Icons of Urban Art
MUCA Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, Munich
October 30, 2020 – Extended till end of 2021

Street art is omnipresent. Though impossible to ignore, it is not always viewed favourably. Street art confronts us sharply, unexpectedly and fearlessly. An intensive engagement with art in public space demands of us deeper self-reflection and a closer inspection of society as a whole. Street artists have always used urban infrastructure as their canvas to communicate grievances and alert us to unacceptable social conditions. They have a unique sense for fleeting aesthetics and are pioneers in one of the most visionary art movements. Each street artwork tells a story, and contributes to a history.

Step by step, street art has given rise to a new artistic form that allows people to view and think about the world from a perspective beyond barriers of language, culture, religion and origin. Its strength lies in opening our eyes as observers without limiting itself with rules and regulations. Using simple symbols and motifs, this art form underscores themes like social injustice, capitalism and racism. This latest exhibition at the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA) presents original artworks by the most legendary figures of this scene, in an impressive new spatial installation.

Centred on one of the largest Banksy collections in Europe, key pieces from past official Banksy exhibitions will be on show, including the monumental oil painting “Are You Using That Chair?” – a subversive allegory of Edward Hopper’s famous “Nighthawks”. This large-format piece has been exhibited only once before, in Banksy’s 2005 show “Crude Oils”in London, a key exhibition that also included “Show Me The Monet”, which recently sold at Sotheby’s for over eight million Euros.This new exhibition is a testament to the love for street art that museum founders Stephanie and Christian Utz have been cultivating for over 20 years, with a consistent view to consolidating and valorising street and urban art in the contemporary sphere.

more. www.muca.eu