THE EARLY YEARS | 1999 - 2002

The early years in Eyestorm were immortalised in Gavin Griffiths’ book ‘The Accidental Pornographer’ (2008), where he dedicated a chapter to his year working with the company - and it was described as one of those places where any idea would be considered, and ideas and confidence were strong.

With the release of exclusive print editions by Italian enfant terrible Maurizio Cattelan and James Welling, today considered as one of the most influential American abstract photographers, Eyestorm started releasing print editions with the biggest talent of living artists in the world in 2000. Notable were the three pieces Loopy, Hair and Cut Out by American super league artist Jeff Koons, and Valium, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) and Opium by the British counterpart Damien Hirst.

That year one newspaper wrote that prints from Eyestorm would be a far better investment as a Christmas present for your staff, compared to the traditional company party, and one with no hangovers or embarrassments the day after. The paper got it right, today the early print editions are sold at auctions at prices more than ten-fold of the launch price.

In 2000 the internet was the new, new thing; and one famous German photographer had seen the future to come. In a series of seven photographs, the 80-year old Helmut Newton released ‘Cyberwomen 1-7’ exclusively with Eyestorm. The title of the series reflected the platform where they would be exhibited; the cyberworld.

At the beginning of the new millennium Eyestorm introduced several other exclusive and prestigious print editions such as Street Meets Avenue by Ed Ruscha, the three works titled ’Seing The Elephant’ with Robert Longo and a series of four ’Elliptic Ecliptic’ photographed by James Turrell during the solar eclipse in 1999.

Other renowned artists, with whom Eyestorm collaborated in 2001, include David Armstrong, Kenny Scharf, Boyd Webb and Bill Owens. To this day, more than fifteen artists from the early years are in the permanent collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art and several more are represented in other worldly institutions, such as MOMA, The Met in New York and TATE in London.

One fine morning in October 2001 an anonymous cleaner in the London gallery stole the newspaper headlines. As a promotion for the latest edition by Damien Hirst, titled Painting by Numbers, the artist had made an installation in the display windows, which was a glimpse into what his studio looked like. The installation included used towels, a half-empty coffee cup and used brushes. Overnight the cleaner had taken the matter into his own hands and left the windows neat and tidy. The story swept the world press and one London art critic suggested the cleaner be given an award as he clearly knew what “good art” was. Hirst thought it was hilarious and given the fact that Painting-by-Numbers was indeed a humorous response to the critics blaming him for having assistants doing his spot paintings, Hirst proved that not everyone might appreciate his art, and that he was not a hypocrite.

From an idea in 1999 and during the three years that followed, the company opened gallery spaces in London and New York City and kept opening new doors to some of the world’s best living contemporary artists.

A NEW BEGINNING | 2002 - 2011

Being a pioneer in a century old art market was something that would need time and patience and in 2002 Eyestorm restructured as group of new owners got onboard. The gallery in London continued to release exclusive print editions with established artists such as the British pop-artist Peter Blake who in 2004 took vintage cigarette packs, enlarged them and created a series of six screen printed editions titled ‘Fag Packets’. From 2005 the gallery shifted focus and started looking for new inspiring talent to match the contemporary establishment. Exclusive releases by two new artists in 2005 would later show to be well spotted. That year, four print editions were released with Lucie Bennett and Anthony Micallef. Today, a decade from the beginning of working with Bennett, her single-line female drawings continue to excite collectors of her work, and Micallef is among the group of much appraised British artists.

“We love Eyestorm” is a sentence we like to hear and in 2008 this quote by the creative director of the design magazine Wallpaper* lead to a collaboration between the magazine, eight celebrated photographers and Eyestorm. Ten historic photographs were curated, including the iconic Carabo by Benedict Redgrove and Cintia II by Jonathan Frantini. The same year a new small button surfaced on the website; [Make an Offer]. Some may not have noticed, but a tech magazine picked up on it, calling it “sheer brilliance” and an example of how companies would increasingly engage in conversion with their clients in the years to come; a small invention we can proudly look back on.

During the 1980’s a new urban art form started, which by the 21st century had developed into what today is widely known as “street art”. The art form has many faces and has seen a massive increase in popularity in the last 10-15 years. In 2009 our gallery released the popular print edition by Dan Baldwin titled The Future Frontline Renegades of Dead London and in 2010 we released two exclusive print editions of the iconic Mr A (Black) by French artist André.

BACK TO OUR ROOTS | 2011 -

In the summer of 2011 a couple of creative entrepreneurs took over Eyestorm. The idea was to build on the spirit and founding idea from 1999 to release exclusive print editions with talented artists. That year marked a revitalisation starting with the introduction of a two new artists, Henrik Simonsen and Jacky Tsai. Both artists are today widely recognised for their talent and have a growing interest from collectors around the world.

Drawing on memories of the Danish countryside as well as specific places he has travelled, the Danish artist Henrik Simonsen creates mysterious and arresting pieces, a style often referred to as 'Nordic Expressionism'; And similarly demanding the viewer’s attention is the innovative visual dialogue, between traditional Eastern craft and Western pop art created by Chinese artist Jacky Tsai. In 2018 Tsai opened his first museum solo exhibition at Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA), an impressive feat by a young artist.

In addition to regular new exclusive editions by Lucie Bennett, Henrik Simonsen and Jacky Tsai, we have in the last seven years proudly introduced and released print editions by Noma Bar, Jo Bradford, Ross Holden, James Hunter and others.

From the early days twenty years ago, Eyestorm is today an international gallery building on the original inspiration 0f releasing high quality exclusive editions, with special emphasis on handcrafted prints by established and emerging artists.

In addition to releasing new editions we have an in-depths knowledge as an art dealer and can assist in buying and selling works of art, created by the artists we represent, in the private market.

We assist clients all over the world in finding art for their home or private collections.