Okay. So. I don’t often do reviews, I honestly don’t usually have time … but this show deserves one.

It’s 11am Friday morning, and my head is full of neurofen. I have my coffee in hand and I’m attempting to assimilate the epic brain-art-orgasm that was last nights “Le Venin” show by Da Mental Vaporz at RTIST Gallery. 

So, did one the top graff crews in the world, which includes artists such as Bom.k, Blo, Brusk, Dran, Gris1, ISO, Jaw, Kan and Sowat, bring the goods?

Well.

After arriving, I queued up for a few tasty cocktails, did the ubiquitous “yo, how you doing man” rounds, and walked into the gallery. It all looked pretty insane, with a wide range of works represented by all the artists. I saw the head curator, Jeremy Gaschk, looking pretty damn happy, but also like he’d just run a triathlon –  I thought, these things get hectic, but this was no more than usual, right? Right?

Wrong. Oh, so wrong. I then got a glimpse of exactly why I can only describe this show as “epic” – glancing around the corner, I noticed a big hole in the wall that I hadn’t actually seen before, and, lurking behind the hole, was another room – also filled full of some of the most insane shit I’ve seen. Okay, got it. This show wasn’t like any other to be held at the gallery – and then I really understood what went into it.

Fuck me, what a colossal effort.

There looked to be well over a hundred pieces all up – oh, and that wasn’t including the third room that mysteriously appeared upstairs in a large loft area that I’d never seen or heard of before.

The loft area held a massive replica of what I assumed was a model of their life raft on the flyer. There was a small treasure chest hat looked oddly familiar (Something from Daeks show perhaps?) as you got up the top of the stairs, and then there it was, looming massively.

Behind the … boat, raft, installation, flotsam and jetsam, was a projector screen. I didn’t watch the entirety of it, but I did sit there for a bit and watch video of the crew as they burnt the fuck out of things with home made flamethrowers. Oh hell yeah, that’s art right there! Either that or I’m just a pyro and love watching shit burn …

I loved a whole heap of shit, if you look through the pics below you’ll get an idea of how diverse it was, and yet there was a feeling of commonality running through the entire show. These are guys that have worked together for many years, collaborated and inspired each other, so there was always an feeling of an undercurrent that joined the work.

Probably, however, my favourite piece, surprisingly, was a $5000 work of pure art. You’re thinking massive canvas, big piece – but, no. It was a small sketch on a pizza box, produced in North Melbourne as the guys hunkered down to work. For me, work like that is the closest you can get to “Street art” on a wall in a gallery. Sure, the price tag may be somewhat of a piss take, in what is, admittedly, some insane rational, it would be worth every cent.

I am, admittedly, a fan of smaller illustrated pieces, and at this show, there was an entire wall filled with smaller works one of the guys remarked to me “All of this came over in our suitcases” – jesus dudes, did you even bring any clothes with you? haha.

From canvases big and small, illustrations and multimedia – there was, literally, something for every taste – a different style to suit every art lover.

I’m not going to talk too much more about the actual art, you need to just go and see it for yourself, I myself am planning on getting down in the next week to have a good look around while I’m not spilling booze all over myself as I attempt to take crappy photos – I don’t usually go to check out shows more than once, I don’t have time, but I have to see it all again.

I was lucky enough to meet a fair few of the DMV crew, and to chat about a bunch of things. Heard about what some of them have planned for the rest of their stay, and talked art and shit. Not only were they talented mofos, all of them, but they’re also affably likeable, highly creative, expressive and, well, just like any other artist on the night of their show – slightly exhausted, completely exhilarated and totally proud of what they’d achieved – and they should be.

It’s been almost (but not quite) a year now since RTIST opened its doors, and for what is still in the scheme of things a relatively new gallery in the scene, they have really started to come into their own. Beyond the great drinks they provide, beyond the cool, beyond the awesome snacks and catching up with friendly faces and the whole , the thing I am most impressed about is their ability to help channel an artists work onto the walls of a gallery. They have a different style about their openings than most other galleries in Melbourne, yet it works for them and for the artists they represent.

The music was mad too – Kodiak Kid is always pumpin, and it appeared as though he was joined by visiting international guest K-Lab (who is supporting Qbert at Brown Alley on his tour). Oh, and there was a dude playing some kick ass accordion just for that French vibe haha.

One other thing that I should mention – and that is the talents of head curator, Jeremy Gaschk. Gaschk started at RTIST with nothing less than a dream, and a massive goal to bring some of the worlds finest artists  to Melbourne. That we even get to see shows like this on a regular basis is due in no small part to both his passion and his dedication, and his own love for graffiti and street art culture. The man and his crew work like a motherfuckers, and we reap the rewards by getting to see things that we’ve always wanted to see. Like D.M. fucking V. In Melbourne. In my fucking hood!

In many ways, the work that RTIST Gallery does in putting together shows like this reminds me of my love for unknown grungey bands back in the early 90s. I’d listen to their music, and would sit there hoping to hell that they’d just tour … yet I had very little doubt that these “alternate” groups would not be touring all the way down here – until, all of a sudden, a promoter turned up and I got to see them.

RTIST is one of those promoters, but it really does has its own niche going, and they are fuckin killing it! Along with Toby Armstrongs adept hand in keeping the cogs of the business running, the whole gallery feels as if it has meshed and evolved over the past year into a cacophony of cool on St Edmonds street. Let’s not fail to also mention people like Carl Allison who does some of the most amazing videos for the gallery (we can’t wait to see this one), Robbie Warden who always takes awesome snaps (and the only snaps of me I ever like), Jess, Grace and all the rest who help make the shows run so smoothly..

At the end of the day, RTIST Gallery specialise in street, urban and graffiti derived art, which is never an easy feat to convey on the walls of a gallery, yet for all of that they constantly innovate and create a “wow” factor with their shows. If next level wasn’t such a stupid fucking buzzword, that’s what I’d call it.

So, anyways, this is why I don’t write reviews very often – because I know I’ll gush, and I know I’ll ramble (the problem with being your own editor is that you don’t want to edit yourself!), but to be honest, this show, and these guys, totally deserved a proper review.

As I said before, it was fucking was epic, and beautifully executed … I mean, wow – what the fucks next?

Check out the full photo roundup below – if any of them suck, its not my fault, I’m not a photographer, and its hard to take photos with only one hand … mans gotta drink, yo!

[nggallery id=74 display_type=photocrati-nextgen_pro_masonry]