Common Thread is an event showcasing the work and facilities of multi-discipline designers working in the south side of Glasgow. A wide range of work will be exhibited including interior, furniture, product, web, graphic and sound design.

Designers exhibiting:

Roobarb, Emit, Worhaus, Modern Standard, Zero-waste, Silo Design and Build, Kabloom, Egg Machine, and Mifundo.

There will be a chance to view the facilities (including the sound and web design studios and workshop) and chat with the designers.
There will also be light and sound installations and Southside Studios own radio station will be playing throughout the evening. Get down early for some of their famous pizza baked in their own oven, and enjoy some quality Scottish ales provided by Williams Bros.

To register your interest and for more infor text COMMON and YOUR NAME to 60777

On Friday, June 11th, the doors opened to the public for this year’s Glasgow School of Art Degree Show. The show is always a fine opportunity to see the emerging talent being nurtured within those famous walls. We Can Never Stop will be bringing you work from many of the graduates over the coming month, with an insight into how they work and what they have their eyes on for the future.

Jonny Burke was good enough to document the night for WCNS with his camera – despite the infamous Renfrew Street party in full effect. Unfortunately, due to the regimental approach to queueing this year, we only had time to visit the Vis Com building, so apologies for not getting photos of some of the excellent work which was on display inside The Art School.

(Milk courtesy of Jamie Dunn)

After the festivities of outside ground to halt, Milk played another energetic gig and Thunder Disco Club celebrated their first birthday in style, with a fine DJ set. They may not have played a good deal many gigs, but their performance eradicated any notions that they are anything but amateurs. To complete the sensory appeal, Glasgow’s most famous seagull, Joe Crogan, demonstrated his might with a captivating, no holds barred, approach to the visuals. What were the ingredients? Scantily clad, helmet wearing dames, lots of grids and an effervescent collection of colour – magic!

If you missed out, the show will be running till the 19th and there’s plenty helpful informtion on the GSA site. Be also sure to look through the Vis Com site as some of the work in there is outstanding.

Local gallery, Recoat is hooking up with new promotions company, Pigeon and Dr Sneaker to put on a collaborative exhibition from two heavy hitting UK artists in Warsaw this summer.

It’s very hush-hush just now but there will be more info to follow soon, and it will be well worth it…

The Sleight Of Hand exhibition is on right now over at Recoat Gallery. There is an accumulation of artists from around the world including Angelique Houtkamp, Mr Jago, ADDFUELTOTHEFIRE and much more. It’s running until June 4th.

Photos by: Alex Martin

Scottish artist, Susan Philipsz was this week announced in the shortlist for this years Turner Prize.   Known for her sight specific sound installations, Phillipsz commission for the Glasgow International Festival Of Visual Art – Lowlands – was a favourite in the festivals 2010 programme, and one of the most emotive and affecting of the festivals attractions

A recording of a traditional lament sung by Philipsz herself, the piece played every twenty minutes amplified from speakers under the two bridges on either sides of the Central station Railway bridge. Lowlands brought a spectral and haunting beauty to unsuspecting passers by, who made their way along the river front at the George V bridge during the 2 weeks of the installation, facilitating moments of meditation and quite contemplation in the otherwise bustling heart of the city.

The launch of the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 2010 got under way tonight, at The Tramway. From 16th April till May 3rd, Glasgow will play host to some of the most stimulating, exciting and novel international and local artists.

↑ David Shrigley – I’m Dead

The festival is a great opportunity to get to know more about local contemporary art and learn about who really is raising the bar here, and how. It embodies the art scene in Glasgow at it’s best, liveliest and strongest. There are many exhibitions, events, talks and tours planned for the following fortnight. There is work from Christoph Büchel, David Shrigley and many more. You can view the full listing of events right here.

↑ Carla Scott Fullerton – Lath & Lines

Watch this space for a podcast interview with the GI Festival director, Katrina Brown.

Susan Castillo has been working freelance on various commercial – and personal -  projects. She has worked closely with the Scottish magazine, The Coveted creating many of the main fashion spreads. She has exhibited in London at the Association of Photographers Gallery in 2008, and later went on to work on a collaborative show at SWG3. She was also shortlisted for the Terry O’Neil Awards in 2009.

Susan has worked in collaboration with The Scottish Ballet, Craft Mafia and Kabloom. Her work has been featured in The List, The Skinny and Image and Gestalten’s new book, Urban Interventions.

She currently has a solo show running at the Mussel Inn Gallery in Glasgow, ‘Deep’.  It’ will be running till May 5th and can be found at this map.

This is what she had to say about ‘Deep’:

“What I can say is that photography gives me a unique view of the world. It enables me to capture beauty and abstract moments that can often go unnoticed; it is a means of satisfying my desire for creative expression and experimentation.

‘Deep’ is the result of that desire, it is a project that began with underwater photography allowing me the opportunity to explore an environment that I was unfamiliar with, and then became more of an exploration of those qualities associated with that environment. Movement, a poised weightlessness and a calm sense of space are what ultimately drove the resulting work and which translate so well to the still image.”

Last night saw the launch of Matt Mignanelli’s The Paradigm show, at Recoat Gallery. There was a fantastic turn out and even Matt’s parents, brother and girlfriend flew over from NY for the launch. Very cool and down to earth people and it was a pleasure meeting them.

The attention to detail, vibrancy and life in his paintings really took me by surprise and I recommend you head over to see these paintings for yourself. The exhibition runs until May 2nd so if you missed the launch, there’s still time. You can also buy his work at Recoat’s online store. A full interview with the Recoat owners, will also be coming later today.

Photos by Alex Martin

New York artist Matt Mignanelli is in Glasgow for the first time, getting ready for his latest exhibition, at the Recoat Gallery. We Can Never Stop contributor, Alex Martin, headed down to take some photos of him preparing for Friday’s launch and to find out if he’s loving this fine spring weather we are blessed with.

Matt’s work is pulling a lot of inspiration from energy, pattern, light, and emotion. He is exploring the relationship between nature and structure, which is relayed through his use of geometric shapes juxtaposed against organic forms. The vivid palette in which he is working from, is influenced by the neon nightscapes that populate his home town urban environment.

Be sure to swing round on Friday the 2nd for the launch at 7pm (here’s the map). Seeing these paintings in the flesh and his large scale installation, is highly recommended. Myself and Alex will be there documenting the launch, and sniffing around the free bar. If you want some chat or would like to say hello, then don’t hesitate to join us!

Gallery opening for Good Wives & Warriors exhibition, Fun Occult, at Recoat Gallery

Good Wives and Warriors is the creative partnership between Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell, who met while studying at the Glasgow School of Art.

Rebecca means ‘good wife’ and Louise means ‘warrior’. They have been working together on collaborative projects for the last five years and have recently been featured in Taschen’s Illustration Now Volume 3, IdN ‘The Illustration Special’ and have produced work for Adidas, Swatch and MTV. They have also exhibited wall paintings in Europe, South America, the USA and Australia. They are currently based in London.

‘Fun-occult’ will be a collection of their drawings and a large scale mural drawn on the windows of the gallery exploring the aesthetic symbols of pseudo-science and religion using a playful and light-hearted approach.

Pop down tomorrow night, between 7-10pm, for the opening. Recoat always put on a good night, and this should be no exception!