Avantgarden Gallery opens Olympus, solo exhibition by James Reka, Australian artist, currently living in Berlin.

His artistic origins come from the streets and railway lines, in the suburbs of Melbourne, where he spent more than a decade and where he has his background of iconic aesthetic influenced by pop culture, comics and illustration.

He is known for his graffiti, populated by figures from anthropomorphic forms, playful but disturbing as it combines contradictory emotions: humor and foreboding menacing.

These abstract and surreal figures, made by sharp lines, dynamic movements and bold colors invade the streets of the city, “climbing” on brick walls and giving the urban environment a new layer of ‘litterary colours’

The subjects by Reka, perfectly inserted in the Berlin metropolitan context, promote dialogue between the viewer and the surrounding environment. From Avantgarden Gallery we’ll see on site-specific works: the ‘artist will paint some walls of the gallery and will carry about 15 works of various sizes from 50 cm up to 150 cm created on linen cloths in which the protagonists of the exhibition, female figures, will be portrayed in classical and futuristic poses at the same time, a combination of figurative and abstract mixes scenes that recall the Gymnasium, the site of ancient Greece for the promotion of hygiene, health and welfare of the Hellenic people.

The Australian artist will also perform creating various murals in the city of Milan. Recently, James Reka held important solo exhibitions in London, San Francisco, in Denmark and Melbourne, he has exhibited his works at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol, as well as in New York, Denver and Cologne tokyo.