Melbourne’s Backwoods Gallery welcomes the return of YUSK IMAI and DANTE HOROIWA, combining their artistic talent to create a dual show, “Phantom Pain”. As they illustrate in their statement, the show is the result of studio discussions exploring a “hidden sensation”, an abstract and constant, but unidentified source of pain. The show attempts to process…

Australian contemporary artist Reka returns to his hometown of Melbourne to present ‘SCARLET’, his first new solo show in 4 years. A brooding mix of Berlin nightlife, Japanese Shibari rope bondage and post-cubist figurative studies, this is one of his most mature exhibitions to date. Influenced by his graffiti background and techniques, as well as…

Son of the legendary Katsuhiro Otomo – Japanese author, illustrator and creator of cult classic Anime AKIRA – Shohei Otomo is cut from the same cloth as his father. With intense concentration, he produces ballpoint drawings of semi-imagined figures and situations, blending the old guard sensibilities and pop-culture of Japan with his own dystopian take…

I first actually met ROA at the Outpost Project in Sydney back in 2011. We had a brief exchange as he was up high on a scissor lift painting a large mural across the whole side of a building. In 2012, he came to Melbourne, created the controversial solo exhibition Carrion, visited Healesville Sanctuary and painted a few incredible pieces (video here) and before…

Felipe Pantone who resides in Valencia, Spain visits Australia for the first time to paint a massive wall for WonderWalls festival in Wollongong and then to Melbourne to launch his solo exhibition Stereo Dynamica at Backwoods Gallery. His incredible vibrant canvas works often use a black and white geometric background filled with splashes of bright…