Backwoods Gallery and House of Bricks, under the curation of Alexander Mitchell proudly bring you separate yet intrinsically connected exhibitions of two Australian street artists, PHIBS and Brad Eastman, (BEASTMAN).
Spread across two galleries on the same Collingwood block the duel exhibitions will present the the styles, connections, influences and friendship of two of Australia’s leading street artists.
The opening night party will take place across the neighbourhood with the extension of murals between the two galleries.
27 April – 6 May, 2012.
Opening Night Friday 27 April. 6-9pm
PHIBS – Perfectly Imperfect – Backwoods Gallery
25 Easey Street, Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia.
BEASTMAN – Natural Progression – House Of Bricks
40 Budd Street, Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia.
PHIBS is the one of the most respected and renowned name in Australian Graffiti and Street Art.
Responsible for the tutelage of many of Australia’s leading street artists including the Everfresh crew and fellow exhibitor BEASTMAN, PHIBS’s crisps iconic freehand delineation are so clean and precise that they are often mistaken for stencils, the product of decades of practice in the mastery of aerosol.
His public artworks are prolific in Melbourne & Sydney and are far-flung across the globe. Several of his works have been acquired by the National Gallery of Australia for its permanent collection. He has painted so many walls around Fitzroy, an inner suburb of Melbourne, that the suburb has affectionately become known as ‘Phibsroy’ by the locals.
PHIBS distinctive style signifies the symbiotic, engaging the urban with the organic. He produces works across a vast variety of mediums and consistently reflects his own unique realms of symbolism, multiculturalism and mythology. Largely inspired by nature, his works have spawned a menagerie of signature characters.
‘Natural Progression’ is a continuation of the BEASTMAN’s successful ‘Cosmic Nature’ exhibition which took place Sydney in December, 2011.
BEASTMAN’s innovative new paintings explore the futuristic and overwhelming idea of nature coming to life in a way we could have never imagined. The artist’s new colour palette and further development of his distinctive style reflect the different elements of our young world and the organic lines and often symmetrical geometric patterns found in nature. The deities featured in his ambitious new works are a representation of nature progressing beyond the boundaries of our imagination, when the cosmic forces of nature eventually reveal the irrelevance of humanity in the universe.
In his first show here since July 2010, Beastman is bringing to Melbourne his unique style and new direction. Travelling around Australia and the world painting large scale aerosol works has noticeably evolved his unique and well recognized style. Alongside his new paintings, this exhibition will celebrate the release of a new limited edition print and will also feature an installation of many unseen drawings, sketches and other materials. The installation will expose the artist’s thoughts and artmaking processes whilst revealing the natural progression of his work over the last two years.
Awarded Best Artist at the Sydney Music Arts and Culture (SMAC) Awards, BEASTMAN is one of Australia’s most distinctive and prolific artists. He has exhibited his work and painted large scale murals all over Australia, as well as in New Zealand, London, Berlin, Hong Kong and New York.
More info:
– Beastman.com.au
– Phibs.com
– EverfreshStudio.com
– BackwoodsGallery.com