IKEA ART EVENT 2015LIMITED COLLECTION APRIL 2015

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www.IKEA.ca

We have long provided people all over the world with democratic design – affordable and functional design for all. Now, we’re launching an art initiative with no practical function, instead it’s all about evoking emotions. Creative Leader Henrik Most explains the idea behind IKEA Art Event: Normally you could say that art has a limitation. That it’s for the few, with a lot of money, or something you see in museums and galleries. But we think that art belongs in people’s homes. And with these collections, art becomes accessible for a lot of people - you don’t need to be wealthy to buy something unique. For this year’s collection, we invited 12 street artists from around the world to create 12 unique street art posters for IKEA. The global launch is April 1st 2015, and since it’s a limited collection the posters might sell out very quickly. Our aim is that the different styles and expressions will create a better everyday life - for everyone who loves great art.

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Bring the street art home

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From the streets of the world...Street art lives in the urban environment. It breathes the heartbeat of inner cities and started its journey in the dark subway tunnels. Today, street art has become an integral part of contemporary popular culture and also well on its way to acceptance in the world of high art. Street art has been kind of the black sheep within the art scene. Because it was, first of all, connected to a lot of stuff that didn’t happen in the art world. It was connected to music, to graffiti, to subculture. It was not connected to artists coming from academic institutions educated as artists. They came from other areas. So street art has been kind of the underdog for many years. IKEA chose street art because we felt that they have been the rebels. And we like to see ourselves as a friendly rebel company.

Henrik Most Creative Leader, IKEA of Sweden

One of the artists is taking a break after a hard day’s work in NYC.

“Street art has beenkind of the black sheep within

the art scene.”

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...to the walls of your homeIt all started with the spray can, but today there are many different techniques and ways of working with street art. “Some street artists work very graphic, some black and white, some more graffiti like, some work figurative and some work very colourful. And then we have different techniques; from spraying and throwing paint to fine drawing, stencils and collage, while others have been working more digitally.Mixing all that is what shaped this into a diverse group of street artists and a diverse poster collection,” says Henrik Most.

There’s a lot of work put into customizing each poster to become as individual as possible - within what’s possible at IKEA. You have different kinds of paper and even the printing technique is thought through down to its detail. Then you have the adding of effects - 3D (which creates a depth), glossy, different lacquer possibilities, “glowing in the dark” effects, etc.

Some street artists use ink techniques, for example ink splash.

One poster for IKEA is glowing in the dark.

Some work with geometric abstraction mixed with patterns.

Most artists consider the poster to be a large format. For a street artist, it’s just the opposite.

The printing techniques are thought through to enhance exciting details.

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What’s your story behind the IKEA poster?

Meet the artists

JoHN CRASH MAToS

– The idea behind the image is what I’ve been trying to do for the past 20 years, to merge the energy of graffiti with the world around me. The lettering moving lyrically, the imagery, the curves, everything that I think of as New York City.

NAME John Matos / CRASHBoRN The Bronx, New York City, USA

SoBEKCIS

– We wanted to use all the elements from our street art to make an abstract and figurative image as an artwork.

NAME Nikola Gajic and Ivan Gajic aka Sobekcis BoRN Belgrade, Serbia

NEVERCREW

– The artwork Message in a Bottle is part of a path that we’ve been following for years. We call the theme “living structures” and we like to see them as models of living systems. NAME Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni aka NEVERCREW BoRN Lugano and Bellinzona, Switzerland

CARoLINA FALKHoLT

– The image is a development of a figure I first started to experiment with in summer 2013, when I had the opportunity to work on a big gable in the Swedish town Avesta. The idea for IKEA Art Event was to use only one part of the symmetrical body from the Avesta wall painting and see how it would turn out in poster format. The overall theme of my work is as always feminism.

NAME Carolina Falkholt aka BlueBoRN Gothenburg, Sweden

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KoRALIE SUPAKITCH

– Each of us has a personal universe and a recognisable style, but our work goes very well together. When we put our two characters Supanimal and Geishka side by side they merge into one and tell a new story.

NAME Koralie and SupakitchBoRN Paris and Nimes

HUA TUNAN

– Almost immediately I had the idea about an eagle. It represents the courage that I think many street artists have. The eagle is free, colourful and brave. It’s also one of the traditional animals of China. NAME Chen Yingjie aka Hua TunanBoRN Foshan, China

ERoSIE

– It’s called Horror Vacui which means “fear of emptiness”. It’s a visual reaction to the constant overload of images I experience on a daily basis through the Internet, advertising and just in general. The poster is based on wall paintings I did in a similar style, where I started from one corner and worked my way out, until the empty white walls were totally covered with an over-whelming visual overload.

NAME Jeroen Erosie BoRN The Netherlands

NURIA MoRA

– Abstract ideas.

NAME Nuria Mora BoRN Madrid, Spain

What’s your story behind the IKEA poster?

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MCITY

– The motive is an old carousel that is constructed in the form of a city. Carousels are seen as friendly places for children but my version is different, with wrecking balls that slowly destroy the city. NAME Mariusz Waras aka M-cityBoRN Gdynia, Poland

EKo NUGRoHo

– I’ve witnessed and read about violence and conflicts at home and in many countries across the globe. I think that human beings no longer know or want to know what it is to be tolerant. The figure in my poster is wearing a T-shirt with the text “SaltyTolerance”. The sentence is a little bit funny and absurd. I hope it is strange enough to stay in people’s minds and remind them to be tolerant in any situation. NAME Eko NugrohoBoRN Yogyakarta, Indonesia

ELLE

– I wanted to make a piece that was full of energy, colour, animals and a strong woman centrepiece. I was recalling psy- chedelic poster designs from the ’70s and this piece was the result.

NAME ELLE BoRN San Francisco Bay Area, USA

TFREAK

– It’s about a person who believes in his dreams and will not give up pursuing happiness.

NAME Hamilton Yokota aka T-FreakBoRN São Paulo, Brazil

What’s your story behind the IKEA poster?

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“I wanted my voice to be heard and what better way than painting - on a public facade.”JoHN CRASH MAToS New York City, USA

IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by John Matos aka Crash.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Jeroen Erosie.

“The beauty of art is that it’s free for your own personal interpretation.” ERoSIE The Netherlands

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Christian Rebecchi & Pablo Togni aka Nevercrew.

“Message in a Bottle is part of a path that we’ve been following for years.” NEVERCREW Switzerland

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Nikola & Ivan Gajic aka Sobekcis.

“We would like to characterize our style as illustrative graffiti.”SoBEKCIS Serbia

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Nuria Mora.

“Graffiti is an art of action. When I paint on a wall I own it for a while.”NURIA MoRA Spain

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Guillaume & Coralie Grando aka Koralie Supakitch.

“It’s a mix of sharp and dripping lines, geometrical and instinctive environments, poetic and dreamlike.” KoRALIE SUPAKITCH France

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Carolina Falkholt.

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“The overall theme of my work is as always feminism.”

CARoLINA FALKHoLT Sweden

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Eko Nugroho. Paper.

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“The figures in my work are always wearing some kind of headgear or clothing. That’s my way of giving my characters identity.”EKo NUGRoHo Indonesia

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Hamilton Yokota aka Tfreak.

“I wanted to illustrate the power that we all have within us.” TFREAK Brazil

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Elle.

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“I portray women as warriors and guardians, surrounded by spirit animals, in surreal vibrant environments.” ELLE San Francisco, USA

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Chen Yingjie aka Hua Tunan.

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“My creation is an improvization. I work fast with the ink and brush strokes; there is no second chance for corrections.”HUA TUNAN China

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Mariusz Waras aka Mcity.

“Street art develops our culture. You can find many street art influences in design, music and architecture.”MCITY Poland

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by John Matos aka Crash. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Jeroen Erosie. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Mariusz Waras aka Mcity. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Elle. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

PE420195IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Nikola & Ivan Gajic aka Sobekcis. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Eko Nugroho. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Christian Rebecchi & Pablo Togni aka Nevercrew. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W70×H100cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Nuria Mora. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W100xH70cm.

PE420197IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Hamilton Yokota aka Tfreak. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W100xH70cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Carolina Falkholt. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W100xH70cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Chen Yingjie aka Hua Tunan. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W100xH70cm.

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IKEA ART EVENT 2015 poster $20 Motif created by Guillaume & Coralie Grando aka Koralie Supakitch. Double-sided adhesive tape for mounting the picture to the wall is included. Paper. W100xH70cm.

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Media contacts :

Alicia CarrollNational Public Relations ManagerIKEA CanadaT: 905-637-9440 x6237Alicia.Carroll@IKEA.com

Maja BoricevicNational Product Loans SpecialistIKEA CanadaT: 416-646-8182 x2339Maja.Boricevic@IKEA.com

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