As we speak, some of the world’s most amazing stencil artists from all over the world are flying into London to create new work at an undisclosed location for the Cans Festival that will take place this weekend. Artists include Bsas Stencil, Prism, Roadsworth, Blek, Sten, Sadhu, Lex, Faile, Logan Hicks, and many, many, more. Should be an incredible event.
More info here.
Source: Wooster
Blek Le Rat, father of stencil graffiti will be the star of our forthcoming Blek Le Rat solo show \\\’Getting Through Walls\\\’. The show celebrates over 25 years of work by this remarkable artist and will mark the UK launch of a new book being published by Thames and Hudson on Bleks lfe and work. It promises to be one of the shows of the year.
Considered to be the father of stencil street art, Blek Le Rat (aka Xavier Prou) has had a profound influence on todays current crop of street artists. Almost all of whom arrived a whole generation after Blek started hitting the streets of Paris back in the early eighties. Banksy is on record as saying that, Every time I think Ive painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek LeRat has done it as well. Only twenty years earlier…
Indeed, it was Bleks silhouette stencil of a rat (an image Banksy was later to adopt for Bristol and London) as early as 1981 that broke away from the graffiti political slogans and injected it with a fresh new language of political art. Blek has always used his art as both a democratic means of bringing the gallery walls to the people and to change the way we interact with the urban spaces around us. This is essentially the blueprint street artists the world over are still reading from today.
In recognition of this Thames & Hudson have published a beautifully produced retrospective book entitled, Blek Le Rat: Getting Through the Walls. To celebrate the book launch the Black Rat gallery is staging the largest Blek exhibition to date.
The show will feature many new works as well as iconic images tracing the history of Bleks career, along with a number of prints available from the gallery on the night. Invites will be sent out in the next few days.
And to whet your appeitite you can pre-order a copy of Getting Through the Walls here: www.thamesandhudson.com/en/1/9780500287354.mxs
Doors open 6pm, Thursday, May 8th.
New prints go on sale at Bastny.com tonight in just under an hour – get clickin’
Starting on the 1st of May at the New Cross Gallery (London) is the first ever solo show by artist Blam, most famous for his ‘Oscar the Grouch’ piece (seen above). The exhibition is set to run until the 24th of May.
gALLery
3 Lewisham Way,
New Cross,
London,
SE14 6PP
May 2nd– 31st 2008
Tuesday – Saturday 12 – 6pm, Thursdays ’til 9pm
1-3-5 Flitcroft Street, London, WC2H 8DH
Featuring new work by the UK’s rapidly rising star, ADAM NEATE, and the billboard-hijacking, pop surrealist superhero of the genre; US legend, RON ENGLISH
To accompany the exhibition, Elms Lesters is publishing a beautiful 72 page catalogue with over 60 full colour illustrations. Adam Neate and Ron English will be in the gallery between 10am and 12 noon on Saturday 3rd. May signing catalogues.
Street Art @ The Tate Modern – Free Entry
23 May – 25 August 2008
An awesome line-up of acclaimed street artists have created gigantic new art works on the external walls of Tate Modern overlooking the Thames. An eclectic group of artists from New York, São Paulo, Barcelona, Bologna, Paris and London, who have worked in both street and gallery environments, are showing work, including including Sixeart, Os Gemeos, Faile, Nunca and Blu.
You can take part in an urban trail to discover street art near Tate Modern on the Street Art Walking Tour – pick up a copy when you visit.
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Saw this last night on the way up to Stokey – it’s HUGE and looks amazing as the bus pulls past. London as an open prison?
