Art Of Punk – “Punk ~ The Transatlantic Paintings” – The Exhibition

Some photo’s from the Preview night of the “Punk ~ The Transatlantic Paintings” exhibition which took place at The Gallery,  Liverpool on Friday 07 November.

Against a backdrop of some terrific punk  music, there was a steady stream of visitors for more than 3 hours from 7pm until 10pm.   Thank you to all of the cool people from Liverpool who came along to meet me and to see my art of punk as well as to engage in conversation on the subject, I had some most interesting discussions.    Also a special mention must go to Pete Griffiths, bassist from the 1977 punk band The Spitfire Boys, who made the trip over from Ireland especially to be there.

Chris Billington and Pete Griffiths of 77 band The Spitfire Boys ~ ‘Punk – The Transatlantic Paintings’ exhibition, The Gallery, Liverpool

It was also tremendous to meet the acclaimed and highly entertaining actor Dean Sullivan, well known for his role as ‘Jimmy Corkhill’ in the Channel 4 TV series Brookside.

The art of punk ~ Chris Billington with actor Dean Sullivan ~ ‘Punk – The Transatlantic Paintings’ exhibition, The Gallery, Liverpool

A massive thank you to gallery proprietor Billy Wilson and to all of his amazing staff for making the Preview night such an exceptional evening.

The exhibition runs until 17 November.

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What’s in a number?  “Punk – ‘The Transatlantic Paintings” is an exhibition to mark the period around that mid 70’s axis. – 1975/76 – that saw the birth of a new movement, Punk.   This is a movement which arrived without warning, and almost simultaneously both in the UK and the USA..

Whilst there was a slow burn of activity on both sides of the Atlantic from the late sixties to the mid seventies, particularly in the US,  a change happened almost overnight under it’s own momentum, and with no apparent isolated contributing factor.   There was a rapid and radical headlong rush into 1977, this was the year that saw a punk explosion.

A fusion of garage rock ‘n’ roll, a chaotic but directional energy and teenage angst. Punk gathered critical support overnight and took both nations, and then the rest of the world, by storm, with its rebellious attitude, anti-establishment stance, iconic music, fashion and art  – all wrapped in threatening visual imagery and language.

Punk The Transatlantic Paintings ~ Chris Billington at The Gallery, Liverpool

Fifteen months in the making, my idea of “Punk ~ The Transatlantic Paintings” was formed in late 2012.   There were to be 40 paintings – to mark the 40 years, but even though that initial 40 concentrated the mind I soon found that it was near impossible for me to stick within my own remit.

So I revised the number upwards to 45, a nice number anyway, and quite fitting seeing as the exhibition has an almost exclusive focus on that ubiquitous punk symbol, the vinyl 45, which with it’s short, shock blasts of energy made it the antithesis of the meandering self indulgent album that had become the norm by bands in the mid seventies..

Almost half a century after the event, “Punk ~ The Transatlantic Paintings” is my take on Punk.

The exhibition is showing in The Gallery, Liverpool this month and at Studio 2091 in Ohio in 2015.    It is dedicated to the 45 single, and the 45 bands that I feature in the exhibition, also the late John Peel and the great independent record labels and stores who went against convention, and not forgetting the 500+ bands that I couldn’t cover for obvious reasons.

There is a limited edition 48 page catalogue to accompany the exhibition and a book is planned in ate 2015.

‘Punk ~ The Transatlantic Paintings’ 

The Gallery Liverpool, Stanhope Street, Liverpool L8 5RE

:: November 7 – November 17 :: Private View November 7 ::

Studio 2091,  Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio early 2015 date TBC

The Gallery Liverpool

For further details on the exhibition please contact The Gallery Liverpool

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