At Bright they will exclusively be presenting their latest work. With Alias, SP38, Mymo,  Matthias Gephart, Mein Lieber Prost, Peachbeach (Lars Wunderlich, Falk Hoger, Attila Szamozi), Büro-Büro (Julian Faudt & Stefan Mückner) and Giacomo Spazio, Guillaume Trotin, curator and founder of the West Berlin Gallery, has managed to round up a colorful creative troop of local Berliners and Berlin-former-based artists. For the Artists Kitchen at Bright he is promising a mix of different styles and techniques, exhibits made from stencil art, character and graphic design, as well as illustration on material ranging from wood and canvases to paper and metal. The focus is depicting all various techniques of the urban art machine: including tags, stencil and painting. Following a successful debut at Bright in summer 2010 we’re looking forward to this winter reunion.

Together with Bright and Artig&Co we’re presenting the “Vector Lounge Bright Special” as a special highlight in the large cinema hall – a battle in which some of our graphic design artists will be competing against one another in a simultaneous illustrative contest. So on the very first day, the competing illustrators will be hearing: “on your drawing pads, ready, steady, go!” and the subsequent awarding of the winner over a few beers should be a good enough reason not to miss this creative kick-off.

(Words Nada Carls, Bright Magazine)

For the past few years, Lars has been living in Berlin and working around the clock for many different commissions. However, he found some time in his busy schedule to sit down with us and talk about his work.

"Next Stop Infinity" Digital Illustration for T-Shirt.

Hi Lars, would you like to introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Lars Wunderlich, I’m 29 years old, and I am from Friedland a small town in northern Germany. I am an Artist and Graphic Designer living in berlin for the last 5 years. I am also a member of the PEACHBEACH collective.

How did you get into art in the first place?

I have been drawing and painting my whole life. At the age of 7 my parents sent me to art lessons and did it for like 10 years. At some point, while watching tv I saw gaffiti and got very interested in it. In1996, I started doing it in my hometown. I believe It was then that I decided to study art.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your artwork?

Everything, ah… that’s a good question. I like artworks that have a deep meaning, and a bit of irony. Nature, people and music are probably the main things I draw inspiration from. What I see as being the good things of life, or at least the positive things in my life.

What is your creative process like?

Well, it depends. Sometimes I just sit at the desk with nothing on my mind and draw until something pops up in my head. Some other times I know exactly what I want to do. In that case, I start sketching and when the time is right, I do the piece all at once. When I do graffiti for example, It’s all about improvisation.

"Sonic Bomb" Typografic Illustration for T-Shirt.

There is a lot of typography work on your illustrations, what do you find interesting about it?

That has to do with my graffiti background, of course. It’s the best way of adding a message to my work. It’s a way of making clearer what I wanna say.

So, your art is message-based, not just pure aesthetics.

Yeah, I’m always interested in giving a positive message with my art. Sometimes even a mystical one, depending on my mood. But definitely, there is always a meaning in everything I do, even if it’s not always visible to the public.

You are part of the PEACHBEACH collective as well, are you just as comfortable working as part of a team as you are working alone?

Yes, I  love working in a team. It is amazing for me to see how a piece of work changes from what I had in mind when everyone’s ideas come together. It isn’t always easy to work with other people, since we don’t always agree when decisions have to be done, but it’s all part of the creative process and the result is always much more interesting.

"Riding the balloon" Graffiti at the Subwaystation Schloßstraße Berlin, together with Falk Hoger and Attila Szamosi from the Peachbeach-collective.

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

Ahh… always a difficult thing: business and art!  It is hard to sell something you love. However, you need to learn managing the business side of art if you want to be successful with it.  I’ve always seen graphic design as being more of a business field than art itself, but I guess nowadays the borders between both fade away. Anyway, since my student time is over now,  I’m starting to take more notice about this all.

How would you evaluate your experience with art galleries?

Good. It’s a great thing that West Berlin Gallery gave us the chance to do the PEACHBEACH show here. Once you have a place where you can show your work, there is no need to worry about that anymore and you can completely focus on the creation of your work. It gives you a wider range of viewers too, which is always a good thing.

Last question, What’s your favorite piece of self-produced work?

It’s hard to say. Right now we are producting of a big piece for a club, in which we also did the design. I am really enjoying it. With my personal work though, I always say I am my best critic. When I stand in front of my own art work after some time, I can just see the things I could have done better.

That’s all, thank you very much Lars.

no worries, thank you!

"Greatest invention of the Century" Digital Illustration for T-Shirt.

A few of the latest Lars’s artworks are available in our online shop.

Special thanks to Laura Lopez Castro & Don Philippe for making the opening ceremony so special with an intimate concert.

& in case you haven’t seen the pictures on facebook yet, here are a some ;)

Location: STATION-BERLIN, Luckenwalder Strasse 4-6, 10963 Berlin.

For the first time in human history, the majority of the earth’s population is living in urban residential areas. The urban environment and the corresponding lifestyle can be counted amongst the fundamental sources of inspiration for contemporary culture. The historical revolution of visual forms of expression, in which the designs of everyday streetscape, with its graffiti, tags, tattoos, advertising or graphic design found their sustenance, define the progression of contemporary art. The urban environment as literal and metaphorical platform for this development both inspires and presents the artist and their works.

Notwithstanding this, the majority of projects and galleries are still operating on a mostly semi-profitable basis. Passion and dedication are still more important than business plans and projections. This has naturally led to a young generation that finds it difficult to kowtow to the dynamics and rules of the classic art market. Unbeatable participation costs combined with professional presentation and an uninterrupted passion for art – this is where we see the starting point for STROKE, the world’s first and only Urban Art Exhibit. The STROKE.ARTFAIR is not a repackaging of old presentation and sales rituals in new clothing. STROKE represents an unconventional and enjoyment-oriented handling of art. Whether with an art history education, a serious collectors intention, passion for form and colour or pure curiosity – STROKE stands for uncompromising equality and openness.

The STROKE.ARTFAIR is the world’s first art fair dedicated to artistic developments of many diverse subcultural influences throughout the last 30 years, such as Streetart, Graffiti, Low-Brow, Illustration, Skateboard Art and many more – subsumed under the term of Urban Art.

Other participants includes Valsugo (D) / Xlab Corrosive Art Farm (D) / Box32 (D) / Limited no Art Gallery (I) / Quality Lovers (D) / Soon Art Gallery (CH) / Skalitzers (D) / Superplan (D) / Xhoch4 (D) / ATM (D) / Klub7 (D) / Galerie Rasch (D) / Kunstdruckgalerie (D) / Laker One (D) / Mongomania (D) / We Love Kicks (CH) / From here to Fame (D) / Intoxicated Demons Gallery (D) / Schau-Fenster (D) / Ghp (FRA) / Inoperable (AT) / SC gallery (ES) / We are visual (D), / Atemma Contemporary (D) .. to name a few

Opening reception Thursday from 6 pm – 11 pm.

Opening times Friday and Saturday from 1 pm – 11 pm, Sunday: 1 pm – 6 pm

Entry fee day ticket: 8 EUR. Public transport: Gleisdreieck (U1/U2), Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park (U2), Schöneberger Strasse (Bus 129)

Peachbeach is a fraternity composed of three reconverted bad boys who decided to settle in Berlin and enjoy its vibrancy and dazzling cosmopolitan colours. The three young artists aim at fusing their different backgrounds and creative approaches in one edgy mix of strong illustration, sensitive typography style and an ironic vision of social etiquette and games.

Peachbeach Attila Szamosi, Falk Hoger and Lars Wunderlich have, since their troubled teenage-hood, come a long way with their collective and diversified their art and activities from graffiti to design, painting, branding and even charity at the Operation Tirana in May 2010 in collaboration with Mazine. The collective strives at connecting the plurality of minds and skills, combining different synergies and outlooks to inspire every-day life.

The show’s name Welcome to the Peachbeach was inspired by Las Vegas giant neon signs from the 70s and will feature paintings on canvas, wooden panels, illustration on posters, graphics on skateboards and more: in brief, Street Art in all shapes and sizes!