Mr Cenz Rewind

J G Contemporary
45 Churchfield Rd, London W3 6AY
25 Nov – 9th Dec 2021

Graffiti writer and artist Mr Cenz spraypaints vibrant futurist females and photographing his street art portraits at night has given me immense satisfaction down the years.

Shoreditch 2019

Shoreditch 2019

Shoreditch 2021

Rewind is Mr Cenz’s first solo gallery outing since his much raved about exhibitions at the Pure Evil gallery some 8 years ago. The collection here includes canvasses of course but also has framed prints, pen and ink illustrations and a light box as well as some Augmented Reality wizardry.

Mr Cenz origins are unmistakeably in graff, evident in the spraycan techniques and stylisms employed in his portraits.

Meeting Of Styles 2014

Mr Cenz Rewind

Mr Cenz has no fear of a bit of colour. Light spears in bars through his portraits; starbursts illuminate model’s skin and pinpricks of light dance like those 1970s fibre optic lights. Warm reds, yellows, oranges and purples abound.

Mr Cenz has constantly sought to push his art forward, evolving through the addition of portraits to his graff, then dropping the letter content and now, in his current show Rewind, to embracing the potential of digital technical to animate and illuminate these colours that have always made his painting so interesting and distinctive.

Don’t ask me to explain the tech, it’s something to do with Instagram. This is one of those things you don’t actually need to go to the exhibition to experience, though Mr Cenz and the gallerist would sure appreciate if you did. Display one of the following images on a screen, open Instagram on your phone, go to Mr Cenz’s profile, press the three stars thing just above his photos, click on his version of the image and then click the “try it” button at the bottom of the screen. Simples.

Mr Cenz You Cant Hide Your Love

Mr Cenz Intrinsic Rhythym

Mr Cenz Groove Thing

I do love something new, something novel and in Rewind, as well as the beautiful colours you expect with Mr Cenz his exploitation of the tech has certainly delivered the “whooahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” moment.

Mr Cenz Love Influx

All photos: Dave Stuart