artAZ always organizes fresh art events and The Invasion group exhib is no exception! I really enjoyed the shots from preparing & setting up the space and of course not enough can be said about the awesome participants. Below you'll find the Press Release with all the details plus a small description of the artists. Thumbs up Alexandra and artAZ!

artAZ and THE BOX Gallery present

THE INVASION

Quick Info
Exhibition title: The Invasion
Artists: Esek_one, Pure Evil, Sox, The Krah, Yellowish
Curated by: Alexandra Kollaros
Produced by: artAZ & Box Gallery
Opening: Thursday, October 7 2010, 19:30
Duration: October 7  – November 6 2010
Visiting hours: Monday – Friday, 10:30-15:00 & 17:30-20:30. Saturday, 10:30-15:00
THE BOX Gallery: 6 Apellou St., Navarinou Sq., Thessaloniki, Greece, 2313 050315

Five artists are invading Thessaloniki, in order to celebrate the opening of THE BOX Gallery and introduce the audience to the artistic parallel universe of Street Art, through “The Invasion” exhibition. The exhibition reveals the main codes of the special artistic genre.

Within the frame of the invasion, the artists create images - mental and psychological landscapes – inhabited by symbols and metaphors. Through their works they comment on the stimuli they receive from the urban landscape and at the same time, leave their mark in the city. Via their artistic interventions they are reclaiming the lost space that, by default, belongs to them. Offering a behind the scenes glance to the downright fascinating artistic idiom, the exhibition takes us down subversive paths and unpredictable alleys, full of visual statements that communicate their message to everyone, as they dismiss the unnecessarily pretentious approaches of the mainstream and employ a universal vocabulary instead.

The exhibition is curated by Alexandra Kollaros and produced by artAZ, in association with THE BOX Gallery.

The exhibition will also mark the release of «3 TITS» by The Krah – a limited edition of (50) screen prints, inaugurating the launch of AP by artAZ – a series of collector’s, editioned artworks.

THE ARTISTS

Esek_one keeps wandering through benign nightmares. His mutant, monstrous figures confuse the viewer, simultaneously causing horror and sympathy, combining cynicism with romanticism, in a surreal, almost lyrical mix. Esek_one’s images hit directly on the viewer’s subconscious, awakening desires, fears and feelings that are already rooted in his heart.

Pure Evil, while staying with his posh cousins in the English countryside when he was 10 years old, took a double-barreled shotgun out into the fields, and during a DEERHUNTER game, fired at, and consequently killed, a rabbit. Upon verifying its death he realized that the game was over and things were serious: He had shot and killed a living creature. Despite the family’s great praise (and the rabbits transformation to a pie) the artist felt sick and ashamed. Since then he has felt the fear of retribution and has visions of the dead rabbit coming back to haunt him. The bunny is PURE EVIL. By painting and drawing him he is keeping his memory alive. New interpretations of the Pure Evil Bunny will have their world premiere at the exhibition. 

Although Sox never bothers to watch TV he is obsessed with it. The artist is mesmerized by the enormous effect this primal symbol of technology has on today’s culture and society. Sox’s world has a screen as its starting point but essentially revolves around the human existence. Guided by a sarcastic demeanor and the need to locate elements of romance and creativity in the emotionally sterile contemporary era, he pulverizes urban decay and defines his own perception of reality, by mixing color, images and feelings in his imaginary blender.

The Krah is always exploring his world: a psychedelic mix of bio-organic forms, multilayered hi-techstructures, mutoid figures lurking on the edges of consciousness, high color and energy – a fantastic and ambiguous field where everything is possible. Abstract tentacle bits, graphic design elements, patterns that remind of hieroglyphics of ancient civilisations, masterful detail - they all emerge from an imagination that is working overtime and is fascinated by urban chaos and disorder.

Yellowish’s black & white universe is characterized by extreme surrealism and exhaustive detail. His precise, freakish lines harbor a hidden origin in geometry and they almost always develop organically, as a reaction to the various stimuli he perceives. His automated visual script transports us to an imaginary timespace, which might be mistaken as dreamy but is instead inhabited by myriads of unexpected exotic creatures and abundant suggestions of nightmares.

artAZ
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