Pixelpancho

With Altered Nature, we bring together two distinctive positions of urban art, ARDIF and Pixelpancho, in a single exhibition. Nature is approached not as a representation, but as a mutable, dynamic state. Both artists emerged from the street and urban art scene, where organic forms, technical aesthetics and urban influences merge in a singular way.The Idea of Nature At the heart of the exhibition lies the idea of a nature that can no longer be conceived as untouched or idealised, but is shaped by human intervention, technological processes and cultural transformation.A Hybrid System In the works of ARDIF and Pixelpancho, nature appears as a hybrid system, at once organic and constructed. While ARDIF's imagery often reveals biomechanical structures in which plants and machines merge into one another, Pixelpancho develops complex scenarios between nature, architecture and mechanical elements. Structures seem both grown and built; surfaces bear traces of time, memory, damage and repair.Growth and Decay The result is a body of imagery that shows less landscape in the classical sense than processes made visible: growth and decay, layering and fragmentation, mechanics and abstraction.The title Altered Nature is deliberately left open. "Altered" refers both to physical change and to a shift in perception: a nature filtered through technology, urban space and imagination.The exhibition is not intended as a clear statement, but as an atmospheric space in which different states of an altered nature meet and form new connections. ALTERED NATURE ARDIF x PIXELPANCHO 30.5. – 17.7. Vernissage : 30.5. 19-22h

It all begins with a drawing. A pencil, a little ink, a piece of charcoal or a marker are all it takes to bring entire worlds to life: worlds full of mechanical animals, battered robots and people whose emotions are revealed in just a few strokes.Three Draughtsmen, Three WorldsFor our last exhibition of the year, we are devoting ourselves entirely to drawing. On show are works in pencil, ink, charcoal and marker by Guy Denning and Pixelpancho, two internationally renowned artists, and by ARDIF, a young French artist who is attracting more and more attention, especially in Paris.ARDIFARDIF is a young French artist who explores the mechanics behind living matter. In his drawings, he mostly transforms animals into mechanical creatures that are split in two: one half is rendered naturalistically, while the other turns into a curious machine of intricate architecture. This juxtaposition creates a particular tension and invites close inspection. ARDIF enlarges his drawings and brings them to the streets as paste-ups. In Paris, his half-mechanical animals have become an integral part of the cityscape.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.PixelpanchoPixelpancho has a special bond with robots: they are the ever-recurring theme of his work."I am driven by a forgotten world, hidden beneath a thick layer of dust and dirt. There are robots there, creations of humankind, battered and worn, a symbiosis of the organic and the inorganic, their bodies of rusty iron falling apart. Full of dreams, desires and hopes." (translated)In his surreal visual world, humans, puppets and robots merge into images alluding to major commercial brands, superheroes and famous pop icons, all of them subject to constant change and threatened by decay. Pixelpancho convinces not only through his striking motifs, but also through his unique style, which draws on many and varied sources.Born in Italy, he studied at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti in Turin and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. On his many travels, he never missed an opportunity to take part in festivals and show his work in exhibitions. Pixelpancho is regarded as one of the new big names of the Italian urban art scene, which gradually developed around artists such as Blu and Ericailcane, the Fame Festival and Studio Chromie."Punks, Robots & Angels" ARDIF · Guy Denning · PixelpanchoOpening Thursday, 7 December 2017 Please note: this time, the opening takes place on a Thursday.Exhibition 8 December 2017 – 26 January 2018 Monday – Friday, 11 am – 7 pm and by appointmentPretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

Working in urban space means thinking in space. For urban artists, facades, ledges, electrical boxes and lampposts are not just surfaces, but part of the work itself. What could be more natural than to detach one's visual language from the flat surface altogether and take it into the third dimension?From the Wall into SpaceIn Urban Sculptures, many of the artists represented by Pretty Portal show works in which they translate their visual language into space. In doing so, they experiment with a wide variety of materials: wood, metal, plastic and even Lego bricks. For as natural as urban space is to urban art, sculptures and objects have rarely taken centre stage so far, usually leaving the leading role to painting.Free-Standing and Wall-MountedPixelpancho shapes the protagonists of his paintings, his robots, as sculptures. Some works stand freely in the room, others are mounted on the wall, such as Jana & JS's abstract architectural views reminiscent of favelas. Also on show are abstract objects by Italian artist ETNIK, figures by Biserama, KJ263, Mono Cieza, SAM3 and WESR, and style writing in Lego bricks by Cole Blaq.URBAN SCULPTURES feat. Biserama, Cole Blaq, Cranio, ETNIK, Jana & JS, KJ263, Mono Cieza, Pixelpancho, SAM3, WESROpening 23 June, 7 – 10 pmExhibition 23 June – 11 August Monday – Friday, 11 am – 7 pm and by appointmentPretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

A year full of exhibitions, encounters and new works is drawing to a close. To round off the year, we are bringing together 16 artists who shape the Pretty Portal programme in a large group exhibition. There is no overarching theme, but instead a broad cross-section of the diversity of urban contemporary art.Prints and EditionsOne focus of the exhibition is on prints and editions. Screen prints, woodcuts and other printmaking techniques have a long tradition in urban art. Closely linked to the history of the poster and the stencil, they make it possible to bring a pictorial idea to a wider audience in a limited edition. As a rule, the sheets are signed and numbered, and with hand-pulled editions in particular, small variations make each impression something special.For collectors, editions are an ideal way to get started, and for many a chance to own works by their favourite artists. And anyone still looking for a special gift will find a real treasure trove here, especially in the run-up to Christmas.16 PositionsOn show are works by BTOY, DECYCLE, FAKE, Fin DAC, ICY & SOT, L.E.T., Limow, Natalia Rak, Otto Schade, PDOT, Pixelpancho, Roman Klonek, Rowan Newton, Shai Dahan, Sokar Uno and Wolfgang Krell. The range extends from stencils and paste-ups to figurative painting, drawing and woodcuts. Artists from Düsseldorf are shown alongside international positions from across Europe and the USA.YEAR END SHOW 2016Opening Friday, 2 December 2016, 7 – 10 pmExhibition 2 December 2016 – 10 February 2017Pretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

Doll-like people revealing their inner mechanics. Figures on an emotional rollercoaster between abyss and ecstasy. Protagonists whose contours blur, lost in confusion and alienation. At first glance, they are "lovely people", but there is more behind them.Behind the FacadeIn Lovely People, we present paintings and drawings by Natalia Rak, Pixelpancho and Sokar Uno. All three explore what it means to be human and look behind the facade of human existence. Pixelpancho addresses machines becoming human or, conversely, humans turning into robot-like beings. In luminous colours, Natalia Rak tells stories of abysses, ecstasy, fear and romance. And Sokar Uno shows his protagonists in states of confusion and alienation.Natalia RakWith luminous colours, wonderful compositions and a deliberately female perspective, Natalia Rak brings a breath of fresh air to the increasingly global urban art movement. Her paintings tell stories and captivate the viewer with an almost magical intensity. Since graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, she has shown her work in the USA, France, Austria and Poland and has been invited to numerous renowned urban art festivals, where she has painted epic, facade-high murals. In 2013, she won Art Battles in New York. That same year, art magazines voted her mural Legend of the Giants one of the five best urban artworks of the year, alongside works by Banksy and JR.PixelpanchoPixelpancho has a special bond with robots: they are the ever-recurring theme of his work."I am driven by a forgotten world, hidden beneath a thick layer of dust and dirt. There are robots there, creations of humankind, battered and worn, a symbiosis of the organic and the inorganic, their bodies of rusty iron falling apart. Full of dreams, desires and hopes." (translated)In his surreal visual world, humans, puppets and robots merge into images alluding to major commercial brands, superheroes and famous pop icons, all of them subject to constant change and threatened by decay. Pixelpancho convinces not only through his striking motifs, but also through his unique style, which draws on many and varied sources.Born in Italy, he studied at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti in Turin and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. On his many travels, he never missed an opportunity to take part in festivals and show his work in exhibitions. Pixelpancho is regarded as one of the new big names of the Italian urban art scene, which gradually developed around artists such as Blu and Ericailcane, the Fame Festival and Studio Chromie.Sokar UnoBerlin-based Sokar Uno is one of the exceptional talents of the East German graffiti scene. An illustrator and restorer who grew up with the spray can, he caught our attention some time ago with his sensitive works. With his solo exhibition Depth of Loneliness in New York, he has made an impressive entry onto the international stage. In his works, Sokar Uno explores the spreading loneliness of our urban existence: alone together. Socially compatible individualists, scourged by the city we live in and left, no doubt hungover, in the role of our lives. With his familiar surreal depiction of protagonists in everyday situations, Sokar Uno provokes a slowing down."Lovely People" Natalia Rak · Pixelpancho · Sokar UnoExhibition from Friday, 8 April 2016Pretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf

Battered robots, rusty iron, puppets on invisible strings and creatures that seem older than time: Pixelpancho’s visual worlds feel like relics from a forgotten future.A Forgotten WorldRobots are the ever-recurring theme of Pixelpancho’s work. He describes his inspiration himself:“I am driven by a forgotten world, hidden beneath a thick layer of dust and dirt. There are robots there, creations of humankind, battered and worn, a symbiosis of the organic and the inorganic, their bodies of rusty iron falling apart. Full of dreams, desires and hopes.” (translated)Between Pop Culture and DecayIn his surreal visual world, humans, puppets, robots, toys and ancient creatures merge into images alluding to major commercial brands, superheroes and famous pop icons, all of them subject to constant change and threatened by decay. Pixelpancho convinces not only through his striking motifs, but also through his unique style, which draws on many and varied sources.From Drawing to SculptureIn Rusted Ideas, Pixelpancho presents the full range of his work: drawings and illustrations in watercolour technique, three large-format works in acrylic on wood, and three sculptures around 25 centimetres high in which his robots leave the picture plane and take on physical form.A Robot for the GalleryA special part of the exhibition is created on site: during his week-long stay in Düsseldorf, Pixelpancho is building a room-filling robot out of old wood in the gallery. Like his painted figures, it bears the traces of time and seems to have stepped straight out of the forgotten world the artist describes.About the ArtistBorn in Italy, he studied at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti in Turin and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. On his many travels, he never missed an opportunity to take part in festivals and show his work in exhibitions. Pixelpancho is regarded as one of the new big names of the Italian urban art scene, which gradually developed around artists such as Blu and Ericailcane, the Fame Festival and Studio Chromie.“Rusted Ideas” PixelpanchoOpening Friday, 22 March 2013, 7 – 10 pm The artist will be present.Exhibition 25 March – 20 April 2013Pretty Portal Brunnenstraße 12 40223 Düsseldorf