Hasta La Ideas

Last year illustrator James Jarvis endeavoured to produce a linocut print every week (each in an edition of seven) of his nameless spherical character, posting each one on a dedicated blog. Now artist proofs of all 52 prints will be exhibited at Beach in London and offered for sale for £40 each…

The series depicts said sphere, sometimes with similarly shaped friend, engaged in a number of activites. Sometimes it is playing as a child might, and sometimes it is performing a more mundane adult task such as painting a wall or putting a picture up. In some composition we see the sphere running, walking, or even being kicked (below). In other images, it simply looking a bit surprised or startled.

Despite the fact that Jarvis’ sphere is probably his most stylistically simplistic character creation, and that he’s using just one colour and one of the most basic of print mediums, he demonstrates an impressive ability to bring life, emotion and movement to each print. Lovely stuff, this.

Fifty-two Spheres runs from this Thursday February 9 through to February 26 in the downstairs gallery space at Beach, 20 Cheshire Street, London E2 6EH.

View the 52 Spheres project online at 52spheres.blogspot.com

To check out Jarvis’ latest sphere-related project, check out Spherical Dialogues.

CR in Print

If you only read CR online, you’re missing out. From the meaning of beans to the power of love, the February issue of Creative Review features our 20 favourite slogans of all time and the stories behind them.

What makes a great slogan? We investigate the enduring power of these clever little phrases in our special slogans issue, dedicated to our choices for the top 20 slogans.

If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.