Dan Kitchener (DANK). Queen of Neon

About

DANK has painted Geisha all over the UK and beyond, including a 3-storey high x 80 ft wide mural in Bristol and his latest huge Queen of Neon mural right here at 5th Base Gallery.  Known especially for his iconic liquid lights / urban impressionistic neon lit cityscapes, DANK has been developing his geisha series for some time now and has begun blending the twi styles.  

"My passion for Japanese imagery has been there since childhood. I was always interested in Manga, comics and any and all sci-fi films such as Bladerunner, and I used to absorb as much content as i could as a child. I was always drawn to the culture of Japan, from a historical view point, watching TV series such as the Water Margin, various black and white samurai films and other Japanese culture films. This interest has developed into the geisha portraits and future Tokyo murals that I love to paint all over the world.

My first geisha was painted on Peach Properties at the end of Brick Lane, and quickly became a local favourite and a landmark image, having appeared on two book covers and various publications. I then released a print of this image entailed 'Tokyo Neon' with american print-making legends 1XRUN. The print run sold out in an hour, this was the start of my large-scale paintings of geishas, which I have been developing over the years.

One model for my paintings who I work with a lot is Japanese geisha Ayumi LaNoire. Working with her over time I have learned to appreciate the gentle form of the geisha and how that form responds to different light. The shoots that we have done have been so invaluable to my understanding not only of the imagery but the culture surrounding geisha."

Open every day from 12 noon to 6pm, including Sat and Sun.

Free entry.

RSVP for PV night : diana@5thbase.co.uk (limited entry)