Green Day Get Artsy
09/23/2009
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(Warner Bros) Green Day has commissioned 21 original pieces of art inspired by music from the band's most recent album release, 21st Century Breakdown.
The paintings will be shown exclusively at the StolenSpace Gallery in Shoreditch, East London, from 23rd of October until 1st of November to coincide with Green Day's sold out UK concert tour and opening the day before the band's two sold-out performances at the O2 Arena in London.
The band, who have sold over 60 million albums world-wide, feel that art and music share a common bond. "We're really excited to be associated with this incredible show," Green Day front-man Billie Joe Armstrong said. "Seeing the pieces that our new album has inspired is very exciting. We feel a strong connection to that type of creative expression; we think the fans coming out will love it."
The show's curator, artist, Logan Hicks, said that the gallery will feature contributions from an international pool of artisans, such as world renowned New York-based painter Ron English, Amsterdam-based street artists The London Police, French stencil artist C215, British illustrator Will Barras along with artists Eelus, Chris Stain, Sixten, Adam 5100 and more. Each of the collaborating artists were each sent through a lyric sheet and asked to produce a piece of art that reflected that song, to highlight the connection between music and art.
"I chose artists whom I felt had a similar visual approach to art as Green Day does to its music," said Hicks, a stencil artist and die-hard punk-rock fan, whose portraits of band members Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool, and Mike Dirnt will also be on display. "Although most of the artists represented are well-established in their careers, they embrace the same emotional rawness with their art, which speaks from the heart and swings with the fist.
"Their subject matter is struggle and injustice - they shoot from the hip and their art is their weapon."
A number of the participating artists were featured with Hicks in Banksy's "Cans Festival" which took place last year in an abandoned taxi tunnel behind Waterloo Station and attracted over 120,000 people on opening weekend.
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