Film director, actor, painter, photographer, musician, motorcycle racer and fashion model, Vincent Gallo seems to have had fun in his 40 years.

Throughout Gallos many careers he has continued to draw and paint. An exhibition at the Hara Museum of Art is the artists first major retrospective. It features some 120 works produced between 1977 and 2002 and includes drawings, paintings and photographs, as well as, other film related materials.

Born in Buffalo, NY, Gallo left home at age 16, for New York City. There he met fellow artist-traveler Jean-Michel Basquiat and formed the band "GRAY" which performed at the noted Mudd Club. Vincent Gallo is most widely known for his 1998 film, Buffalo 66, which he produced, directed, acted, and composed the music.

A major component of the Hara exhibition is a series of manhole covers painted by Gallo in the eighties. These rough metal plates, are painted with delicate flowers and fruits. Gallos art is a personal diary of a youthful search for direction, told with surprising lyricism and sensitivity.

Surprising, because the public side of Gallo is neither lyrical nor sensitive. Rather he seems to cultivate a runnaway roughness. Gallo carries an air of the New York punk underground around with him -- a lingering odour of the early 80s -- all unshaven and black leather.

His art is a constant search for the dark side. This he exposes starkly into the face of the mainstream. A troubled upbringing leading to life as a street hustler offers him plenty of raw material from which to draw.

Gallo like his art seems to occilate between self-aggrandizement and truthful introspection. As frustrating as this may seem it does make interesting viewing.