The Art of Shane MacGowen (The Pogues) Opening Reception

From the venue:

“Chaotic, neurotic, narcotic, erotic. Somewhere deep inside him there’s a tap with ‘art’ written on it and whenever he feels like it he opens it up and out pours a torrent of mercuric, violent, rude, sexy, blasphemous, bollock-naked and - would you believe it? - occasionally tender imagery. It’s the spit, snot and tears of art. Splattering onto the page in a psychic storm of lines and words. In the flexible art of Shane MacGowan, everything is possible! It happens on whatever is at hand. Sick bags on planes are a favourite canvas. I love how the red ones on a journey to Russia are re-used as handy communist sketch materials. And see how the Club World notepaper from his pricey Pogues record company flying days gets transformed with a few monstrous squiggles into a membership card for the Mile High Club! Cheeky! As a songwriter – one of the best, ever - Shane has always been a great storyteller. His music leads your emotions on a myriad journeys, from pain to laughs. His art does that, too. It keeps changing moods. One moment, it’s chaos. The next, it’s tenderness.” -Waldemar Januszczak