“East Village Alchemy” Exhibition
Dorian Grey Gallery
This event has ended.
These artists were at the forefront of the 1980’s contemporary New York City street art scene with their groundbreaking labors using the essential natural elements of earth, fire and paper. The selection of works on display will include early subway drawings from Haring, vintage performance based compositions from Buggiani, Hiratsuka stone sculptures and early works on paper by Borofsky.
In the late 1970’s, an explosion of creative passion gave birth to the legendary East Village arts movement. These artists used their gifts to address social and political issues directly with the viewer in street settings, frequently facing incarceration for this practice. In this exhibition, we explore four of the scene’s seminal creators and practitioners of street based art.
In 1980, Keith Haring began creating his famously ephemeral chalk drawings on unused subway platform advertising spaces. He continued this practice to great public acclaim, eventually completing hundreds of these drawings. In this exhibition, we are proud to present a rare collection of Haring’s subway chalk masterpieces. Keith Haring’s works are included in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, The Andy Warhol Museum, L. A. County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, L. A. and numerous additional national and international museum collections.
In the late 1970’s, a young Italian artist, Paolo Buggiani, arrived in the East Village to expand his performance art practice. Paolo’s performance pieces use the element of fire to communicate with viewers. This exhibition features Paolo’s embellished documentary photographs of these performances.
In 1982, the Japanese-American artist Ken Hiratsuka arrived in the East Village to begin his practice of hand chiseling continuous lines into the sidewalks and streets of the neighborhood. Ken’s universal line philosophy informs his work to the present day.
In 1983, Scot Borofsky began forming his language of urban symbols, painting his work on walls across the East Village. Scot’s language has continued to evolve, informing a new generation of viewers.
Media
Schedule
from November 13, 2014 to December 07, 2014
Opening Reception on 2014-11-13 from 18:00 to 21:00