Urban Uprising was created by two aussie expats living and sharing in London who hung on the streets and alleys of Shoreditch and fell in love with the stencils and other stuff on the streets. Both became avid collectors and gradually the love of the art took over their lives. With their old warehouse space already looking like a gallery the seed was borne to create a real one.
On a trip to back home to Oz, it seemed Sydney lacked the sort of art they had a passion for so the decision was made to make the plunge, and so the gallery was borne. Rod runs the gallery space in Sydney and Brian remains in the UK where he recently curated the Urban artists for the Surfers against Sewerage Charity (sourcing many of the artists to create designs for a surfboard to be auctioned at Bonhams Urban Art auction in October). They aim to bring artists of varying degrees of fame, thereby offering a broad spectrum of prints and originals across a huge price range to encourage new collectors to the art world.
The selection of artists displayed at the opening Urban Uprising show represent some of the most influential in the Urban art world. All of the artists are highly collectable. From the most famous of all, Banksy, (who has helped change the way people view street art and brought more attention to the genre than any other - and whose works can sell for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands at auction) - to Jamie Reid, the man who created the iconic Sex Pistols images, and Faile, whose work was recently displayed on the Tate Modern’s façade as part of the museum’s first major display of street art – every artist has an extraordinary story and following.
Aside from bringing international artists to collectors in Sydney, Urban Uprising hopes to inspire local urban artists by showcasing an art form that to date has not had a lot of exposure in Australia. We will actively be encouraging and showcasing future shows by local artists in Sydney and abroad..
