A week on from Creative Gallery Woodstock’s
triumphant opening of the one-of-a-kind ‘Urban Art’ exhibition and the intrigue
created by this infectious and pioneering display of locally and internationally
renowned urban artists is
gathering recognition and praise of both critics and artists alike.
The exhibition, due to close last week, has
been extended to the 11th of April after exceptional levels of
interest saw over 1400 people head into the Oxfordshire
countryside and indulge in a bit of defiant art.
The opening weekend of the event alone pulled
in crowds of over 500 people all flooding into the typically serene, small
Cotswold town of Woodstock, looking to engage with works produced by some of
the most cutting edge and ground-breaking graffiti, stencil and urban artists
in the industry.
However, alongside names such as Blek Le Rat,
Micallef and of course Banksy, are local artists, indulging in the opportunity
to showcase their skills beside such admired characters of the graffiti-art
world.
‘‘The
whole point of the exhibition is to bring something fresh and exciting to the
local art scene, and artists like Marvo (a Reading based artist, who produced a
unique 6ft stencil spanning the front of the gallery to open the event), and Matt
Smith (an exciting and versatile artist hailing from Woodstock) are both a big
part of that.’’ says Alison Parry, gallery assistant at
Creative Art Gallery Woodstock.
‘‘This is
the exact type of exhibition I have been waiting for to come to the area. It’s
the perfect spring board to throw you into bigger things.’’ explains Smith,
‘‘It’s also just a great experience for me to be accepted into an exhibition of
such great names, especially as it’s only my first!’’
Miss Parry went on to add; ‘‘We were looking to
get local talent into the exhibition from the start and the level of work on
show is a real testament to the strength of the local art scene.’’
This is a philosophy strongly echoed by Marvo,‘‘It’s a fantastic opportunity to show off great
urban artists and local talent which normally would be shown in or around
London. It’s certainly got the locals talking and hopefully it’s changed
their outlook towards the art form which is known as URBAN!’’
The event looks to hit the right balance
between the trend-setting pioneering masterworks of Micallef and Blek Le Rat,
and the extremely well crafted and constructed talent of Marvo and Smith;
subtly echoing and complimenting each other’s alternative views of the
satirical, commercial and darkly emotional.
‘‘Being a big fan of Blek and then having my work next to his is
great. It’s also good to see my work among other local artists, just
to show others that the urban art tag comes in many forms.’’ explains
Marvo. ‘‘There
are lots of great artists out there who all have great ideas and are very
talented, but messy taggers give true artists a bad name.’’
Smith adds ‘‘Not
many artists would get this opportunity on their first ever showing of their
artwork, It’s just a great experience
for me to be accepted into an exhibition with such great names.’’
Predictably though the main attraction is
always going to be the elusively inscrutable Banksy. The forged £10 notes, the
granny’s playing bowls with bombs, and the smiley riot-policeman all add to the fervor and fascination that surrounds this mystery of urban art.
Yet one of the most intriguing aspects of the
exhibition is the massively conflicting forces of both the art-form’s origins;
rooted firmly in the illegal, anti-social and indecent; and the conventional
beauty and rustic charm of the firmly traditional town within which Creative
Art Gallery is situated; Unconventional art in an unconventional setting.
‘‘Urban work can go unnoticed,’’
explains Marvo; ‘‘some galleries and organizations will not show it as they
think the form may offend. That’s why some towns have a big problem with
graffiti, that’s sometimes the only way people can get their name about.’’
But how has urban art
gone from being washed off walls by
the council in Clapham to being hung
on the walls of the superstars in Hollywood?
According to Matt
Smith and Marvo It’s all about accessibility and originality; ‘‘It’s only in
the past few years that it’s started to get the recognition it deserves as real
art.’’ Says Smith; ‘‘It’s a bit more ‘low brow’, which makes it easier for the
public to appreciate. It’s also
opened the art world up to artists who may have not come from such an art
educated background but still can produce wonderful thought provoking work.’’
‘‘I think it’s because it gives a new twist and sight into art.’’ states
Marvo,‘‘Everybody looks at a painting in a different way; with urban
work you can make the person who looks at the canvas feel a bit
rebellious.I once gave a collection of
work to a retired sheep farmer from Scotland, she loved the images
because they promoted anarchy!’’
What is certain is
that urban art has transcended the high-brow culture into which a vast majority
of art falls, no doubt provoking some fiery debate and discussion amongst the conventional
art world but more importantly, creating an accessible genre of revolutionary
art that has infiltrated the lives of a generation.
