Owen Dippie Gallery (est. 2011)

Many of you will recall the fabulous gallery opening last September and this group exhibition opening promises to be equally exciting with high quality artwork by Owen and his friends on show.

Artists include Phat 1, who is internationally recognised as a top street artist, the exceptionally gifted Ras 1 and the highly talented Mr G.

Also included are Component, an innovative stencil artist, Random Guy who creates 3D artworks in polystyrene, air-brush maestro Paul Julian, artist carver Hipara August and others.

The exhibition opens January 13 at 6pm and everyone is welcome.

In addition to this at 11am the following day a number of these artists will be giving graff art demonstrations outside the gallery.

Anyone interested in seeing street art at its very best being created by some leading artists is welcome to come along.  

Owen painting the portrait of famous New York artist Basquiat.

Owen’s Ashworth Lane studio and gallery is located behind Mount Maunganui’s Bodyline Surfshop on Totara Street.

As you approach you can’t help noticing two huge Owen Dippie portraits of Princess Diana and the rapper Biggie Smalls on the exterior walls.

A quick look on Google Maps will also reveal the whereabouts of Ashworth Lane.

Most of you will be familiar with Owen’s prodigious street art especially earlier works from the ‘Respect for The Dead’ series.

Two highly visible grisaille works depicting Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson adorn the walls of a building on Tauranga’s 15th Avenue.

Owen was born in Kawerau and at age 28 has established a reputation as a leading street artist both here and abroad.

His work can be seen across the five boroughs of New York City and the Lower East Side where the artform is well respected and has a huge following.

Visitors to the OD Gallery discover a very well-appointed conventional gallery space with white walls and spotlights to the right as they enter.

The attention to detail in this space is a real credit to Owen and those involved in establishing this gallery. 

To the left is his huge studio space whose walls are festooned with street art by Owen and some of New Zealand’s leading exponents of the genre. 

You’ll witness nods to New York artists Keith Haring and Basquiat.

Frida Kahlo and CF Goldie , a major favourite of Owen’s, also feature. 

Owen’s CF Goldie paintings have to be seen to be believed.

“I’d love to do a ‘Goldie’ on the streets of New York somewhere – and paint it huge,” says Owen.  

Halloween!: A salute to scary movie characters (2009).

As well as making a success of his gallery Owen would like to return to New York to continue with the street art he has already done.

This work has a real ‘New Zealandness’ to it and stands alongside the artwork of New York’s best.

The OD Group Exhibition opening is between 6pm and 10pm, January 13 and the graff art demo runs from 11am to 5pm on January 14.  

To find out more about Owen’s work visit www.owendippie.blogspot.com  or email him at odee04@hotmail.com

 by Pete Morris (January, 2012)

Pete Morris is an occasional painter and an art lover. He is a free-lance writer with a particular interest in promoting the visual arts in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.