P r e s s R e l e a s e
(Vienna, 03 May, 2013)
BEGINNING 1 JUNE 2013, GALLERIST ERNST HILGER WILL BE PRESENTING AN AMBITIOUS STREET ART EXHIBITION PROJECT WITH FESTIVAL FLAVOUR TITLED CASH, CANS & CANDY, FEATURING OVER 40 ARTISTS AT THE HILGERBROTKUNSTHALLE WIEN 10 AND AT THE GALERIE HILGER NEXT WIEN 10
“A wall has always been the best place to publish your work” (Banksy)
Curated by Katrin-Sophie Dworczak, the street art exhibition Cash, Cans & Candy is presented by Ernst Hilger simultaneously at both his exhibition venues, HilgerBROTKunsthalle Wien 10 andGALERIE HILGER NEXT Wien 10 at Absberggasse 27, 1100 Vienna. This way, he once again puts the former Anker bread factory in the public spotlight as a new art and cultural complex.
From 1 June until 14 September 2013 the exhibition Cash, Cans & Candy is showing works by over 40 Austrian and international artists from all five continents on 800 square metres of exhibition space. Both pioneers like Robbie Conal as well as established street artists such as Retna andShepard Fairey from Los Angeles, Faile from New York City, or Roa from Belgium are taking part in this large-scale exhibition venture. At the same time, the exhibition features artists who until now have only been known within certain subcultures and just now are beginning to introduce their works to a larger audience.
In addition, before and throughout the duration of the exhibition Cash, Cans & Candy events and performances will take place at various locations in Vienna. Ushering in this ambitious, festival-like street art project is artist Stinkfish from Colombia with a mural at the Naschmarkt in cooperation with NENI ART Collective. Stinkfish’s mural live painting performance takes place on Tuesday, 7 May 2013 at 10am at Neni am Naschmarkt, 510 Naschmarkt, 1060 Vienna. The exhibition opening is at the HilgerBROTKunsthalle Wien 10 and the GALERIE HILGER NEXT Wien 10 onFriday, 31 May 2013 at 7pm.
The street art aesthetic has long been a defining feature of the cityscapes of Berlin, New York, Paris and London. With Cash, Cans & Candy it is Vienna’s turn, where for some time street artists have been provided with free wall space in public areas, to become the focus of interest for a summer and so to continue to establish itself as a vibrant hub for this art form. For South African artist Faith47, Vienna constitutes an ideal place for her street art works: “What comes to mind, when thinking about Vienna, is its impressive cultural history. Classic opera houses, balls, Sigmund Freud, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and many other artists that influenced art history at large, cast a big shadow. A shadow in which a flourishing urban art scene had the chance to develop, invisible to the untrained eye.” Together with the American contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator Shepard Fairey and Brooklyn-based artist duo Faile (Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller) she is working on three outside walls of the silo at the Anker bread factory at Absberggasse 35, 1100 Vienna while taking into account the social infrastructures and microcosms of Vienna’s 10th district. With this action, taking place in cooperation with ANKERBROT, the three newly designed faces of the building will contribute to prospectively enhance this neighbourhood.
Throughout the festival, DALEast and further artists are working on sections of the Theresianum’s expansive wall. Vasilena Gankovska invites you to a tattoo performance and a bike tour to street art hot spots around Vienna which is jointly organized with the INOPERAbLE Gallery. An experts’ conference with Robbie Conal and other scene legends and participants is hosted in cooperation with Step Forward Events, and Christine Finley is set to surprise with a dance performance. Another highlight is the block party featuring, amongst others, Bumblebee on 30 June 2013 at 510 Naschmarkt 1060 Vienna, in cooperation with NENI ART Collective.
THE BIRTH OF STREET ART
In a world in which urban space is dominated by global(ized) advertising slogans, art that eschews straightforward utilization has taken on great importance: on an aesthetic level as an enhancement of the face of a city and also as a junction between the public and the private. These days, street art is found in galleries and museums, at art fairs and auctions, and of course still at the original place of the movement – the street, the interactive intersection between artist and public. Street art is considered to have originated in the sixties of the past century. Its place of birth: Brooklyn and the Bronx, both New York boroughs that have always been characterised by their multi-ethnic diversity. Even though stencils had already been used in cave paintings, the central interest of street art was the inception of an expressive idiom which had its origin in a subcultural environment. The term “street art” refers to the post-graffiti era and distances itself from vandalism – territorial graffiti associated with gang culture – as well as “corporate art.” In the beginning, anonymity, spontaneity and provocativeness were the most important aspects. Criticism of the establishment was the driving force behind the movement, which in a creative way served as a voice for the socially disadvantaged whose concerns were rarely heard. It was precisely this underground and guerrilla attitude which kept many street artists from following traditional routes. They avoided the “white cube” vibe characteristic of galleries; after all, the street was the best gallery and reached a wide audience.
Mimmo Rotella, a representative of Noveau Réalisme, initially made few friends with his décollage works in public areas in Southern Italy. Roy Liechtenstein, one of Pop Art’s most famous representatives, used stencils in his painting technique. Keith Haring was one of the first to be drawn to the street and underground scene of the New York City Subway. He developed a unique writing language, never made sketches and worked on various surfaces, including walls – all in the true spirit of street art. Jean-Michel Basquiat was drawn from the outside into the galleries. His works retained their street art aesthetic, yet the artist satirized the signature’s function by signing his paintings with the tag “SAMO” (same old shit).
STREET ART TODAY
These days the works of street artists have long since found their way into museums and galleries, and thus have become part of the art market. Street artists are facing the challenges of the White Cube and in doing so are exploding the scope of art from within. Using a different support medium they take their aesthetics and expressiveness to a new, exciting level which also appeals to artists and collectors who do not associated themselves with this subculture. Meanwhile, auction houses like Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips are offering separate auctions for this particular art form and integrate it into their Contemporary Art auctions. Artists like Retna, who lives in Los Angeles, have prominently been featured at this year’s Armory Show in New York. Street art has conquered the established art world.
In places like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin street art has become an integral and essential part of the face of the city. In London’s East End, metre-high works by British scene legend Banksy are eye catchers. In 2008 Shepard Fairey became world famous with his Obama election campaign. Up until now, Vienna has only been emitting a weak signal on this movement’s radar. Further building up awareness is still required for street art to be regarded not as vandalism but accepted as an art form. Collaborations with fine arts and the performing arts are no longer rare events. Thus, in May 2013, briefly before the opening of Cash, Cans & Candy, Faile will be collaborating with the New York City Ballet for the second time and by doing so are stepping into the footsteps of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Roy Liechtenstein. Renowned art institutions like the MoCA (The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, 2011) and the Kunsthalle Wien (2010) have dedicated extensive exhibitions to this subject.
It is exactly at this point that the exhibition Cash, Cans & Candy sets in: as an intersection between art that takes place in the street and is dedicated to draw attention to social injustices, as well as the marketing and commercial aspects that constitute the art market. A subversive, independent art form, which in actual fact refrains from being subjected to the regulations of the art market, can still be a part of this system aiming at commercial success without losing credibility.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Michael Anderson (USA), Beran/Henz (A),Broken Fingaz (IL), Bumblebee (USA), Robbie Conal (USA), DALEast (ZA), Etam Cru (PL), Alessandra Exposito (MX), Faile (USA), Faith47 (ZA), Shepard Fairey (USA), Amir H. Fallah (USA), Christine Finley (USA), Ben Frost (AU), Vasilena Gankovska (BG), Gola (IT), H101 (ES), Lia Halloran (USA), David Istvan (H), Jaz (AR), Kenor (ES), Ai Kijima (USA/JP), Kryot (A), Lies Maculan (A), Brian McKee (USA), Meapi (A), Moneyless (IT), Mark Mulroney (USA), NeSpoon, (PL), Markus Oberndorfer (A), Brandon Opalka (USA), La Pandilla (PR), El Pez (ES), PERFEKT WORLD (A), Pure Evil (GB), Retna (USA), ROA (BE), Michelle Rogers (USA), Sonke (GR), The Stencil Network (PR/USA), Stinkfish (CO), Lisa Marie Thalhammer (USA), Stephen Tompkins (USA), Laura Ortiz Vega (MX), Vinz Feel Free (ES), Dan Witz (USA), YOTTO (A) und Zosen y Mina (ES).
WITH THANKS FOR THE KIND SUPPORT
SPONSORS ANKERBROT AG, All I need – 100% organic green tea, Gewista, ÖBB, Hochriegel, Montana, Plakativ and Prangl. PARTNER Berlin City Gallery, Berlin; The Fountainhead Residency, Miami; INOPERAbLE Gallery, Vienna; Mixed Greens Gallery, New York; NENI ART Collective, Vienna; Site 109, New York; Step Forward Events, Vienna; Trailer Park Proyects, Puerto Rico; Morisson Club, Vienna and URBANAUTS & Kohlmayr Lutter Knapp, Vienna. MEDIA PARTNER Die Insiderei, Superfly.fm and The Gap.
EXHIBITION
GALERIE HILGER NEXT Wien 10 and
HilgerBROTKunsthalle Wien 10
CASH, CANS & CANDY
01. 06. – 15. 09. 2013
Opening: Friday 31. 05. 2013, 7pmClosed (summer break): 31. 07. – 15. 08. 2013
Free entry
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PROGRAMM FOR CASH, CANS & CANDY
PRE-OPENING: Tuesday, 07. 05. 2013, 10am – 11am
Stinkfish: MURAL LIVE PAINTING, Neni am Nachmarkt, 510 Naschmarkt, 1060 Vienna
MAY 2013
Tuesday, 21. 05. 2013, 3pm – 6pm
Shepard Fairey: MURAL LIVE PAINTING, silo at the Ankerbrotfabrik grounds, Absberggasse 35, 1100 Vienna; Directions: U1 to Reumannplatz, tram line 6 – 2 stations until “Absberggasse”
Saturday, 01. 06. 2013, 3pm – 6pm
Faith47: MURAL LIVE PAINTING, silo at the Ankerbrotfabrik grounds, Absberggasse 35, 1100 Vienna; Directions: U1 to Reumannplatz, tram line 6 – 2 stations until “Absberggasse”
JUNE 2013
Friday, 21. 06. 2013, 7pm – 9.30pm
Vasilena Gankovska: tattoo performance, HilgerBROTKunsthalle Wien 10, Absberggasse 27, 1100 Vienna; Directions: U1 to Reumannplatz, tram line 6 – 2 stations until to “Absberggasse”
Sunday, 30. 06. 2013, 12pm – 8pm
Block party with Bumblebee und other guests, in cooperation with INOPERAbLE GALLERY & NENI ART COLLECTIVE, Neni am Nachmarkt, 510 Naschmarkt, 1060 Vienna
JULY 2013
Friday, 12. 07. 2013
Christine Finely: dance performance
Date and location to be announced at www.facebook.com/cashcanscandynext
Vasilena Gankovska: Walk in the City
Date and location to be announced at www.facebook.com/cashcanscandynext
Meeting point: GALERIE HILGER NEXT Wien 10, Absberggasse 27, stair III, 2nd floor, 1100 Vienna
INOPERAbLE GALLERY: Bike in the City Tour
Date and location to be announced at www.facebook.com/cashcanscandynext
Meeting point: GALERIE HILGER NEXT Wien 10, Absberggasse 27, stair III, 2nd floor, 1100 Vienna
SEPTEMBER 2013
Saturday, 07. 09. 2013, 3pm – 5pm
EXPERTS’ TALK in cooperation with STEP FORWARD EVENTS
starting at 10pm
CLOSING PARTY @ CAFÉ LEOPOLD, in cooperation with STEP FORWARD EVENTS, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
| Image caption: Mark Mulroney, The Antique Corpses, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 98 x 141 cm, Courtesy: MIXED GREENS GALLERY & the artist, Copyright: the artist |
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