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Stik

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Stik
Stik's graffiti on a shopfront shutter in Shoreditch, London.
Born
United Kingdom
Known for
Websitewww.stik.org

Stik, stylised as STIK,[1] is a British graffiti artist based in London.[2][3] Born in 1979, with no formal art school training, Stik is known for painting large stick figures that are six-lines, and two-dot figures.[4]

Overview

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Stik paints stick figure-like people as signature characters in street art.[5] He began in London,[6] working in its northeast area of Hackney, especially in Shoreditch,[3] "and now paints murals all over the world in Europe, Asia and America."[6]

His work is almost childlike in its simplicity and draws from the time he spent in Japan studying Japanese calligraphy characters known as kanji.[7] In the neutrality of the figures he draws, they strike a chord with symbolism and emotion.[8]

He liaises at the Central Saint Martins Graffiti Dialogues and has been funded to run graffiti workshops.[9] He has worked with Amnesty International, British Waterways, the Mutoid Waste Company, Queeruption, and Reclaim the Streets. He paints unauthorised art as well as pieces that are authorised.

In 2011, Stik had a solo show at Imitate Modern, a gallery in London's West End.[9] In 2012, he worked in Dulwich, southeast London in collaboration with curator Ingrid Beazley, where he recreated Old Master paintings in his own style that were exhibited in Dulwich Picture Gallery.[10][11][12][13] This led to further street artists including Conor Harrington, MadC, Mear One, Thierry Noir, Francisco Rodrigues da Silva (Nunca), Phlegm, James Reka (Reka One), Remi Rough and System, and ROA, becoming involved to form the Dulwich Outdoor Gallery of street art around the Dulwich area in 2013. In February 2013 he collaborated with Noir in Shoreditch.[6]

Stik's "Holding Hands" sculpture in Hoxton square

In April 2012, the London Evening Standard reported that "he was living in a St Mungo’s hostel for the homeless last year as he prepared for his first gallery show."[14]

In March 2013 Stik gave away poster copies of his art via The Big Issue.[2] The BBC said at the time that in "the last two years, Stik's fame has grown with celebrity endorsements and rising auction prices.[2] One of his works, a sculpture titled ‘Up On The Roof’, fetched £150,000 at auction.[15]

In 2020 Stik's sculpture "Holding Hands" was installed in Hoxton Square in London.[16]

Wall outside the Migration Museum in Lewisham Shopping Centre

The sculpture Wall, at the entrance to the Migration Museum in Lewisham Shopping Centre, is made up of two panels from the former Berlin Wall, one painted by Stik and one by Thierry Noir.[1]

In June 2022 at Bonhams Post-War and Contemporary Art sale, Stik's work Children of the Fire achieved a sale of £247,000.[17]

Publications

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  • Stik. Century, 2015. ISBN 978-1780893334.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Wall". Migration Museum. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "BBC News - Street artist to make Big Issue sellers 'art dealers'". BBC News. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b "London Street Art Guide: 1. Stik". Londonist.com. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  4. ^ unknown, unknown (4 September 2019). "'A collaboration with the city': Stik and the art of the street". Christies.
  5. ^ "Street Artist: Stik". Streetartlondon.co.uk. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "In pictures: Street art collaboration between Stik and Thierry Noir in London's Shoreditch". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Stik Art for Sale: Prints & Originals". MyArtBroker. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  8. ^ "ARTIST BIO - STIK". Leonards Art. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Single Stik". Subwaygallery.com. 3–26 March 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Walking with Stik". Dulwich OnView. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Classical art meets street art as Stik takes to the streets of Dulwich". press.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk. UK: Dulwich Picture Gallery. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  12. ^ Bartholomew, Emma (22 May 2012). "Street artist Stik takes on Old Masters like Rubens, Gainsborough and Francheschini". London 24. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  13. ^ "The Outdoor Street Gallery of Dulwich". Inspiring City. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Cult graffiti artist Stik swaps a life on the streets for starry client list". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Stik Sculpture Fetches a Staggering £150,000 at Christies Auction for Theatre Charity, 2018". GraffitiStreet. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Stik's Hoxton Square sculpture 'Holding Hands' unveiled". Hackney Gazette. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Bonhams : Stik Triumphs at Bonhams Post-War and Contemporary Art Sale in London". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
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