Every time I see a show from Guido Van Helten, I want a teleporter. Wanting a teleporter isn’t anything new for me, but my want tends to increase for every show of Van Heltens that I see come up, that I can’t attend. Alas, this one is no exception – but, luckily for those in Brissy, they don’t need one!

“Veneer is a profound new body of work by Brisbane-based street artist and large-scale muralist Guido van Helten. The exhibition explores street art’s place in Queensland’s conservative climate and raises important issues regarding urban renewal through a series of impressive artworks on reconstructed remnants of demolished ‘Queenslanders’ (for non-Queenslanders – that’s our iconic wooden houses with tin roofs).

Guido van Helten is a widely celebrated and prolific young Queensland street artist. His internationally acclaimed mural paintings in New York, London, Ho Chi Min City, and all over Australia, of massive stylised portraiture, harmoniously align contemporary street art with urban landscapes. Having exhibited in successful group shows across Australia, Jugglers proudly hosts Guido’s debut solo exhibition.

Veneer challenges the notion that street art and graffiti are detrimental to a city’s identity and references the destruction of Brisbane’s unique architecture in alignment with its stance on the arts and cultural movements such as street art and graffiti. Guido was inspired to create this body of work in the wake of what he sees as a Bjelke-Peterson styled government that seems to favour an out- with- the -old and in- with- the- new approach.”

I love the theme of this. I spent my teenage years and early twenties in Queensland, and I can understand the themes for this show. I lived in Queenslanders, and I’m more than familiar with the themes of government that this show delves into.

If you’re in Brisbane, and haven’t had a chance to see Guidos work before, this is a perfect chance to do so – you wont regret it.

Who: Guido Van Helten
What: Veneer
Where: Jugglers Artspace, 103 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, QLD 
When: Show opens Friday 14th September from 6pm to 9pm, and runs until 18th September

Check out Guido Van Helten and Jugglers Artspace, as well as the Facebook event page for more info.