Ben Eine
Encyclopedia
Eine is a prolific street artist based in London
, England
.
lettering on shop shutters in London's Shoreditch
, Brick Lane
and Broadway Market
areas. Some of these letters have been mapped for ease of finding. He has also taken his lettering to the streets of Paris
, Stockholm
, Hastings
and Newcastle upon Tyne
.
Prior to becoming involved in commercial graffiti, Eine was a very famous and highly credible writer in the underground London graffiti scene. His unusual 'throw up' was created to stand out from the usual tags and dubs seen on the streets and can still be found in some dingy areas of East London.
Inspired by the work of fashion assassin Noki, Eine first started to explore more commercial avenues in a workshop above the Dragon Bar in Lenoard Street, London (now knocked down). Eine produced a number of custom clothing designs notably some custom "VANDALS" sweatshirts and started to explore screen prints eventually working as a screen printer for cult screen print company Pictures On Walls. Eine produced many of the hand pulled prints for artists represented by POW including Banksy
, Jamie Hewlett
, Mode2, Modern Toss
and David Shrigley
. His natural talent for colour combinations meant that he was able to enhance the work supplied by the artists. He left this position to pursue his own solo career in 2008.
At this time Eine contributed to sticker graffiti and was prolific in East London with his neon and black EINE stickers (multiple EINE names).
Eine first came to prominence in the "commercial" graffiti scene through his symbiotic partnership with London graffiti artist Banksy; through Eine, Banksy was able to access the underground scene and through Banksy Eine accessed the commercial world.
In his commercial work he has produced numerous lettering styles including: shutter, circus, neon, elton, vandalism and wendy.
In 2007, the Tower Hamlets Partnership began to survey residents of Brick Lane to ask whether they considered his graffiti offensive and should be removed.
In January 2008, Eine was featured in an article in London's Time Out magazine as one of the six best new street artists working in the capital.
There is a chapter on Eine in Street Renegades: New Underground Art by Francesca Gavin and he is also featured in The Art Of Rebellion 2: World Of Urban Art Activism by Christian Hundertmark, and he was featured in Sebastian Peiter's documentary 'Guerilla Art'.
In July 2010, President Barack Obama
was presented with a painting by Eine, Twenty First Century City, as an official gift from the British Prime Minister. David Cameron
.
In May 2010 Ben Eine painted a complete alphabet on Middlesex Street in East London, which was re-christened Alphabet Street by the residents and described by The Times as “a street now internationally recognized as a living piece of art with direct links to The White House.”
EINE’s most recent solo show (March 2011) at White Walls gallery in San Francisco sold out prior to opening. He was also included in the biggest exhibition of street art to date “Art in the Streets” at MOCA, Los Angeles (April 2011).
In 2011 EINE was invited by Amnesty International to design their 50th anniversary poster, joining other artists such as Picasso and Miro in supporting the charity through art. Eine continues to produce canvasses and screen prints from his studio in Hastings and aims to travel the world painting his colourful letters and statements on shutters and walls wherever he can.
and features in Duffy
's music video for "Stepping Stone" and also, briefly, in Snow Patrol
's video for "Take Back the City
".
2011:
GREATEST - White Walls, San Francisco, US
2009:
EINE World Record Attempt Show - Nelly Duff
, London, UK
2008:
When The Lights Go Out - Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO.
2007:
Vandalism - Kemistry Gallery, London, UK
Portobello Film Festival - Westbourne Studios, London, UK
Group shows
2008:
4 Geezers - Ad Hoc Art, Brooklyn, New York (The London Police, Flying Fortress, Pez and Eine)
2007:
Santa's Ghetto - Bethlehem
Open Studio - 19 Kingland Road, London, UK
Urban Sprawl - Leonard Street Gallery, London, UK
Nuart - Stavanger, Norway
Eleven - Leonard Street Gallery, London, UK
2006:
Santa's Ghetto - London, UK
Collette, Paris, France
Electrik Sheep, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
2005:
Santa's Ghetto - London, UK
POW Group Show - Allmänna Galleriet, Stockholm, Sweden
2004:
Santa's Ghetto - London, UK
2003:
Banksy
vs Eine - Gallery V1
, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002:
Artomatic - London, UK
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Life and career
Eine is most notable for his alphabetAlphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
lettering on shop shutters in London's Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
and Broadway Market
Broadway Market
Broadway Market is a street running from London Fieldsto the Regent's Canal in Haggerston in the London Borough of Hackney, east London.Before the late 20th century it was the site of a busy fruit and vegetable market, but this slowly dwindled over time - in the early 2000s, market activity was...
areas. Some of these letters have been mapped for ease of finding. He has also taken his lettering to the streets of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
and Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
Prior to becoming involved in commercial graffiti, Eine was a very famous and highly credible writer in the underground London graffiti scene. His unusual 'throw up' was created to stand out from the usual tags and dubs seen on the streets and can still be found in some dingy areas of East London.
Inspired by the work of fashion assassin Noki, Eine first started to explore more commercial avenues in a workshop above the Dragon Bar in Lenoard Street, London (now knocked down). Eine produced a number of custom clothing designs notably some custom "VANDALS" sweatshirts and started to explore screen prints eventually working as a screen printer for cult screen print company Pictures On Walls. Eine produced many of the hand pulled prints for artists represented by POW including Banksy
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique...
, Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...
, Mode2, Modern Toss
Modern Toss
Modern Toss is a British series of cartoon booklets and books aimed at adults, and a television series based on them. It is the creation of Mick Bunnage and Jon Link; their company is called Modern Toss Ltd, also going under the name '*hitflap' .The cartoons feature low-quality drawing, offensive...
and David Shrigley
David Shrigley
-Life and career:Shrigley was born in Macclesfield on 17 September 1968, the younger of two children born to Rita and Joseph Shrigley. Shrigley grew up in Oadby, Leicestershire, England...
. His natural talent for colour combinations meant that he was able to enhance the work supplied by the artists. He left this position to pursue his own solo career in 2008.
At this time Eine contributed to sticker graffiti and was prolific in East London with his neon and black EINE stickers (multiple EINE names).
Eine first came to prominence in the "commercial" graffiti scene through his symbiotic partnership with London graffiti artist Banksy; through Eine, Banksy was able to access the underground scene and through Banksy Eine accessed the commercial world.
In 2007, the Tower Hamlets Partnership began to survey residents of Brick Lane to ask whether they considered his graffiti offensive and should be removed.
In January 2008, Eine was featured in an article in London's Time Out magazine as one of the six best new street artists working in the capital.
There is a chapter on Eine in Street Renegades: New Underground Art by Francesca Gavin and he is also featured in The Art Of Rebellion 2: World Of Urban Art Activism by Christian Hundertmark, and he was featured in Sebastian Peiter's documentary 'Guerilla Art'.
In July 2010, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was presented with a painting by Eine, Twenty First Century City, as an official gift from the British Prime Minister. David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
In May 2010 Ben Eine painted a complete alphabet on Middlesex Street in East London, which was re-christened Alphabet Street by the residents and described by The Times as “a street now internationally recognized as a living piece of art with direct links to The White House.”
EINE’s most recent solo show (March 2011) at White Walls gallery in San Francisco sold out prior to opening. He was also included in the biggest exhibition of street art to date “Art in the Streets” at MOCA, Los Angeles (April 2011).
In 2011 EINE was invited by Amnesty International to design their 50th anniversary poster, joining other artists such as Picasso and Miro in supporting the charity through art. Eine continues to produce canvasses and screen prints from his studio in Hastings and aims to travel the world painting his colourful letters and statements on shutters and walls wherever he can.
Eine in popular culture
Eine's lettering is often featured in magazines and promotional material. His work was used prominently by pop group AlphabeatAlphabeat
Alphabeat are a Danish pop band from Silkeborg, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders SG and signed to Polydor Records. Their single "Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007 and a significant hit in the United Kingdom in 2008...
and features in Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
's music video for "Stepping Stone" and also, briefly, in Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
's video for "Take Back the City
Take Back the City
"Take Back the City" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the lead single from the album on different dates in October 2008, depending on the region. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow...
".
Gallery shows
Solo shows2011:
GREATEST - White Walls, San Francisco, US
2009:
EINE World Record Attempt Show - Nelly Duff
Nelly Duff
Nelly Duff is a contemporary commercial art gallery in Shoreditch, London. It is based at the foot of Columbia Road market in the East End of London. It works with Ben Eine, The Toaster, and many other internationally-recognised artists. The origin of the name 'Nelly Duff' comes from the Cockney...
, London, UK
2008:
When The Lights Go Out - Andenken Gallery, Denver, CO.
2007:
Vandalism - Kemistry Gallery, London, UK
Portobello Film Festival - Westbourne Studios, London, UK
Group shows
2008:
4 Geezers - Ad Hoc Art, Brooklyn, New York (The London Police, Flying Fortress, Pez and Eine)
2007:
Santa's Ghetto - Bethlehem
Open Studio - 19 Kingland Road, London, UK
Urban Sprawl - Leonard Street Gallery, London, UK
Nuart - Stavanger, Norway
Eleven - Leonard Street Gallery, London, UK
2006:
Santa's Ghetto - London, UK
Collette, Paris, France
Electrik Sheep, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
2005:
Santa's Ghetto - London, UK
POW Group Show - Allmänna Galleriet, Stockholm, Sweden
2004:
Santa's Ghetto - London, UK
2003:
Banksy
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique...
vs Eine - Gallery V1
V1 Gallery
V1 Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located on Vesterbro in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 2002 by designer Jesper Elg and photographer Peter Funch...
, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002:
Artomatic - London, UK