Sten&Lex

Press Preview Friday, March 12 at 12.30

Opening Friday, March 12 at 18.30



For his second engagement with Italian street art, Giorgio Galotti is pleased to present the first official private show of the two Roman street artists, Sten&Lex. The title of the show refers to the acronyms of their tags, which combined indicate the revolution of their decision to engage in work together, no longer individually, but side by side.

Known primarily for their public interventions, they have been stimulating interest with press and critics for some time, attracting all kinds of fans, not only those of graffiti and street art, but also those involved in more institutional aspects of contemporary art. This exhibition is the official debut of the artists in a gallery setting. For this reason, the progression of the display was studied diligently from conception to development in order to maintain synchronization between the poetic language and narrative in their works.

The work of Sten&Lex continues after their study of recovered from historic photographic archives in Italy from the 1960s and 1970s, establishing a new style, albeit realized with old methods. The poster technique is a point of commonality between them, and has made them a phenomenon of international acclaim. The unpublished works shown in this exhibition were realized more meticulously than previous undertakings, and this is to become a distinct characteristic of their works to come as they explore the use of stencil on paper.

This new technique develops in three fundamental stages: in part as a reintroduction of stencil, a method of which --sten-, creator of the hole school, was one of the Italian innovators; applied technically as on poster, the preferred medium of Lex; all synthesized with the practice of décollage in the style of Jacques Villeglé or Mimmo Rotella, which, once the glue dries, gives life to the final work, leaving a sign as primitive as worn.

Sten&Lex live in symbiosis during process of each creation, envisioning each subject, developing it, and, once determined, focusing on implementing it as if they were ancient scribes slowly executing an intricate and elaborate art. What emerges is a technically complex work that culminates into a popular icon. Their approach to the creation of the artwork is extremely introspective. In the photographic documentaries of their public works one always finds a hooded figure present, as if the artists intended to narrate the story of our era from the perspective of a mysterious loner with a poetically hidden identity.

In the panorama of international street art they are known and esteemed for an unusual peculiarity in the art world: the privacy with which they shroud their undertakings.

Recently Banksy, sent Sten&Lex, as unique artists of their genre, to London for the latest Can's Festival.

For this occasion, a catalogue and a limited edition box will be published by DRAGO with critic texts by Maria Letizia Bixio, Davide Giannella e Gianluca Marziani.

Gallery: CO2 contemporary art

Artist: Sten&Lex

Opening: Friday, Marzo 12, 2010 | at 18.30

Pres Preview: Borgo Vittorio 9b, 00193 Roma

Show Duration: March 12 – April 30, 2010

Schedule: Monday-Friday 11 > 19.30 | Saturday 16 > 19.30 | Open entrance

Information: t: +39.06.4547 1209 | f: +39.06.4547 3415 | info@co2gallery.com | www.co2gallery.com


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http://www.flickr.com/photos/-sten-/