«Swiss Urban Salon» by Patrick Urwyler

ÂŤswiss urban salonÂť painters of contemporary life

A project by:

«artacks» - a roaming art project www.artacks.ch

In cooperation with: Printa - Design Shop | Gallery | Print Studio www.printa.hu Opening:

5th of October 2010, 19.00 in cooperation with:

Exhibition:

6th of October - 5th of December 2010

Exhibition Space:

Printa

Virtual Gallery:

soon @ www.artacks.ch

contact

info@artacks.ch | info@printa.hu

Rumbach Sebestyén u.10. 1075 Budapest

in the framework of:

supported by:

sponsored by:

Videospace Budape st H–1092 Budapest, Ráday u. 56., tel.: (+36-1) 784 4090

ÂŤswiss urban salonÂť painters of contemporary life

Introduction Concept Artists SYLG artacks

0 1 - 02 03 - 06 07 - 08 09 - 10 1 1 - 12

INTRODUCTION «Urban Art» !?

Whether as a fast action on the street or in a relaxed studio’s atmosphere; exhibited at the White Cube or in the city area; illegal, legal, anonymous or numbered and signed; done by aerosol, brush or pencil; on concrete, paper, skate decks or canvas: «Urban Art» is virulent in the most different contexts, it is based on a wide range of techniques and it appears on ever changing surfaces – its protagonists master the balancing act between subculture, mainstream and fine art, they take hold of the virtual and real space and they supply fans, art collectors, critics and pedestrians with art, that emerges as created for the moment, numerously reproduced or even as an expensive original behind glass. It is the urban space with its external structures, its rough edges, and even more so its inner, subcultural drive over the course of the last 40 years – in graffiti writing, hip hop, skateboarding, comic, punk rock or street art – that coins, inspires and involves this generation of artists; it is the urban space that forms their common denominator. The «painters of contemporary life» goes back to Thom Collins. See: Thom Collins, «The Painters of Contemporary Life», 2004.

01 | 02

Dossier written & designed by Patrick Urwyler Alle Fotos by Printa

They are the «painters of contemporary life» - no more, no less.

With the «swiss urban salon» artacks brings a selection of Swiss «Urban Art»-artists to Budapest in order to present them to a wide an international public. The cooperation with the design store «Printa» – one of the town’s hippest locations for design, graphic and art – provides a unique opportunity for artacks. At the same time, the «Budapest Design Week» is offering us an ideal frame to realize our aim: the promotion of «Urban Art» with particular reference to young Swiss positions. artacks wants to contribute to this promotion and foster the understanding for «Urban Art». Even more: with the location of Budapest we’re aiming particularly at a vivid, international exchange, which shall have a sustained effect in Hungary and Switzerland caused by further projects and an intensified international exchange. «Urban Art» isn’t a new phenomenon: already back in the Seventies and increasingly so in the Eighties graffiti has attracted the attention of the art world. Its protagonists have been celebrated and pushed into art galleries. But the resulting product «Spraypaint on canvas» wasn’t viable; the short connection between graffiti and fine art ended up abruptly and their paths went separate ways… In spite of the development on the streets, graffiti emancipated, differentiated and transformed itself. New influences arrived, younger protagonists took the field while some of the older ones oriented themselves new and began to find challenges beyond the streets, where the cryptic graffiti was more and more competed by the «Bilderflut» of street art. As a «new» phenomena street art won over the urban space and at the beginning of the new millennium it culminated into a real hype. Hence, new problems were caused; nevertheless, the signs for an artistic career of its protagonists were better, this time.

The «stroke02 – Urban Art Fair» that took place in May 2010 in Munich – with artacks as a participant – delivered interesting evidence to this: on one hand, a growing and constantly further developing «Urban Art» scene is created in a global extent, including galleries, magazines, independent projects and of course an interested public. «Urban Art» enables them to clash, to find aesthetic and substantial links and lets them relate to those. Artists and the public are talking the same language, they’re meeting at eye level and they tie broader networks than ever. The «stroke02» showed as well that today the artists are acting at an increased level of professionalism. They often dispose profound creative educations, are partly experienced designers, are self-confident and still abide by their roots and principles – briefly: they are authentic. Their extraordinary talents and abilities paired with the processing of complex urban topics conducts the established art world to a more increased interest. The potential of «Urban Art» is huge! In Switzerland, the promotion of «Urban Art» is carried out by few insiders, who have managed to set up a limited network over the recent years. artacks is determined to contribute to this networking process by taking it across borders in order to promote specifically artists living in Switzerland. By taking part in our projects the artists face new challenges: we offer them space, a public and attention. By this we are contributing to the further mediation and development of «Urban Art» – be it in Switzerland or elsewhere.

CONCEPT «urban contexts...»

Especially in Budapest, where the interventions in the public space – be it graffiti or street art – face a steady repression and are thus further marginalized, an exhibition about «Urban Art» is of particular importance, due to the fact that the urban milieu forms the basis of this art. Our point of view is not about defending teenage scribbling or other forms of vandalism – artacks simply wants to sharpen the public view to foster a differentiation of the debate. Our projects are set up to stress the fact that the creative outputs of many protagonists of «Urban Art» transcendent stereotype thinking and reflect an utterly differentiated and alternative term of art.

03 | 04

In this sense, the current project is not only about presenting contemporary works of high quality – it is particularly focused on promoting a deeper understanding of this complex art. The briefly described contexts and characteristics of «Urban Art» in the introduction should be seen as a general picture and they need to be integrated and analyzed in an exhibition. In our eyes, this is the only fair way to meet up to the production and the self-conception of the acting artists. «Urban Art» is often affected by the contradiction of «inside/outside» and it is accordingly difficult – not to say

impossible – to integrate all contexts in just one exhibition. Creative productions are often rooted on the outside, where the technical ability is developed and the artistic development is coined. Illegality requires fast working, and the works and their aesthetics are always subject to transience – wind and weather have an influence on the longevity of the works as have other artists and the municipal cleaning staff. Thus, «Urban Art» is vulnerable, exposed and subject to constant change. In the internal space converse conditions are ruling: the extreme of the «White Cube» retains all penetrating forces from the outside, it offers white and slick walls as a surface, it regulates and preserves – even a constant room temperature is provided. The neutral exhibition room represents a new challenge – one can spend a lot of time on precise adjustments. The results are utter accurate works, new materials, and sophisticated techniques and last but not least the enrichment of the white emptiness characterized by the «urban».

The outside wall at Prina

In an overview exhibition about «Urban Art» the realms of inside/outside have to be taken into consideration and melted together. Media like photos and film can represent the exterior area – that’s how it is classically done. But above that the artists can also be given opportunities to branch out on scene and actively shape the exhibition by including the environment into the room setting. Preferably, we like to focus on such interventions as vivid and though transient parts of an exhibition, capable of accurately reflecting the conditions of «Urban Art». Coincidentally, «Printa» offers such an utterly interesting opportunity to discuss «Urban Art» multifariously by providing a truly multifunctional space: the design shop, the gallery, the screen printing atelier and – equally important – the adjacent exterior wall (including the opposite

Printa: DesignShop

advertising space) represent central contexts «Urban Art» emerges in. This circumstance is taken up conceptually, in order to embed the exhibition locally and artistically. Swiss art will not only be imported but will be created on the scene. As to that, the artist duo S-Y-L-G is invited to Budapest, in order to react on the mentioned contexts with one or several works. Beginning with the illegally sprayed outside wall that is competing with the legally communicating advertising space, the two artists are going to advance to the «Printa» space, take over the screen printing atelier and end up in the gallery. How exactly this pathway will be carried out is up to the two artists, who already demonstrated their visual and conceptual vigor in earlier artacks-projects.

05 | 06

Silkscreen Studio

Galleryspace

With a proliferating hanging the «swiss urban salon» is going to show an unwieldy outline of «Urban Art made in Switzerland». Apart from the naming this special way of «display» is the only parallel with the French salon of the 19th century. The exhibition rather resembles the «Salon des Refusées», since it focuses on art and artists that just don’t want to fit into a dusty art canon. But in the end, the «swiss urban salon» with its «painters of contemporary life» is a product of the 21st century. This is demonstrated by the inclusion of the virtual space – the internet – which allegorizes another significant context of «Urban Art». The artacks-intervention in Budapest is digitally documented and posted onto the World Wide Web, where «Urban Art» proliferated into a global phenomenon and where everyone can be part of it, be it actively or passively. A part of it, namely the photographic documentations of the works at the exterior space (they are numerously represented on the internet as JPG’s), will be exposed by employing electric photo frames hanging right next to the works originated in the interior area.

In addition to this, the whole exhibition space will be digitalized in an Googlish manner to make it virtually accessible online. Our website artacks.ch is the doorstep into the virtual exhibition space. Everyone is invited to step in, to have an informal look around, to zoom, scroll, click and even to shop for real. artacks is no only aiming at providing the artists with a platform to present their works, but also offering them a point of sale. The presentation, the mediation and the purchasing possibility of urban Swiss art paired with the demand to challenge the artists with new concepts, are the key ingredients for the sustainable promotion of art, that artacks is aiming for with its roaming projects.

ARTISTS ÂŤswiss urban salonÂť

Anna Lina Balke Artist from Zurich / Berlin

more info: www.annalinabalke.ch

BlackYard Grafik Designer/Illustrators from Bern more info: www.blackyard.ch

Bustart

Street Art Artist from Basel more info: www.art-of-bust.com

c-line

Artist from Zurich more info: www.celine-quadri.ch

Rafael Marquez aka fafa Painter from Sevilla | lives & works in Basel

07 | 08

more info: www.fafaworks.com

Fidi LaRalla

Artists from Berne (P.Zobrist & L.Fuchs) more info: www.artacks.ch

Ian White aka Cutterskink

Creative from London | lives & woks in Berne

Street Artist from Zurich

Ivan Pavan aka Icon73

Zaira

Künstler aus Zürich

more info: www.flickr.com/zai-art

more info: www.cutterskink.com

mehr infos: www.ivanpavan.ch

Lain Graphic Designer & Artist from Aarau more info: www.sein.se

mizzo Artist from Zurich

more info: www.mizzo.ch

Nico Müller Artist from Berne

more info: www.artacks.ch

ras le bol Street Art Artist from Berne / Basel more info: www.flickr.com/raslebol

Schwarzmaler,15er Graffiti & Graphic Collectiv from Berne / Biel / Lucerne more info: www.chaoz.ch

Mätthu Schneeberger Artist from Berne

more info: www.artacks.ch

SYLG

Artists from Berne / Solothurn (S.Galli & Y.Lavoyer) more info: www.artacks.ch («Kontainer» Project)

more info: www.flickr.com/-ti-

Street Artist from Basel

SYLG

«Intervention on scene»

09 | 10

Under the influence of their artistic instruction at the HKB (Bern University of the Arts), S-Y-L-G developed an extremely interesting and unique shape and visual language, which conforms technically and visually a conscious development of the traditional graffiti. The base of their artistic quest is always the wall, where a vivid fund of different shapes and colors is resulting from intensively bustled recycling processes (whether digital or analogue). This archive of shapes and colors provides a fruitful starting point for their creative process in the interior area. Above all, it is pushed on with help of the screen printing technique. Thereby, the artists in the atelier experiment with different alternative tools. May it be paper, selfpoured concrete slabs or rusted and sprayed steel walls; SYLG employs the tradition-steeped screen printing with prowess and fantasy. In their artistic quest the two «graffiti descendants» analyze the urban space; they are familiar with its «rough edges» and share this knowledge in their works – be it indoor or outdoor.

Sandro Galli

Yves Lavoyer

*1981 | Bern | lebt & arbeitet in Bern

*1982 | Jegensdorf | lebt & arbeitet in Solothurn

Ausbildung

2007 Diplom Hochschule der Künste, Bern

2003 - 2007 Studiengang Bildnerisches Gestalten, HKBern

Ausstellungen | Aktionen (Auszug)

2009 «wallume I», Gruppenausstellung im Migros Loryplatz, «artacks», Bern

«GOIN‘OUT», Einzelausstellung und Kunstintervention auf dem Waisenhausplatz, «artacks», Bern

2008 «Kunst am Bau», prämiertes Wettbewerbskonzept für die Hirslanden Klink Permanence in Bern-Bümpliz, Cabane B, Bern

«Junge Malerei 2007-2008», Gruppenausstellung, GESA (Galerie Elisabeth Staffelbach Aarau), Aarau

Infos & Bildmaterial

http://artacks.wordpress.com/doku/«goinout»/

«artacks»

«Project Responsibility»

Patrick Urwyler

Sebastian Lavoyer

Concept & Curator

Communication

*1981 | Berne | lives & works in Budapest MA in Curatorial Studies, University of Bern (‘09) Arthistorian (MA) & Curator Graphic Designer, Berne & Budapest

*1979 | Berne | lives in Berne, works in Zurich Bachelor of Economics, University of Berne (‘06) Ringier School for Journalists (‘09) Journalist & PR in different Projects

Contact: patrick@artacks.ch

Sandro Galli Artist

*1981 | Berne | lives & works in Berne Diplom in Bildnerischem Gestalten, HKBerne (‘07) MA in Art Education (‘09) Artist, Illustrator & Graphic Designer

Mike Bucher Finances

*1979 | Berne | lives & works in Berne Political Science & Founder of Shnit ShortFilmFestival Moderator & Eventmanager

Ian White - Cutterskink 11 | 12

Photographer & Artist

*1973 | London | lives & works in Berne Photographer / Artist / Illustrator / Designer www.cutterskink.com

artacks has been founded by five creatives in Berne, Switzerland. The aim of artacks is to promote «Urban Art» by providing young and promising Swiss artists with challenging platforms to exhibit their work. Moreover, artacks’s ambition is to invigorate the public image of «Urban Art». We offer the wide public the possibility to experience young art beyond the common conventions. Our aim consists in promoting the understanding for young, aspiring art forms, which have been only marginally represented on the established art scene, until now. Whether illustration, graphic design, comic, graffiti or street art – the visual culture of the urban space is hungry for appropriate platforms. Accordingly to these new art forms, the projects of artacks are always temporary and flexible instead of dusty and rigid. artacks keeps on moving, it overcomes distances and it makes the art scene street-suitable. artacks is a roaming art project and a as a consequence, it’s only permanent residence is to be found in the virtual world (www.artacks.ch). artacks is constantly looking for temporary locations, in order to put them at the artists’ disposal as «creative playgrounds». With our art events we’re staging locations where art can be looked at and bought in an inspiring atmosphere. It’s not just about bringing art to the people; it’s also about giving them the possibility to buy what they see and like. It’s a matter of concern for us, that the public can buy unique works of art at reasonable prices. As a non-profit organization all our projects are selffinanced, be it through the instruments of sponsoring, benefactor contributions or the revenues from sales.

No matter where the money is coming from, each Swiss Franc is directly re-invested in art and the artists. That this concept is approved and supported by all the different stakeholders is proven by all the projects we have successfully realized up to now. All our projects are considerably documented on our website www.artacks.ch. There you can flick our exhibition catalogues, read up on our concepts, rummage through the press reports and stream some documentaries and artistic film.