At the end of this month, TEAM ROBBO will be presenting the biggest graffiti exhibition London has ever seen. ‘TEAM REX – Origin of the Species’, opens to the public at the Red Gallery at 3 Rivington Street in East London (EC2) Shoreditch on 31st August.
We have witnessed an explosive activity and interest in street art over the last few years, but how did it all begin? Many debates search to make a distinction between street art and graffiti, as these two art forms now co-exist – each with its own group of supporters. TEAM REX – Origin of the Species suggests a different angle, a non-competitive and contemplative historical perspective with a focus on showcasing the “graffiti DNA” and its artistic mutations.
Contemporary Talks have had the rare opportunity to get very close to TEAM ROBBO and have followed them from back in 2010, when King Robbo was still bombing the streets of London. Last year, after Robbo’s accident when he fell into a coma, his team have continued to spread his message of collaboration, unity, love of the arts and fearless expression. When looking at graffiti in its essence, without commenting on internal or external politics, financial issues and other implications, it is an artistic expression that takes many forms. To capture the astonishing variety of artistic genius that has evolved, TEAM REX – Origin of the Species is bringing together NYC subway veterans like KEL, Crash, Blade, Mare 139, Duster and Duro with British classics such as Tox, SheOne, Remi Rough and 10 Foot. The International presence includes Russia, Norway, Switzerland, France, Germany and the present number of countries represented is still growing.
“Everyone who thought that graffiti could be boxed in and limited to certain circumstances, will be amazed at how the creative DNA of street/train graffiti, spawned in New York City – developed, spread and mutated around the world, creating a kaleidoscope of art and culture.” – Prime, Team Robbo
Until the day of the opening we don’t know what the show will precisely offer, but TEAM ROBBO are promising a substantial number of graffiti-based pieces in various materials, techniques, shapes and forms. The show will take over the entire Red Gallery, with three internal gallery spaces and the fashionable Red Market, where live painting events with invited artists will take place. The exhibition pieces are to be hung simultaneously with live pieces on the walls surrounding the Red Market and considering the exploding popularity of Shoreditch’s most enjoyable marketplace and the fairly priced bar, we can expect a huge and jolly crowd.
In this manner, Robbo’s creative spirit continues push the borders of the art scene, locally and internationally. We will ask ourselves questions such as ‘What is contemporary graffiti?’ and bare witness to how graffiti evolves in an exhibition space.
A series of free talks and events related to TEAM REX – Origin of the Species will also be provided – full details are provided on the website dedicated to the exhibition – www.TeamRex.org. We do know that Mare 183 and KEL are flying in from New York to give talks at the Red Gallery on the 29th of Aug and 1st of Sept at around 7 pm.
If you wish to attend the Private View on 30th August and free entry to the after party at East Village, London – you’d better hurry to get your name on the guestlist which is almost certainly going to be oversubscribed. You can apply via the private view link on TeamRex.org: http://www.teamrex.org/privateview
Forget the politics, avoid the media, play positive jams, fill your headspace with positive inculcations – that’s how you privately beat the system. XXXXXXX, true say Punk Roc true star – Choci-Roc, Team Robbo
Exhibition opening times
Team Rex exhibition runs from 31st August until 9th September. Opening hours are Mon / Tues / Wed / Fri / Sat 10am – 7pm | Thurs 10am – 8pm / Sun 11am – 5pm – Entry is free. For special events – see website www.teamrex.org.
The Team Rex exhibition is organised by Team Robbo and Prank Sky Media.
www.TeamRobbo.org, www.Pranksky.com
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Promotional links:::
About TEAM ROBBO
Team Robbo is the driving force behind the global movement which is articulating the cultural hegemony within the graffiti/street scene. The arts collective was formed in 2010 by its founder and inspiration, King Robbo, a champion of the original street art movement who can be traced back to the early days of NYC graffiti in the 80s.
Through exhibitions, auctions and creative events, Team Robbo and its core members have positioned themselves to redefine the landscape of graffiti-inspired art, design and culture in all its forms at the centre of the art market. Following the airing of the award-winning documentary “Graffiti Wars” (last year on Channel 4, UK) which featured King Robbo, Team Robbo’s subsequent art exhibition at Signal Gallery and auction club event at Cargo cemented it in its place as a dynamic and successful arts group, able to galvanize support and loyalty from investors, collectors and a worldwide fan-base.
www.TeamRobbo.org / www.TeamRex.org / twitter.com/TeamRexLDN
About RED GALLERY
Red Gallery hosts exhibitions, live art, literary soirees, symposiums, film screenings, live music and club events. Their vision is to promote an expansive artistic culture and curate large-scale gallery shows (currently touring internationally) covering subjects as diverse as the history of acid house and the future of art in the East End, with exhibitions such as ‘20 years of Acid House’, ‘East End Promise’ and ‘East Pop’.
Over the past 18 months Red Gallery have collaborated with a wide array of artists, art collectives and organisations including; Adam Dant, Bo Ningen, East End Film Festival, Gavin Turk, House of Fairy Tales, i-D magazine, Kid Koala, Le Gun, Noriko Okaku, Onedotzero, Soul Clap, Soundcloud, and Camberwell and Kingston Colleges of Art and Redsonik.
About RED MARKET
The Red Market Pop-Up fuses Food, Drink, Art, Music & Leisure Across 20,000 Sq. Ft in East London
What do you get when East London’s most prominent street, Old Street, hosts and brings together local East London traders, artists and musicians? A unique outdoor ‘Pop Up’, now in its second year and bigger and better combining social regeneration and shared cultural pursuits.
Running from July 6th to September 2nd 2012, The Red Market Pop Up, a fully licensed space open from midday to 11pm daily will transport visitors through East London’s culinary and creative delights amongst a 20,000sq ft outdoor space with various installations including a stage, a summer house, a sand area, table tennis, hammocks, graffiti artworks and petanque pitches.
Building on the success of their 2010 take-over of 1-3 Rivington Street, then a derelict building, the team behind The Red Market Pop Up transformed the area into one of London’s key cultural hubs building relationships with East London’s many creative individuals and organisations. The team today offer low cost space on Rivington Street to artists and internet start-ups whilst hosting a selection of exhibitions, live art, live music, literary events and film screenings amongst other activities.