Urban Art Association

Giacomo Buffarini a.k.a. RUN, by eschiff on Nov 18, 2014 18:16:43 GMT 1, Just got this in my inbox...really looking forward to it after his show at Hangup.  Nice opportunity to get a reasonably priced original as well.


Opening: 27th November, 7PM

Howard Griffin Gallery
189 Shoreditch High Street

All invited
Drinks by Hennessey

Howard Griffin Gallery is pleased to present a unique installation and exhibition by Giacomo Bufarini a.k.a. RUN entitled Parabola di G. This landmark show for the artist represents a turning point in his artistic practice as he moves from painting walls to becoming a studio artist. For the first time, RUN is exhibiting under his real name, Giacomo Bufarini.

Parabola di G has been a highly anticipated show for the artist and is built around a semi-autobiographical story told through a unique series of highly detailed pen and ink drawings that collectively make up a book. The drawings that make up the exhibition will also come alive throughout the gallery in a large scale installation constructed from paper.

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.

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. The story is inspired by the epic poetry of Homer – Bufarini recalls being read the story of Ulysses as a child before he went to sleep. Just as Bufarini fell into dreams of mythical voyages as a child, visitors to the exhibition fall into this story within a story, stepping in to its pages through literally stepping into the installation.

Giacomo Bufarini

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. 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.

Sales information

All Parabola Di G drawings are for sale. For exhibition pre sales enquiries please contact Francesca Giorgi-Montfort (francesca@howardgriffingallery.com) or Simon Parkin (simon@howardgriffingallery.com).

The Parabola Di G exhibition pre sales catalogue is available for download here.

A limited edition book of Bufarini's illustrations entitled Parabola Di G is being published on 27th November by Howard Griffin Gallery to coincide with the exhibition. Signed copies will be available on the opening night.