Street Art Exhibition | Art Review

by Anni Leisma

Now’s The Time, the new exhibition taking place at the Black Rat Gallery in Shoreditch, aims to prove that there was life before Banksy but doesn’t forget to give credit to his art.

One of the Banksy works that features in the exhibition is 2003’s Crimewatch UK has ruined the countryside for us.

It is an old-fashioned painting of a country cottage but Banksy has added crime scene-tape across the gates to the cottage turning the painting into a political statement.

The artist famously sneaked into the Tate Britain and glued the painting to the wall, next to other paintings and without anyone noticing.

The gallery also has a collection of artwork from some of the most famous street art pioneers.

Street art is all about the freedom of expression. You might think you don’t know street, but would be surprised how many of the prints you’ll recognise which ended up on t-shirts and magazines.

Staff work on their print press in the gallery but this doesn’t disturb the viewer; if anything it just proves that all the processes of art making should be made more public.

After all, the whole idea of street art is to bring art closer to people and challenge the image of artists as posh people holed up in their private studios.

For those who aren’t fans of traditional canvasses, there’s art by Swoon, one of the more controversial artists featured in the exhibition.

His life-sized woodcuts of beautiful female figures make you stare in wonder before you realise that there is something sinister, even wrong with them.

For example it will take you a while before you realize that the figure in his work Monica (2010) has more limbs than a normal person.

The exhibition leads the viewer to the roots of street art featuring the talent of originals from New York, Keith Harding and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Basquiat and Harding were a driving force in the pop art scene in New York in the 80s, and together with Andy Warhol were helping to create a new genre of art.

For the first time, street art was not just tags and meaningless graffiti.

Especially Basquiat who combined poetry and political statements in his art.

There is also works from the New York-based duo, Faile.

Their art has a strong cinematic context and makes the viewer think: “Where have I seen this before?” With a combination of different materials, their prints often feature newspaper clippings in the background, giving depth and context to the often controversial and even disturbing imagery.

The gallery is one of the best-kept secrets of Shoreditch. Situated behind the nightclub Cargo, you have to sneak through their back garden to find the entrance.

On a hot day the gallery is like an oasis of cool and the gallery is rarely too busy.

The background music doesn’t steal focus from the art but fits the theme of the exhibition perfectly.

Even though the gallery is small, there is a lot to see.

This exhibition is a must-see for all fans of street art but those not familiar with the artists should have a look as well.

 

You’ll be surprised by how much you subconsciously know about it and how much more you will want to find out after such an inspiring exhibition.

Now’s The Time, FREE 22 April – 20 May The Black Rat Gallery 83 Rivington Street EC2A 2AY Tube: Old Street