Draft:BSMT

BSMT
EstablishedSeptember 2015
Location529 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London E8 4AR
TypeUrban contemporary art gallery and picture framers
FoundersGregory Key and Lara Fiorentino
DirectorsGregory Key and Lara Fiorentino
Websitebsmt.co.uk

BSMT (formerly BSMT Space) is an independent contemporary art gallery located in Dalston, East London. Founded in September 2015 by Gregory Key and Lara Fiorentino, the gallery has staged over eighty exhibitions of street art, graffiti, urban contemporary art, surrealist and pop art by emerging and established British and international artists, and operates an in-house framing studio.[1][2][3][4] In 2026, the gallery was selected as guest curator for an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea,[5] and has been listed among London's notable urban art galleries in art and travel guides.[6]

History

Founding (2015–2019)

BSMT opened in September 2015 as BSMT Space at 5 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston.[7] Fiorentino, a specialist decorative artist working in gilding, wood graining and marbling, took on a former basement workspace in Dalston and refurbished it as a hybrid living and exhibition environment. Key, who had documented London's street art scene on Instagram during the platform's early years and developed working relationships with artists in the East London graffiti and street art communities, curated the inaugural exhibition Underhand, the proceeds of which were donated in full to the homeless charity St Mungo's.[8]

The gallery was renamed BSMT when it relocated to its current ground-floor premises in 2019, retaining a reference to its basement origins.

Move to Kingsland Road (2019–present)

In 2019 the gallery relocated to a larger ground-floor space at 529 Kingsland Road, Dalston. The premises had previously housed Bleep x, a temporary pop-up record store operated by Warp Records' online retail platform Bleep.com, which ran from November 2018 until February 2019.[9] BSMT opened at the new premises in late 2019, shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.[10]

The business is registered as BSMT SPACE LTD (Companies House number 11510374).[11]

Programme

BSMT was originally defined by its focus on street art, and has subsequently broadened its programme to include urban contemporary art, surrealist painting and pop art.[3][6] The gallery does not formally represent artists on an exclusive basis; its model is based on curated exhibitions with both emerging and established artists working across the graffiti, street art and urban contemporary fields.

Artists shown by the gallery include ALO, David Shillinglaw, Sweet Toof, Swoon, Guy Denning, My Dog Sighs, Carrie Reichardt, Argiris Ser, Fanakapan, Alex Face, Muebon, Ermsy, Nuno Viegas, Cranio, Russell Herron, RYCA, Ronch (Stefano Ronchi), Ben Wakeling, Perspicere, Rosie Woods, Helch, Magda Archer, Dave Towers, SNIK, Mau Mau, Insane 51, Louis Masai, Tony Pharo, Epod and Real Hackney Dave.[1][3][12][13][14]

Notable exhibitions

Early exhibitions (2015–2019)

  • Inflation (April 2016), the debut solo exhibition by London street artist Fanakapan, covered by FAD Magazine.[15]
  • One Year Underground (2016), the gallery's first anniversary group exhibition.[8]
  • Right Side of the Tracks (2016), the debut exhibition of the Berlin-based duo Rocco and His Brothers.
  • East End Mob (2017), a group exhibition featuring London and international street artists who had painted in the area.[16]

Kingsland Road exhibitions (2019–present)

  • Hope (September 2020), the gallery's reopening exhibition following the COVID-19 lockdown, featuring the first solo show by Dave Towers.[10]
  • Lost and Found (2021), the first solo exhibition by Perspicere.[17]
  • Unmasked (February 2022), the first UK solo exhibition by Dutch street and collage artist Perishable Rush, reviewed by the Hackney Citizen.[18]
  • Stronger Than Arms (August–September 2022), a group exhibition of Ukrainian street artists, covered by Time Out London and Hero Magazine.[1][2]
  • Hardcore (November 2022), a solo exhibition by RYCA.[13]
  • Sarabande (September 2023), a solo exhibition by Ronch following his appearance on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year.
  • Abstract Figurativism: Loving Fiercely (February 2024), a solo exhibition by Ben Wakeling, the subject of an episode of Radio Juxtapoz recorded in London.[12]
  • Chroma (November 2024), the debut solo exhibition by Zimbabwean artist Errol Theunissen, previewed by the Hackney Citizen.[19]
  • Russell Herron's Cardboard Face Soup (2025), a solo exhibition covered by FAD Magazine.[14]
  • Hyper Gold (March 2025), a solo exhibition by Rosie Woods.[20]
  • Elevate (22 May – 15 June 2025), a group exhibition presented in collaboration with the Los Angeles-based gallery Thinkspace, marking a transatlantic partnership between the two urban contemporary galleries.[21][22]
  • Bardo (September 2025), a solo exhibition by ALO, an artist who has held three solo exhibitions at the Saatchi Gallery.[23]
  • Invisible Lands (October–November 2025), a solo exhibition by Ronch, the subject of a feature interview in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.[3]
  • Front Room (September 2025), the gallery's tenth anniversary exhibition.
  • No Half Measures (December 2025), the first solo exhibition by the anonymous London graffiti writer Helch, marking the first time original artworks by the artist were made available to the public. The show was covered by IanVisits.[24]

Art fairs and external projects

BSMT has exhibited at Moniker Art Fair in 2018 and 2019.[25][26] At the 2018 edition, held at the Old Truman Brewery, the gallery exhibited work by Sweet Toof, A.CE and Skeleton Cardboard, alongside video displays of work by Rocco and His Brothers.[26] At the 2019 edition, held at the Chelsea Sorting Office to mark the fair's tenth anniversary, the gallery presented work by Dr D, ALO, Ador, Dan Ferrer, Louis Masai, Sonny Sundancer and Jonesy among others.

In 2026, the gallery was announced as guest curator of States of Transition, a solo exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea of thread portraiture by Perspicere (21 May – 13 June 2026).[5]

Reception

The gallery has been covered in UK and international art press, including Time Out London,[1] Hero Magazine,[2] Juxtapoz,[12] Beautiful Bizarre Magazine,[3] FAD Magazine,[13][14] Brooklyn Street Art,[27] IanVisits,[28] and the Hackney Citizen.[10][18][19] It has also been listed among London's notable urban art galleries in art and travel guides.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Frankel, Eddy (15 August 2022). "Meet the Londoners going to extreme lengths to get Ukrainian art into our city". Time Out London. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "BSMT Gallery's latest exhibition showcasing Ukrainian artwork almost never happened". Hero Magazine. August 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e Harris, Bella (30 October 2025). "Exclusive Interview: BSMT Gallery Presents Ronch, "INVISIBLE LANDS"". Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  4. ^ "BSMT Gallery exhibitions archive". BSMT. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Perspicere: States of Transition". Saatchi Gallery. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Top 10 Urban Art Galleries in London for Street Art Lovers". BLocal Travel. January 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  7. ^ "Street Artists turn Dalston's newest BSMT Gallery into a black and white collaborative extravaganza". Inspiring City. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  8. ^ a b "The Top 10 Moments from the first full year of Dalston's BSMT Space". Inspiring City. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  9. ^ Durston, Tom (9 November 2018). "Bleep open pop-up record store in Dalston". Inverted Audio. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  10. ^ a b c "'We did not stop creating': Dalston art gallery emerges from lockdown with fittingly titled show 'HOPE'". Hackney Citizen. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  11. ^ "BSMT SPACE LTD, Company number 11510374". Companies House. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  12. ^ a b c "Radio Juxtapoz, ep 133: Ben Wakeling is Loving Fiercely". Juxtapoz Magazine. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  13. ^ a b c "RYCA Hardcore BSMT Space". FAD Magazine. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  14. ^ a b c "Russell Herron's Cardboard Face Soup: a striking solo exhibition". FAD Magazine. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  15. ^ "Fanakapan and his 'Inflation' art". FAD Magazine. 3 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  16. ^ "Graffiti and Street Art Legends of Shoreditch and London's East End Mob". Inspiring City. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  17. ^ "Lost and Found by Perspicere at BSMT Space". Inspiring City. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  18. ^ a b "Unmasked, Perishable Rush, BSMT Space, exhibition review: 'Smiles and scars in evocative solo show'". Hackney Citizen. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  19. ^ a b "'A reflection of my childhood': Zimbabwean artist Errol Theunissen heads to Dalston for his first ever solo exhibition". Hackney Citizen. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  20. ^ "Rosie Woods Hyper Gold at BSMT: a golden vision for the future". Inspiring City. 18 March 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  21. ^ "Elevate: Thinkspace x BSMT London UK 2025". Thinkspace Projects. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  22. ^ "Thinkspace X BSMT". I Support Street Art. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  23. ^ "ALO returns to BSMT Space with Bardo". Inspiring City. 29 September 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  24. ^ Mansfield, Ian (8 December 2025). "HELCH's dropped Hs land in Dalston exhibition". IanVisits. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  25. ^ "Moniker Art Fair Exhibitors". Moniker Art Fair. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  26. ^ a b "Moniker Art Fair 2018". Shoreditch Street Art Tours. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  27. ^ "SODA Deconstructs Brilliantly on the Street and In the Gallery in London". Brooklyn Street Art. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  28. ^ Mansfield, Ian (8 December 2025). "HELCH's dropped Hs land in Dalston exhibition". IanVisits. Retrieved 27 April 2026.

Category:Art galleries in London Category:Contemporary art galleries in the United Kingdom Category:Street art Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hackney Category:Dalston Category:2015 establishments in England

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