For this year's edition of ARTMUC, we present a selection of figurative positions featuring works by Fin DAC, SKIO, Alexis Stephens and Guy Denning.At the centre of the presentation is the human figure: not as a classical likeness, but as a projection surface for perception, transformation and inner states. Moving between urban art, contemporary figuration and painterly gesture, the works explore how identity is constructed in the interplay of body, space and image.The four artistic positions open up different approaches. Fin DAC develops a highly aesthetic, precise visual language in which cultural references and traditions condense into a distinct form of identity. At its core are strong, self-assured female figures who radiate presence and poise.SKIO's works emerge from purely analogue painting, yet their visual effect recalls the logic of digital and AI-generated imagery. Shaped by a reduced, Bauhaus-inspired formal vocabulary, the compositions take on an almost otherworldly quality, reflecting a perception increasingly defined by hybrid realities.In the works of Alexis Stephens, the body itself becomes a vehicle for movement, energy and decision. Gestures appear as frozen moments of a dynamic process in which control and impulse are present at once. Guy Denning, by contrast, reduces the figure to a raw, immediate presence. His works address the human condition with a directness that oscillates between vulnerability and resistance.Opening Hours ARTMUC May 2026 Friday, 1 May 2026 / 11 am – 7 pm Saturday, 2 May 2026 / 11 am – 7 pm Sunday, 3 May 2026 / 11 am – 6 pmGETTING THERE MTC Locations / Ingolstädter Straße 45-47 / 80807 MunichParking: The venue offers more than 1,000 parking spaces on site.Public transport: U-Bahn line U2 – Frankfurter Ring station (approx. 7-minute walk to the venue)

The works of Alexis "Bust" Stephens captivate. The energy they hold can be felt by every viewer. With his dynamic, performative painting technique, he seizes the instant, the sheer power of the moment.Dance and PaintingHis subject is dance. Early on, Alexis "Bust" Stephens performed as a dancer with hip-hop and breakdance crews on international stages. At the same time, he found his way as a painter into the Parisian urban art scene. Today, these two forms of expression, dance and painting, merge in his work in a unique way.Couples in MotionSometimes we dance alone, but often as a pair: a dialogue through shared movement. Leading and being led. Dominating and surrendering. An exchange of emotion and tension. In his new exhibition at Galerie Pretty Portal, Alexis focuses above all on dancing couples. His paintings show dynamic, floating or spinning bodies, captured in a style inspired by the energy of Abstract Expressionism. In his work, movement, rhythm and physical expression become a gestural, pulsating visual language, full of intensity and life.In MuseumsAlexis' works are currently on view in a major solo exhibition at the Städtische Galerie Bietigheim-Bissingen. They were recently shown at the Espace Saint-Pierre des Minimes, a former church converted into a museum in Compiègne, France. His works can also be seen at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne.Exhibition in Düsseldorf 25 April – 6 June 2025Opening Friday, 25 April 2025, 7 pmPretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

In street dance, to "bust a move" means to throw down a dance move: a moment full of energy and tension that combines precision of expression with absolute focus on the arc of movement and body dynamics. This is precisely the moment Alexis "Bust" Stephens captures in his paintings and drawings. Bust a move is his first solo exhibition at Pretty Portal.A Rapid RiseWe first presented him in 2021 in a duo show with Guy Denning. Since then, his artistic career has taken off at remarkable speed. Alexis was selected by the International Olympic Committee to paint the new Olympic sports for The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, where his works are now on display. Watch the making-of video of the project. Shortly before that, he had been invited by Hera (Herakut) to take part in an art project she curated in Bayreuth. Over the past two years, Alexis has painted murals at numerous art events, including the Pretty Wall Bilk project in Düsseldorf. We are excited to see what the near future holds for him.The Body as a WaveAt the heart of Alexis "Bust" Stephens' artistic vision lies his love of physical expression, movement and gesture. He likes to imagine the body as the result of organised waves: "We are not made of much, and yet everything pulses within us." Inspired by Abstract Expressionism and graffiti, he translates the movement and energy he senses into his works. Alexis lives and breathes the idea of the grand geste and of Abstract Expressionism. In his artistic process, he combines painterly technique with instinct. His lively line work reflects waves and frequencies, creating a cycle of rhythm and colour. His brushstrokes, born of gesture and expression, initially appear abstract, almost chaotic. The further a work develops, the more clearly they take the form of his dancing protagonists.Complete Freedom of Expression in Public SpaceAlexis "Bust" Stephens was born in Paris in 1983 to a French mother and a Jamaican father. He discovered his talent for dance and painting early on and began his artistic journey within urban culture. His hip-hop and breakdance performances quickly drew attention, and he was invited with various crews to competitions and jams across Europe. Above all, however, he preferred to leave his mark in public space, which offered him complete freedom of expression.While experimenting with different painting techniques, he soon connected with the vast Parisian street art and graffiti scene. From the outset, he was determined to combine dance and painting in his style, his motifs and his performances. This period gave rise to his alias "Bust the Drip", a combination of the dance slang "to bust a move" and the "drips" of running paint that often result from his technique. Invitations to art festivals and projects soon followed, as well as exhibitions in various French galleries. With features in magazines and on television, and with his works in The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, he is today one of the most exciting emerging artists in French urban art.Alexis "Bust" Stephens – "Bust a move"Exhibition 17 March – 28 AprilOpening Friday, 17 March, 7 pmPretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

Where people once quickened their pace, they now stop and look. Since August 2022, Düsseldorf has had a new cultural highlight: Pretty Wall Bilk. In the underpass of Bilk S-Bahn station, ten urban artists present their work. An inhospitable place that everyone tried to pass through as quickly as possible has become a gallery in public space.A Gallery in PassingThe new open-air museum showcases a broad spectrum of contemporary urban positions: figurative alongside abstract works, ranging from graffiti and street art to urban art and Graffuturism. Today, passers-by stop on their way to work or to the shops and take a moment to enjoy the art.Five Years to the First BrushstrokeWe first had the idea for a gallery in the underpass back in 2017. But good things take time, and it took another five years before it could be realised. Bureaucratic hurdles, permits to paint the walls and pillars, the search for funding and many other less exciting tasks all had to be tackled before the project could finally get underway in 2022. Even before the first brushstroke touched the wall, the project idea was honoured with the Urbanana Award from Tourismus NRW.Finding the artists was quick. Alexis "Bust" Stephens, ARDIF, Demon, L.E.T., Marc C. Woehr, Roman Klonek, Oliver "MAGIC" Räke, SKIO, Théo Lopez and Top Notch contributed their artistic ideas, brought them to the walls and turned Pretty Wall Bilk into reality.From the Wall to the GalleryFor THE PRETTY WALL SHOW, we invited all the artists involved in the project to show their latest studio works. Like the works in the underpass, the selection in the gallery offers an excellent overview of the breadth of contemporary urban art. On show are paintings, mixed-media installations and drawings."THE PRETTY WALL SHOW"Exhibition 14 October – 25 November 2022Opening Friday, 14 October 2022, 7 pmPretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

Angels stepping from the beyond into the here and now, dancers staging themselves as they are carried by waves and frequencies, individuals testing their limits: in Passing Through, we encounter figures in transit. They move through space and time in a very particular way, are on a path of self-discovery and, in constant transformation, grapple with transience.Two Positions in DialogueGuy Denning and Alexis "Bust" Stephens both place the human figure at the centre of their work. In this artistic dialogue, Guy Denning, one of the early exponents of urban art, meets Alexis "Bust" Stephens, who has caught the attention of connoisseurs and collectors, particularly in Paris, under the pseudonym "Bust the Drip". Both artists are distinguished by a highly vivid line. With their very different painting techniques, they manage to unite diffusion and dissolution with meticulous detail within a single image in an unmistakable way.Charcoal and Chalk, Brush and Spray PaintGuy Denning works primarily in charcoal and chalk. He is a master at depicting the expression and emotions of his protagonists precisely and palpably with just a few strokes. Alexis "Bust" Stephens paints with brush and spray paint, capturing the movement of his models. His lines trace entire sequences of motion and seem to dance with the figures across the canvas. On show are works on paper and canvas."Passing Through" Guy Denning | Alexis "Bust" StephensExhibition 22 October – 26 November 2021 Tuesday – Friday, 2 – 7 pmPretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 DüsseldorfAlexis "Bust" StephensAlexis "Bust" Stephens was born in Paris in 1983 to a French mother and a Jamaican father. He discovered his talent for dance and painting early on and began his artistic journey within urban culture. His hip-hop and breakdance performances quickly drew attention, and he was invited with various crews to competitions and jams across Europe. Above all, however, he preferred to leave his mark in public space, which offered him complete freedom of expression.While experimenting with different painting techniques, he soon connected with the vast Parisian street art and graffiti scene. From the outset, he was determined to combine dance and painting in his style, his motifs and his performances. This period gave rise to his alias "Bust the Drip", a combination of the dance slang "to bust a move" and the "drips" of running paint that often result from his technique.He later joined the artist collective Bang Crew, whose members come from dance, painting, video, photography and music. The synergies within the collective enabled him to develop large-scale projects both in France and abroad. During this time, he realised that he wanted to focus more on painting, while keeping dance as a motif and as part of his performances.At the heart of his artistic vision lies his love of physical expression, movement and gesture. He likes to imagine the body as the result of organised waves: "We are not made of much, and yet everything pulses within us." Inspired by Abstract Expressionism and graffiti, he translates the movement and energy he senses into his works. Alexis lives and breathes the idea of the grand geste and of Abstract Expressionism. In his artistic process, he combines painterly technique with instinct. His lively line work reflects waves and frequencies, creating a cycle of rhythm and colour. His brushstrokes, born of gesture and expression, initially appear abstract and disconcerting. The further a work develops, the more clearly they take the form of his dancing protagonists.Guy DenningGuy Denning was born in North Somerset in 1965. He has been obsessed with visual art since childhood and started painting in oils at the age of eleven, after receiving a set of old paints from a relative who had grown bored with them. Throughout the 1980s, his applications to study painting at degree level were repeatedly unsuccessful, but he continued painting while studying art history with the Open University and learning painting technique from older painters he knew in the West of England. From 1992, he exhibited across Britain, and since 2007 he has also exhibited in the United States, Germany, Italy and France. His paintings have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His work is held in several public collections, including the Politics Department of the University of Bristol, the Political Science Department of the University of Galway and the MAGI'900 Museum of Contemporary Art in Bologna.Guy Denning's work combines a traditional painterly style with a contemporary, punk-inspired twist of embedded collaged and stencilled text. This aesthetic, blended with a political narrative, has earned Denning a loyal following among collectors of urban art."Urban art is not a new phenomenon. People have been declaring their presence, their humour, their fears and their anger in the streets for as long as there have been streets for it to be seen in. It's the most democratic form of art; it's a medium that is available to any that feel the need to use it. With the acceptance and celebration of graffiti culture in the twentieth century it has come to a point where it is now sited behind the streets, in fashionable galleries. Yes, fashions change, but don't ever think that the graffiti will fade away. That particular writing has always been on the wall." – Guy Denning