Parabola Di G - Giacomo "RUN" Bufarini

About

On 27th November 2014, Howard Griffin Gallery will present a unique exhibition and sculptural installation by Giacomo 'RUN' Bufarini entitled Parabola di G. In this landmark show for the artist, Bufarini will exhibit a unique series of detailed pen and ink drawings which will lead the viewer through an immersive gallery wide installation. A 'Parabola' is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. It is also the word for a symmetrical open plane curve, such as the path of a projectile under the influence of gravity.  Parabola di G follows the journey of a semi-fictional character, G, as he falls through levels of reality into a dreamscape. 

Born from the wreckage of a comet, G finds himself lost in a surreal landscape. He embarks on an odyssey that carries him through deserts, islands, seas and mountains, meeting mythical creatures and fantastical characters. At the beginning of his journey, G discovers the hat of imagination, allowing him to change form and shape at will. He realises he has a purpose, though he has not yet found what it is. The exhibition explores ideas of imagination and creativity through a charged story applicable to modern life, employing a host of metaphorical characters in highly imaginative and often surreal scenes.  The story on paper is brought to life and given increased meaning through a large scale installation of sculpture and painting throughout the gallery. 

On this voyage of self-discovery, Bufarini is both the creator and protagonist, trapped within his own story. Bufarini plays with levels of reality and metaphor, creating a dreamscape that appears at once fantastical and very real with visitors to the exhibition falling into a story within a story, stepping in to its pages by walking through the installation. 

A London based Italian artist, Bufarini began painting murals on abandoned walls in Bologna and Florence in the 1990s under the pseudonym 'RUN'. Working as RUN within the Italian underground scene, Bufarini and his fellow collaborators catalysed the European street art movement and began to affect a modern renaissance in muralism across the continent.  RUN became a street art legend as Bufarini proliferated his unique and highly recognisable style internationally and today his expansive public works can be found adorning street corners from China to Senegal.  Bufarini's murals reveal levels of detail and complexity through vivid renderings of interlocking hands and faces in bright, arresting colours. Inspired by his travels around the world, Bufarini is interested in anthropology and the human form, integrating images and symbols from different cultures into his work.  Based in London since 2007, he now balances his street works with a studio practice that draws out a deeper and more subtle side to his work.

Bufarini's studio practice sees him working in a range of mediums and techniques, including wooden sculptural forms, printing, etching, drawing and monotyping on wood, canvas and paper. His illustrative style depicts a world of fantastical characters and settings from which his large scale street works derive. 

Accompanying the exhibition will be a limited edition book containing all of the drawings that comprise Parabola di G.