Smoke & Mirrors @ Dahlia Woods Gallery 4/17 6-8:30P

“Smoke & Mirrors,” features the scintillating glass mosaics of Jamie Pink and the haunting landscapes and mindscapes of Andrew Wick.

Jamie Pink creates glittering abstract images of glass mosaic, pierced by light and color. Born and raised in Texas, Jamie holds a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin. She has studied under renowned painter Bill Komodore and world-class mosaicists Sonia King, Emma Biggs, Ilana Shafir, Matteo Randi and others. Her work appeared in the 2008 New Texas Talent show at Craighead Green Gallery and most recently in a juried show at the Bathhouse Cultural Center.

Andrew Wick uses egg tempera to create haunting, moody multi-faceted figurative paintings of the American scene. His copperplate etchings vividly capture the Texas landscape. Andrew holds a BFA from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and an MA from the University of North Texas. His work has been shown at various galleries in the Metroplex. When not painting Andrew teaches art both in Texas Public Schools and in SMU’s Community Education program.

Visit Wick’s Blog Here
Opening Reception:

Friday, April 17 6-8:30PM

AND

Saturday, April 18 11A-8PM

Location:

600 Cantegral Street, Dallas, TX 75204

Just off Live Oak behind the Latino Cultural Center and cattycorner to The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art.

 

Reverse Graffiti Project w/ Moose

Standing in one of the moss and dirt covered tunnels in Leeds, England, Paul Curtis, “Moose” as he calls himself, saw marks on the wall where the shoulders of unsteady drunks and the fingertips of curious children had exposed the shiny white tile. And with only a pair of socks as his tool, reverse graffiti was born.

No paint. No defacing. Moose makes his art by cleaning; removing the ills of dirt and pollution by de-defacing- wiping away dirt into large type and shapes, leaving nothing behind but a beautiful work of “green art.”

For the past ten years, Moose has been working to perfect his craft. More recently, his skill and notoriety have led to the creation of commissioned pieces as well.

Moose enjoys creating ‘legal graffiti’ although at times has been in the press for being a vandal. But no one has ever been able to make a case against him because as he says, “No one owns the dirt.”

-Reverse Graffiti Project Website

 

BLTN: Visions of an Insomniac @ Conduit 3/28

Everybody is a photographer;a self-proclaimed artist with a Nikon Coolpix and a Flickr page (myself included!). To talk about the market being saturated would be an understatement, and wading through “photographers” and one uninspired photograph after another to find the needle in a haystack is definitely not on my to-do list. I’m always leary about going to photography exhibits for this very reason, and there have been only a couple of photography exhibits this year that begged me to visit and “Visions of an Insomniac” at the Conduit Gallery was certainly one of them.

“Museum Guards” by Paul Greenberg

I was greeted in the front gallery by Paul Greenberg’s “Museum Guards”, which was very simple and straight forward yet it still completely blew me away. I have a bit of an obsession for things that tend to go unnoticed…like the one four leaf clover in an expansive field (true story), complicated stitching on the inside of a coat pocket, or even the guards in a museum that lurk quietly behind the scenes careful to protect but not interrupt the art while it’s hanging there doing it’s thing. The brilliance of Greenberg’s photographs lie not only in his chosen subject matter (including the irony of a meseum gallery as an integral character in the actual artwork itself), but also in the the relationship that is happening between the guards and the artwork they are lingering near. Take a look for yourself…

picture from Conduit Gallery Website

A black curtain seperated the front and middle gallery spaces. On the other side…”Visions of an Insomniac” by Susan kae Grant.

“Visions of an Insomniac is an interdisciplinary exhibition of experimental works that explore the mysterious space between illusion and reality. The works will consist of large scale digital images juxtaposed with cast shadows and psycho-acoustic sound. A nonsensical environment will be created in the gallery that forges a relationship between visual and aural perception. The work will provide visitors entry into an imaginary world of whimsical creations that portray life on the lyrical and playful edge of balance and stability. Large-scale images, sound and projection will suggest a theatrical world that references the ridiculous, the tragic and the unexpected. The walls, floor and ceiling will be illuminated with experimental lighting techniques to create a sense of surprise and wonder.” – Conduit Gallery Website

Ridiculous? Definitely. Tragic? Without a doubt. Unexpected? For Sure! I’ve been meaning to do a blog post about art gallery curators as artists themselves, but it’s been difficult to approach the topic without injecting sickening quantities of personal taste and biased opinions into it so I’ve shied away from publishing anything of the sort prematurely. But…my hat definitely goes off to the conduit Gallery for the atmosphere and mood and experience that they were able to create through profoundly creative curation which only served to enhance art that was already phenomenal.

“Nesting” by Kate Rivers

I made my way towards the free wine…I mean the Project Room to view Kate Rivers’ “Nesting” and immediately fell in love with Kate’s nests! The most striking thing about the nests, which remind me of home, is that they were made of all types of paper materials but mostly maps and stamps and letters; things that remind me of travel. The nests and the symbolism that Rivers used in these pieces were (to be completely honest) just plain cool, and myself a young woman that moved away from home to go to college and and didn’t return to my hometown after graduating, these darn nests stirred up some sentimental emotions that really connected me to the pieces.

I give the Conduit Gallery official MySpace props (circa 2006):

2 Kudos

 

BLTN: FLoyd Newsum @ HCG 3/21

photo from HCG Gallery website

HCG had it’s opening reception for Floyd Newsum’s “Compositions, Marks, & Arrangements” on 3/21 and of course yours truly was there in full effect! I remember this opening particularly well because I decided to carry a very large ’80’s green pleather clutch purse (I promise it’s not as tacky as it sounds!), but I could never quite figure out how to hold my bag, sip my wine, AND shake hands as I mingled. Anywho, aside from my personal disaster the exhibit is magnificent and will be on display through April 11 so you still have a few days to go check it out.

Now if you don’t know who Floyd Newsum is…you should! He is a well respected mentor in the industry, and aside from his fantastic artwork he is truly a phenomenal person. After the opening reception, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a private talk with the artist and it is an understatement to say that I was blown away by now only his artistic genius, but also by the group of people that he attracts. I had the pleasure of being in the company of some amazing African American art collectors and community leaders who truly inspired me and made me realize that I have so much to learn!

Special shout out to Vicki Meek of the South Dallas Culture Center for being so welcoming, but most of all for helping me get into the gate! 

“Compositions, Marks, and Arrangements” Exhibit
March 21- April 11, 2009

HCG Gallery
1130 Dragon St, Suite 190 (off Howell Street)
Dallas, TX
214 760-9230
www.hcggallery.com

Contact:

Christi Christopher
Bailey Pete PR-Strauss Marketing
christi@baileypetepr.com
214.356.8306

 

BLTN: Crossing Narratives, Mark Wiener@DECORAZON 3/12

Distric 1 candidate for City Council Mark Gonzales is dedicated to preserving Oak Cliff’s rich history through economic development efforts, enhancing neighborhood safety initiatives, and supporting progressive educational programs. And yes folks, Oak Cliff has a history richer than Georgia red clay. It’s not all gangs, hookers, and homicides as many folks seem to think (and as the news often portrays), and The Bishops Arts district has quickly become it’s claim to fame representing the re-branding of this eclectic neighborhood.

The Bishops Arts District (Davis Street & Bishop Avenue) is littered with fancy restaraunts, art galleries, and quirky retail shops and they all just beg for you to take a peek inside. Mark Gonzales and the Tiffany Dale Agency did just that, and decided to hold a networking mixer for Gonzales’ “Our Oak Cliff” campaign at DECORAZON.

At the time of the event, Mark Wiener’s “Crossing Narratives” exhibit was on display (and it ended on 3/23 so yeah…I’m way behind on my reviews!) and at first glance I thought it seemed like pretty easily digestible artwork and thought, “Hmph. It’s good. Lots of shapes…and stuff.” This was one of those occassions where I desperately needed the backstory, to understand the creative process, to hear the artist perspective to open up my very narrow mind to new possibilities for depth and meaning in the work. So, upon further investigation I realized that this exhibit was actually PRETTY EFFIN ROCKIN’!

Artist Statement:

“Millions of feet mark the city streets every day – people, likely unaware of their actions…Responding to this as an obvserver, I create the works i call Crossing Narratives” – Mark Weiner 2009

See what I mean?!

Mark Gonzales made a very compelling and motivating speech that evening, and Wiener’s exhibit as the backdrop was sheer genius and together made for a very successful event!

 

“Better Late Than Never” Week on E8!!!!

I’m way behind on writing exhibit reviews, so this week’s series will be appropriately titled “Better Late than Never” aka BLTN! Stay tuned for serious blog postaging…

 

NEOPOPStREEtFUN(K) @ Nance St. Gallery, Houston, TX

Please check out artist Robert Hodge tonight at the Nance Street Gallery tonight!

 

Books aren’t just for reading!

I came across a blog post featuring this mad crazy cool book art! Even though it may raise the issue of defacing literature (and  I can see how librarians might be outraged) there is no denying it’s level of awesomeness!

More photos can be viewed here!

 

Cassette Tape Art!

To see more from this artist, click here to check out the Flickr photostream!

 

Something Like a FAHAMENON

Artist Statement:

“FAHAMU PECOU IS THE SHIT” is a painting, video and performance series that parallels the marketing campaign and identity design strategy of hip-hop artists and the conceptual framework of mass media and consumer products conceived in pop art.

My recent body of paintings in this series, NEOPOP, explores the phenomenon of contemporary propaganda, the cultural context and significance of media and marketing and how they are both disconnected and relevant to fine art. This project was a response to the grassroots and often times, aggressive marketing campaigns that surround artists in the music industry.

Thinking through the process of media propaganda brought me to my current work with magazine covers. Magazines are the embodiment of the psychology behind marketing and advertising. Playing on the public’s psychological reaction to magazines, and preconceived ideas about who should be in them, I began projecting my image and ideals on the covers of magazines. I further abstracted the concept by juxtaposing my character’s in-your-face, hip hop bravado on fine art magazines. The work begins with professional photo shoots and graphic design to create sketches for the over-sized canvases. A combination of ideas are then examined in the final pieces that play with notions of fame, image and black masculinity as well as fine art insider politics.

Upcoming Events:

BOOK SIGNING Monday, March 16 :: Fahamu Pecou “Fahamenon” book signing with Fahamu Pecou, Conduit Gallery, 1626 C Hi Line Dr. Dallas, TX 7-10pm

ARTIST TALK: Tuesday, March 17 :: Fahamu Pecou, The Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art, 3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth, TX, 7PM

Related Links:

http://www.fahamupecouart.com

http://www.conduitgallery.com/