Rtist Gallery | Slicer AWOL crew “Self Titled”
Opening Event 6.00PM
Thursday 28th of April,
showing until Sunday 15th of May.
Rtist Gallery is extremely excited to announce it’s first ever solo show from the ranks of the AWOL crew. Slicer‘s Self Titled show opens officially at the Rtist Gallery on Thursday the 28th of April. Curator Jeremy Gaschk has promised the show will feature Slicer’s collection of raw and hard edged street art including expressionistic paintings and installations incorporating saw blades and distorted graffiti letter forms. The opening is guaranteed to challenge the conventional thinking about urban art form as it also marks the start for Rtist’s exceptional solo show program for 2011.
Director of the Rtist Gallery Toby Armstrong said “The movement from the streets to the gallery is a natural progression for progressive graffiti artists such as Slicer.” Now fully focused on his up coming solo show. Slicer explores mediums such as natural ochres, charcoal, coffee, rust with the addition of dried insects. He has continued to broaden his materials by producing work using found objects such as rusty machinery, saw blades and aged wood supporting his theme for this solo show of urban decay.
Jeremy Gaschk believes Slicer, a prolific, Melbourne born graffiti writer and emerging fine artist, will continue to build his unique style and talent through his first solo show. Jeremy said Slicer’s paintings can be seen on some of Melbourne’s busiest streets to its darkest, most forgotten places. “It’s hard not to miss the thin black, fast and aggressive line work that forms his abstracted letter structures. Vivid colour, splats and splashes of paint are used to evoke movement and focal points throughout each piece. This produces a ‘unique take’ on traditional New York style graffiti, as Slicer discovered the only way to stand out in the graffiti scene was to be different. ”Icons or styles often have more impact than the letters themselves and an aggressive style speaks loudly” boasts Slicer.
Slicers abstract approach to fine art is sure to shock and evoke a response through canvases adorning a pristine butterfly, metal spikes and saw blades protruding from paintings and an entire wall removed from an abandoned building. The textures, aesthetics and inspirations that drive Slicers work both in and out of the gallery will be on full display. ”I love to paint in old abandoned structures, rusty, paint peeling, dirty, burnt, decaying structures in the middle of nowhere. I just feel every creak and crack in the space around me and use that energy to paint it back on to the space it came from…” says Slicer.
The distinction between the filthy forgotten wall and the clean painting is the key to giving urban spaces new life in Slicer’s works. It’s the most important role in the creation of each piece. His quest for the ‘perfect spot’ has led Slicer to paint in Europe, North America and South East Asia, exhibiting work freely in the cities unique streets, desolate rooftops, lane-ways and abandoned buildings. It is now Melbourne’s turn to view and be challenged by Slicer’s creativity and talent first hand in his solo show at the Rtist Gallery.
Rtist Gallery
29 St Edmonds Road
Prahran VIC 3181
Gallery Hours:
Weds- Sun 10AM – 6PM
For media enquires please contact:
Jeremy Gaschk
Head Curator
Rtist Gallery
M: 0424 669 600
E: jeremy@rtist.com.au