NEWS
EVENTS
Sweet Revenge Art Exhibition Review
Other | Tuesday 14th August 2012 | Osh
There are only a few occasions where it is acceptable to leave the office early on a Friday afternoon, for example a doctor’s appointment or if Noel Gallagher was outside would suffice as decent excuses. Yet last Friday I was granted early leave on the pretence that I would be reviewing Sweet Toof’s new show at The Colour Works warehouse in the rejuvenated suburbs of Hackney Wick.
The show started almost before my companion and I had set foot in the actual venue; standing on the bridge above the overground station we caught a glimpse of some rare Sweet Toof pieces that had stood the test of time on a number of rooftops in the surrounding area of the East end despite their illegality. The tone was set, spirits were high and anticipation grew, despite being disconcerted by the presence four police officers as we set off to find the warehouse.
Being an admirer of both street art and graffiti culture, I entered the exhibition with a degree of cynicism since in my mind I was about to witness another example of a prolific and respected writer selling out to the corporate art world. However I soon realised that would have leave that attitude along with my empty bottle of beer because I could not hide from the fact that I was viewing some stunning pieces of artwork; the kind of paintings you wouldn’t be surprised to see in a gallery that charges you a tenner to get in. A beautiful array of Spanish-influenced paintings depicting skulls and skeletons in a manor of styles and settings were topped with his trademark pink teeth. Not one to shy from expanding his mediums, there were installations and sculptures, as well as the standard spray paint on wall pieces dotted around the place.
Perhaps it wasn’t as true to his graffiti roots as a fan may have hoped, but what was on display was nothing short of phenomenal. Whilst some paintings may make you think that you could draw something better, his vision and execution of his work reveals his true artistic abilities. The only downer of the show came from my mate requesting that we left early before I had a chance to jump on the free beer.
Jack Baron
(note: there was only free beer for the preview)
