Opening

941 Geary Gallery Presents: ROA “Dominant Species” (San Francisco, CA)

September 11, 2012 , , , , ,

ROA

ROA in Brooklyn Summer 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

941 Geary is pleased to present “Dominant Species,” making San Francisco the latest home to ROA’s talent for the first time since his solo show at White Walls last year. “Dominant Species” will open Saturday, September 15th, from 6-9pm, with the exhibition free and open to the public for viewing through November 3rd, 2012.

Belgian-born artist, ROA, is known for his striking, and expressive depictions of animals, often stretching to multistoried heights. Even when not massive in scale, ROA’s animals are massive in impact, created with vivid details and the keen eye of a naturalist. Through a focus on local species, ROA reintroduces species that have been forced to the outskirts of urban areas back to the land they once inhabited freely. With this selection of creatures natural to the area, ROA is able to create a powerful sense of intimacy between the viewer and the animals represented. ROA’s paintings often show multiple anatomical layers of the same representation. The work is interactive and the depicted animals can be manipulated by the viewer.

ROA cemented his reputation as one of the world’s most prolific and recognizable street artists by painting members of the animal kingdom throughout major cities of the world, including Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Sydney and many more. His work has now become a global affair, reaching between the Andes and the coast of Chile, the Australian Outback, the African Savanna, the Asian tropic, the American prairie and back to the abandoned factories in the backyard of his hometown in Belgium.

ROA’s “Dominant Species” is his latest body of work created directly after his road trip from the East to the West of America. Driving through the states he experienced and observed a diversity of habitats and species, including the American eagle, the historic symbol of imperialism. Even the icon of the American country is endangered by nature’s most combative intruder: humans. “Dominant Species” refers to humanity aside the history of the States, from the Spanish conquest that consequentially, and brutally, changed the native life up to the contemporary human invasion of the landscape. Travelling throughout the tragically magical landscape of Northern Arizona, ROA was fascinated by the illustrative examples of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, seen in the paradox of the harmony of the Navajo with Mother Earth alongside the chaos of commercial feed lots, bear hunting, and landfills.

ROA’s site-specific process gives his art the ability to conform to the dimensions of a space and grow from within it, and 941 Geary will be entirely used by the artist to create his installation. “Dominant Species” will be constructed from found objects and salvaged materials, with the large-scale installation guided by a dystopian narrative and ideas of how civilization can run down the land it grew from. Aging wood, rusting metal and skeletal remains come together to remind us of the interrelated workings of our manmade cities and the natural world, with ROA’s mastery of anatomical form and beautiful renderings making these discarded objects something to value anew.

Event Information:

ROA: “Dominant Species”

Opening Reception September 15th, 2012, 6-9 pm

@ 941 Geary (www.941geary.com)

941 Geary St,

San Francisco, CA

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Low Brow Artique Presents: “Just My Type” A Group Exhibition. (Brooklyn, NYC)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , ,

Just My Type

 

Low Brow Artique is proud to present Just My Type, which brings together four artists in a contrast of the various uses of typography. For this show, the gallery presents the work of Dirty Bandits, Gilf!, ND’A and QRST. The exhibition will be open to the public from September 14th to October 7th, with an opening reception on September 14th from 7 to 10pm.

Both being knowledgeable sign painters, ND’A and Dirty Bandits employ similar techniques when using typography in their art. Creating signs for different occasions, the Dirty Bandits employs humor combined with exceptional letterforms.  Through creating series themed around such things as ex-boyfriends and pickup lines, the artist pairs intricate and feminine type-work with a good amount of hilarity in each sign. In a similar vein, ND’A uses pop culture references and cartoon-like visuals to grab viewers’ attention as well as give them a good laugh. Known for his love of 1950’s music and comics as well as contemporary rap, the artist provides a wide range of visual and textual influences for his viewers.

In addition to providing humor, typography can also be used to convey a serious set of ideologies or beliefs.  For QRST, the banners integrated into his pieces typically carry a simple message of his moniker. However, occasionally, the cynicism seen in his portraiture paintings comes across through in these spaces. Using source material such as biblical quotations, the artist wants the viewer to see the world his way, with a dark, cynical bent. Carrying a similarly serious tone, Gilf! uses text to confront inequalities and promote change within society. Often, the artist subverts the manner in which viewers are traditionally accustomed to reading in order to garner their attention further. Whether it is forming the words into an eye chart or arranging them in an otherwise unusual form, issues such as equality and women’s rights remain the focal point of her pieces.

With work ranging from the self-conscious to the socially conscious, Just My Type represents the spectrum of concepts that words can be used to convey. Accompanying these ideas are a wide range of typographical styles whose details  are just as intricate as the thoughts behind them.

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Galerie Itinerrance Presents: LUDO “Metal Militia” (Paris, France)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , ,

LUDO

“I’ve been working hard this summer and I’m pleased to let you know that I have a solo show opening next week, first time ever showing in my home town Paris.
The show is called “Metal Militia”, opening september 14th at Galerie Itinerrance.
It’s a mix of canvases, this is the first time I’ll be showing big works on canvases plus pieces on paper and sculptures. All the pieces are graphite and oil painting”. LUDO

LUDO (image © Courtesy of the artist)

Au travers de son oeuvre Ludo relie le monde des plantes et des animaux avec notre univers technologique et  notre « quête de modernité », il observe l’humanité, déchiffre notre société afin de mieux s’exprimer dans les limites qu’elle impose.
Ses premières incursions dans l’art de rue ont eu lieu il y a plus de 10 ans. Il se tourne vers le collage en 2007 afin de maintenir une approche transgressive tout en se protégeant des peines juridiques les plus sévères.
« Revanche de la Nature ». Le titre inquiétant de sa série convient à son contenu : un nouvel ordre, dans lequel la faune et la flore se sont métamorphosés en des organismes hybrides, des créatures chimériques qui s’approprient les attributs de notre société, afin de reprendre leur place sur notre planète.
Des caméras de sécurité s’échappent des pistils d’un lis ; les abeilles voltigent, cachées derrière masques à gaz, des crânes humains se regroupent pour former une grappe de  raisin.

Tirées avec précision d’illustrations botaniques,

LUDO (image © Courtesy of the artist)

7bis, rue R. Goscinny 75013 Paris
Visite sur Rendez vous au (+33)06 19 98 06 33
Métro Ligne 14/ RER C  Bibliothèque François Mitterrand

 

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Opera Gallery Presents: Bäst “Germs Tropicana” Solo Exhibition. (Manhattan, NYC)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , ,

Bäst

 

Brooklyn-based artist Bast has been an important part of the street art scene for the past 10 years both in New York and Europe, where his wheat-pasted images feature prominently across the urban landscape. An elusive character that has rarely been seen in public, and whose very existence has been debated, little is known about Bast’s work outside of what the public sees throughout New York’s urban environment. Fortunately, more has become known about the artists as his images have evolved to gallery-exhibition status in recent years.

Bast is held in high regard by his fellow contemporaries such as Banksy, Faile, and Paul Insect. In 2010, Bast collaborated with the artist collective Faile on a conceptual video arcade project called Deluxx Fluxx. This project allowed the audience to interact with both of these artist’s work in an arcade game form. While not reviewed heavily in art publications, Deluxx Fluxx received favorable reviews by noted journalists such as Stephen Heyman of the New York Times who argued “art can be diverting, but people sometimes need winners and losers to get in the game.”

For Bast’s first solo show in New York City in 2004 at Transplant Gallery, fellow elusive artist Bansky wrote the introduction to the exhibition’s catalogue. His words give a glimpse into the personality of the artist: “Bast is an artist who represents for Brooklyn. He does this by writing ‘BAST-BROOKLYN’ on other people’s property (and in one case when visiting London the side of a moving red double-decker bus). He does this by speaking with a deep Williamsburg drawl that makes Al Pacino sound like a girl, but mainly he does it by making art that actually feels like Brooklyn. The borough is said to contain every culture and race that exists on the planet earth but that doesn’t necessarily make it interesting- so does the United Nations building but who wants to look at that? The key to Bast’s appeal is not being very responsible. The work isn’t so much a ‘melting pot’ of culture as a food blender, set on max and left until the motor burns out…”

Banksy adds, “His art is fast and loose and cheap, which is strangely why it endures, it’s punchy and it has value. As the great disgraced film producer Robert Evans once said “it’s irreverence that makes things sizzle, its irreverence that gives you a chance of truly touching magic…”

Bast’s work is also appreciated by many in the fashion industry. He has collaborated with Agnes b. on several occasions, who was an influential figure in the art world in the 1980’s during the peak careers of Haring, Warhol, and Basquiat and continues to cultivate artist’s careers today. Bast also teamed up with renowned fashion designer Marc Jacobs to create a clothing collection for one season that eventually lead to creating a 5 season long collaboration. This was a career highlight for Bast as Marc Jacobs had only worked with Takashi Murakami and Kaws previously on his collection label.

Bast’s current show at Opera Gallery New York, “Germs Tropicana,” displays a new direction for the artist, one where Abstract Expressionism meets Pop-Art. In addition to this new style, this group of work continues to explore his already know collage style of faces. The imagery in these pieces appear similar to giant petri dishes, where his text and pop iconography, aka germs, take over the canvas. This body of work is the evolution of Bast, and ties together many of the different styles which he has created over the years.

Fellow contemporary artist Paul Insect describes Bast and his work as, “Coney Island’s original warrior, copied by many, stolen by all…New York’s modern day Basquiat, Bast’s eccentric style delivers a punch to where most people dream of hitting.”

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Klughaus Gallery Presents: Reyes & Steel “All Write You Scumbags” (Manhattan, NYC)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , ,

Reyes & Steel

Klughaus Gallery & LRG present…
REYES & STEEL
“All Write You Scumbags”

Opening Reception: Friday, September 14 from 6-10pm
Location: 47 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002
RSVP: rsvp@klughaus.net

There will be (limited) complimentary gourmet Pat LaFrieda cheeseburgers by STEEL aka Sleazy McCheesy at the opening! Klughaus Gallery and LRG are proud to present, “All Write You Scumbags,” a dual artist show featuring recent works by Bay Area artists Victor Reyes and Steel. “All Write You Scumbags” marks the New York debut for both artists and showcases a distinct chemistry cultivated over years working together as friends, creative partners and members of MSK, one of the highest regarded graffiti artist collectives in the world.

Victor Reyes has been painting since the early 1990s and his work has been exhibited in galleries all around the world. As an artist preoccupied with what he once described as the “natural rhythms” of penmanship, Reyes’ self-instructed evolution from graffiti writer to fine artist has included a fascinating exploration of spelling and typography.

“These new works are painted and illustrated as a reveal to the contemporary ideas surrounding graffiti and its application within the conversation of fine art,” says Reyes of the duo’s Klughaus show.

Steel is an artist from San Francisco who paints cheeseburgers. He has a great appreciation for classic print design and sign painting. Among other things, he is known for his versatility and ability to create artwork in a gallery setting that is very distinct from his work in the streets. His vibrant, colorful paintings and illustrations are detailed, tongue-in-cheek, and often explored using untraditional canvases ranging from ammunition boxes to vintage silver cans. His inspirations include his friends, Richard Pryor, and good food.

There is going to be a limited edition Reyes/Steel zine released at the opening. The limited zine is 10 pages, hand bound saddle stitch and hand painted with gouache and serigraph on watercolor paper.

For a catalog, please contact: info@klughaus.net

The exhibit will be on display through October 7, 2012

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Know Hope Presents: “Others’ Truths” A New Zine Relase and Art Show (Tel Aviv, Israel)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , ,

Know Hope

“Others’ Thruths” a new zine by Know Hope

Release date: 13.9.12

The zine will be released in a special event that will take place on Thursday, September 13th at 20:00

(the exhibition will remain open Friday, September 15th, 12:00-16:00)

at “Studio”, 2 Harakevet St., Tel Aviv

“Others’ Truths”, Know Hopes tenth and newest zine is comprised of a series of drawings, texts and observations collected during the past year.

While working on the zine, Know Hope focused on the idea of ‘truisms’, which are often adopted without questioning; by the use of the image of the flag in his work, Know Hope attempts to research the concepts of patriotism and nationalism, not necessarily from a directly political stance, but from a viewing point of the personal or private human condition in relation to the more general and collective.

“Others’ Truths” is in a way a continuation of Know Hopes research, attempting to understand the current situation that we find ourselves in, being born into a charged reality structured on the foundations of past and outdated morals and values.

The original drawings that were used as pages in the zine will be exhibited during the event. The drawings are composed of Know Hopes repetitive iconography, that are an insight to the human condition, as well as the motif of ‘the flag’ and the relationship between the two.

The zine will be available during the event, and at www.thisislimbo.bigcartel.com and selected stores from Friday, September 14th.

“Others’ Truths” is independently published in an edition of 1000. The zines are soft cover and have 64 b/w pages.

In addition to the zines, sticker packs created specially for the event will be available.

 

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Nuart Presents: Nuart Plus International Street Art Summit (Stavanger, Norway)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , , ,

Nuart Plus

NUART PLUS
STAVANGER NORWAY : 27/28/29 SEPT

Nuart Plus, one of Europe’s first international Street Art summits kicks off this year!
Thurs Sept 27- Sat 29th Sept sees a host of industry professionals, creatives, authors and critics descend on Stavanger to discuss, dismantle and fight their way through issues surrounding Street Art, advertising, urban development and related issues.
http://www.nuartfestival.no/nuart-plus

Three days of keynote talks and presentations, panel debates with visiting artists, film premieres, street art tours and more. See full program attached.

Guests and Keynote speakers include
Carlo McCormick (US) – Tristan Manco (UK) / Ron English (US) / Saber (US) / Jordan Seiler (US) / Jon Burgerman (UK) / The Wa (FR) / RJ Rushmore (US) / Evan Pricco (US) / Kristi Guldberg (NO) / Eirik Sjåholm Knudsen (NO) / Marion Højris Jensen (DK) / John Xc (UK)


Nuart is proud to announce the latest addition to what’s fast becoming one of the most talked about events on the international street art calendar.

This three-day international Street Art Summit inaugurates the new PLUS series, a component of the festival that aims to bring together the public, artists and creative professionals in an environment of exploration, innovation and discovery.

Open to the public, Nuart PLUS is a professional gathering that explores the ever-strengthening links between creativity and our urban environment. Featuring a mix of keynotes, panels and presentations, the Nuart PLUS summit is a 3-day conference aimed at elaborating a cohesive view of the current trends within groundbreaking artistic mediums and proposing visions for the future.

————————————————————————————————————————————————–

DAY 1 – Mental space
Day 1 will investigate the relationship between street art, the urban environment and advertising. For decades street artists have not only co-opted the visual strategies of advertising but also the physical billboards that advertisers use. Day 1 explores the corporate visual elements that surround us, how do they affect the way we engage and behave in society and what are street artists contributing to this arena?

DAY 2 – Physical space
Our second day is perhaps the most comprehensive, with a keynote address from renowned cultural critic Carlo McCormick as well as presentations, panel debates and discussions from a broad range of guests. Physical Space will tackle the complex relationship between Street Art, Urban Planning and our physical environment. Street Art and Graffiti now plays a prominent role in the cultural landscape and consciousness of a city. Can it and should it be assimilated. In other words, how can street art play a role in producing the city and society we wish to live in?

DAY 3 – Virtual space
Virtual Space will explore Street Art’s life on the web by exploring the growing relationship between the street, the artist and the Internet. With rapid photo and film uploading sites, dedicated street art forums, social media sites, blogs, mobile apps and other sharing platforms, Street Art and its life on the Internet is now a multi-authored environment. Can we see specific changes in art practices and expressions due to this?

Full day program with keynotes, panels etc.: http://www.nuartfestival.no/nuart-plus

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FILMS:

Thursday Sept 27. Kl 1700. Sf Kino
POPAGANDA. “The Art & Crimes of Ron English”.
With a live introduction and post film Q&A with Ron English, moderated by Juxtapoz Editor in Chief, Evan Pricco (US)

The modern day Robin Hood of Madison Avenue, subversive artist Ron English is on a mission to liberate all billboards. He paints, perverts, infiltrates, reinvents and satirizes modern culture on hundreds of pirated billboards. Popaganda chronicles the evolution of an artist who offers an alternative universe where nothing is sacred, everything is subverted and there’s always room for a little good-natured fun.


Saturday Sept 29. Kl 1700. Sf Kino
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFTSHOP
Introduction to the film from author and Banksy confidente Tristan Manco (UK)

This is the inside story of Street Art – a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the world’s most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner with wildly unexpected results.

One of the most provocative films about art ever made, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a fascinating study of low-level criminality, comradeship and incompetence. By turns shocking, hilarious and absurd, this is an enthralling modern-day fairytale… with bolt cutters.

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TOURS

THURS 27. STREET ART TOUR
STREET ART TOUR : ART AND ADVERTSING WiTH JORDAN SEILER (US) AND RJ RUSHMORE (US)
Join us for what’s probably one of the most unusual Street Art tours ever presented. Following on from the days discussions regarding who controls our mental/visual public space, Art V’s Advertising and the power plays in our utrban environment, Jordan Seiler (US), founder of the groundbreaking PublicAdcampaign and Rj Rushmore (US), founder of the highly respected Street Art site Vandalog will be your guides.

FRI 28. STREET ART TOUR #02
STREET ART TOUR #02 : LANDMARKS, WITH TRISTAN MANCO (UK)
Our second and final tour of the week will explore the work produced over the years in and around the city center and will take in several of the pieces created for this years event. Street Art and Graffiti now plays a prominent role in the cultural landscape and consciousness of a city. How can street art play a role in producing the city and society we wish to live in?

Hosted by world renowned Street Art expert and author Tristan Manco (UK), the tour will depart shortly after the final Nuart Plus talk of the day.

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Space 27 Gallery Presents: “Permanence” A Group Exhibition. (Montreal, Canada)

September 11, 2012 , , , , , ,

Permanence

C215 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Permanence

Space 27 Gallery and Pure Living present Permanence, an exhibition contrasting the ephemeral nature of street art with the permanence of collectible art.

Including a variety of artwork created by Montreal-based as well as Canadian and international street artists shaping our urban landscape, Permanence aims to show the transition of street art from its underground beginnings to mainstream.

The works presented are directly influenced by the artist’s involvement with the street art movement; one that uses the city as a medium of expression, combining a vast range of techniques and artistic influences. In Permanence, they are brought out of the urban landscape and into the fine art world.

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS:
Army of One – US
Banksy – UK
Bast – US
Brett Amory – US
C215 – FR
Charming Baker – UK
Faile – US
Guy Denning – UK
Holly Thoburn – UK
Hush – UK
Jef Aerosol – France
Judith Supine – US
Luc Bouchard – US
Mario Wagner – Germany
Quik – US
Shepard Fairey – US

CANADIAN ARTISTS

Alan Ganev
Case
Earth Crusher
Fauxreel
Fred Caron
Gawd
Jason Botkin
Labrona
Lilyluciol
Mathieu Connery
Omen
Other
Philippe Chabot
Produkt
Rage 5
Roadsworth
Scan
Specter
Stikki peaches
WIA
Xavier Landry
Zilon

Details:

Date: September 15th, 2012
Time: 18:00h – 23:30h
Location: Space 27, 101 rue Louvain W. Montreal

 

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RERO Spells Trouble in Cali

September 8, 2012 , , , ,

Oh wait, did I say that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights?  Strike that. I meant all rich white straight men who own media, banks, oil, water, food and politicians. Now, can we get on with this?

RERO (photo © Fabien Castanier Gallery)

French Street Artist RERO has a unique “strike out” function to the text he applies to walls, one that draws your attention to their meaning, and simultaneously negates them in crisp mechanical fashion. The power of language is highlighted here more than the aesthetics of the painting, although it is all by hand. With irony, RERO is hearkening back to early Street Art/public art textualists like Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, and later Cost/Revs, who let words stand on their own and on their ear, keeping you on your toes, on alert.

RERO (photo © Fabien Castanier Gallery)

RERO may be employing just enough insider jokes that reference modern life and computer language nomenclature to see if you are paying attention or  perhaps just to draw attention to his art and to the story he wants to tell.

WYSIWG.

SPAM.

LOADING PLEASE WAIT.

Tonight when his solo show opens at the Fabien Castanier Gallery in Studio City, CA a new wordsmith will have his say. Here are photos of his new wall in preparation for his show exclusively for BSA readers.

RERO (photo © Fabien Castanier Gallery)

RERO. Untitled (THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED)
Vintage book, mixed media with resin
20″ x 20″ 2012.  (photo © Heather Oakley/Fabien Castanier Gallery)

RERO “Image Not Available” opens tonight. Click here for further details.

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Shooting Gallery Presents: Ben Frost “See Inside Box For Details” (San Francisco, CA)

September 7, 2012 , , , , , ,

Ben Frost

 

Shooting Gallery is pleased to present Australian artist Ben Frost’s solo show “See Inside Box for Details,” opening Saturday, September 8th, from 7-11 pm. The exhibition will feature approximately

The exhibition is free and will be open to the public for viewing through September 29th, 2012.

12 paintings on canvas as well as paintings on found

packaging, such as pharmaceutical boxes, candy and cereal packaging.

The controversial painter and street artist will be showcasing a unique body of work,

critiquing our media-obsessed society and our loss of innocence through advertising.

Ben’s work subverts logos, icons and characters from popular culture and re-presents

them in startling and often confronting new ways.

“See Inside Box for Details,” aims to re-evaluate our understanding of product

advertising by juxtaposing unlikely and confronting elements into some of our most

loved and well known consumer icons.

Ben Frost confronts the conjoined twins of

capitalism and consumerism with striking compositions that present a chaotic look at a seedy nature underlining pop culture, presenting sex and violence in a glamorous role. Most unnerving of all is that that on first glance the work of Ben Frost may seem innocuous, filled with the bright palette and playful characters of childhood cartoons and sugary cereals.

With a series of paintings placed on found pharmaceutical and food packaging, Frost highlights the disingenuous

optimism of advertising. The innocence of familiar cartoon forms overlain on stark boxes of prescriptions pills like Morphine and Botox opens a discourse on the proliferation of prescriptions in modern culture and the morally-ambiguous stake pharmacology has in society’s welfare.

From the Artist:

Whether it takes the form of medicine to keep sickness at bay or highly-

-processed treats to keep you content in front of the television, our pre-packaged

lifestyles are sold to us in colorful and dynamic boxes.

I’ve been using the logos and design elements of product packaging for many years,

and it seemed a natural evolution to begin painting directly onto the packaging – to

introduce

subversive elements within what already exists as an object.

Double entendre and satirical word play is brought out in new readings of our favorite

and well known products i.e. the breakfast cereal Special K features a drug dazed rabbit

introduced to the packaging, Viagra and Cialis boxes juxtaposed with Mr. Burns, Pop

Tarts featuring Britney Spears and Whitney Houston and a series of confronting

paintings onto McDonalds fries boxes.

Since I began painting onto packages in 2011,

the branding and product titles seem to be more obvious in their possible double

meanings. Twinkies, Hamburger Helper, Vanilla Cupcakes, Dirty Rice, Cheese Nips

and Hot Tamales have all suggested new and twisted re-imaginings.

I source the objects from different sources, either directly off the shelves of

supermarkets, friends who are in the medical industry, trash cans and from people who

actually use the various medicines that are inside the boxes.

 

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White Walls Gallery Presents: RONE “Darkest Before the Dawn” (San Francisco, CA)

September 7, 2012 , , , , , ,

RONE

 

White Walls is pleased to present “Darkest Before the Dawn,” the first SF solo show of Melbourne-based artist Rone to follow his successful San Francisco debut in the “Young and Free” showcase of Australian street artists at 941 Geary in 2011. “Darkest Before the Dawn,” will feature works on canvas, brick, and paper, varying in size from 3’x2’ to large-scale works measuring over 6’x6’. The opening reception will be Saturday, September 8th, from 7-11pm, and the exhibition is free and open to the public for viewing through September 29th, 2012.

With the face of the same wide-eyed and sharp-featured woman starring in each portrait, Rone creates a modern legend. Separately, each piece is an autonomous work, existing through its own beauty, but when viewed together a narrative is opened, leaving us to wonder what led to the birth of this icon. In “Darkest Before the Dawn,” Rone tells us that his feature character stands as a symbol for the possibility of assimilating our worst moments into a new strength.

By incorporating a variety of techniques, Rone deliberately infuses each piece with the textures he readily encounters when working out in the streets. The build-up and deconstruction of multiple layers is a fluid, free flowing way of revealing a composition by letting it come about itself. The medley of patterns and textures embody the continuity of time passing, while the woman in the midst of it all personifies grace overcoming deterioration.

From the Artist:

“We all have moments in our lives that make us who we are. These may be both tragedies and great moments that change the way we see the world. ‘Darkest Before the Dawn’ explores the concept of our darkest moments will eventually become our strengths, told through stylized portraits of a modern heroine.

I am trying to tell this story with the textures I see on the street, hand painted signage, torn bill posters and the deteriorating walls that look like they could tell their own stories. Using a palette of muted colours inspired by the fading colours I saw in Miami & Cuba, I am trying to create a sense of 80’s when style was all that mattered.”

 

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