Screen PDF - Daab

––– The spraycan
works best
outside
Interview with
INOPERAbLE
Gallery
The INOPERAbLE Gallery project and Studio was
created in January 2006. After a move in September 2008
to Burggasse 24 in Vienna the gallery established itself as a
young and one-of-a-kind space in the Austrian contemporary
art gallery scene. INOPERAbLE sees itself as much more
connected to the contemporary urban art scene when
compared with the rest of the traditional galleries, and
exhibits on a monthly basis only the best and most original
urban art. Since its conception, the gallery has exhibited
over 100 local and international artists.
–––
The INOPERAbLE gallery was set up in Vienna, Austria,
in 2006. What was your journey from street artist to
gallery owner?
I began doing graffiti when I was about 14 years old.
A friend of mine and I were walking home and a guy was
clearing out his garage and was throwing out a can of
spraypaint. We took it along with some other stuff and went
out that night to cause some mischief. That first can took
me on a long adventure leading to me almost being kicked
out of school, arrested, and looked down upon by many.
8 9
It has also taken me around the world, introduced me to
hundreds of new people and opened me up to the world of art.
I opened the gallery after I finished my studies, I wanted to
contribute something to the community that inspired me
so much. The gallery is my attempt to give something back
to the urban culture. In 2008, Nathalie joined the gallery and
until today,we have been successfully promoting the urban art
movement in Austria.
Street art and graffiti are often influenced by a particular
historical style that is closely related to location, especially
in big cities like New York, London, and Berlin. Please
describe the current general street art styles present in
Vienna and how your graffiti and street art scene has
developed over time.
The early days of graffiti in Vienna were obviously heavily
influenced by cities like New York, but over time cities in
Germany began having a larger impact. Local artists often travel
between the other German-speaking countries and therefore
brought their influences back with them. Being on the border
to the eastern European countries, Vienna has had a big
influence from them as well. A distinct Vienna style in graffiti
and street art is hard to pin down as it has become a melting
pot of styles from all over Europe.
A gallery for urban artists could be recognized as a kind
of white cube concept in that you extract the work from its
origin. How have you found public opinion alters when a
street artist brings his/her work into the gallery space?
The artists we show in the gallery are ARTISTS. Just like
any other artist they create artworks for various purposes.
The difference between “regular” artists and those we exhibit
is that a large percentage of the work created is intended for
outdoors. It is virtually impossible to bring graffiti or street art
one-to-one into a gallery, but the influences, methods, and style
are often carried over when done on a canvas for an exhibition.
Most people understand this, and appreciate the work in the
gallery even if they prefer to see it on the street.
With street works artists often make a political statement.
Do you feel such statements can preserve their status
once transferred into the gallery setting, and signify the
same meaning?
Two of the most famous political street artists are probably
Banksy and Shepard Fairey, but of course there are thousands
of others who are just as significant. Political work in the street
is very strong and can usually have a very heavy impact in a
gallery as well. The artists only need to be careful of becoming
hypocritical. For instance an artist who criticizes the gallery
scene, or a company for inhuman working conditions, and then
does an exhibition or a job for a similar company will very
quickly lose his or her credibility, which to most artists is one
of the most important things one can have.