Blek Future

Here at K2 we appreciate art, good art that is in all forms—whether high brow or low, street art or fine, if there is soul and passion behind it, so are we. That’s why Saturday November 19th we will be heading to Nine Four One Gallery in San Francisco for the Godfather of stencil art, Blek le Rat’s opening. His biggest show to date is entitled 60/30 and is being called “one of the most historically significant the street art community has seen” by the gallery as well as marking the 60th birthday of the artist and the 30th anniversary of the birth of his art.

Nine Four One Gallery explains: “Thirty years ago, when Blek le Rat first started to paint his local streets, this was certainly not the case. Unaware of the eventual prominence his style would gain and motivated by the idea of using art to spread ideas of social consciousness, Blek’s first major move was the flooding of Paris with his signature piece, the silhouette of a rat. These vermin spread from the subways of the Périphérique to alleyways of Montmartre and could be seen all throughout the city and soon thereafter, in surrounding cities as well. The traveling plague was a warning and also a call to awareness- rats are one of the last wild animals that thrive in the city, and even though they may not be seen, rest assured, the city is filled with them. ‘It is about uprising, a signal of rebellion. It’s our revolution,” Blek once explained in an interview.

Stencils are now a widely used form of art and expression made increasingly popular by UK artist Banksy and others but if you want to see where it all started we suggest you check out this show going through January 7, 2012.