As Andipa heaved, the glitterati spilled onto the pavement in an evening of celebration and love for Shane, his art and his music. Amongst the invitees was art-critic Waldemar Januszczak who has, kindly and over the course of the last few years, shared his personal views and critical views on Shane’s works.
Waldemar Januszczak is known for his honest, forthright critiques that have entered into and shaped the discourse around art in the United Kingdom for over 40 years. As a writer, producer and broadcaster he has invaluable experience and expertise in understanding not only the cultural importance of art but the importance of art being accessible. Values that Andipa deeply share.
Waldemar has been described as, “a passionate art lover, art critic and writer. His presentation style is casual but informed, enthusiastic, evocative and humorous. He bimbles about on our TV screens, doing for art what David Attenborough has done for the natural world,” and someone who acts out of “a refusal to present art as elitist in any way. He makes it utterly accessible and understandable.”
Indeed, welcomed to Andipa, Januszczak seemed to enjoy his time with us mingling, chatting and enjoying the art with our other guests. The ending to his opening night speech, transcribed below, shows his love for not only Shane’s artworks but for the man himself.
"If you are interested in sex, buy a Shane MacGowan artwork, crumble into a bottle of vodka and I promise you it will sort out all your problems. Second thing is...If you are a sinner in the way Shane MacGowan is, buy one of his artworks and you've got a decent chance of going to heaven. In other words, BUY! BUY! BUY!"
In the introduction to The Eternal Buzz & The Crock of Gold book he says, “this is a gateway into the torrent of mercuric, violent, rude, sexy, blasphemous, bollock-naked and occasionally tender imagery that forms the mental and emotional landscape of Shane MacGowan. It’s the spit, snot and tears of art. Splattering onto the page in a psychic storm of lines, words and colour.’
Heaping further praise on MacGowan he says that Shane’s works have, “ a ‘demented, wild, fascinating, scabrous kind of energy’ and that he is the "Jackson Pollock of the biro”.
We are delighted that Shane is receiving such wonderful accolades from such an esteemed critic. It is testament to the unwavering creativity that flows through him to produce such wonderful works full of authenticity and honesty in a non-pretentious way.
Art and creation have been lifelong passions for Shane and he puts it into words much better than we do, ‘I came, I saw and I scribbled. Before I could speak, when I wasn’t reading Ulysses and My Fight For Irish Freedom, I was writing stories and drawing cartoons, usually involving hurlers and IRA men, but also farmers and geese and penises and enormous tits and anything else I could think of.”
The Eternal Buzz & The Crock of Gold is on at Andipa until the 5th of November. Discover our selection of Shane MacGowan art for sale or contact Andipa via sales@andipa.com or call +44 (0)20 7581 1244.