Combining fashion, football, and art as told from the terraces of the stadiums the 'Art of the Terraces' exhibition is the first major exhibition to tell the story of a movement that defined sports culture of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. In a fusion of art, fashion and popular culture, Art of the Terraces explores the work of a generation of contemporary artists and designers who have been influenced by this movement over the last 40 years.
In 2002 British artist Dave White sought to immortalise iconic sneakers as oil paintings, based on his personal collection of trainers. The resulting paintings were set to travel the world and bring his name to the forefront of the global sneaker movement, which still grows today. The Nike Waffle Trainer painting featured in ‘The Art of the Terraces’ was amongst the first six pieces that White released, taking the imagery worldwide thanks to the internet, these paintings ended up in Japanese and American magazines and global exhibitions. The Nike Waffle was a staple shoe of the terraces in the late 70’s and 80’s and even now enjoys a renaissance with the new generation of collectors.
Twenty years later, White has since enjoyed a long term collaborative relationship with both Nike & Brand Jordan, featuring his own signature sneakers and is one of a handful of artists alongside Kaws, who have had their own Jordan release. Phillips most recently celebrated his sneaker works at the Tongue + Chic exhibition in New York, Hong Kong and K11 Shanghai.
Dave White’s connection to The Walker Art Gallery dates back to his early student days in the 1990’s when he would visit the gallery every Sunday to study the collections. After winning ‘Best New Talent’ in the Visual Arts, he was invited to undertake a painting residency. White then went on to the Northern Graduates exhibition at the Royal College of Art, where he was selected by Connaught Brown for a series of exhibitions that launched his career.
Dave White has been devoted to promoting endangered species for the last ten years with charitable collaborations such as the most recent for WWF with his Tiger installation at ‘The Gardens By The Bay’ in Singapore.