Finissage of Robert Carrithers' exhibition "BLACK & WHITE & READ ALL OVER" on June 14th

Urban Spree Galerie presents the Finissage of "BLACK & WHITE & READ ALL OVER", the solo painting project of the US photographer and visual artist Robert Carrithers.

The Closing will be on Saturday, June 14th from 18:00 to 20:00 in the Galerie's Black Room. 

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Commentary, Discussion, Past, Present and Future

Robert Carrithers' commentary: "I attempted to capture my imaginary photographs through my memory onto artwork with black canvas and white acrylic paint to give a feeling of photo negatives. I decided to choose a theme of what actual memory is and how it crosses over into imagination. What is memory and imagination? What triggers memories? Each scratch painting in the exhibition has a written story on the walls. I will attempt to tell the stories behind the stories through a live commentary of each painting along with my snapshot memories to complete this exhibition. Also, what is that film “N36” in the exhibition really about? You can ask questions too!"

Mark Reeder and Lady Gaby will take it further and tell their New York memories, influences mixed all together with discussions between participants. Join us and feel free to interact.

Lili Skylark will briefly present drawings she made at the opening of the exhibition. In her words: Drawings of friends, drawings of strangers, drawings of Robert’s art family during his opening. The more the evening progressed the more the drawings are relaxed and lines becoming more abstract but you still can feel that Friday Berlin night vibe.

A presentation, screening and discussion of the film Momentument. 

Momentument is a short documentary capturing a spring 2025 community art project at the Místečko community art space in Prague’s Žižkov district. Produced by OBJECT:PARADISE and written/directed by American Tyko Say, the film explores how meaning emerges through collective creation—echoing the group’s manifesto that art should be a living, public experience rooted in its surroundings.

OBJECT:PARADISE is an art collective in Prague invested in creating site-specific, collaborative projects that blur the lines between artist and audience, with a focus on community, process, and place. For them, Žižkov—and the people who make up its community—has offered an opportunity to experiment with different perspectives and mediums. A big part of their practice is documenting these shared moments, and preserving the spirit of Žižkov’s rebellious spirit. Momentument will premiere at Berlin’s Urban Spree Gallery on Saturday, June 14, with a Prague screening to be announced. The film is part of an ongoing series, OBJECT:PRAHA, highlighting Prague’s dynamic art scene where people from all over the world have found a place to create, share, and belong together.

Lady Gaby, writer, spoken word poet, international performance and visual artist, originally from Romania, migrated to Melbourne, then swooned her way to Berlin at the brink of the Fall of the Wall. Lady Gaby has organised events, curated exhibitions and shows, performed on many of the worlds stages and is now a radio journalist with her own show The Word Bank Radio Show and a creative educator sharing her knowledge with emerging and established artists and performers As a cultural journalist, she interviewed many legends and icons , reviewed concerts and performances.her poetry and nonfiction has been published in many anthologies, journals, magazines across the world. Her visual art: collages, site specific installations and texts on photos have been exhibited in Berlin and international galleries and festivals. Lady Gaby loves New York and her work is very much inspired by the Beat generation poets, Afro American culture, lower east side punk music and performance scene. most of her heroes lived in New York. Especially the feminist types; lunch, billy holiday, Nico, Patti, Debbie Harry, Eddie Sedgwick,

Mark Reeder is from Manchester, England. He is a musician, record producer, remixer, DJ, graphic designer and film maker and has been living and working in Berlin since 1978. His early career started in UK - at the dawn of punk, he was a founding member of The Frantic Elevators together with Mick Hucknall (now of Simply Red). Upon moving to Berlin in 1978, he became the German representative for Joy Division and the legendary Manchester record label Factory Records from 1978-1983. As a member of synthpop bands Die Unbekannten he performed the first illegal and highly secretive gigs in the Communist East (Czechoslovakia & Hungary). In December 1990, he founded the first independent electronic music label MFS in the post-Wall East-Berlin, helping to launch the careers of Paul van Dyk, Ellen Allien, Dr Motte and more. The acclaimed documentary film “B-Movie (Lust & Sound in West-Berlin) is about Reeder’s life in 80’s West-Berlin avant-garde music scene. Reeder is also an established DJ and remixer, for artists such as New Order, Depeche Mode, and The Pet Shop Boys. He has DJ’d all over the World and he recently wrote and produced the score and title song for the documentary film Can Creativity Save the World? for ARTE TV.

Robert Carrithers' work has been in exhibitions at various galleries in New York, Prague and Berlin. He’s been featured in exhibitions with his photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2017), Tate Modern in Liverpool (2019) and BOZAR, the Brussels fine art museum (2019 & 2020). He has two books published: “City Primeval: New York Berlin Prague”, a book exploring each city from 1980s to present time, how they influenced artists and how the artists influenced the cities and “The Downtown Luminairies”, a compendium of photographs by Robert of 1980’s New York and the cultural luminaries who continue to shape our consciousness. In 2018, he was in a group show “Zeitgeist: The Art Scene of Teenage Basquiat, a group exhibition focusing on the artists and scene around Jean-Michel Basquiat’s teen-aged, pre-fame years” at Howl Happening Gallery in New York City, curated by Sarah Driver along with other artists who knew Basquiat: Al Diaz, Jim Jarmusch, Fab 5 Freddy, Futura, Nan Goldin and others.

In Berlin, he was featured in Atelier Cross Art’s exhibition “Berlin Faces" curated by Carmen Aigner with photos, paintings and silkscreens along with J.Jackie Baier and Maria Immaniel and also at Neurotitan Gallery where he curated a group show “Your Daily Darkness” featuring Miron Zownir and Tina Winkhaus. He exhibited a series of his Prague fairytale series within the exhibition. Last October he had a small exhibition of “Black & White & Read All Over” at the QR Space Gallery in Prague, an exhibition of black and white artwork based on imagination and memory of photographs that Robert wish he had taken in the 1980s in New York along with stories written in white on black walls. It was curated by Ana Ciornea. This all led up to this exhibition at Urban Spree on a much larger scale.

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Robert Carrithers

BLACK & WHITE & READ ALL OVER

Solo Exhibition

Urban Spree Galerie

23 May - 14 June 2025 (11:00 - 19:00 / Tu-Sa)

Finissage: Saturday June 14th  2025 from 18:00 to 20:00