D'Stassi Art is pleased to announce the launch of its new gallery located in East London's Shoreditch. Formerly home to the legendary "Boiler Room Events," D'Stassi Art will open on August 6th with the inaugural exhibition, Pop Nightmare, featuring new paintings by Australian-based artist and musician, Sidney Teodoruk. Drawing on the nostalgia of childhood and the evocative signage of circus sideshow banners, Teodoruk's work is a playful and poetic exploration of color and lyrics. With London reopening for in-person events, D'Stassi Art will host a public reception for Pop Nightmare on August 6th from time to time. For more information and to RSVP visit www.dstassiart.com

Founded by friends and fellow art enthusiasts, Michael Howes and Edward Sanders, D'Stassi Art is inspired by the ethos of the radical inclusivity of the 1980s graffiti and street art movements and aims to infuse greater passion, approachability, and experimentation into the traditional gallery format. Prior to launching their first official space, the duo was known for fostering collaborative exhibitions between brands and artists that transcended art world conventions in favor of a new era of creative partnerships, most notably facilitating a project between the fashion brand Fiorucci and graffiti artist Endless in 2019. The gallery roster is made up of some of the most exciting emerging and established artists who carry on the legacies of neo-expressionism, neo-pop and street art, including Peter Opheim, Al Diaz, and Richard Hamilton.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sidney Teodoruk (formally known as Brad Teodoruk) is an artist of contrasts. Using every visual device at his disposal, he weaves strange narratives drenched in dichotomous imagery and text, then obscures large areas in swathes of block-colour, inviting the viewer to fill in the blanks. Nostalgic, childhood objects are randomly scattered throughout fractured, neo-expressionist scapes, simultaneously evoking feelings of playfulness and unease.

For Teodoruk, opposing forces are clearly a point of confusion, contention and humour. Heavy, dense concepts such as religion or the prison system are contrasted with subjects of either physical or metaphorical lightness - a beach ball, a bird, the sky... Teodoruk uses the language of juxtaposition to explore the way he perceives both the world and himself.