Vern (Vbast) White Features his Sculpted Works for "Gifted" Exhibit

“Trilobite”
13” x 11.5” x 11”
Welded Steel

Vern (Vblast) White is new to our gallery and usually works in 2-D. However, we were interested in highlighting his unique and beautiful 3-D work for this particular "Gifted" exhibit. His pieces are wonderful one-of-a-kind gifts that you're not going to find anywhere else. He also has two metal sculpted "Ring Bearers" in the gallery that are a perfect functional & aesthetic piece for any bedroom.


“Against a Background of Malice”
13” x 11.5” x 11”
Welded Steel, Found Object & Bone


About the Artist
Vblast was born in 1960 in Oakland, CA. A self taught artist, he began drawing and painting at an early age. The artist started screen-printing at the age of 16 in his garage to make extra money and the experience led him into the field of commercial art. For over 25 years, Vblast honed his skills in the arena of independent graphic illustration. In 2001 the artist decided to leave the world of commercial art and devote himself entirely to his own work. The abstract art of Vblast has been exhibited in a variety of northwest galleries and venues as well as being part of numerous private collections across North America.



“Benediction of the Benevolent Bovine”
11.5” x 7” x 8”
Welded Steel


Artist's Statement
I have been painting for as long as I have been alive, and as long as I have been painting I have always been as fascinated by the process, as much as the end product. I have devoted myself to painting highly textured non-objective abstract works that I find a joy and a challenge to create. Each piece is its own epiphany and a stepping stone in this path I have taken. It is my desire to draw the viewer into the work emotionally as well as physically, to entice them to return to the image again and again.

Please come out and visit the gallery, we're having an encore artist opening on Friday, December 9th from 6-9pm and will have the work up through Friday, December 23. Stop in and support your local artists this holiday season!


Bherd Studios Gallery
@The Greenwood Collective
8537 Greenwood Ave N | Suite 1
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 234-8348
www.bherdstudios.com

Gallery Hours: Wed - Fri from 12 - 6pm and by request.

New work from Phresha En Route for "Gifted" Exhibit

"Upside Down"
11" x 14"
Ink & Marker

Phresha is new to our gallery and has already managed to become a fan favorite. She is sending us some new works for our Encore Opening including the original "Upside Down" featured above, "Lost in Daydreams" (not pictured) and (4) 8" x 10" hardboard sublimation prints.

Phresha says on her FB page "I like to draw sumptuous vixens romping around with mustached kittens and ice cream cones..." A great description of what you see her focusing on in her work. We were drawn to her art instantly and enjoy the way she integrates ink and watercolor into her original pieces. She also makes her art accessible to all budgets by offering an array of various prints on watercolor paper and hardboard sublimations.



"Wise Creatures"
8" x 10"
Hardboard Sublimation Print


About the Artist:
Phresha was born in Romania in 1981 with a crayon in her hand. After a childhood of drawing on all the walls around, she relocated to Canada in her youth, spent some time in Toronto and now recently lives in Vancouver BC. College educated in graphic design and advertising and deeply influenced by graffiti aesthetics, Phresha's style can be described as vibrant, multi-layered, organic flows with sultry female forms, seductive, playful and sometimes scandalous. Phresha has worked with clients such as MTV, Vans Shoes, Curvy, DPi Magazine, Semi-Permanent and Smut. Her art has been featured in numerous galleries in North America, as well as featured in a documentary "Creative Violation - The rebel art of the Street Stencil" in 2007. Currently Phresha is focusing on gallery shows, commission work and sampling all the delicious sushi down the coast.




"Hope"
11" x 14"
Ink & Watercolor



"presumptuously sumptuous"
(Prints available)



"Birthday Girl"
8" x 10"
Hardboard Sublimation Print


Please stop by for the Encore Opening on Friday, December 9 from 6-10pm. The exhibit will be up through Friday, December 23.


Bherd Studios Gallery
@The Greenwood Collective
8537 Greenwood Ave N | Suite 1
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 234-8348
www.bherdstudios.com
Gallery Hours: Wed - Fri from 12pm - 6pm and by request.

Kate Protage Featured Seattle Artist at the Alexis Hotel

One of Kate Protage's most recently finished paintings that will be hanging at the Alexis Hotel.

Stop by the Alexis Hotel this Thursday, December 2nd from 5-6pm and kick-off the 1st Thursday artwalk with our new "Meet the Artist" event. The Alexis is within easy walking distance from a majority of 1st Thursday galleries and venues. Artist, Kate Protage will be in the lobby speaking with guests and artwalk attendees about her work and will have a selection of her paintings on display through the SAM rental gallery and the Bherd Gallery "Meet the Artist" program.

For non-guests, cocktails & other beverages are available at the Bistro & Bookstore Bar and can be brought into the lobby during the event. For hotel guests, this event is held in conjunction with the guest wine reception. This is a great chance to speak with Kate about how she creates her paintings from beginning to end. You'll definitely want to ask her about her evening photo shoots while driving!



Above are pieces from our "Take 5" exhibit that will be showing through December 24th at Bherd Studios Gallery. We will be taking a few of them along to show at the Alexis on Dec 2nd.



Artist Statement
I have a love/hate relationship with the cities in which I’ve lived. Everywhere I look, evidence of planning and structure exists simultaneously with chaos and unpredictability. Depending on the time of day, there are two worlds that exist in the same physical space: streets that appear gritty, dirty and depressing by day turn into an environment infused with a strange kind of lush, dark beauty and romance at night. Taking it all in can be both stressful and exciting, and I feel compelled to capture these moments and remember them.

What interests me most is the junction between sensation and fact—the way different objects come together, a combination of colors, lines and geometric shapes working together in a lyrical fashion to form intensely vivid, sometimes quite abstracted compositions. The origin of individual shapes becomes unimportant as color and texture take over, and different emotions emerge.

My paintings are the beginning of a story—a space that is somewhat recognizable and familiar, but leaves room for the story of the viewer’s choosing. Whether it feels magical and beautiful, or oppressive and ominous, that’s up to the viewer; but the plan is to take people to another place, one that’s part memory and part imagination, and provide them with a momentary escape.

I seek visual harmony, order and polish—in a tumultuous world, these are the things that keep me balanced, and they are the tools for my escape. I choose to pursue beauty.

Chris Crites "The Bag Painter": POW Feature

If you haven't seen Chris Crites' work before, it's time to get acquainted. I had seen his work around Seattle and was very interested in meeting him and finding out more. It seemed like everytime we'd go to one of his openings, we would just miss him - funny timing apparently on our part. We even walked into a gallery down in San Francisco on a visit and ran into his work in a group show called Dark Americana. I felt a little taunted by this accidental viewing (ha, ha, here is that artist you've been wanting to meet).


"Breaking Into Various Dwellings. Theft." by Chris Crites
12" x 10"
Acrylic on Paper Bag
$900
2010

When Kate Protage & Chris Sheridan were putting together the line-up for the "You're So Vain" exhibit and they confirmed that Chris was in the show, my first question was: is he going to be there for the opening? Aha! I would finally meet him. (It was very nice to meet you Chris).

For our POW (Piece of the Week) installment I selected "Breaking Into Various Dwellings. Theft". From the toussled hair, to the folds in his jacket and that look of regret on his face, the detailing of this piece gives it a 3-d appearance. The piece as I mentioned, is part of the "You're So Vain" (you probably think this art is about you) exhibit that runs through Friday, October 1st. Crites has an additional piece in the show among several other excellent Seattle artists (and 1 from SF). Please stop by before the show ends.


Artist Statement

Years ago I saw a book of black and white crime photographs from the past. I found it amazing. The characters and crime scenes looked like surreal glimpses into the history of human interaction. Much more intriguing for me were the mug shots. Portraits of people who had just been caught. Despair, frustration, anger – so many expressions could be read on the faces. Each one of these images has a story. Often times I have no idea what the real story is, but it’s hard not to make one up. One of the reasons I paint them is to bring out another possible story, for people to look at and think about. The majority of the images I base my paintings on are from the 1890’s through 1950’s.

Originally I began using charcoal and white conte´ crayon on paper bag. The way the wrinkles, folds and texture added to the piece really appealed to me. In 1999 I painted my first 4 mug shots in acrylic on paper bag with a limited palette of 5 colors each. Paper bag has been my main substrate ever since. Brightly colored acrylics have a different effect on the brown bag than on a typical white backing.

I try to bring new life to these practically discarded portraits of criminal and human history. Using an everyday, disposable item as the surface gives new life to the bag as well. It is my hope to get people thinking about the past, their present, and how we all affect both.


Bherd Studios Gallery
@ The Greenwood Collective
8537 Greenwood Ave N Suite 1
Seattle, WA 98103
http://www.bherdstudios.com/
Open Wed - Fri from 12-6pm

"You're So Vain" (you probably think this art is about you): Artist Opening Tonight Fri, Sept 10th 6-10pm

Come out and meet the artists tonight from 6-10pm! Featuring the work of: Daniel Carrillo, Jonathan Collis, Chris Crites, Troy Gua, Lucien Knuteson, Wyatt Landis, Mary McIntyre, John Osgood, Brian Thies, Joey Veltkamp, Redd Walitzki and Daniel John Williams.



"Agent x2-35" by Brian Thies
33" x 31"
Oil on Canvas
$1000

About the Exhibit:

Seattle artists Kate Protage and Chris Sheridan team up to curate their 2nd show at Bherd Studios Gallery in September. "You're So Vain" looks at more than 10 different artists' interpretations of portraiture in the modern art world, and how their technical, stylistic and symbolic choices reflect the "truths" of their subjects.

Protage and Sheridan have chosen to display a wide range of styles and genres in "You're So Vain," with work ranging from urban contemporary to pop surrealism to classical, and everything in between. Artists address a variety of different thematic concepts behind modern portraiture-humor, vanity, morality, spirituality and social commentary to name a few-and reveal the fact that portraiture is not bound to a single, tightly defined space in contemporary art. It is everywhere, and can mean many things.

"You're So Vain" runs from September 10th to October 1st at Bherd Studios Gallery in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle.

Bherd Studios Gallery

@ The Greenwood Collective

8537 Greenwood Ave N Suite 1

Seattle, WA 98103

www.bherdstudios.com