Both based in Berlin by way of Australia, Two One and Reka (see our recent studio visit here) are exhibiting together at StolenSpace Gallery in London in two concurrent solo shows: Reka’s “Trip the Light” and Two One’s “The Hunted Hunter’s Head.” Inspired by the graceful movements of dancers from a young age, Reka (whose mother was a ballerina) presents a series of paintings that pay homage to the fluid, abstract shapes the body can make. His Cubist-inspired paintings might have one imagining a toe-tapping soundtrack of jazz or even the swell of a symphony, but Reka tempers these allusions to older, more traditional art forms with gritty paint textures that evoke his graffiti roots.
Like Reka, Two One got his start in Melbourne’s graffiti scene after immigrating there from Japan in his teens. He focuses on human-animal hybrids in his work that he refers to as “psychological portraits.” While his previous work has focused on humans’ interactions with the natural world, his new paintings are rendered with a textured scrawl that gives them a raw edge. Interested in patterns evocative of various folk art forms, Two One lays the evidence of human touch, with all its imperfections, bare for all to see.
Reka’s “Trip the Light” and Two One’s “The Hunted Hunter’s Head” open at StolenSpace Gallery in London on September 12.
Reka in his studio
Two One with his recent mural in Berlin.
Twoone in his studio