By Tina Calder
Photo by Fabrizio Belluschi
THE Frameworks Gallery have announced Belfast’s biggest ever art exhibition is set to take place in May.
The show, sponsored by Tommy Guns, Rogue Hairdressing and Tiger Beer, features 50 images from 30-year-old Ballycarry artist Emma Geary aka AnarKitty, and will be displayed in a number of sites across the city.
This unique showcase is the first of its kind and is already creating a buzz on the local art scene.
John Lundy, proprietor of the Frameworks Gallery on the Ormeau Road, said: “Everybody we speak to, including businesses and buyers, are very enthusiastic and it makes us feel that it will be a brilliant exhibition.
“I’ve got a really good feeling about it”.
The exhibition also marks the fifth birthday of Frameworks.
“We are celebrating our fifth anniversary on May 5 and we think it’s absolutely perfect to have something that’s got the amount of interest, buzz and enthusiasm that AnarKitty has”, added John. This is the first time AnarKitty’s work has been exhibited on such a huge scale.
She said: “I am really excited and I can’t believe I’ve actually been given the chance to do this.
“The panic has kicked in a bit but at the same time I’m even more excited. I really enjoy doing the paintings so much now because there’s a reason for it and something at the end to look forward to.
“I went through a couple of days being petrified because I do the art I’m not seen by anybody.
“I can hide, I can stay in my house, do my paintings and do my own thing, and who cares what people think. But the exhibition will be face to face with the critics, the buyers, the press and that really scares the life out of me.
“But at the same time I can’t wait to see what happens”.
John spotted AnarKitty’s pieces in August last year and has since been selling her work through the gallery.
He said: “I just liked the style of work, it was unusual. It’s a mixture of graffiti, tattoo and underground images. They are certainly not in the traditional area.
“We would aim to specialise in more contemporary images and it just seemed to strike a cord with us.
“In terms of selling them they just flew out. Everybody that comes into contact with them have been very enthusiastic”.
The Skin Deep AnarKitty Exhibition opens on May 1.
the-frameworks.com
