All posts tagged: West Berlin Gallery

West Berlin Gallery Presents: “Dissidents” A Group Art Exhibition. (Berlin, Germany)

Dissidents

 

DISSIDENTS
Group Show, Opening November 17th 18:00
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. By acknowledging the social and political unrest of this year, West Berlin Gallery cordially invites you from 18:00 until 22:00 on November 17th, 2011 as we debut Dissidents, a Group Show featuring: ALIAS, SP38 , Prost, Emess, Rallito X, BR1, Linda’s Ex, Niark1, Jakob Tolstrup, and Giacomo Spazio.

In 1800s Europe, the rising food prices and high unemployment fueled widespread popular protests. Communist Europe in 1989, created frustration with corrupt and unresponsive political systems and provoked the fall of once powerful regimes. 2011 is spurring a similar chain of events, bringing people together and empowering us to grab our governments by the balls and demand what is rightfully ours, human rights.

Seeking truth and raising awareness, the artists that we have chosen for this show strive for non-conformity and create work representative of both political and social opposition, making them pioneers of dissident activity. Consciously or not, they seek honesty, challenge boundaries, then create art as a way of driving this message in to the minds of on-lookers.

About the artistsALIAS– Always keeping in mind the social and political activities and breaking through the boundaries of traditional art making, ALIAS delivers a great deal of gravity through his loaded imagery and mindful aesthetic. The self taught street artist never ceases to astound the public with his stencil work on recycled material.SP38 – Urban poetry is this Berlin based french artists’ speciality. Mixing silkscreen and paint, SP38 plays with words to create provocative sentences which are strongly related to both political and social events of their time. The more sophisticated look of his artwork, using his unique deep gold color, helps him reach a wide range of public, even those who his messages are directed to.

Prost –  From his “Prostie” smileys making witty social commentaries that always put a smile upon our faces, to denouncing misleading, abusive, sexist advertising by his adbusting actions, Prost has never ceased on challenging society.

Emess – His work is mostly motivated by political issues that he approaches using a wide range of medias, such as murals, prints and sculptures. Emess confronts the viewer with issues that would rather be swept under the rug.

Rallito X – The attitude of an alienated society manipulated by the media, has been this spaniards work theme since he started putting his work up on the streets. Rallito X refuses to follow society’s rules and shows his unconformity with unacceptable formed characters carrying politically incorrect messages.

BR1 – For the last years, this italian artist has been studying the figure of the Muslim woman: history, tradition, legal sources and development in contemporary society. Charmed by the image of veiled women, BR1 decided to take the risk of introducing religious elements on his posters and make us wonder why is this piece of cloth so controversial.

Linda’s Ex – A while ago Roland Brückner aka Lindas Ex asked his lover to come back to him in plastered posters and stickers throughout the city. Nowadays, his pleas have turned into social commentaries sprayed into canvases.

Niark1 – His characters rise like monsters or aliens on a dark world filled by details. Their infinite nature scares and hypnotizes as there is always space for new discoveries. Cutting and pasting strips of newspaper where he later paints, Niark1’s artwork brings his dreams and fears to surface.

Jakob Tolstrup – Mixed media and color crayons are Jakob’s favorite techniques to work with. His characters have a childish style giving a sweet and humorous feeling to his paintings, which take a bitter look into nowadays society.

Giacomo Spazio – The established Italian artist, lead of the Italian Street Art movement, creates pop images, with shocking fluorescent colors that shout out their presence, as loud as possible. Using old fanzines and punk imagery to create lo-fi styled artwork with a cynical and subversive intention.

Vernissage, Thursday November 17th, 18:00 – 22:00
Exhibition on display from November 17th, 2011 to February 24th, 2012

Brunnenstraße 56, 13355 Berlin, Germany

 

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West Berlin Gallery at Istanbul Contemporary (Istanbul, Turkey)

Istanbul Contemporay

 

BERLIN STREET ART AT CONTEMPORARY ISTANBUL 2011
West Berlin Gallery at Contemporary Istanbul, Nov 24th – Nov 27th 2011
Berlin’s street art scene is rising high and fast, creating a buzz and making it’s way across the globe. Along side the Istanbul Biennale, one of Turkey’s most exciting art events, Contemporary Istanbul art fair is extending it’s exhibition space for it’s sixth edition to display the unconventional yet relevant art scene of one of Europe’s most influential cities of today, Berlin.

Personally selected by Landesverband Berliner Galerien, West Berlin Gallery, a space dedicated to street art, is proud to announce its participation in ART FROM BERLIN – a selected presentation of Berlin based galleries – in Contemporary Istanbul 2011, held on November 24th – November 27th, 2011 at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center.

Works by Alias, Giacomo Spazio, and Linda’s Ex will be represented by West Berlin Gallery at Contemporary Istanbul 2011.

Alias, a leading role in German street art, will furnish our walls with original pieces, both classic and new, made mostly on recycled material, bringing to Istanbul the authenticity of Berlin’s street art scene. Not only will he be debuting recent works on the West Berlin Gallery walls, but Alias himself will be present during the time of the fair (incognito, of course), utilizing the streets of Istanbul as a personal canvas for his latest work. (Please contact us regarding possible artist interview during our stay in Turkey).

Giacomo Spazio, a pioneer in the street art scene, is also providing our booth with exaggerated visuals and in-your-face messages, which recognize and mimic the apprehensions of our propaganda-ridden society. Long known for his individual contributions to art, this well-know artist has been making art since the 70’s, making himself yet another benefactor to the ever-present authenticity of all that is street art.

Made famous by his “Linda’s Ex” campaign in which he used street art to get his girlfriend back, Roland Brückner is now a part of Berlin’s street art history and will be debuting his latest paintings in our booth – a new approach and further development of his work.

Further information

Dates: November 24th – November 27th
Place: Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Center
Website: http://www.contemporaryistanbul.com/

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