New Face of Klimt Celebrated By Contemporary Artists(Part 1)

A flash of colour and and lingering pose adorn the walls of the Lazarides gallery near Tottenham Court Road. For a brief moment London is transformed into a modern Viennese court of wonder. New and old are mixed together with international flare at the new exhibition “Vienna Klimt Illustrated”. Nine international street artists have been working tirelessly to reinterpret and celebrate one of Gustav Klimt’s most famous pieces, The Kiss. The exhibition is erotic and desirable to say the least. The work is priceless in many senses and explores a very personal and private man who would have been celebrating his 150th birthday recently with style and a fair bit of debauchery.

Tomorrow Lazarides Gallery will open the doors to the public to display work by nine international street artists who have been working on these pieces in public, which is fairly uncommon in the practice. The selected artists are Bastardilla, Know Hope, Marlene Hausegger, Ron English, Christian Eisenberger, Vhils, Mode 2, Shepard Fairey, and Lucy McLauchlan.They we asked to begin their pieces in Grosvenor Gardens on Tuesday, working throughout the sunny day as tourists and locals mingled in and out. Since then the massive pieces spanning 2 metre-square boards were transported to the galleries exquisite space off Rathbone Place, near Tottenham Court road and well in the reach of swarming masses spilling in from a day of shopping and general revelry. The artists each bring a bit of their own taste and personality to the project and provide a fresh perspective the life of Klimt that has been historically unknown. Some such as Mode 2, created pieces that were direct and to the point while others researched the hidden meaning behind a very complex and often tortured man. They have managed to bring a new life and meaning to Klimt and his work through this explorative process.