So we finally did it..we got ourselves a modest little downtown gallery..
THE RE-JECTS Featuring Vhils (PT), Dolk (NO), Escif (ES), Evol (DE), Brad Downey (US), Dan Witz (US), Roa (BE)
May 24-June 22. Opening Reception: Thursday 24 May. 1900-2200
Gallery opening hours Wed-Sat 1200-1700 and by appointment
Reed Projects Gallery, Salvågergata 10, Stavanger 4006, Norway
Reed Projects Gallery proudly presents
“The Re-Jects,” a group exhibition featuring new and original work from seven of the worlds most renowned street & contemporary artists,
Vhils,
Dolk, Escif, Evol, Brad Downey, Dan Witz &
Roa The show will also feature exclusive very low edition Dolk prints, for details on these and available work please contact sales@reedprojects.no
This, our inaugural exhibition at the new downtown space is the first of several international group and solo exhibitions planned for 2012. And what a selection of artists to kick things off with.
This will be the first time these artists have been brought together in Scandinavia and marks an exciting development of the regions contemporary art scene. We couldn’t think of a better place to deliver it than in Stavanger, a city whose embracing of the Nuart Festival has led to a global reputation for world-class street art that is now discussed alongside the likes of London, New York, Sao Paulo and Berlin. Not least, because each and every artist in this show has produced works on the streets of our city.
“The Re-Jects” show presents and celebrates a culture that over the past 30 years has grown into an unstoppable force on both the streets and more latterly the world of contemporary visual art. An arena that has manifestly failed to represent, reflect or question anything outside the confines of its own hermetically sealed world of museums and galleries for far too long. These artists are part of a new movement with a new message and a new world to represent, reflect and challenge. Unlike most other previous art movements, the impetus for this new message does not come from the annals of art history, but from the fabric of urban life. It has been born from a need to question, amongst other things, the mass appropriation of public space by corporate interests, the rampant and often mismanaged development of our urban environment, and the turbulent economic and socio-political realms of the 21st Century. It’s achieved with colour, humour, intelligence and grace.
As Dan Witz, one of the exhibiting artists and the first person to bring traditional fine art techniques to the streets of New York, states
“As an art student the idea was, if the world was a fucked up place that desperately needed changing, and contemporary art had failed us in this respect, then it became young artists’ responsibility to subvert current art practices (museums, galleries). Taking my cue from punk rock and graffiti I abandoned conventional art making and began working on the streets”. These seven individual artists, from six different countries, cover a diverse range of genres and styles, from the hard-edged stencil stylings of Dolk and Evol to the wanton “destructive creation” of Vhils, the intricate oils of Dan Witz and watercolours of Escif to the more “interactive” works of Brad Downey and Roa.
The Re-Jects offers an opportunity to explore this dynamic range of authentic styles & techniques honed over many years of both studio and public art practice that we now call, for want of a better word, Street Art. We’re honoured that such a renowned group of artists have agreed to participate in our inaugural exhibition and look forward to seeing you at the show.
