More words from Art & Graft:
As with any group show, after defining the initial brief and concept it was time to narrow down the list of artists and designers we hoped would get involved. As we went through our top picks we found that a fair few were represented by the brilliant Hugo&Marie.
Having got in touch with the Hugo&Marie team in New York we were then able to reach out to some of the artists that they manage and see if they wanted to be involved. Luckily Deanne said yes and a wooden and rubber mallet set off across the Atlantic to her studio.
The approach to the tool followed her strong use of colour and pattern, however, with the differing rubber and wood the material needed to translate the design to the surface had to be a little unusual.
“Nail polish was used as paint because the different surfaces of the mallet - the wood and the rubber - needed a solution/type of paint that would adhere to both surfaces and provide a shiny finish. Once I chose the medium, the size of the brushes really dictated the pattern.”
The resultant Mallet 01 piece is a beautiful, highly tactile ode to ornament, fashion, delicacy and patience.
Photo: John Hooper
Deanne Cheuk is a New York-based art director, illustrator and artist. She has been commissioned by such companies as Nike, Relabld, Lane Crawford, Cole Haan, Converse, Swatch, The Lincoln Motor Company, American Express, Levi’s, Target, MTV, Olay, Sprint, Nickelodeon, Dell, The Gap, Microsoft, Urban Outfitters, The Guardian, T magazine and The New York Times Magazine for her illustrative and stylistic approach. Cheuk’s artwork is inspired by nature, utopia, space and being, often distorting realistic representation into fantasy. Her first book is called ‘Mushroom Girls Virus’.
Deanne has exhibited work worldwide in a number of solo and group shows including at 222 gallery, Rocket gallery in Japan, the Redefining The Line exhibition in California, Deitch Projects, and Lorimoto in New York, the New Grand Tour Show in Beijing, If You Can Collaborate in London, BCC group show in New York, and at the Monster Children Gallery in Australia.
Deanne has been featured in numerous publications including Time magazine, Tokion, Theme, Elle Girl Korea, WAD magazine, Vogue, Computer Arts, Lucky Mag, and Dazed & Confused.