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