Having not been too familiar with Sam Hillcoat before we saw this flyer, we went off and did a bit of research and look around … and, must say, pretty impressed by the small portion of what we saw.

Having worked in Brisbane for ten years as a street artist and tattooist, a lot of his work is reminiscent of traditional Japanese styled work, but with a very prominent “modern” lilt to it, and its a really freszh take on an old style, rendering it into something quite different.

“The exhibition, Sam’s first solo show, features striking new works on canvas using oil, acrylics and aerosol. With several successful group shows under his belt and nonstop tattoo and canvas commissions, Sam has had to lock himself away and surrender much of this precious income to prepare his prolific new body of work.

Sam says he has adopted a fresh stylistic approach for this exhibition, “my new work is a hybrid of different styles. I like to take the raw expression of street art and the clandestine styles of modern and traditional tattoo design out of their natural environments. For the first time in years I have been able to flesh out all these ideas I have been developing, without having to meet anyone else’s expectations or specifications. I am excited to unveil this new style, which I feel is totally my own.”

In the last 10 years street art and tattooing has seen a surge in interest from the public and broader art world. While Sam has benefited professionally from this trend, this exhibition sees him moving away from the machine and spray can, and transforming his love of urban cultures into a fine art. Much of Sam’s new work is reminiscent of traditional Japanese art and tattoo (irezumi) with bold, colourful graffiti aesthetics. His duel occupations as a tattoo and aerosol artist have led him to developing this unique crossover style that is hugely appealing to fans of tattoo, street and contemporary fine art.

The Quiet Storm exhibition offers the pleasures of permanent ink, without the pain, the vibrancy of street art, without the legalities. It is an exhibition of exceptional artistry from a young, highly sought after tattoo and street artist with fresh, distinctive brushwork.”

This coming solo show at Jugglers Artspace on Friday night will be the first solo show from the artist, and we hope it is only the first of many.

Nice work once again from the crew at Jugglers and Crush City for putting this one on!

Who: Sam Hillcoat
What: The Quiet Storm debut solo show
Where: Jugglers Artspace, 103 Brunswick Street  Fortitude Valley, QLD
When: Show opens Friday 22nd June from 6pm and runs til Saturday 23d June – 1 -5pm (one day only!)

Check out Jugglers Artspace and Crush City Tattoo for more details on the show!