Feature: THE BIG PICTURE - Exhibition - Arcana at the Signal Gallery, 96 Curtain Road EC2
Published: 1 April 2010
DEEP colour and intense, raw emotion are the hallmarks of the work of Dale Grimshaw, a major figure in the urban and street art world. Like Banksy, he has in the past used cities as canvases, and they are also an inspiration to him; his oil on canvas paintings are pregnant with the feverish atmosphere of overstimulated life in the 21st-century metropolis.
Grimshaw’s first solo show, Echoes and Exorcisms, which took place in Hoxton in 2008 was a great success, and the artist has gone from strength to strength since. His works have been snapped up by international collectors and he shown in a number of prestigious group shows as far afield as Philadelphia, Berlin, Paris and Bristol.
His exciting and disturbing self-portraits Exorcism and Heart In Darkness have also brought him acclaim. They reveal an artist full of ambition and brave enough to expose his inner demons.
Judgement (pictured) is part of a series of interpretations of Tarot imagery on display in Grimshaw’s new solo show, Arcana.
Taking a number of cards from the pack, he has created a modern and personal interpretation of their symbolism by way of startling works described as having “a raw demonstrative edge”.
• Arcana is at the Signal Gallery, 96 Curtain Road, EC2, from April 9-June 1 (Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6pm; Private View April 8, 6-9pm), 07766 057 212,
info@signalgalley.com, www.signalgallery.com