By Alice
1st February 2018
“They often say that art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable… I reckon Pictures On Walls did exactly that.’
Banksy, Juxtapoz
We’re taking a moment to say goodbye to the inspiration, igniters and institution that was Pictures On Walls after they were closed down by ‘Venture anti-capitalists’ last December. Having been in the game for almost 20 years (or roundabout that) POW pissed people off, turned the art world’s chain of command upside down, and distributed some of the most exciting and renowned artists in the UK urban art scene.
Their roster held such notorious names as Paul Insect, Blu, Dran, Robert Del Naja and of course, Banksy. In fact, they can claim the title of being the first ever gallery to exclusively receive and sell Banksy editions to the public – hows that for legacy? But what they were really about was ‘circumventing the centuries-old grip of the established art world’, promoting their own work and others whilst giving the finger to the whitewalls boxes littered throughout Mayfair. Although ironically you might find a lot of their original artist’s works going for mega-bucks (ahem…Banksy) in the same places they fought to undermine, they started it all, and in their absence, we deign to keep those values alive.
Thanks POW, see you around.
x
