April, 1st Thursday: Troy Gua & The Collaborati at Monarch & More

Artwork by Ryan Mollenkamp


TROY GUA & the Collaborati : Meet Greet Rinse Repeat
Thurs, April 1 - Fri, April 30, 2010
Reception: Thursday, April 1, 6-8pm


SEATTLE, March 10, 2010 -- Monarch Contemporary is pleased to announce an installation of glyph sculptures by Troy Gua and the Collaborati. From cave paintings, hieroglyphics and cuneiform to modern sentences, written communication has evolved from visual symbols to a structured system of complex words and phrases. With accelerating technology, many believe that communication will continue to evolve, forever altering the “written word” as we know it. Others argue that we have entered an era of de-evolution, where the advent of hand-held devices and social networking is causing us to revert backward to a less sophisticated system of symbols, acronyms and emoticons.

With 'Meet Greet Rinse Repeat', Troy Gua is asking fellow artists to communicate with him in respectively unique visual languages. He begins the conversation with a hand cut graphic character of invented symbolism. He sends this to his collaborator who infuses it with whatever creative spirit they deem fit. The collaborator then “replies” by passing their visual response back to the originator. Gua concludes the interchange by applying a resin coating, which bonds the exchange between originator and collaborator. Each collaborating artist assigns a conversational title to the finished work, providing the viewer with an insight into this personal communiqué.

Gua’s collection of works introduces a third dimension to the traditional concept of artist and viewer. Here the artist is not choosing the subject matter for the viewer. Rather, each artist responds or “replies” to subject matter introduced by a third party. This provides the viewer with the fascinating experience of witnessing each artist’s unique response to Gua’s original symbolic suggestion. As a consequence, we are afforded an unexpectedly personal and candid insight into the thought processes of each collaborating artist.

Participating Artists:
Sharon Arnold • Ben Beres • Susanna Bluhm • Cynthia Camlin • Daniel Carrillo • Jojo Corväiá • Chris Crites • Jed Dunkerley • Warren Dykeman • Eric Elliott • Cristin Ford • Erin Frost • Marie Gagnon • Cable Griffith • Noah Grussgott • Catherine Gua • Robert Hardgrave • Meg Hartwig • Sol Hashemi/Jason Hirata • Harold Hollingsworth • Etsuko Ichikawa • Amy Johnson • Claire Johnson • Shaun Kardinal • Ken Kelly • Counsel Langley • Margie Livingston • Greg Lundgren • Amanda Manitach • Ryan Molenkamp • Damon Mori • Saya Moriyasu • Molly Norris • Kate Protage • Jason Puccinelli • Ariana Page Russell • Bailey Russel • Erin Shafkind • Arun Sharma • Chris Sheridan • Scott Story • Liz Tran • Kimberly Trowbridge • Sylwia Tur • Joey Veltkamp • Laura Ward • Jennifer Zeyl


MONARCH CONTEMPORARY
312 South Washington St.
Seattle WA 98104

"Perched #2" by John Osgood

While Ryan Mollenkamp, Kate Protage and Chris Sheridan are over at Monarch with Troy Gua and the Collaborati exhibit, they have kindly given John Osgood a large section of their Baby Seal Club as a guest artist. John will be bringing some of his newest work along with some collaborated (with Zachary Bohnenkamp) limited edition prints. The limited edition prints are part of a fundraising effort of the 2 artists to help with travel costs to get them to Bristol UK for the largest European Urban Art Fest in June.

Please stop by 619 Western Building and visit the 4th floor!

"Counterpoint" by Bobbi Jo Epperson from her Portrait Project

Plus, an artist from Olympia that we featured last year is showing at Deli this month as well! Please stop by and see her works from 2 different series:

Seed Series: Seed is a gathering of images, memories, stories, and experiences that have hung in my mind and soul since youth. This project is a cathartic effort to release these visions from the cage that has been protectively housing them for so long. The images are spontaneous and collaged, much like the memories themselves.

Portrait Project: a collection of portraits that explores deep psychological framework that attempt to nudge the viewer from complacency into an interpretation of your own dark emotions.

Deli
87 Yesler Way
Seattle, WA 98104
206-682-2446
http://deliseattle.com

Call for Artists: 2nd Annual Heaven & Earth Outdoor Exhibit at Carkeek Park

Artwork by Kristin Tollefson from last years exhibit

Call for Artists

In collaboration with the Carkeek Park Advisory Council, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the Associated Recreation Council, CoCA will present “Heaven and Earth 2,” the second exhibition of temporary, outdoor sculptural installations in Carkeek Park, from June 26 – September 26, 2010.

As in 2009, the exhibition will focus on interpretations of nature in a world of dynamic change. Sculptural works can be constructed of any material and should leave “no trace” following removal. Interactive (kinetic) artworks are particularly welcome, as are any proposals that incorporate the process of change (weathering, erosion, over-growth, etc.) throughout the three-month display period.

Deadline is May 14, 2010.

Heaven and Earth is the Seattle area’s only venue for temporary sculpture in an urban forest setting where part of the exhibit includes a walking tour of an hour or more. It also provides an excellent entry into public arts projects (previous experience in public art is not required). Ten artists will be selected from the pool of applicants and offered a stipend of $200 - $300. The work will be archived on the Heaven and Earth website (and on CoCA’s website), and the exhibition will also include production of a catalog, a sculpture trail map, postcards, and print ads in Seattle Parks publications. (what publications?)

There will be a reception for the artists on Saturday, June 26, from 2 – 5 p.m. at the Environmental Learning Center in Carkeek Park, 950 NW Carkeek Park Rd. Entry and parking are free.

Email submissions are preferred, with the following requirements:

• SITE PREFERENCE: Artists should browse the interactive map of the park at
http://www.cocaseattle.org/carkeekphotos.htm, where artists can view photos of the 12 suggested installation sites and notes specific to each site. These are the sites from 2009 and are “pre-approved”; however, artists can also suggest additional sites, keeping in mind that installations should occur in “human-use” areas where buildings, fields, fence-lines, and other “built features” are in evidence. It is also advisable to place artworks relatively near the access road for easy maintenance checks. Within such areas, patches of invasive vegetation (ivy, blackberry, etc.) create particularly welcome installation sites; otherwise, artworks should avoid impacts on living trees, native plants, etc. (Alternatively, artists can also indicate “no preference” regarding the installation site, or can provide a list that indicates “first choice,” “second choice,” etc.)

• ARTWORK:

- If the piece already exists, submit a digital image of it as part of your six images (see below).

- If the piece has not been made yet, describe it in writing (200 words) and provide a digital image of a sketch of the piece you intend to install. (Please send the written description of the proposed piece as an attachment, not in the body of your e-mail.)

• Provide up to six digital images of generally similar previous work, jpg file format, maximum dimension of 800 pixels in either direction. Include a description of the images (artwork title, dimensions, medium, and year of creation).

• Artist’s statement of 250 words (or fewer) specific to the themes of the show. (Send as an attachment not in the body of your email.) This will appear in the catalog.

• Artist’s biography of 200 words (or fewer) including previous awards, honors, shows, degrees, etc. (Send as an attachment not in the body of your email.) This will also appear in the catalog.

• Contact information (address, phone, email).

• Artist’s website link (if available).

• $10 entry fee check payable to CoCA, Heaven & Earth, 6413 Seaview Ave. NW, Seattle, WA 98107

An electronic submission will consist of:
• artist’s contact info and website;
• three attachments (1. Description of proposed piece including site preference 2. Artist’s Statement; 3. Artist’s biography- Word documents are best); and
• up to six jpg files.

Entry deadline is May 14, 2010. Ten finalists will be notified by May 28. Install dates in the park are June 22 – 25. De-install occurs from September 23 – 26. Please call 206-851-9641 (David Francis, Curator) for more information.

Finalists will receive a liability waiver recognizing the inherent risk of exhibiting unsecured art in a public setting and seeking permission to use any images for promotional purposes. Insurance during install/deinstall will be covered through the Associated Recreation Council / Parks.

Please send proposals to: HeavenEarth@cocaseattle.org
View last year’s exhibit at www.heavenandearthexhibition.org

"Awake to a New Aurora" Mural Unveiling on Tue, Mar 23rd

Mural in progress shown above.

On Tuesday, March 23 from 6:30-7:30pm join the Aurora Avenue N neighborhood in celebrating the unveiling of the first of two murals. Sustainable Green Lake, Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN) and the City of Seattle envision Aurora as a street full of thriving businesses and shoppers – one with a vibrant business center that attracts local residents to walk and bike to stores and restaurants for their weekly shopping and entertainment. To encourage this, a temporary installation of artwork is being placed in the windows of an empty storefront. A second location is being sought.

Sustainable Green Lake received funding to do a mural from a grant through the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. GAIN provided some additional funding. The project is modeled after a similar and successful one done in the Columbia City neighborhood in the 1990s.

Zach Bohnenkamp, John Osgood and Kevin Sullivan from Seattle Mural Art, a local muralist team whose most recent work was installed next to Taproot Theatre after the arsons, have been commissioned for the new Aurora murals. The mural features the theme “Awake to a New Aurora” with a vibrant scene transitioning from green space to a rising sun backdropped with the downtown cityscape view as you go over the Aurora Bridge.

“This is a great project bringing together artists, community groups and businesses to improve Aurora," said Andy Leong, property owner of 7615 Aurora Avenue N.

Come watch the mural unveiling, meet the artists and your fellow neighbors and enjoy free pizza and soda.


7615 Aurora Avenue
Seattle, WA 98103
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
6:30 – 7:30pm
(unveiling at 6:45pm)

The Greenwood Collective Highlights for March 12th Art Walk

Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos

This show is a collection of Beery's coveted hobo characters that maniacally made their way into Seattle’s streets and the hearts of our NW culture. The collection consists of original pieces that are hand inked and painted with wood stain on various wood panels in a variety of sizes. Besides the originals there will also be limited edition prints, jumbo posters, and a line of limited edition tees that all reflect these grungy agents of chaos. He will be giving away a free print and a free tee randomly to those who sign up at the Band Vibes space. Come join Beery for a night of bad-ass art and mayhem…It’s gonna be an epic event of diabolical debauchery full of twisted 50’s animated style hobos!

The term hobo-eater refers to an entity who, through ritual means, would take on by means garbage and liquor the sins of a deceased bum, thus absolving his or her soul and allowing that person of the street to rest in peace.

What was once a ritual performed by beggars and vagabonds in certain villages of bygone years is now performed in a reverse of roles by animated entities who take on the form of the hobo whose diabolical lifestyle is reflected upon the appearance of the hobo-eater. The hobo-eater would be brought to the dying vagrant’s curbside or stoop, where a neighborhood drifter would place a crust of dumpster pizza on the chest of the dying and pass a 40 oz. of malt liquor to him over the corpse. After reciting the ritual, he would then drink and remove the crust from the derelict tramp and eat it, the act of which would remove the sins and deadbeat-scars from the dying transient and take it into himself.

Often times hobo-eaters are not only filled with the sins and scars of the deceased but take on a ghostly appearance, ragged with the lines of deceit and chemical abuse of the former vessel. The result is a vaporous apparition whose tattered clothes and grungy attitude is forever portrayed among the urban environment. Thus the ethereal term Agents of Chaos has come as a contemporary descriptor for these aeon old hobo-eaters who are destined to drift the streets perpetually consuming fiendish souls.




Presenting the urban contemporary work of Jeremy Gregory, PaperMarbleS and John Osgood. Although each artist has their own distinct style, they have many common elements that they use throughout their work, including their odd sense of humor, strange character portraits and twisted sensibilities. The artists did not talk about what themes they were going to create for the show ahead of time. As you'll see there are some uncanny correlations in their artwork, almost as if they were psychically picking up on each others thoughts (kind of creepy!).




Contemporary artwork by Tessa Hulls.Plus live music by Decateur Buff, NW Twang & Grove Band from 8-9pm.

Last Night at FlatColor Gallery & Deli Boutique: Augie Pagan & Michelle Anderst

We had the pleasure of making it out for 1st Thursday and amongst the highlights were Augie Pagan's work at FlatColor Gallery & Michelle Anderst at Deli Boutique. I'm posting up a few teasers for you all that haven't had a chance to go check out the shows. You really must go see their work in person!



To get more info on the show, check out their website: FlatColor Gallery



Here's a couple fav's of ours from Michelle Anderst showing at Deli...




Both Deli & FlatColor feature urban contemporary art and focus on highlighting Seattle artists. We're big fans of both venues and hope that you'll stop by and show your support to them and the artists!

Michelle Anderst Exhibit and Custom Tee at Deli

Here's a stop that we won't miss this 1st Thursday at Deli Boutique in Pioneer Square! Michelle Anderst is showing "Victorian Articulations" series and a new custom designed Tee shirt which is part of Deli's artist line. Stop by and have a glass of champagne! Deli is on 1st and Yesler (close to the 619 building), the artist reception goes from 6 to 9:30. Be sure to come out and show your support and buy a fresh artist series tee!

New Spring Inspired Works By Artist Curtis Ashby aka CASH

We are always excited to receive the latest work from our artists and hear what they are up to. Below are a series of new paintings by CASH that were not only inspired by our springlike weather and wishful thinking of warmer weather, but also by the paintings of birds that his uncle created in his bedroom when he was a child. CASH said that when he was a kid he would imagine those painted birds coming to life and flying around his room. Those images sparked the idea for this new bird series.


24" x 18"
acrylic, aerosol & charcoal
2010


20" x 16"
acrylic, aerosol & charcoal
2010


20" x 16"
acrylic, aerosol & charcoal
2010


20" x 16"
acrylic, aerosol & charcoal
2010

CASH is an artist that you'll want to keep your eye on. He's always looking for new ways to push his art to a new level and has already at a young age, been successful in getting his work out in multiple venues. He uses the colors he sees around him, from the natural earth tones he sees in nature, to all the colors of the torn up posters and billboard graffiti, broken windows, and peeling paint which all seem to make it into his paintings.

He has a collaborative exhibit at the Auburn City Hall Gallery in May along with John Osgood. For more information on that exhibit go to the City Hall Gallery website.