‘Skull’ is a Ken P. Smooth work of art at the Subculture Gallery.
‘Under the radar‘ – an allusion to flying an airplane at an altitude too low for radar detection.
It’s common knowledge that Winnipeg has a vibrant arts community. But, people are much less familiar with the growing number of alternative artists who seemingly go undetected by the community at large.
Local artist, Ken P. Smooth, believes the underground art movement in Winnipeg has been, and continues to be, misrepresented or ignored by the mainstream art community.
His experience with the stigma of being different or having a strong statement, must be celebrated and not feared. Unfortunately, the current atmosphere in Winnipeg has split the community, instead of uniting it.
Smooth believes subtle censoring of different types of art has kept the public uneducated as to what art is, and its function in society. As a result, he says, the public has lost interest, doesn’t care, or understand the importance of supporting the arts in Winnipeg, beyond monetary gain. He believes being exposed to all types of art, with different perspectives, expressions and environments exhibiting the art, will broaden the awareness of Winnipeg’s arts and culture collective.
With this as a backdrop, Ken P. Smooth has spearheaded the creation of a new kind of gallery called, Subculture. Smooth hopes Subculture will unite the art community with the public, and create a new dialogue to bring back that eccentric and diverse artistic spark Winnipeg is famous for.
Subculture Gallery is located at 333B Garry Street.
