It’s not often that AM gets to report on exhibitions in York, but this is one show that was always destined to happen. Part2ism, or Part2 for you old school graf-heads, is currently showing a retrospective of his work in his home town of York at Bar Lane Studios located just inside the city walls. Spanning the years from 1995 until the present, this body of work shows the journey that Keith Hopewell has taken since some of his first outings on canvas, as opposed to the local walls up here he once – and in some cases still does frequent.
The exhibition is dominated by the striking Artillery for Pleasure series of work from the last few years, which does stand as some of Part2’s most visually arresting work. The naked and gas-masked subjects draw the attention of gallery passerby’s and pull them in off the street for a closer look. When viewing these paintings, an appreciation for Part2’s skill hits hard and fast. The subtlety and finesse of each of his creations is styled entirely freehand with a spraycan, and Hopewell is widely regarded as one of the originators of photo-realistic graffiti, his work inspiring a host of new generation spraycan aficionados beating that drum today.
Definitely worthy of your attention, you should take a look at the exhibition yourself if possible before it comes down. The abstract / futurism pieces are worth the journey alone. See our photos of the exhibition after the jump.
Discuss Part2ism here.
