JP Bautista

Hey Art Lovers! Hope you have all enjoyed a lovely Easter with friends and family. We at Ace Art needed a break in order to recover from the busy months we have had with our Ace Art Revolution Exhibition. Have you had a browse over our exhibition pieces? Have you seen Jana Nicole’s new Mons Calpe series that pays tribute to Gibraltar’s Barbary apes and our own flora and fauna? 

Moving on, April saw us support the Gibraltar Body and Paint Association who this year celebrated their 10 year anniversary.   

We adorned the Gustavo Bacarisas vault with Jana Nicole’s Award Winning Botanical series whilst the body paint artists went to work on their respective models and with their own magical skills created amazing flora and fauna designs. Body Painting is a form of body art where the artwork is painted directly onto the human body and is temporary, normally lasting up to a few hours. It is nothing new as this form of art has been used forever by indigenous tribes, religious practices and the military but since 1950’s its has been mostly accepted as another form of art and also used in a more commercial way. 

Body painting can be used as a way to gain attention and used in protests as well as commercials with brands such as Max Factor using their cosmetic make up to create amazing visuals on its  models. After this some artists started experimenting with body painting and this led to a minor alternative art movement in the 1950s and 60s, which involved covering a model in paint and then having the model touch or roll on a canvas or other mediums to transfer the paint. French artist Yves Klein is perhaps the most famous for this, with his series of paintings “Anthropometries”. 

The trend is growing and The World Body Paint Festival has now invested more than 10 million Euros into the movement and has been holding its annual festival for over 25 years attracting over 250000 guests. We wanted to continue supporting the movement and featured the Gibraltar Body Painting artists and models in our April WineArt Club edition held at The Wine Shop which also featured the works of Ramon Maiden. Ramon Maiden is an artist who is fully tattooed and unlike the body paint these are not temporary. His passion for tattoos is clearly visible in his art; Ramon Maiden transforms vintage pinup girls and religious figures into his own tattooed characters.  We showcased a selection of both his original works and limited edition prints in which he pays tribute to Alberto Vargas (1986-1982). Vargas was a Peruvian painter who became famous in the 1940 for his pin up girls. He later produced around 300 pin up paintings for Esquire and Playboy. Ramon Maiden has kept his legacy alive; you can view the collection at www.aceart.gi

The next edition of the Wine Art Club will be on the 11th May where we will be showcasing the photographic works of Marco Prizont and local artist Naomi Martinez. Marco Prizont is a young street photographer originally from Barcelona and now based in Cadiz. He showcased his ‘Sombras de Cadiz’ collection at our Ace Art Revolution last month and will be releasing a Gibraltar series at The Wine Art Club. Local, multidiscipline artist Naomi Martinez who has already been awarded various Ministry of Culture awards also had a very successful Ace Art Revolution Exhibition. She showcased her digital and photographic collection and impressed everyone with her work.  

We hope to see you there. . 

Hey Art Lovers! We have lots to tell you about as we have had a very exciting month with our Ace Art Revolution
Exhibition at Gustavo Bacarisas. Months of planning and hard work culminated in a very busy week where we spent 3 days prepping and hanging artwork which filled the 5 vaults at Gustavo with exciting contemporary art and photography. 

We went on PR overdrive promoting the event with plenty of media coverage for our artists appearing on live GBC TV, live radio and podcast interviews as well as feature articles in the Gibraltar Chronicle. The opening night was very well received and saw our guests indulge in a world of exciting new artwork and an exhilarating performance by Nathan Conroy and the Recycle Junkies.  

Welcomed into the Gallery by Jana Nicole, guests were treated to a selection of her award winning botanical series. Jana Nicole wanted to celebrate her return to The Rock and pay homage to its natural flora and fauna and created the Mons Calpe collection. Mons Calpe is inspired by Gibraltar and pays tribute to our oldest Barbary apes Mercedes and Giorgio. The two original designs are out now and consist of a limited edition series of 25.

Heath Kane is a politically orientated artist who has exhibited alongside Jana in the past,  was very excited to visit Gibraltar and was thrilled to witness Jana Nicole get attacked by a local Barbary ape. He stood there recording the moment whilst Jana struggled to keep hold of her bag. Jana did not find this so funny but the rest of us did. Thanks for that Heath! Originally from Australia and now based in the UK, Heath introduced us to a different style of art and delivered his message, which everyone understood and appreciated, none more than the Bayside GCSE and A Levels students. Accompanied by their Head of Department local artist Karl Ullger they had the privilege of meeting and speaking to the artists. This was a very special moment for me personally and the artist themselves as our mission has always been to inspire and support the next generation of artists. 

Apart from introducing new international art to Gibraltar we always work with, support and promote local artists. On this occasion we had Stephen Hermida headline our Photographic vault and Naomi Martinez showcasing her award winning photography and new unseen digital series. Stephen has had his work published in prestigious magazines such as the National Geographic and has exhibited his work in New York amongst the top 50 Humanity Photographers. He is on a mission to get photography seen and appreciated as an art form as he believes this is lacking in Gibraltar and our Revolution exhibition has offered him the platform to do just that. 

Naomi Martinez has been the recipient of many local awards. She is a multidiscipline artist and is currently exhibiting in both Gibraltar and Spain. Ace Art really wanted to showcase her digital series that was inspired by her Grandfathers photographs which she has brought back to life and added vibrancy with her colourful style. Well done Naomi!  We also had works by Monica Popham, Gail Francis-Tiron, Zulaika Vallance, Delia Balaguer and Warren Fox.

The exhibition line up was completed by Marco Prizont a very young but mature photographer based in Cadiz who plays with light, shade and exposure to create amazing shots. Marco is working on a new Gibraltar inspired series, so watch this space as we will have more news soon. Ramon Maiden with his original tattooed pin up girls and Rich Levine with his geometric illustrations completed a very different contemporary exhibition. You can find more information on our artists and their work at www.aceart.gi and follow us on social media to stay informed. I would also like to thank everyone who has attended the event, the artists involved and The Wine Shop, Silver Key Estate Agents, GBC and Gabriella Peralta who all helped to promote and sponsor our opening night. 

Hello art lovers and welcome to the March Edition. Springtime brings colours and chocolate eggs into our lives and this year Ace Art wants to make it even better as we prepare for our biggest contemporary exhibition to date. 

Our ART Revolution exhibition is back with new artists and new art work. It will be held at Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery, Gibraltar and runs from the 16 – 29 March.  Opening night is on Thursday 16th March at 18:00, featuring the works of both local and international artists and photographers. 

Get excited as most of the artists will be in attendance on the night so you can pick their brains over their inspirations and ideas!  Tony from The Wine Shop will be serving us some tasty wine to help the art go down!  And as a special treat on opening night, we’ll have a performance from contemporary dancer Nathan Conroy and The Recycle Junkies.   It’s a night not to be missed!

As Ace Art grows, so does our relationship with our artists. Award winning artist Jana Nicole will be returning to the rock with her prized Botanical Series.  The ART Revolution will have both originals and limited edition prints on display.  She has also promised to surprise us with a unique Gibraltar inspired piece, those attending the opening will be the first to see them. 

Arriving with Jana is her long term friend and artist, Australian born Heath Kane.  Heath is launching a new collection and showing works from his very successful ‘Rich enough to be Batman’ series. Heath has always made art in response to what he sees happening in the world. Each of his collections explores a different political or social narrative. He wants people to look at his art and talk about the issues we face. With a similar mind set is Ramon Maiden, an Ace Art favourite who’ll be exhibiting both original pieces and prints.  He is known for transforming traditional pin ups into his own tattooed characters. Bringing a splash of colour to the show is Rich Levine who is enjoying a lot of success in the US.  His art plays with geometrical designs, structures and blocks of colour.  His work focuses on the topology of iconic images, hovering between representation and abstraction. 

From Gibraltar we have the very talented and award winning Naomi Martinez.  Naomi is a photographer and multidisciplinary artist.  Her series ‘taking liberties with colour’ is a collection of photo negatives retrieved from the passing of her grandfather in which she explores the border between painting and photography.  It’s a very interesting story and series which you will not want to miss. Unlike our underground local street artist Noap, who does not want to be seen and prefers to live incognito.  So I won’t be telling you much about him other than his address … just joking … keep your eyes wide open as his work can also be found round our local streets. 

Completing our amazing line up are photographers Stephen Hermida and Marco Prizontt both of whom have already scooped various photographic awards.  Marco Prizontt based in Cadiz, loves photographing streets scenes and is now adding figures and experimenting with light and shade.  Our Photographic headliner Stephen Hermida is an extraordinary photographer whose artwork has featured in many international magazines such as The National Geographic.  Stephen has travelled the world and specialises in Asian portraits.  I have enjoyed listening to the stories behind his images and we at Ace Art are very excited to be showcasing his work. 

I am looking forward to seeing you all at the Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery. More information on our socials aceart.gi and website www.aceart.gi

Welcome back, we start by wishing all our readers a Happy New Year. For those of you who gifted art this Christmas thank you and hope those who received some artwork have hung them up and are enjoying it.

I took my own advice and gifted art to some of my close friends and family, these were carefully selected and chosen for them and as far as I know they liked it. I’ll find out next time I visit them at their homes, if they are not hung I will be having words.  

We finished 2022 on a high with two successful contemporary exhibitions; we started The Wine Art Club and supported our artists at their own solos. Our first event of the year will be at The Wine Art Club where we will be showcasing the works of Adrian Pitts. 

Largely self-taught, Adrian is an entrepreneur, teacher, musician and artist who started painting in his native London in the 1980s. He studied fine art for two years at Richmond Upon Thames College before moving to Wales to study Philosophy. At this time he began experimenting with watercolours and acrylics and also got involved in various music projects as a guitarist and singer-songwriter. It wasn’t until 2019 that he finally took the decision to dedicate his artistic efforts full time. His first watercolour and acrylics exhibition back in March 2021 at the Sala Marambay, Cadiz entitled “Principios” was very well received, gaining local media coverage and reviewed in the national art publication, Revistart.

During the last few months Ace Art has supported Adrian and pleased to be involved in the presentation of Glitches, his new series that will be launched at The WineArt Club on Thursday 9th February. I caught up with Adrian and asked him about the collection.

JP – What can you tell us about Glitches? 

Adrian – I have an exhibition coming out later this year called ‘Transformations’ and it’s about the ageing process of physical objects and how they deteriorate over time. I also have an interest in the ageing process of the human face and seeing its transformation. The Glitches series was born from that, Glitches is a passage of time. I am sort of playing with time, taking scenes from the past that would be recognisable as during WW2 or the 1950 and throwing in modern day elements, creating a glitch.

JP – So what do you mean by a glitch?

Adrian – Adding modern day elements, so for example a picture of cyclists going over Westminister Bridge in London and one of them is carrying an uber eats delivery bag or a person in a historical scene holding a can of coke or wearing a digital watch. That would be the glitch. 

If you are as curious as I am about this series then come along to the launch and enjoy a wine tasting session at the same time. I can tell you that I have already seen a few of them and have chosen my favourite. Tickets are priced at £15 and available at www.aceart.gi

We will be back next month with more events to tell you about. 

Hello art lovers and welcome to our last column of 2022. It’s the festive season and a time to reflect on the year and give thanks!

Ace Art has much to be grateful for, we launched our Online Art gallery back in July with “Ace Art Revolution” at John Mackintosh Hall. 

The exhibition featured local artists Gail Francis-Tiron, Monica Popham and locally based artists Delia Balaguer and Warren Fox. Ramon Maiden, based in Barcelona, joined our contemporary line up with his tattooed pin ups and religious illustrations. The exhibition was headlined with the artworks of International artist, Jana Nicole. She was recently awarded the prestigious Prix Puvis de Chavannes in Paris at its 160th anniversary. She graced us with her presence at our Revolution Exhibition and fell in love with Gibraltar and its people. We’ll be joining Jana at her own exhibition in Surrey this month.  That special touch at our exhibition was delivered by the Gibraltar Body Paint Association who surprised guests with two spectacularly painted models. 

We then travelled to London to attend an exhibition featuring local artists at The Bermondsey Project Space. It was organised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and curated by Philippa Beale. The exhibition was a great showcase for our local artists; Monica Popham, Karl Ullger and Naomi Duarte have all been nominated for awards and entered in both local and international exhibitions. 

We have continued with our pledge of promoting local and international artists with our exciting new ‘WineArt Club’ at The Wine Shop. Guests were introduced to new wines and art works and many took advantage of the WineArt Club special offers on the night.  At our November event we saw Monica Popham release her first print ‘Blue Casares’.  The Limited edition A3 and A4 prints are available on our website for anyone wanting to add some colour to their walls. 

Our portfolio also had a boost as we added the works of international artists Heath Kane and Rich Levine. Heath has enjoyed much success with his sell out series ‘Rich Enough to be Batman’ featuring Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Rich has created a fun, colourful collection featuring some much loved childhood characters such as Tintin, Mickey Mouse and Charlie Brown.

We finished the year with a Pre Christmas Exhibition at the John Mackintosh Hall a few days ago and featured all of our favourite artists. Encouraging people to give the gift of art this Christmas, special offers were available on all our featured artworks. 

Ace Art has a lot to be grateful for this year, thank you to all the artists and collaborators we’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with this year. We can’t wait for 2023, we’ve got more new artists lined up and some exciting exhibitions planned, so watch this space! But for now, Ace Art wishes you all a very Happy Christmas, enjoy the festive season and we’ll catch up again in the New Year. 

Welcome back!  It’s been a busy month for Ace Art and our artists, so we have a lot to tell you about. We can start by congratulating two of our favourite artists Karl Ullger and Jana Nicole for their recent successes

Local artist Karl Ullger’s painting ‘Castle Step Patio’ was selected for the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) exhibition. The RWA, founded in 1844, prides itself on being the South West’s leading centre for exhibitions, featuring works from leading contemporary artists and academics.  Karl’s painting was one of 500 selected for the exhibition from 10,000 entries; Karl said that he was “over the moon with this opportunity”.  

Our featured artist Jana Nicole was this years recipient of the prestigious Prix Puvis de Chavannes 2022, which celebrated its 160th anniversary. This is a grand prize awarded by the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts founded in 1928. An internal jury awards this distinction to an artist who has had a revealing career or who is a talented emerging artist.  Her 3x2m botanical installation can be seen at the Luxembourg Gardens, Paris. She followed this extraordinary achievement with a participation in this year’s Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum (UK) which looked to explore a 250 year history of protest using currency as a canvas and a vehicle for rebellion. Her work was exhibited alongside Bansky, Deface and more ‘A’ listed contemporary artists. 

As for Ace Art we’ve recently added the work of prolific contemporary artist Heath Kane to our artist portfolio. Heath is an Australian artist, based in the UK who is enjoying a lot of success with ‘His Rich enough to be Batman’ series. This series portrays the image of the late Queen Elizabeth and his series is influenced by individuals who have more wealth than some entire countries. You can explore the collection on our website www.aceart.gi

Finally we have the new WineArt Club, a collaboration with The Wine Shop, which was launched last month. These events combine wine tasting, with ham and cheese of course, followed by an art showcase. Last month we featured the works of award winning artists Jana Nicole and Wine Art Club members enjoyed exclusive art deals on the night. 

At our next event on Thursday 10th November AceArt will be releasing a limited edition print by local artist Monica Popham and showcasing the works of some of our artists such as Ramon Maiden. Monica Popham has recently returned from exhibiting in Bermondsey, London and was awarded the Ministry of Culture prize at ‘Our Gibraltar’ exhibition. Ramon Maiden who describes himself as ‘a Delinquent Dandy’ is a self taught contemporary artist who transforms his subjects into tattooed characters. Tickets for the WineArt Club are £15 and available on our store www.aceart.gi along with more information about the artists. Follow our socials and stay informed @aceart.gi 

Welcome to the first of our monthly Ace Art columns. Ace Art is an online art gallery who exhibits and sells the work of both local and international artists. 

Our aim is to introduce international artists to Gibraltar and promote local artists abroad.

We’ve dedicated this first edition to a very talented group of local artists who recently exhibited in Bermondsey Project Space, London. Ace Art attended the exhibition which ran from the 6th-24th September and was organised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and curated by Philippa Beale. 

The exhibition included paintings, sculptures, photography and visual media providing varied subject matter and diverse materials. Lorraine Buhagiar presented a couple of paintings `Holding On’ and `From Memory’ conceived during the lockdown periods. Shane Dalmedo’s sculpture took prime position and adorned the gallery’s window front. Naomi Duarte who recently won the Alwani Summer Painting Exhibition, presented a series of scannographic photographs, printed and mounted on wooden boards. Local architect Leslie Gaduzo treated us to a series of paintings showcasing old and modern takes on Gibraltar’s streets.  Alan Perez’s film paid tribute to the iconic Queens Cinema and questioned the price of financial gain or progress over cultural heritage and identity. 

Ace Art were very impressed by the work of Zulaika Vallance. The young artist offered a very impacting short illustration film `Give me a sign’ showing how she was able to find motivation during the most challenging part of her life in which she was grieving the loss of her dad.

This amazing line up was completed by three very talented artists. Sebastian Rodriguez recipient of various local art awards, who wanted to convey the sacred and sense of space elements of Gibraltar in his Dockyard, and Sacred Heart Church paintings. The very charismatic and well know Karl Ullger, who has been nominated for this year’s senior cultural award presented a series of paintings showcasing not only Gibraltar’s romantic place in our sacred earth but our sense of uniqueness, expressive and infinite social capacities. Ace Art is very excited to be working with Karl in a project that we’ll be announcing early next year. The exhibition was completed with Monica Popham who was the overall winner at `Our Gibraltar’ art competition and was awarded The Ministry of Culture Award. She presented a selection of her iconic tiles in which she explores the tangible quality of sunlight in Gibraltar and how it interacts with our densely packed architecture. Monica will be releasing a limited edition print with Ace Art soon so follow us on our socials @aceart.gi for more information.  

We conclude by thanking and congratulating GCS and everyone involved in this exhibition. Support our local artists by following them on their socials; I am sure they will be very grateful.  

Until next month…….

Source: Our Sacred Earth, Our sense of place exhibition catalogue.