the art collectors » Review :: Whole in the Wall

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Review :: Whole in the Wall

Like the art form itself, Whole in The Wall, the highly publicized gallery show touting itself as the “the largest street art exhibition of American & European Street Art” is a hit or miss affair. While old names do appear alongside contemporary ones, the show, organized by Helenbeck Gallery, should not be taken as a historic survey. The somewhat haphazard mix of artists fails to channel any real sense of cohesive narrative or chronological progression, and seems to be gathered more from a mixed bag of curatorial preference and limitation. While some of the display falls short of translating, loosing all contextual weight on the wall, there are several winners worthy of mention. The strongest works are served up by NY natives Lee Quiñones and CRASH (John Matos), who have each spent years developing artistic voices that are still close to the street aesthetics of their roots, yet transcend graffiti and are easily at home in a gallery setting. Perhaps the most overlooked contributions to the exhibit are some of its strongest – the photographs of Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant and Jamel Shabbaz, who all vigorously chronicled the early days of NYC graf through documentary photography that remains as artistically viable today as it is historicaly significant. Whole in the Wall is certainly worth a visit, and as long as you don’t believe the hype, it will not disappoint. Exhibit runs till June 27.