Graffiti Inspired Art Pieces by London Pride and Ron English Come to the DIFC Gallery for ‘Urban Poetry’ Exhibition … reports Asian Lite News.
Being the biggest financial hub in the region, the Dubai International Financial Centre has not only established itself as the heart of business in Dubai, but as well merges architecture, culinary dining and the arts to create a diverse and buzzing hang-out throughout the busy working week. Opera Gallery called DIFC home since 2008, having built a strong international name and reputation for itself worldwide. Ten years down the line and the gallery brings to Dubai another standout exhibition merging culture and the arts into a single sight of unique and quirky pieces.
To help the gallery continue to celebrate their major 10-year milestone, Opera Gallery Dubai brings a hint of the cities graffiti-inspired artwork to their four walls for Urban Poetry. Street art has seen a tremendous growth in the region, with works from Blek le Rat, London Police and Ron ENGLISH, to name but a few, scattered around the walls of City Walk, La Mer and Satwa, which has helped generate attention and positive opinions at the thought of graffiti inspired artwork in the region.
The oldest known drawing to mankind was executed about forty-thousand years ago. It depicts an animal, and was painted inside a cave, arguably the first ever piece of art and street art created. The Director of Opera Gallery Dubai, Sylvain Gaillard, explains that “the desire to paint in public locations has never faded … deeply embedded within our soul and genetic heritage. The 80s was the decade that established street art, particularly in New York City. Back then, a young generation of artists found that the best way to get their voices heard was to take their message to the streets or the subway. At the very core, the goal of these artists was to create something that will receive a reaction from as many people as possible, rather than what is often wrongfully perceived as a desire to degrade or appropriate a public location”.
Some of the first famous faces of street-art are back and better than ever in this revamped exhibition which heroes the free-spirited voice. With Dubai ranking amongst the top countries in the world when it comes to sanctioning street art, Opera Gallery’s exhibition Urban Poetry, helps bring back the need for personal opinion and allows expression to become rediscovered in the region. The pieces on display merge abstract thinking, simplistic stereotypes and dark, disturbing styles to create unique and individual ways of thinking; all coming together in a single exhibition of individuality.
With displaying artists inspired by the likes of Banksy and Jean-Michel Basquiat, each piece represents a unique way of thinking about the world and the society that was lived through. Whether the mockery of Ronald McDonald and the demanding fast-food centered society that we live in, by Ron ENGLISH; the mingling of travel and art from the work of The London Police, international sensations; or the typical graffiti style brought to the exhibition from Speedy Graphito; each piece is modern, unique and up-to-date with today’s trends.
This exhibition, more so than ever, focuses on the community feeling of the art culture. Without the generation of public opinion, street-art and graffiti would have died out years ago. The pivotal moment came for this art culture when pioneers were called into galleries and asked to produce studio work. With the movement formally referred to by definition as “unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues,” the twenty-first century has transformed this way of thinking into clean works on canvas, growing to become loved by collectors and institutions alike.
The growing list of artists and their pieces, including George Morton-Clark, Blek le Rat and Keith HARING can be enjoyed in the tenth anniversary exhibition of Urban Poetry, located in DIFC’s Opera Gallery Dubai, Gate Village 3, from the 3rd until 17th October, 2018.