The London West Bank Gallery is situated in the heart of Notting Hill’s Westbourne Grove. Taking up three floors (10,000 sq feet) of a charismatic old bank building, it is already a home to some of the world’s leading urban and contemporary artists and offers a platform for emerging stars.

This giant exciting space offers a rotating and diverse selection of exhibitions, installations, 3D pieces, workshops, and events.

Awareness and interest is ever growing and the West Bank Gallery has quickly established itself as the most popular and innovative gallery in West London.

The London West Bank gallery announces “First Cut” its first year anniversary show. A selection of work from prominent artists lying in the boundary of the fine art and urban art worlds has been curated by the gallery to celebrate a year of successful art trading in West London. In addition to the fantastic choice of prints, canvasses and sculptures on display there will be a few musical and performance surprises to entertain guests. Charity fundraiser for Kids Company: The centre piece for “First Cut” is a specially commissioned canvas painting by the accomplished artist, Ben Slow, entitled “Ma O Shishu” (Mother and Child, in Bengali); which was originally painted on the walls of Hanbury Street in East London’s Shoreditch in April 2010. This one-off, never to be reproduced, mixed media on canvas piece will be on sale via silent auction before and during the show. 100% of the sale proceeds of the painting will go to the charity, Kids Company, a London based charity which provides practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children. Bidding for the silent auction will commence on Thursday 22nd March, a week before the group show private view. The bid-winner will be declared at 9pm on Thursday 29th March during the Private View of the show. Last minute offers will be welcome.

What inspired Ben to recreate this work onto a canvas for charity was the discovery that families were living in squat conditions behind the very wall he had painted “Ma O Shishu” in Hanbury Street. It was evident, that in our 21st century London, destitution and deprivation are still very much a reality. This street work has long since been destroyed but has been captured beautifully by award-winning film maker Shafiur Rahman. This short film was in the Official Selection of the Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival, London, 2011 and is to be screened at various avant-garde film festivals this year.

An extract of the movie is viewable at: http://vimeo.com/m/19741865

About the artist: Ben Slow is an extremely collectable fine artist who has often brought his expertise to the street. Ben uses a synthesis of spray paint, emulsions, acrylics, inks and markers to create a unique style that blends fine art portraiture and photo-realism with his trademark chaotic drips and bursts of paint. These varied techniques create a style that is rich in texture and high in energy.

Browse online at www.londonwestbank.com (new website coming soon)