The Dulwich Picture Gallery is presenting selected works from its permanent collection which are the inspiration behind a body of work by cult street artist Stik. Paintings such as Murillo’s Three Boys will be reinterpreted by Stik and spray-painted in his distinctive style onto the streets of Dulwich.His work is mainly found around the east end, yet Stik is rapidly gaining international renown for his distinctive stick-men characters as his works start appearing all over London and beyond. Stik spent time in Dulwich Picture Gallery’s permanent collection space selecting and sketching works to use as the basis of his reinterpretations. His figures are comprised of only 6 lines each with two dots for eyes. Yet the amount of emotion conveyed through such simple forms is astounding. The lack of facial features and other details means that Stik’s approach pares down the classical works at the Gallery to their core emotional and physical components. In turn this highlights the universal nature of Old Master themes.
Today, 9 May 2012, Stik will be painting the end wall of the bowling building in Dulwich Park. He will be joined in the afternoon by Class 3S from Dulwich Village Hamlet Primary School, who will help put the finishing touches to his version of Murillo’s Three Boys.Works that will appear in street art form from Dulwich Picture Gallery include Franceschini Marcantonio’s The Guardian Angel; Thomas Gainsborough’s Mrs Elizabeth Moody with her sons Samuel and Thomas; Tilly Kettle’s Eliza and Mary Davison; andThomas Gainsborough’s Elizabeth and Mary Linley.
On 20 May 2012 at 2.30pm, as part of Dulwich Festival, there will be a special tour of the works in Dulwich, led by Stik and Ingrid Beazley, Project Co-ordinator, culminating in a visit to the Gallery to see the original works which inspired Stik’s reinterpretations. The tour will start at Push Studios, Blackwater Court, Blackwater Street where Stik’s interpretation of Franceschini’s The Guardian Angel can already be seen.
