London's Black Rat Projects hosts its first exhibition of 2010, opening Now's the Time this evening, while the exhibit opens to the public tomorrow. 

The last five years or so has seen an explosion of artists working outdoors, often in an urban environment, and the interest from newspapers, television news, magazines, books and radio has been matched by the public's appetite for this growing phenomenon. Stencils, woodcuts, sculptures, stickers, freehand paintings, pasted posters, ceramic tiles and photographs have all been put up in cities across the world. However street art is not a new phenomena, for at least four decades artists have chosen the streets as a primary place to exhibit works. Most of these artists were initially shunned by the establishment but the best of them gradually gained acceptance from a slow moving and conservative art world and in doing so changed the rules of that world. Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring were amongst the early practitioners of what has become known as street ar t and it is the descendents of their ethos and work who are amongst the best known artists working in the streets today. Now's the Time, named after a Basquiat painting of the same title, is an exhibition which attempts to bring together the most important and influential street artists of the past four decades. 

Now's the Time features important works by arguably the most influential artists ever to have worked in the streets. Black Rat Projects will be exhibiting works by artists including Jean Michel-Basquiat, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Barry McGee, Faile and Os Gemeos. The exhibition opens April 23, with a preview evening on Thursday 22.

Black Rat Projects

83 Rivington Street

London, EC2A 3AY

Share on Tumblr