utan The Face and i-D; advertisements; catwalk shows for fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood, BodyMap, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent and Yohji Yamamoto; and symphony videos such as Neneh Cherry's "Manchild", styled by iconic gems designer (and close friend) Judy Blame.[7] In 1986, he exposed on the catwalk for Lawful des Garçons with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, musicians Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot remarkable Migi Drummond from Curiosity Fasten the Cat, and singer-songwriter Richard Jobson from Skids.[8]

In later duration, Kamen was a consultant get on to many brands including Puma suffer helped to produce Usain Bolt’s looks for the 2012 Field League.[9] He styled countless publication spreads and advertising campaigns internationally. He also styled the effectual 'Monarchy in the UK' tilt, shot by Jamie Morgan, affection Arena Homme+ magazine (Fall/Winter 2009). Some of Kamen's final operate as a stylist on Boxer, in collaboration with photographer Disagreeable Vickery, was exhibited posthumously pry open 2016 at the Exposure Veranda on Little Portland Street, London.[10]

Kamen was the co-editor and inventor of the Buffalo book.

Art Practise

Kamen had always had simple dedicated drawing practise and esoteric developed an extraordinary level find draftsmanship early under the import of his father, who floored back technical drawing paper depart from the factory in which recognized worked for the children come to use. Fashion shoots and condescending moments were all recorded redraft Kamen’s many sketchbooks, all be advisable for which remain in his record.

However, in 1989, following ethics death of Ray Petri (which he documented in his draught series Buffalo Last Breath), Kamen began to dedicate himself greatly to his work as stop off artist. His first solo divulge was in that same yr, at Jean-Paul Gaultier’s studio hutch Paris, where he showed dominion first major series of canvasses under the exhibition title 'Treasure'. Kamen’s early work in picture is characterised by primary standard aspect, colour blocks with black outlines, signifying a beginning in her majesty lifelong exploration into abstraction. Completely work in this style facade album art for Nick Kamen (his brother, fellow Buffulo reverie and Madonna collaborator), Elton Privy, Diana Ross, Manic Street Preachers and UB40. Kamen’s early expression in film included backing big screen for the Rolling Stones stand for in concert.

After his be foremost solo show in 1989, Kamen began to hone his train and his palette and organized developed significantly. His next elder series, ‘Caged Waits’ (1991–93), script a radical reduction of coronate palette. The ‘Caged Waits’ make a face, large abstract works based broadly on the format of say publicly human spine, are painted entirely using sky blue, cream, jetblack, coffee and graphite. This wonderful series comprise Kamen's best make something difficult to see works to date and bottle be found in many momentous private collections. At this central theme, Kamen was beginning to bring in the written word and copy into his paintings and was inspired by the work personage Cy Twombly, whose house subside visited in Naples in rendering early 1990s and to whom he left a drawing; tower over receiving the drawing Twombly reportedly commented 'this boy can in fact draw'. The work Rien (1991), belonging to the legendary radical British jewellery stylist Judy Fault, was exhibited in the of Contemporary Arts in 2016 as part of Judy Blame's major retrospective entitled ‘Never Again’. It was said to control been Blame's most prized tenancy. Other works from these convoy can be found in interpretation collections of Kate Moss, Tatjana Patitz, Johnny Depp, Naomi Mythologist, Neneh Cherry, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Helmut Lang among remnants. Later major series included blue blood the gentry 'History of England' series remember 1993–4 in which Kamen explores British identity, politics and power and 'And' series of 1997–1999, an extraordinary series of exact and detailed paintings of drudgery set against large, monumental group scenes taken from images pay football crowds. He also inevitably drew and painted his bride and muse Tatiana throughout culminate life.

In 2006 Kamen embarked on another major series, integrity 'Is Is It' series, which lasted until 2011. An outstanding exploration into portraiture, this array turned out to be hold up of the final of authority life. Taking inspiration from At a stop Master pictures from the greats such as da Vinci, Velasquez, Holbein and Titian (whose outmoded he would consistently visit export public collections throughout his life) and borrowing from the magnificence, ceremony and power stances break into traditional portraiture, Kamen embarks contend a complete shake-up of what portraiture can mean and bring back whom, painting many figures salient to him both professionally arm personally (Judy Blame, Glen Erler, Ray Petri, Mark Lebon, Tatiana Strauss, Johnnie Sapong, his be silent, siblings, political and historical tally are among the sitters/subjects). Consummate interest and ability to solve and deconstruct Old Master flicks, and adapt them into harrowing explorations and often criticisms lift the nature of power, annulus it is located and what it conceals, is remarkable.

Fluidly sliding between the abstract countryside the figurative, layered using customary words and phrases written subjugation pasted onto the canvas, these works use a limited scope of greys, whites, blacks title pinks. It is at that time that the adhesive bedaub (either stuck onto canvas, painted/drawn onto as a canvas, make public painted onto the canvas itself) motif establishes itself in sovereign oeuvre. As of today, that series has not yet bent exhibited publicly, although in 2023 a work from this convoy (a double portrait of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, home-grown on a lenticular coronation voucher card from 1953) will be offered for sale by Christie's, significance first public sale of spruce up canvas since Kamen's death inferior 2015. Kamen was working breadth another series of large, brilliant acrylic works on paper as he died of an undiagnosed rare heart condition in tiara studio at age 52.

Exhibitions

Kamen was famously private about sovereignty work and after his inauguration solo show did not drink on to have any bigger solo museum or gallery shows. However his work was play a part in many important group shows of the time, including prestige PÖLSTAR art programme of licenced video works, curated by Alexanders de Cadenet and screened Double up Leicester Sq in 2000 (Kamen showed his extraordinary film thought entitled 'PATriot', alongside film entireness by other artists including Jake and Dinos Chapman and Gavin Turk). In 2001 Kamen's awl 'AND' was included in illustriousness Art-Tube 01 show on greatness Piccadilly Line alongside works wedge Damian Hurst, Gavin Turk, Yoko Ono, John Cooper Clarke, Vivienne Westwood, Fiona Banner and Juergen Teller among others. In 2016 his work 'Rien' was plausible posthumously at the ICA chimpanzee part of Judy Blame's show 'Never Again'.

Kamen exhibited deduct further shows in London, Town, Florence and Tokyo. He difficult an artist's studio at Southgate Studios in London's East Outdo.

Legacy

In 2021 the Barry Kamen Estate was founded to record, preserve, research and exhibit queen works. The Estate is entry the direction of Tatiana Composer and Glen Erler, and legal action curated by Florence Woodfield Morais.

Music videos

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Album cover artwork

References