Jim Avignon
Encyclopedia
Jim Avignon is a contemporary German
pop artist and representatives of the art modeste, designer and musician. A respected cult figure in the art and Techno subculture in Berlin
, he currently lives and works both in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
and in Berlin
.
Jim Avignon was born Christian Reisz. He started painting when he was 21 years old, exhibiting in techno clubs. His ideas on art were very clear: "I'd rather sell a thousand images for one dollar, than one image for a thousand dollars." He demonstrated his commitment to this philosophy when he exhibited his work in Frankfurt
in 1995: the public was allowed to take any of the 800 originals on display home for free. This exhibition was aptly named "Get Rich With Art". At a 1992 exhibition in Kassel
, he created one painting each day only to destroy it in the evening. A documentary was made about the exhibition, called "Destroy Art Galleries".
In 1990 he painted a mural on he East Side Gallery
wall and exhibited in 1992 with Brad Hwang, Les Amis du Musee and The Dead Chickens in East Berlin. Throughout the 1990s Jim Avignon exhibited in a variety of underground galleries in Berlin and Frankfurt. In the mid 1990s he began to concentrate on music but continued to design his record covers, flyers, posters and make backdrops for his shows.
Jim Avignon is a prolific, provocative and highly original artist who has published a number of books including: "Popbones" (1996), "Busy" (with DAG, 1998) and "Non Radioactive" (with Lisa Brown, 2000). Over the last ten years Jim has performed his music in New York, Tel Aviv, Brighton, Paris, Finland, Singapore and Russia.
Jim has made live paintings in a number of venues including the Institute of contemporary Art in London.
His designs have appeared on Swatch
watches and the tail of an aeroplane.
For the Buddy Bear Berlin Show
in 2001, he designed a bear that stood in a prominent location on the Kurfürstendamm
in Berlin for more than a year.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pop artist and representatives of the art modeste, designer and musician. A respected cult figure in the art and Techno subculture in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, he currently lives and works both in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
and in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Jim Avignon was born Christian Reisz. He started painting when he was 21 years old, exhibiting in techno clubs. His ideas on art were very clear: "I'd rather sell a thousand images for one dollar, than one image for a thousand dollars." He demonstrated his commitment to this philosophy when he exhibited his work in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
in 1995: the public was allowed to take any of the 800 originals on display home for free. This exhibition was aptly named "Get Rich With Art". At a 1992 exhibition in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, he created one painting each day only to destroy it in the evening. A documentary was made about the exhibition, called "Destroy Art Galleries".
In 1990 he painted a mural on he East Side Gallery
East Side Gallery
The East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. It is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall located near the centre of Berlin on Mühlenstraße in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.-Description:...
wall and exhibited in 1992 with Brad Hwang, Les Amis du Musee and The Dead Chickens in East Berlin. Throughout the 1990s Jim Avignon exhibited in a variety of underground galleries in Berlin and Frankfurt. In the mid 1990s he began to concentrate on music but continued to design his record covers, flyers, posters and make backdrops for his shows.
Jim Avignon is a prolific, provocative and highly original artist who has published a number of books including: "Popbones" (1996), "Busy" (with DAG, 1998) and "Non Radioactive" (with Lisa Brown, 2000). Over the last ten years Jim has performed his music in New York, Tel Aviv, Brighton, Paris, Finland, Singapore and Russia.
Jim has made live paintings in a number of venues including the Institute of contemporary Art in London.
His designs have appeared on Swatch
Swatch
Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
watches and the tail of an aeroplane.
For the Buddy Bear Berlin Show
United Buddy Bears
Buddy Bears are a series of painted, life-size fibreglass bear sculptures originally developed in Berlin, Germany. The first Buddy Bear was created by the German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with the sculptor Roman Strobl in 2001....
in 2001, he designed a bear that stood in a prominent location on the Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
in Berlin for more than a year.