Fear of Punk / Fear of Art

I am in the middle of pretty intense work towards this exhibition that my main man and I are putting on together.  I really could go on and on about the motivations behind this show, but for now I will just leave this post as a declaration of the fact that it happening in just under a month.

This is kind of an exhibition of international punk art, though the number of artists we could include was greatly limited by the space we secured-- a teeny gallery across the street from Central Tech.  The show features a great group of artists that could be simply described as 'punk' artists making artwork within and around punk rock music (though in a lot of cases, this description is only a small piece of the puzzle).  Fear of Punk / Fear of Art includes several artists from NYC, a few from  the midwest and west coast, Canada, and as far away as Mexico City and France.

Stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks!

***

FEAR OF PUNK / FEAR OF ART

Alex Ratcharge (France)
Alexander Heir (NYC)
Emma Maatman (LA)
Erick Lyle (NYC)
Heather Benjamin (NYC)
Jill Pucciarelli (NYC)
Leah Wishnia (NYC)
Matthew McGarry (Rochester)
Nathan Gattis (Chicago)
Paul D'Elia (LA)
Sam Ryser (NYC)
Shiva Addanki (NYC)
Spoiler (Montreal)
Tara Bursey (Toronto)
Weird Luke (NYC)
Yecatl Peña (Mexico)
and more.

Curated by Ben Needham and Tara Bursey

August 2-4, 2013
Communication Art Gallery
209 Harbord Street, Toronto
http://www.communicationgallery.net
Opening Party:  Friday, August 2, 2013.  7-10 pm

Presented as part of Zine Dream 6, an annual small press art fair
http://zinedream.com

Punk is everywhere.  From malls to museums, the influence and imagery of punk’s past has largely been absorbed into mass culture.  Despite this, contemporary DIY punk rock sits firmly outside of the mainstream, and at both regional and global levels is stronger than ever.  The visual culture that surrounds it is variably dark, threatening, chaotic, smart, funny, mysterious and questioning.

Fear of Punk / Fear of Art highlights the creative output of current punk artists, bringing their work out of its usual context while exploring intersections between punk rock, art and print culture.  The purpose of the exhibition is to celebrate contemporary punk art while sharing it with a broader audience.  The exhibition includes drawing, sculpture and printed matter that draws inspiration from horror, the occult, sex, despair, popular culture, art history and urban life.

For more information, contact ben.t.needham@gmail.com or tara@tarabursey.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/267288286747509/

Images, from left to right: Alexander Heir, solo exhibition poster design; Alex Ratcharge, Maximumrocknroll t-shirt design; Leah Wishnia, Garden of Earthly Delights screenprint; Heather Benjamin, Shut Up t-shirt design.