In 1800s Europe, the rising food prices and high unemployment fueled widespread popular protests. Communist Europe in 1989, created frustration with corrupt and unresponsive political systems and provoked the fall of once powerful regimes. 2011 is spurring a similar chain of events, bringing people together and empowering us to grab our governments by the balls and demand what is rightfully ours, human rights.

A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. Seeking truth and raising awareness, the artists that we have chosen for this show strive for non-conformity and create work representative of both political and social opposition, making them pioneers of dissident activity. Consciously or not, they seek honesty, challenge boundaries, then create art as a way of driving this message in to the minds of on-lookers.

By acknowledging the social and political unrest of this year, West Berlin Gallery cordially invites you as we debut Dissidents, a Group Show featuring:

Alias – Always keeping in mind the social and political activities and breaking through the boundaries of traditional art making, Alias delivers a great deal of gravity through his loaded imagery and mindful aesthetic. The self taught street artist never ceases to astound the public with his stencil work on recycled material.

SP38 – Urban poetry is this Berlin based french artists’ speciality. Mixing silkscreen and paint, SP38 plays with words to create provocative sentences which are strongly related to both political and social events of their time. The more sophisticated look of his artwork, using his unique deep gold color, helps him reach a wide range of public, even those who his messages are directed to.

Prost –  From his “Prostie” smileys making witty social commentaries that always put a smile upon our faces, to denouncing misleading, abusive, sexist advertising by his adbusting actions, Prost has never ceased on challenging society.

Rallito X – The attitude of an alienated society manipulated by the media, has been this spaniards work theme since he started putting his work up on the streets. Rallito X refuses to follow society’s rules and shows his unconformity with unacceptable formed characters carrying politically incorrect messages.

BR1 - For the last years, this italian artist has been studying the figure of the Muslim woman: history, tradition, legal sources and development in contemporary society. Charmed by the image of veiled women, BR1 decided to take the risk of introducing religious elements on his posters and make us wonder why is this piece of cloth so controversial.

Emess – His work is mostly motivated by political issues that he approaches using a wide range of medias, such as murals, prints and sculptures. Emess confronts the viewer with issues that would rather be swept under the rug.

Linda’s Ex – A while ago Roland Brückner aka Lindas Ex asked his lover to come back to him in plastered posters and stickers throughout the city. Nowadays, his pleas have turned into social commentaries sprayed into canvases.

Niark1 – His characters rise like monsters or aliens on a dark world filled by details. Their infinite nature scares and hypnotizes as there is always space for new discoveries. Cutting and pasting strips of newspaper where he later paints, Niark1′s artwork brings his dreams and fears to surface.

Jakob Tolstrup – Mixed media and color crayons are Jakob’s favorite techniques to work with. His characters have a childish style giving a sweet and humorous feeling to his paintings, which take a bitter look into nowadays society.

Giacomo Spazio – The established Italian artist, lead of the Italian Street Art movement, creates pop images, with shocking fluorescent colors that shout out their presence, as loud as possible. Using old fanzines and punk imagery to create lo-fi styled artwork with a cynical and subversive intention.

Opening Ceremony: Thursday, November 17th
18:00 – 22:00 at West Berlin Gallery
Brunnenstraße 56 / 13355 Berlin

For those of you who missed the show, Hara Katsiki will be at West Berlin Gallery  tomorrow Saturday, September 24, around 15:00 to hang out and answer any questions about her work. Feel free to stop by!

Prost got his first taste of art at the age of five and has long since made him self a staple among the street art contemporaries. Since establishing a base camp in Berlin, Prost has made sure that no wall in Berlin is left behind. His enthusiastic smiley, stemmed from an attempt at a self-portrait, graces the likes of canvas, wood, paper, cardboard, billboard, labels and of course, walls, all over the world. Legend has it that even the late, great Chuck Norris was impressed with Prost.

Irony, humor, and sensibility are constant themes in the work of Prost. The mission: to wake the zombified public from their augmented realities, raise social awareness, and give them something to laugh about. Prost, who works with various mediums, is now exhibiting some of these infamous smiley’s at West Berlin Gallery, among other imagery. Constantly evolving, Prost will continue to show work at West Berlin Gallery, along the varied canvas that is “the street”.

Street art or not, the imagery is relevant, and message is important, and Prost’s presence in the art world is without a doubt significant.

Here’s a sneak preview of the making of:

Thanks to Montana Cans for their support & Brenna for the nice photos.

❝ Mr. Jago from Bristol creates abstract graffiti-inspired artworks. He has toured galleries around the world and his style has evolved throughout the many years of his experience. The adidas Performance Urban Artist Series now features his powerful work. Three shirts, a long-sleeve and an iconic track top were created around the Good vs. Evil theme that interprets sports in an inspiring way.❞

Selected pieces of the clothing line designed by nine artists will be shown, alongside the original works, plus contributions of adidas designers.

Adidas Performance: Urban Artist Series 08.07.2011 – 23.07.2011

Vernissage 08.07.2011 – 19.00 o’clock.

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