Prior to first meeting in Seville, Spain in 2004, Hera and Akut independently rose to prominence in the international street art community due to consistent recognition of their inimitable, though very different compositions. A classically trained painter, Hera creates gestural, emotional figures in an extemporaneo... Read more
Prior to first meeting in Seville, Spain in 2004, Hera and Akut independently rose to prominence in the international street art community due to consistent recognition of their inimitable, though very different compositions. A classically trained painter, Hera creates gestural, emotional figures in an extemporaneous manner using a wide variety of instruments including spray cans, brushes, her hands, etc., while Akut is completely self-taught yet renders hyper-realistic images of animals and flesh using only a spray can. What initially seemed like an unlikely pairing both conceptually and technically has since become one of the foremost collaborations in urban art and an innovative presence in contemporary painting.
Early Herakut pieces often featured Hera’s empowered female and childlike figures and Akut’s meticulously constructed canines confidently interacting against an abstract milieu. However as the collaboration has progressed, the artists’ disparate figures have gradually merged into singular androgynous individuals whose dynamic presence is a result of Hera’s instinctive rendering of the silhouette and Akut’s precise execution of flesh and facial features. This remarkable evolutionary step was evident in the works Story, 2009, and You Sure?, 2009, featured in London at Phillips De Pury’s “Saturday@Phillips” exhibition in March.
Herakut’s exhibition at RedFlagg entitled, No Placebos, is the continuation of this evolution and will feature a number of paintings on canvas and found wood as well as several site-specific works created directly on the gallery walls. This show follows successful solo exhibitions at Campbarbossa, London, The Leonard Street Gallery, London, and the Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles. Copies of the new Herakut monograph The Perfect Merge, published by Publikat, will be available at the gallery.
After Party : To be announced at the exhibition (Open bar from 9-10 pm well drinks, wine, beer)
