Art Surprise vending machine – contemporary art for less than the cost of a deck of smokes!

In one of those serendipitous moments that can often happen while travelling, I met artists Juan Petry (above, right) and Sonia Eva Domenech (not shown) in Barcelona.  Juan initiated a contemporary art project, “Art Surprise” in 2011 which involves selling of contemporary European art using re-purposed cigarette vending machines. At 5 euros per ‘box’ an art lover can sample diverse artists working in a range of mediums. In just 18 months, over 10,000 works have been created by more than 100 artists and sold at these locations across Europe.  As a Canadian artist working in France for the summer, I am delighted to be invited to participate, and will soon be creating my first series of 100 artworks, sized 5cm x 8cm x 1.6cm (which fits nicely inside their elegant custom box). Fabulous idea which could make its way to Vancouver before long….

Art Surprise