Venue 15 (Art in Shops)
Address: Unity Hair Studio, 211a Portobello High Street
Open: 7/8 and 14/15 September
Mike Rolek is a Glasgow based artist. He specialises in large-scale mural work and individualised custom commissions, recently using graffiti-inspired techniques to create illustrative bodies of work. His style has developed from initial street-art work to encompass a wider range of perspectives, such as abstract landscapes and commissioned pieces.
The collection exhibited at Unity Hair Studio plays with the aspects of colour and negative space to depict a series of connected architectural scenes, inspired by the stunning coastline structures around Edinburgh. The surreal landscape theme is emphasised by the use of contrasting colours, setting and composition.
Each painting provides an alternative viewpoint to the architectural structures chosen. This is further accentuated by the mixture of both sharp bold lines and loose connections to highlight how the scenes can change according to the viewer’s perspective. Together the paintings combine to form a surreal landscape.
The use of negative space invites the viewer to focus their attention to key areas within each painting, while encouraging the sense of depth created by the contrast of the neon skyline against the monotone of the architecture. These architectural structures are framed against an unnatural skyscape, the man-made, standing solidly attached to the earth, facing the wide-open, empty sky, which turns fluorescent.
Recent Exhibitions:
2024:
Yardworks Graffiti and Street Art Festival
YOMO Community Charity commission – public mural project, Maryhill
2023:
Dancing Wave Mural with Healy Arts – Glasgow longest mural trail
Contact: relaxitsjustart@outlook.com
Web: relaxitsjustart.bigcartel.com
