Street Artists come to Stoke Newington for Wall to Wall

Human Traffic by RUN Pic: Hang-Up Gallery

Human Traffic by RUN Pic: Hang-Up Gallery

Hang-Up Gallery in Stoke Newington is currently holding ‘Wall to Wall’, a group exhibition featuring the work of today’s most famous street artists, including Bristol boy Banksy.

The exhibition, on 56 Stoke Newington High Street, hopes to explore the diverse nature of modern urban art and to “create a fuller appreciation of the art form”.

Both the gallery and the artists involved are hoping the show will demonstrate the growth that has taken placed within this genre of art.

Gallery manager, Carla Nizzola, said: “We wanted to portray the many faces of street art from the urban derelict environment of ‘the streets’, through the artists studio walls, to the contemporary white walls of a gallery space. We kept very close to this concept, while curating the works, and in turn created an almost retrospective journey through the gallery.”

Street art in London moved into the mainstream as an art form in the mid 1980s, with East London, in particular, becoming a beacon for street artists around the world.

London street artist, Ben Eine, said: “There are people in every major city in every country all over the world making street art. I think it is easily the biggest art movement ever, it is so exciting.”

What began as a way to easily share art and opinions with the masses has developed into a form taken seriously by the art community, and has created opportunities for these artists to show their work in exhibitions like Wall to Wall. But is it still street art if it is not on the streets? Italian artist RUN thinks so.

“The journey is unavoidable. We evolve on any aspect, so does my work. It is always going to be on the street but now it also stepped into galleries. The work goes to multiple levels and that’s what I aim to do, change and grow,” he said.

In addition to Banksy, the exhibition features rare pieces from KAWS, Faile, Swoon, Futura, Matt Small, Shepard Fairey, David Choe and Ben Eine.

RUN has also created a street art installation speficially for Hang-Up.

The exhibition runs until April 26.

By Amanda Slavinsky

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