Following its arrival into the galleries of the UK’s leading art retailer, Castle Fine Art, the highly anticipated collection from internationally acclaimed artist, Whatshisname, has now made its way onto the streets of London. Four monumental sculptures have appeared in Covent Garden this week, to mark the launch of the exclusive new balloon dog collection.
The dynamic installation showcases a large-scale exhibition of balloon dog from Whatshisname’s POPek series, of which table-top versions are available to buy exclusively from Castle Fine Art. The four monumental sculptures will be installed in and around the Covent Garden Piazza, showcasing the red ‘Stretching Dog’, yellow ‘Downward Dog’ and orange and green ‘Happy Dog’.
Although Whatshisname has exhibited across the globe, clocking up appearances in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Hong Kong, Singapore and more, this installation will be the very first of its scale in the UK. The balloon dogs, well known for their amusing poses, are inspired by the pop art movement, and became synonymous with Whatshisname when he first created his now widely celebrated ‘POPek’ series. What began as a Koons parody soon evolved into a collection that cleverly satirises the behaviours of real-life pets.
Ian Weatherby-Blythe, Group Managing Director at Castle Fine Art, comments on the Covent Garden installation:
“This brand-new Whatshisname collection is a must-see for all, and we couldn’t be happier to showcase the four brand-new sculptures in Covent Garden. These long-awaited artworks are playful and exciting - the perfect addition to the popular Covent Garden Piazza.
“We are also very pleased to announce that we’ve partnered with Blue Cross pet charity for the duration of this project. Whathisname, as a proud dog lover and owner, had an existing relationship with the wonderful team at the Blue Cross, and we were delighted to build upon it! We have pledged our support to the charity so that our balloon dogs can help the team to continue supporting sick, injured, abandoned and homeless pets across the UK.”
During the outdoor exhibition, visitors will be encouraged to share photos of the balloon dogs, in and around Covent Garden, on social media using the hashtag #castle4bluecross and for every image posted Castle Fine Art will donate £1 to Blue Cross.
Ryan Neile, Head of Animal Behaviour at Blue Cross said:
“Every day our animal behaviour team talks to people about understanding their pet’s behaviour and what they are trying to communicate. It’s vital to get to know signs that your dog is stressed or uncomfortable and equally, when they are happy. These delightful sculptures are great examples of the behaviours displayed when dogs are relaxed and want to interact with us or other dogs. We are so grateful for this support from Castle Fine Art, every penny really does help us to help pets in need and we hope that visitors to Covent Garden will enjoy the playful balloon dog sculptures.”
To view and purchase the brand new collection, visit www.castlefineart.com and to find out more about the Covent Garden exhibition, visit: https://www.castlefineart.com/blog/whatshisname-x-castle-fine-art-coming-soon. For more information about dog behaviour visit www.bluecross.org.uk/petadvice.