Finding the friction point between beauty and decay is a thread that runs through much of Rone's work. As a street artist best known for his stylised images of women's faces, he understands better than most that beauty can be fleeting. Seeing his artworks gradually worn away by natural and human elements has taught him to appreciate the unexpected beauty of an image as it begins to blend back into its more prosaic surroundings. In Wallflower, Rone brings this natural tension into the gallery space. His haunting, transparent paintings of those classic symbols of youth and beauty - a female muse surrounded by flowers - are made all the more striking by their gritty backdrops of deteriorating wooden shipping crates. The flowers are a particularly potent example of the short-lived nature of what we traditionally consider beautiful, sometimes blooming and dying in just a day.
The use of reclaimed wood from shipping crates references another recurrent theme in Rone's work - the importance of travel in building character, wisdom and humility. Sourced in Australia, the crates have come from all over the world - not unlike Rone's street works, which can be found from Australia and New Zealand to Germany, Japan, Mexico, the US and UK. The journey that each of the works in 'Wallflower' has taken may never be truly known, but the character those journeys have imparted is what gives each piece its own unique and mysterious charm.
11.04.14 - 04.05.14
Private View Thursday 10th April
STOLENSPACE GALLERY
17 Osborn Street
London E1 6TD
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