True Grit

September 1st, 2017 – September 30th, 2017

As one of the most diverse contemporary art movements, Street Art has branched into many styles and forms over the past decades. Although many still view it as one universe, it is actually a difficult phenomenon to define, while a relatively small theoretical circle around it mainly preserves an inclusive outlook. Such a miscellaneous nature of Street Art, additionally aided and promoted by the picture-loving social media channels, often loses its focus and proposes eye-catching visuals as values of this world. The truth is, in fact, different, since the true grit of the art created in public environment lies in idea and action, in exactly the same way it does with other, widely theoretically acclaimed forms of contemporary art.

“True Grit” exhibition presents works by two artists who possess the integrity of concept and the bravery to act in public space. Displayed in parallel, Jordan Seiler and Vermibus are selected as exemplary representatives of the contemporary public art scene, coming from a distinct realm of street art activism. Although aesthetically specific, their respective expressions provide a sea of information beyond the imagery, inviting the observer to wander and ask questions about their work and its purpose. While Jordan Seiler approaches public art through installing abstract visuals in places of advertisements thus isolating the world from such forms of marketing, Vermibus emphasizes the harm and impact of such advertisements by conducting a similar act.

Public Art with True Grit

The result of their individual works produces comparable effects in space, while they are known to present their activities through different media. Jordan Seiler’s photographs are more than black and white visuals of high aesthetic quality, they are documents of his interventions and reactions they provoked among different urban dwellers. Vermibus exhibits solvent-based posters of different scales, each of which is taken from the street and altered through contemplation and color dissolution in order to make a critical anti-mainstream aesthetic statement. When placed in public, these works radiate with full power, engaging the passersby to look, reflect and question. When showcased in a gallery, these works can be viewed as artifacts that remain after an artistic action, impregnated with the conceptual development that preceded their materialization.

Presenting artworks that are results of actual street activism and civil disobedience, “True Grit” exhibition will run in parallel with the Berlin Art Week. It will include works made by Jordan Seiler and Vermibus from their older and the most recent bodies of work. Connoisseurs will appreciate photos from Seiler’s series “Collisions“. Those following one of the most interesting artists in this scene now, Vermibus, will have the opportunity to preview his latest pieces from the series “In Absentia”, a selection of his collages and a special collectors’ treat – one of his early lightbox pieces from 2013.

TRUE GRIT
Runtime: September 1st. 2017 – September 3oth. 2017
OPEN WALLS Gallery / Schröderstr. 11.1 / 10115 Berlin

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