From the Street to the Gallery
Banksy & Shepard Fairey in Private Eyes @ WRG
By John Benson
Once called graffiti, street art is the rage among collectors around the globe.
While the mainstream may not instantly recognize the names Banksy and Shepard Fairey, odds are they have come across their story or work. The former’s enigmatic life was highlighted in the excellent 2010 documentary Exit Through the Giftshop, while the latter artist created the now iconic President Barack Obama “Hope” portrait for his 2008 campaign.
Established and emerging pop art – from Banksy (United Kingdom), Invader (France), Vhils (Portugal), Blu (Argentina) and Shepard Fairey (United States) – is the theme behind the William Rupnik Gallery’s debut exhibition “Private Eyes,” which runs Sat 11/5 through Sat 11/12 at its brand-new downtown Cleveland location. Mentor native and Cleveland resident Rupnik has been hosting sporadic exhibits in abandoned warehouses and other unique venues around Northeast Ohio for years. Now his attention is focused on turning his new gallery into an epicenter of something different and, well, something cool.
Cool Cleveland talked to William Rupnik, 34, about this special exhibition, his brand-new location and its impact in Northeast Ohio.
Cool Cleveland: First of all, how did “Private Eyes” come together?
William Rupnik: It’s a collection of multiple works from five different artists. The entire show is a series of prints and editions. Some of them are bona-fide prints, others are editions in numbers signed and so on, but they aren’t actually screen-printing on paper, so it’s a variation there. The work itself, the artists, they individually speak for themselves, but the prints we’re going to have are some of the more rare ones. Almost everything in the show is signed, which is for diehard collectors a huge difference versus something unsigned.
Invariably the highlights of the exhibition come from Banksy and Fairey. Tell us what people can expect to see.
One Shepard Fairey is a rare screen print from 2001, which very rarely comes up on secondary markets. The other one is a large-scale salvage street work that was repurposed with an interesting story behind it. It’s something that was put up by the artist in Cleveland a number of years ago. The person who presently owns it got it from someone who was very imbedded in the street art world and happened to be down along this building the night it was originally put up. It immediately started raining, so the glue never dried and it never sat on the wall. With Banksy, we have six different editions from him, each of them are some of the more rare ones out of his portfolio of work, as far as the screen prints and such go. We’re pretty proud of those just because it gives people an opportunity to see something that the likelihood of seeing in person again anywhere near Cleveland is pretty slim.
For the layman art lovers, would you say street art is akin to expressionism?
Yeah, it’s hard to classify any one of them, let alone as a group, into any one demographic or another, but they’re outsider artists – artists that until recently probably would be scoffed at by the art world. All of these guys have been doing this for a long time and are some of the forefathers of the modern art movement you’re starting to see created from the streets and brought into gallery settings. They are expressionists; they are all street artists in one form or another.
Finally, what’s the spirit of the William Rupnik Gallery?
It’s very much a museum feel but without that kind of highbrow, snooty-nose vibe. Anyone can walk in here and view or appreciate any of the work that we offer. We have stuff in every price range from under $100 to five-figure marks. We deal with primary market stuff, local emerging talent, brokerage and secondary markets, as well as occasional appraisals. So we’re all over the place. There’s no vibe here. If you love art this is a place I hope presents stuff that you’re just not going to find in other venues here in Cleveland.
Private Eyes will be on display Sat 11/5 through Sat 11/12 @ the William Rupnik Gallery, 1117 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. A special opening reception takes place from 7 to 10 p.m. at the gallery. Gallery hours are normally 12 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Open Sunday by appointment. Admission is free. For more information, call 216-533-5575 or visit http://www.WRGcleveland.com.
Freelance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.
When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com.