Red Bull and Add More Colors have collaborated on presenting 2016 with the Canvas Cooler Project, an event aimed at artists taking blank Red Bull Canvas coolers and decking them out with their own work, having the chance to win a trip to an International Festival in Sweden - Karlskrona Skärgårdsfest 2016. Jamie Iain Genovese turned to some of the finalists to find out a bit more.

How did you hear about Red Bull Curates: Canvas Cooler Project?

Cheryl Bilocca
I found out about this project through a Facebook post.

Chris ‘Sea Puppy’ Jensen
A friend from Add More Colors gave me a little encouragement to take part.

Francesco Morena
I heard about the project from Add More Colors.

Glenn Ellul
I first read about the project from a sponsored post on Facebook.

Lara Manara
I heard about the competition because my younger brother tagged me in the post advertising it on Facebook.

Malcolm Alden
A friend had suggested that I apply for this event.

Tell us a little bit about your piece.

Cheryl: Since my piece is going to be placed at Café Del Mar, I decided that for my cooler I would go for something vibrant. As a medium, I am using acrylic as I find it easy to manipulate. Considering that it is near the sea, I wanted to give my piece flow and continuity, both with technique and colours chosen.

Chris: It’s basically one serpentine-like shape, metamorphosing from one contrasting creature to another.

I sketched this out directly on the fridge and made it up as I went along. There is absolutely no meaning behind it, so no need to strain the brain.

Art is for the people. More people should see art every day, and study various cultures

Francesco: I like the realistic/surrealistic style, so, I’m trying to make a reinterpretation of the Red Bull logo in my own style.

Glenn: The idea originated from after I was assigned MedAsia as the venue to display the cooler. I consider MedAsia to be a bridge between two worlds; the contemporary Mediterranean and Asian. I wanted the work to capture the essence and overall vibe of the location. The main influence behind the piece is the art of juxtaposing Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Mediterranean cultures. The piece tells a story which is set in an unspecified future during a monstrous war set in Japan.

Through this collaboration, I wanted to express the importance of craftsmanship which I feel is somewhat being lost in this day and age where technology is taking over most aspects of life.

Whoever came across my work knows that I’ve been developing a style of my own through the use of sophisticated and exaggerated forms. The process through which I create my work is a commitment to patience and a rebellion against the immediacy that surrounds us.

Lara: My piece is completely inspired by what I found at Café Rouge, the bar in which my work will be exhibited. The bar showcases vintage, random objects such as the bust of a stag, a gramophone and an old vintage telephone. I incorporated the tiles I found there because I loved the pattern and symmetry. I added the logo of Café Rouge playfully into the left side of the cooler with a woman holding a cappuccino talking into the vintage phone.

On the right side, I placed a couple dancing to music from the gramophone. I love how my piece turned out, I think it captures the essence of the bar.

Malcolm: It’s pretty abstract. I use my imagination to come up with monsters and animals and then just throw them together. In this case, the four creatures are connected and present themselves on each side of the cooler. The top has an anatomically correct heart to show that the cooler makes them one. It’s pretty random, but I think it works.

If the Canvas Cooler could end up at any location in the world, any private home, any venue, any one room, where would you want that place to be and why?

Cheryl: Since the colours are put in a way to create spirals and continuity from one side to the other, I wanted to convey the feeling of the sea. Therefore, I think my cooler would be best fit somewhere at a coastal location.

Chris: At my folks’ in Denmark. They were/are amazingly patient enough to put up with my shenanigans all this time. It would be a tiny atom-sized token of gratitude.

Francesco: In a large square of a big city, because I think that art is for the people. More people should see art every day, and study various cultures, if they did this more the world would be better for it.

Glenn: I think I’d easily pick Adachi Gardens in Japan. It is said to be a living Japanese painting and one of the most beautiful gardens there. I can easily picture the cooler on a white podium, contrasting a different character depending on the season.

The piece contains around seven million handmade line strokes that were created using only fine black pens with a 0.4mm nib

Lara: I guess Café Rouge, because it is based on the bar. I think it would look good in some smoky downtown jazz bar.

Malcolm: Anywhere, really! As long as someone is appreciating the work and taking care of it, I’ll be happy. That’s why it’s exciting knowing that my work will be available for all to see at a night club. That’s enough for me.

What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece?

Cheryl: The challenge I was faced with, is the fact that I have never painted on this type of material before.

Chris: To be honest, it was a nightmare for a good while. Then, at one point. I let go and figured I’d try to make sense of it as I went along.

The strange dimensions of the ‘artwork safe’ areas (side, top, side) presented a lot of restrictions, since I was looking for main focal points. I wouldn’t normally paint something like this through free will, without planning.

Francesco: Trying to match my style of painting with the material and the shape of the canvas, mixing all different sides to make one, uniform piece.

Glenn: Since my work is very intricate, the biggest challenge in this project was time. The piece contains around seven million handmade line strokes that were created using only fine black pens, with a 0.4mm nib. It took me over 250 hours to complete the cooler in time. To keep track on the work in progress follow facebook.com/glennellul or @glennellul on Instagram.

Lara: Working on the cooler itself, in the way that you either have to twist and turn your body to draw correctly or twist and turn the cooler, which is pretty heavy.

Malcolm: The surface of the cooler itself. I use a lot of water-based pens or ink in my work usually. Using those products on a fridge surface is difficult, because it takes ages to dry and can be easily wiped off. What I decided to do was to use a combination of acrylic paint markers and water based pens. When done, I would spray the surface with a matt varnish so the paint and ink can’t rub off or fade.