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Is art displayed on cinderblock walls any different than art that hangs in galleries? Is a swath of spray paint as powerful as a dab of oil? Street art has famously operated outside the trappings of the fine art world, yet it undeniably has a grounding in grand painting traditions. Street Art Fine Art illuminates these intersections through masterpieces reinterpreted by today's most innovative street artists. More than a dozen artists, including ROA, Pablo Delgado, Conor Harrington, Thierry Noir, and Phlegm, were invited to Dulwich Picture Gallery, London to choose a seventeenth- or eighteenth-century masterpiece. From there they were left to run wild on their own walls, interpreting as they wished works from Rembrandt, Pynacker, Gainsborough, Franceshini, Van Aelst, Murillo, and others. The results are collected in this brilliantly photographed compilation, with old and new placed side-by-side to create a one-of-a-kind work. Remi Rough and System's spray painted interpretation of Rembrandt's Girl at a Window shares the same thoughtful stare as the original, while the abstract slashes of MadC's Still Life with Flowers mirrors the striking colors of Van Huysum's painting of the same name.
This collaboration also represents the first time that street artists have ever come together under a single theme, putting a modern spin on traditional exhibitions. By bringing new life to old masters, this provocative collection will have readers rethinking how they define art.
About the author
Ingrid Beazley is a curator and teacher at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London.
Summary
Street Art Fine Art presents a collection of classic works of fine art by the old masters reinterpreted by today's most cutting-edge street artists.
