Stenberg brothers posters - part 1

The Stenberg brothers (Vladimir 1899 - 19882 and Georgii 1900 - 1933) were both born in Moscow of a Swedish father and Russian mother, but remained Swedish citizens until 1933. They first studied engineering, then attended the Stroganov School of Applied Arts in Moscow between 1912 - 1917, and subsequently the Moscow Svomas (free studios), where they and other students designed decorations for the first Mayday celebration in 1918.

In 1919, the Stenbergs and comrades founded the OBMOKhU (Society of Young Artists) and participated in its first group exhibition in Moscow in May 1919 and the exhibitions of 1920, 1921 and 1923. The brothers and Konstantin Medunetskii staged their own "Constructivists" exhibition in January 1922 at the Poet's Café, Moscow, accompanied by a Constructivist manifesto. Also that year, Vladimir showed his work in the landmark Erst Russiche Kunstausstellung (First Russian Art Exhibition) held in Berlin. 

During the 1920s and 30s they were well established as members of the avant-garde in Moscow, and of Moscow's INKhUK (Institute of Artistic Culture). The Stenbergs practiced in a range of media, initially active as Constructivist sculptors, subsequently as theatre designers, architects, and draughtsmen. Their design work covered evrything from clothing, including women's shoes, to railway carriages. Some examples of their sculpture were spidery and spindly structures, such as the reconstruction (1973-74) of KPS 11: Construction of a Spatial Apparatus no. 11 (1919-20) in steel, glass, paint and plaster on wood, now in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Georgii Augustovich Stenberg KPS 11 - Construction of a Spatial Apparatus no. 11 

KPS XIII, 1919-78, steel and wood on pedestal

However, the arenas in which they excelled were theatre costume and graphic design, particularly the graphic design of film posters, encouraged by the surging in movies in Russia and the government's sanctioning of graphic design and the cinema.

Georgii Augustovich Stenberg costume design for Day and Night

Georgii Avgustovich Stenberg costume for The Beggar's Opera

The brothers were at their prime during the revolutionary period of politics and artistic experimentation in Russia, centred in Moscow. In the visual language of the constructor of Constructivist, the Stenbergs and other designers and artists made assemblages.

The innovative visual aspects of the Stenberg posters included a distortion of perspective, elements from Dada photo-montage, and an exaggerated scale, a sense of movement, and a dynamic use of colour and typography - eventually all were to be imitated by others. The Stenberg artwork was frequently based on stills from the films. Radical even today, the posters by the brothers working together were realised within a nine-year period from 1924 to 1933, the year Geogii died at age 33 in a motorcycle accident. Vladimir continued to work on film posters and organised the decorations of Moscow's Red Square for the Mayday celebrations of 1947.
Biographical notes on the Stenberg brothers adapted from a Wikipedia article

This is part 1 of a 2-part post on the works of the Stenberg brothers:

1920 Sketch for what is probably Victor Sjöström’s Karin Ingmarsdotter

1921 Idol of the Public/ A Small Town Idol (Erle C. Kenton, Mack Sennett)

1921 The Punch (Charles Ray)

 A very similar later design:

Burden of Marriage

1922 Dr. Jack (Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor)

1923  Sketch for The Eyes of Love

1924 The Eyes of Love

1923 Moscow Chamber Theatre

1924 The Yankee Consul (James W. Horne)

1925 Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein)

1926 A Screw from Another Machine (Talanov)

1926 Battling Orioles (Ted Wilde)

1926 Countess Shirvanskaya's Crime (Ivan Perestiani)

1926 Katka, the Paper Reinette (Eduard Johanson & Friedrich Ermler)

1926 Miss Mend [1](Borus Barnet & Fydor Otsep) 

1926 Miss Mend [2] (Borus Barnet & Fydor Otsep) 

1926 The Pounded Cutlet (Snub Pollard)

1926 The Traitor (Abram Room)

1926 Which of the Two /or Manhunt (Nunzio Malasomma)

1927 A Commonplace Story (Fyodor Otsep)

1927 A Woman of Paris (Charlie Chaplin)

1927 Daddy's Boy (Harry Edwards)

1927 High Society Wager /or The Weather Station (Carl Foelich 1923)

1927 Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921 Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford)

1927 October (Sergei Eisenstein) 

1927 Six Girls Seeking Shelter (Hans Behrendt)

1927 Symphony of a Great City (Walter Ruttmann)

1927 The Girl with the Hat Box

1927 The Shooting of Dan McGrew (Milord McGrew)

1927 The Sneaky Operators /or Danger Ahead (Willam Howard)

1927 The Street Merchant's Deed (Oscar Apfel)

1928 A Real Gentleman (Clyde Bruckman)

1928 Cement (Vladimir B. Vilner)

1928 Gossip (Ivan Perestiani)

1928 Mospolygraph Pencils (Anonymous)

1928 Shanghai Document (Yakov Bliokh)

Sam Peacock

I recently met up with London-based artist Sam Peacock, (born 1976. originally from Rugby and educated at Coventry University. "Escaped the West Midlands in 2004 to pursue a career in London") to view his one-man exhibition at Curious Duke Gallery in London. Sam’s paintings, whilst being minimalist abstracted landscapes, are a refreshing shift away from any convention. Working on steel plates he creates horizons across the “canvas”, based on experiences from his travels around the globe, particularly in Australia and Thailand. I think the pieces are terrific.

Employing a mix of conventional and unconventional organic materials like liquorice, demerera sugar, and carbolic soap he creates surprising subtle effects and delicate colours. He sometimes uses burning to good effect as well (the only pieces that reminded of the “Combustione” works of Italian artist Alberto Burri, but this was totally incidental) creating hot and harsh “burnt” landscapes that refer to the Australian Outback.  He often scrapes back layers of paint to reveal the blur the horizons that define his work. He references these works in series called Orescrape, Colourscrape, and Remescrape.

Peacock explains that “I gorge on the speed and power of mark-making, the rawness and the ferocity of paint; how brush marks shift, scrape and overlap to build up structures and forms which compel me to paint, I look incisively for the conversation within the form to build this up on the surface as the work evolves.”


Dubbo (from the Australian series)

Sam Peacock: “Dubbo is a desolate town where buildings and architecture are characterised by those who occupy them. It’s a jail town with hard as nails pubs, the earth is red and scorched and wildlife lethal. The town’s attractions presented in all forms help form this series of work. In age and eccentricity comes a force of colour. Heat is used at varying points to cause as much distress as possible.”

Dubbo 1 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Dubbo 2 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Dubbo 3 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Dubbo 4 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Katoomba

“Home of the 3 sisters, hence this is a triptych. The red being inspired by patches of fauna growing on the rocks and the mineral content escaping into the bush trails there; a vast space of undiscovered land. Burned out areas appear frequently in this space of intense beauty. The raw surfaces in the works combine organic materials matched with intense heats.”

Katoomba 1 Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm

Katoomba 2 Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm

Katoomba 3 100 Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm

Kurringai

“The inspiration for this series comes from looking at where early pioneers had blasted huge rock formations out of the earth and used steel drilling equipment to carve out a freeway to link Sydney to Newcastle on the Central Coast Road, Memories were of hanging out the car window taking photos on my iphone looking for earth colours mixed with human interactions in the form of drill lines.”

Kurringai 1 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm 

Kurringai 2 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Kurringai 3 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Kurringai 4 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Kurringai 5 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Kurringai 6 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Kurringai 7 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Kurringai 8 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Kurringai 9 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Kurringai 10 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Blaxland

“Blaxland, like most of Australia has a bushfire indicator, I spent time wandering through Blaxland national park with my Brother in Law who is knowledgeable on the Australian outback. We looked at some bushfire damage to trees and the land, an array of charred wood, iron ore and in the rainy season, mudslides. My Australian family is from here and it’s a place close to my heart. There are areas of light and dark in most artist’s rites of passage, this is possibly mine.”

Blaxland 1 Demerera sugar, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm

Blaxland 2 50 x 50 cm Demerera sugar, Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel

Newtown

“Newtown’s vibrancy and chaotic charm mixed with Sydney’s urban population and Victorian architecture gives a heaven sent hideaway for vegans and book lovers and has been a place to explore over the years.”

Newtown 1 Oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Newtown 2 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Ettalong

"A place close to my heart, because it's where I go fishing. Natural beauty occurs in all areas. Its inhabitants are all weathered by the local environment, as is everything else. I swam out to a pier here, which was broken and taken by the sea, to fish off. The piece of work is a signature piece and incorporates oils, varnishes, and organic materials."

Ettalong Demerera sugar, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm

Mudgee

"This series is based on a visit to rural New South Wales in 2010. It's known for it's mining industries of old. Looking at some of the shapes and spaces, along with the colours there, which were raw and sun-bleached. The work is based on steel and includes oils and varnishes alongside coffee and masking tape."

Mudgee 1 Demerera sugar, Arabica coffee, gloss and matt varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm

Mudgee 2 Demerera sugar, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm

Mudgee 3 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Mudgee 4 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Mudgee 5 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm

Umina

"The rock formations here are awe-inspiring, the sea is a force of nature and the heat oversees life here like a giant pagan god. Australia and it's vast resources are here for all to see. The bleached colours are everywhere and the stone is hot to touch. Every now and again, a seal will appear on the beach, having been chased by a Great White. Oils, varnishes and organic materials scatter the surfaces."

Umina 1 Oils and varnish on mild steel 75 x 75 cm

Umina 2 Oils and varnish on mild steel 75 x 75 cm

Whiscrape

Whiscrape 1 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm

Whiscrape 4 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm

Whiscrape 5 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm

Whiscrape 7 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm

Remescrape

Remescrape 18 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 50 x 50 cm

Remescrape 20 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 50 x 50 cm

Remescrape 22 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 50 x 50 cm

Ironsea

The Ironsea series represents a long-awaited ambition to look at Britain's trade links and its underbelly of routes and lines that draw towards a capital. Britain's coastal ports and its links to the new worlds are studied. Decay creeps in alongside a heritage of Industry. The sugar trade is examined in the materials seen and our relationship with the world is discussed alongside the overwhelming power of the oceans."

Ironsea 1 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 50 x 50 cm

Ironsea 2 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 50 x 50 cm

Ironsea 3 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 50 x 50 cm

Ironsea 4 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm

Ironsea 5 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm

Ironsea 6 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm

Ironsea 7 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm

Ironsea 8 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm

Ironsea 9 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm

Ironsea 10 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm