BEN TOUR
“Underbelly”
January 10-31, 2008
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 10, 2008 from 7-9:30 p.m.
Upper Playground in association with FIFTY24SF Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Underbelly, a new series of work from Canadian fine-artist, Ben Tour. For this show, Tour will be presenting a mural installation, paintings and framed and dry-mounted works on paper in his own style of Contemporary Portraiture. The hardened faces of street life and prostitution are balanced out by Tour’s fluid brushstrokes and by the soft movement of his subject matter. For this show with Fifty24SF Gallery, Tour has honed in on a style of working that he describes as faster and angrier with rougher and quicker lines, while working with ink washes that give his pieces a soft feel. This show with Fifty24SF Gallery will be his self-proclaimed biggest show of 2008 and the beginning of where he wants to take his work.
Born in Toronto and currently residing in Vancouver, B.C., Ben Tour has had successful shows throughout Canada as well as on the East and West coasts of the US. His work has been published in art and culture magazines such as Streetwear Today, Applied Arts, and Color as well as BLK/MRKT’s books, “One” and “Two”. Tour sites figurative art, strong people, and the urban environment as inspiration and is starting to work on a larger scale for his upcoming solo shows in Toronto and Philadelphia.
About Upper Playground and FIFTY24SF Gallery
Based in San Francisco, California, Upper Playground was founded in 1999 and has become a leader in today’s progressive art movement with its innovative apparel line and art gallery, FIFTY24SF. Recognized as a catalyst for the fusion of fashion with art, Upper Playground produces apparel lines bi-annually and features designs from notable local and international artists. Upper Playground apparel is sold nationally and internationally in over 300 boutiques and online. The FIFTY24SF Gallery is based in San Francisco, CA and showcases art from some of the best contemporary artists in the world with its monthly art exhibits. Please visit www.upperplayground.com for more information.
252 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
