I have always loved Ed's work, I first discovered him when I was Art Director at the Art Lounge in Birmingham, many years ago. His work is exciting, engaging, vibrant, yet precise in its construction. I arranged for Ed's first live painting gig outside the gallery back then, a great display in contemporary abstraction of urban music.
He has gone from strength to strength from those early days, his work is collected by many private people and corporate companies throughout the UK, Canada and the USA. His work brings together two of my passions, art and music. Have a look at his latest live painting gig.
'Andy Walking, Andy tired, Andy take a little snooze' (Andy Warhol, 83 years old)
by Edgar Askelovic
Now showing in McDERMOTTgalleries (The Mailbox, Birmingham, England), this incredibly lifelike sculpture is how iconic pop artist Andy Warhol might have looked like today - as he turned 83.
Birmingham-based artist Edgar Askelovic (commonly known as ‘Edgar’) has unveiled the striking work ahead of what would have been the American artist's birthday this Saturday (6th August 2011).
Edgar spent three months working on the piece and even sold his car to get the money to buy the materials he needed to create the artwork - which is based on an old photo of Warhol.
Made from silicone and clay, the remarkably lifelike sculpture is intricately crafted - right down to the tiny grey hairs of stubble on Warhol’s face.
Edgar, 23, said: "The pose of the piece is taken from a photograph of Warhol in the 60s. He is a huge inspiration to me and I wanted to make sure that I did him justice with my work.”
"I thought long and hard about what he might look like today, which led me to sculpt him without his teeth and with the wrinkles that reflect the years that have now passed. Although maybe there should also be a botox version – after all, he was a pioneer of all things new”
"I remember reading about Andy’s humble beginnings – his first film, titled Sleep, was an epic 6 hours long and all about one of his friends sleeping. 9 people attended the premiere apparently and only 7 stayed until the end – he was a true creative." I also love this quote from Andy, it sort of sums up how I try to approach my own work:
"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them."
—Andy Warhol on Art and Artists
Gallery owner Terence McDermott said: "The idea is that on Saturday if he was still alive he would have been 83-years-old so what Edgar has done is to use some artistic license to create his own interpretation of Warhol as an 83 year old. This wig is just as he would have worn it – a simple substitute for a cap."
"It's tragic to think about the life, art and advances Warhol missed out on. I wonder what he would have done with the internet, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube...reality TV?! Maybe there would even be a Warhol App?
"The thought of Andy Warhol in the digital age is mind blowing. The world was always one step behind him and it’s such a shame he is not here with us."
The piece is fittingly titled 'Andy Walking, Andy tired, Andy take a little snooze' - the lyrics from the David Bowie song Andy Warhol.
The Lithuanian, self-taught artist dedicated his time to the piece, working on it for a 3 month period and most days until 4am.
A video of the sculpture making process can be seen on YouTube.
Terence added “As for Edgar, he’s a rising star and he is attracting a lot of attention – his sculptural works are very often provocative and have a very real social context, he could well be the next Banksy, except he works in three dimensions as opposed to two.”
Edgar, is a full-time artist living in Birmingham, and came to the UK as an exchange student but decided to stay here after his course finished.
McDermott Galleries
