… until now!
The EAST VILLAGE. team is excited to announce a new addition to the #ev.family, this time in the form of acclaimed graffiti artist TEMPER, who we start working with in January 2014.
Originally from Wolverhampton, Arron Bird (aka TEMPER) has become one of the biggest names in the UK contemporary art market, and he has appointed EV. to raise his profile even further, ahead of some new major projects.
You may know his work without even realising; he’s the genius mind (and hands) behind ‘The Lovely People’, the series of sculptures scattered around The Cube, Birmingham. He was the first graffiti artist to be selected to create a major piece of public art. The sculptures represent local Birmingham people who have had their story immortalised in bronze; from a fire-fighter who was awarded the George Cross Medal, to a Holocaust Survivor. As well as their incredible stories, they have also become a local attraction with people posting pictures of them posing next to them daily. To celebrate working with TEMPER, Demi and Tara decided to do their own; head over to our Twitter to see them.
The Lovely People barely touches TEMPER’s extensive repertoire of work. He first met Goldie when he was 11 and was immediately drawn to the graffiti scene. Throughout the 90s, he and Goldie were among some of the first graffiti artists to be paid for their work.
TEMPER’s big break came in 2001 when he was commissioned by Coca-Cola to create a limited edition Sprite can design.
Success continued when he was awarded a solo exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. He became the first graffiti artist ever to have a solo show in a major public gallery space and ‘Minuteman’ welcomed 38k visitors in four weeks. Soon after, advertising supremos Saatchi and Saatchi hired him to paint a wall at their offices in London. He was also commissioned by Chelsea Football Club to create six paintings for its players lounge, which then saw his work enter the homes of the likes of Roman Abramovich, footballers Ian Wright and Robbie Savage, and even DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Temper has created some jaw-dropping collections over the past decade or so; one of his best-known is ‘The Good Die Young’, a celebration of 27 iconic figures whose lives had a premature end. He also produced a series of 24 figurative nudes called ‘A New Day’, which sold out within five minutes of its launch. One of his more recent collections ‘Post Graphaelite’ remains his biggest success to date. The 12 large portraits, each representing a different zodiac sign, sold for £1.4 million and was exhibited at Whitehall Palace in London in 2008. Oh, and not to mention his design for The Twang’s album ‘Jewellery Quarter’.
TEMPER boasts a seriously impressive CV but his biggest works are yet to come – with some launching later this year – and the EV. Team is excited to work alongside his genius. Maybe we’ll even get some art lessons out of it?!