Ben Oakley and No Format Gallery present a new show of over 40 artists helping everyone get into the Christmas spirit! Opening preview night Friday 7 December from 5.30pm til late at No Format Gallery.
With an array of ‘urban’ work by artists such as Guy Denning, Ray Richardson, David Bray, Static, RYCA, Pam Glew, Carne Griffiths and more there should be an arty treat for everyones stocking.
Ben Oakley says: “come along its going to be a right old knees up with over 40 top notch artists, many in attendance”
EXHIBITION VENUE:
No Format – Second Floor Studios & Arts, Harrington Way, London SE18 5NR
Train: Charlton Woolwich Dockyard DLR: Woolwich Arsenal
Bus: 180, 177, 161, 472
All media enquiries/invitations: info@benoakleygallery.com
Banksy fans will remember this SWAT (police units used in specialised operations such as dealing with gunmen) van which the artist painted back in 2006 as form of provocation towards the police force.
Well, it is time to empty your pockets if you want it parked on your drive way, indeed the street artist’s van is included in the auction house’s Post-War and Contemporary Art auction on June 29.
The formal estimate is at between £200,000 to £300,000. The present owner bought the van directly off the artist and vanished from the public eye until today but rest assured, it comes with a certificate of verification from the Pest Control Office, Banksy’s authorisation service which confirms pieces as genuine.
Here is what Bonhams‘ Ralph Taylor,senior director in its Post-War and Contemporary Art department –
The van shows Banksy’s bravado, imagination and technical skill
About the work itself
Both sides are painted.
One one side, a little boy is depicted and is about to prank a SWAT team -gun-toting officers in riot gear, who are about to be surprised from behind by a young boy clutching a blown-up paper bag,
On the other side you will have recognised Dorothy (played byJudy Garland) from The Wizard of Oz standing among heavy tagging and graffiti on the other.
But what people may describe as the main message in this work is the sign saying “How’s my bombing?” rather than “How’s my driving?”
Part of Banksy’s “Barely Legal” show
Click to enlarge
The vehicle, restyled with household gloss and spray paint in 2006, was displayed that same year in a Los Angeles warehouse for Banksy’s “Barely Legal” show — his US debut.
Despite little advance notice and its location near Skid Row, the event received considerable publicity and was attended by stars such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
We included a couple of pics below of the show. the top one giving you an overview while the other shows a truck that was used outside the show venue – click any pictures to enlarge
If you love spotting street art, but you’re never quite sure where you should look for it, then worry not. There are plenty of ways in which you can make sure you encounter great street art on a regular basis.
Where as street art was once considered to be little more than vandalism, these days it is a hugely popular art form. This means that there are plenty of books, magazines and websites dedicated purely to the subject of street art and where you van find it. Many works of street art are now protected, so you you may find that you have much more time to visit them. Spend time researching an area before you visit, and you are more than likely to be clued up on where to find local street art before you arrive.
However, some street art is far more temporary, and you’ll need to be on the ball if you want to be in with a chance of spotting it. Sites like Twitter can be a great way to keep up to date with the latest street art discoveries. If you’re keen to keep an eye on where new works of street arts have cropped up, whilst playing online games like Partypoker and checking your email from the comfort of your own home, then using sites like this can be the best way to do so. They’re also perfect if you’re on the go, and don’t mind making a detour to see some great street art before it’s gone.
Lastly, it is important to simply keep your eyes peeled. Even street art which may not have a big name attached to it can still be well worth seeing. Certain locations are fairly well known for attracting street artists, so it can be well worth keeping a look out should you happen to be passing through.
Erarta Galleries London is pleased to present Valery Barykin’s solo exhibition entitled ‘Soviet Pin-Up’.
The exhibition will feature a number of specially made, limited edition pieces. Barykin`s eyecatching prints are reminiscent of the celebrated 1940’s and 1950’s American pin-ups blended with Soviet Russian propaganda advertisements. Known for his unique style, Valery Barykin’s prints contrast the aesthetic of the beloved American Pin-Up culture and its heightened sexuality with the sharp-edged and saturated colours of Soviet Russia’s propaganda posters.
His upbringing was surrounded by socialist advertisements and mass-produced American pin-up photographs that slowly made their way
into Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. The women in his works often resemble Soviet Russian film stars such as Lyudmila Gurcgenko and Natalya Fateeva who are sometimes scantily clad and the object of attention.
Barykin displays his outrageously gorgeous and provocative women in unexpected everyday familiar situations as they enthusiastically continue to perform their stereotyped roles and female duties.
WHAT – Valery Barykin’s solo exhibition entitled ‘Soviet Pin-Up’. WHERE – 8 Berkeley street, Mayfairt, London, W1J 8DN WHEN – until the 19/12/15
Keith Haring was a street artist at the heart of the urban art movement in 1980s New York. He was also a gay man diagnosed with AIDS. Partly as a result of living with these stigmas, his work often bears a strong element of political and social critique.
He was one third of a trio of New York street artists at the helm of the growing movement. He, Richard Hambleton and Jean-Michel Basquiat regularly met to discuss each other’s work, and sometimes collaborated.
He first began using public spaces as his canvas whilst studying at New York’s School of Visual Arts, when he started drawing on blank advertising panels in subway stations.
Whimsical human figures drawn in bold and clear outlines became his trademark. They contrast with the heavy subject matter of much of his work. In his art he called attention to the AIDS epidemic afflicting gay men in the 1980s.
He made his targets state and society. The Reagan and Bush administrations neglected to fund research into treatments and a cure for the disease. This negligence left AIDS sufferers in the dark, without support, whilst religious leaders and the media continued to blame gay men for the problem.
One of his most famous works is a commentary on the epidemic called Silence=Death, which depicts a crowd of figures covering their ears as if to avoid the horrible truth of AIDS. Overlaying the crowd is a pink triangle. The Nazis gave this symbol in the form of a badge to concentration camp inmates imprisoned for their sexuality. The symbol was reclaimed by the gay community in the 1980s.
Click to enlarge
In the mid-80s Haring set up ‘pop shops’ which sold his imagery on t-shirts, buttons, bags and stickers. The shops made his work accessible at low cost to everyday people and were an innovative way of disseminating pop art.
After he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Haring felt a renewed determination, sensing the urgency of his work.
Some critics described his art as freer after his diagnosis. Robert Farris Thompson wrote that “in his art he found the key to transform desire, the force that killed him, into a flowering elegance that will live beyond his time.”
He died in 1990 as a result of AIDS-related complications. But his work lives on, his figures still a recognised visual language in the 21st century.
Artists Blu and Ericailcane joined forces in Bologna and have produced a rather mighty mural in Bologna, Italy. Ericailcane got in charge of the animals while Blu put up the cage and other elements.
