Cedar lewisohn biography of barack

Cedar Lewisohn is a London-based curator, writer and artist, known as an expert and researcher on street art and graffiti. He curated the exhibition Street Art (2008) at Tate Modern and Rude Britannia (2010) at Tate Britain. He is an author of publications Street Art: The Graffiti Revolution (Tate 2010) and Abstract Graffiti (Merrell, 2011). He opened the door of fine art galleries for street art and graffiti, putting street art in an art historical context. Currently, Cedar curates the Canals Project. Street Art on the Waterways in East London.

Contemporary Lynx: Cedar, you are a real street art connoisseur. You curate, research and explain the nuances in terminology applied in street art gender. You also follow street art scene from across the globe. I also have heard that you collaborate with Polish street and visual artists like Zbiok . Therefore, I would like to talk to you about street art from Poland. How did you learn about Polish artists and whom else you like, collaborate and observe?

Cedar: Yes – I am a fan of street art in Poland and have been a few times. I’ve mainly been to Wroclaw, a city I really love. I was first invited to Wroclaw to do a lecture for the BWA Gallery, this was a part of their out of 5th project. I think the Out of 5th has been a great success and its organisers, Zbiok and Asia Stembalska have done a great job in putting on a project which pushes boundries of art in public space and making use of the city.

CL: Where does your interest in street art from countries with communist histories come from?

Cedar: I’m interested in lots of art from countries with former communist histories, and street art is part of that. When I was a recent graduate I did some trips to Moscow

For the artists in this exhibition the yearning for a raw depiction of the world has taken president. Working under the constraints of traditional techniques they have a preoccupation with craftsmanship, although the rules are broken as the title suggests. Exploring the  complicated relationship between humankind and nature, its  disorder and abandonment is an aspect that these artists enjoy. The interplay of the human and 'the wild' is the thread that ties these artist together.

Cedar Lewisohn's practice utilises the physically laborious techniques of wood block printing, both for the performative qualities of its intensive process and its poetic and timeless aesthetic. He allows the natural grain and rustic nature of the material to dictate his primal neo-expressionist gestures. Often inking up and overlaying onto 'hacked' rather than carved panels Lewisohn creates unique artists editions with misappropriated narratives, leaving the activity of his process apparent and raw. Mainly depicting figures in classical poses Lewisohn mischievously infuses his subject matter with more deviant traces of sexuality and debauchery offering a glimpse into a nocturnal world of drunken hobos, swarthy celebrities, and alluring degenerates. Subverting and abusing the rules of craftsmanship Lewisohn works directly onto large wooden panels, embossing his images by hand rather than using a print bed. The ink leaves its grubby traces and his figures defy their author, taking on a life of their own.

Cedar Lewisohn is an artist, curator and writer based in London. He was included in 'Songs of Hate & Love' at Ancient & Modern and recent solo exhibitions have been held at Five Years, London 2007 and Institute Andrew Gilbert, Berlin 2008. Lewisohn is currently a curator for Tate Media  and recently curated  'Street Art  at Tate Modern in conjunction with his recent publication of of the same title. He was curator of The 'Busan Biennale Sculpture Pro