A big blue cockerel for Trafalgar Square

The next two commissions for the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square will include a bronze figure of a boy on a rocking horse by artists Elmgreen & Dragset and a large ultramarine cockerel (above, in case you missed it) by Katharina Fritsch...

Berlin and London-based artists Elmgreen & Dragset will unveil their sculpture, Powerless Structure, Fig. 101 in 2012; while Fritsch's sculpture, Hahn/Cock, will appear in 2013.

The German artist is well known for her dense, richly coloured pieces and the cockerel apparently references the animal motifs that appear in modernist art and symbolizes regeneration, awakening and strength. 

I personally am not a fan of the cockerel sculpture, I do not think that the cockerel represents anything that the artist is claiming it to and I am adamant that the sculpture is neither aesthetically pleasing or worthy of being showcased in Trafalgar Square (although worse pieces of art have been put on the plinths in the past). 

Simon Cook at Concrete Hermit

A few months ago I did a post about the wonderfully talented Simon Cook. Simon Cook, one of six graduates featured in Creative Review's  'Class of 2010' issue in September. I am pleased to have found out that he opened his first solo exhibition at Concrete Hermit's Carnaby Street space in London yesterday evening.


Cook set up his own company, Stone and Spear, back in 2008 while still a student on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course at Nottingham Trent University. His distinctive tyle, which combines photographic imagery with brightly-coloured graphics, has since appeared in work for clients including Anorak Magazine, Poolga (who make art and wallpapers for the iPhone and iPad) and DPI magazine.

The show will feature a series of A2 prints by Cook, which are shown here. He will also launch the Stone and Spear product line, which includes badges, stickers and greetings cards, in the gallery at the same time.

More info on Stone and Spear is at stoneandspear.com, and Concrete Hermit's website is concretehermit.com.