Elizabeth Street is a noisy trading hub for the avid motorcyclists, a gadget Mecca for the photography aficionados, and a concentrated venue of robust Asian eateries. Yet amidst the blaring retail stereo and ostentatious electronic devices, sits an oasis of non-conventional arts and an exhibition platform for all things lowbrow and underground. Outre Gallery is the custodian of the eccentric and iconic. It is a podium for the alternative movement and a rigorous advocate of pop surrealism.
Outre Gallery houses a collection of
smashing artworks embedded with hidden codes and messages. Some audaciously
poke fun at the mainstream cultures and social conventions; some gleefully
display their dark humour and sarcasm camouflaged beneath the gorgeous and
innocent façade.
The discerning eyes will immediately
recognize the inimitable mid-century art style of the prolific Shag. Utilizing highly
intensified saturated colours, Shag’s artworks are a manifestation of
swankiness belonging to the high-end society: distortedly skinny men in their
tight-fitting tuxedo dinner suits, women of curvy shape draped in leopard spot
dresses, stylish bouffant hairstyles, sleuth-looking black kittens, sexy stiletto
heels and classy martini glasses. The paintings are a series of unashamed and
unapologetic scenes of bitchiness, jealousies and scandals.
Next in the unmissable list is Mark Ryden’s twisted fantasy involving incredibly romantic wide-eyed girls,
fairytale-like creatures, elaborate Elizabethan era costumes, nostalgic old
toys, skeletons, and eerie-looking monsters. The paintings flirt with one’s
innocence, spiritual beliefs and inner dark thoughts. Think stunning young girl
with ash blond hair wearing outrageous outfit made of bloody red meats,
strolling gracefully in surrealistically beautiful garden. Each composition is
stunningly pretty and outright ridiculous, quietly yet sinisterly sneers at our
assumed simplicity.
Other noteworthy artworks include the dreamlike
Utopian community of miniature beings by the husband and wife duo APAK, Horitomo’s
tattooed cats, Matte Stephens’s modern cities in flat perspective, playful
retro illustrations by Derek Yaniger, and the deafening mysterious worlds
created by Andy Kehoe.
Location:
249 Elizabeth St, Melbourne
Website:
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