Category Archives: Art

Both Sides of the Brain

Posted on by under Art, Life, news

Mr. Aaron Coleman, mezzotinter extraordinaire, has been coordinating this traveling exhibition for quite some time. And now the first shows are coming soon.

Cover for the folio cases: GLORY! Photo by Aaron Coleman.

And here’s a listing of the locations for this traveling show – click the highlights for more info about the specific exhibitions:

2012

August 13 – September 18, 2012 ~ Basile Gallery, Herron School of Art. Indianapolis, Indiana

October 3 – October 28, 2012 – Washington Printmakers Gallery. Silver Spring, Maryland

TBA – Gallery 215. Northern Illinois University School of Art. Dekalb, Illinois (link when available)

2013

May 20 – August 29, 2013 – George Caleb Bingham Gallery. University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri (link when available)

TBA – Lamar D. Fain School of Art. Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas (link when available)

The edition is in the permanent collections of Herron School of Art and Northern Illinois University School of Art. BOO-YEAH!

Inspiration – Ian Shelly

Posted on by under Art, Life, Teaching

Ian Shelly is a former student – and current friend – of mine. He teaches at Indiana University Southeast with his wife, the inimitable Natalie Shelly. They are awesome people and I’m so glad to know them.

Yesterday I drove out to St. Charles, MO to see Ian’s show at the Foundry Art Center there. It was great to see the continuity between his newer work and the thesis work he made here at Mizzou. Below are a few shots of the works installed at the Foundry. For best viewing check it out yourself! The Foundry is a very large space with tons of art and it’s situated in a beautiful waterfront area with lots of shops and parks. I think the space offered some really nice context for Ian’s work.

Title

A glorious homestead… I loved the overhead views that dominated this exhibition. Ian works to make the wall a ground plane and affords his viewers a God’s-eye perspective. This piece has a synergy with some of the not-so-intended intensities in Thomas Kinkade works…

Grazing

Orchestration of shadowspacestructure!

Pallet! The many miniature elements in this body of work are quite beautiful to investigate and serve to focus viewers on the deeper subtexts of Ian’s work. You can read a bit more on what he’s trying to do here and here.

Egress Solution!

Rooted – this piece was especially dynamic and evocative. The lighting and overall space around the piece was also powerful – a typical aspect of Ian’s work.

Archetypal… the shapes, forms, and the interactions of mass with shadow and light, as well as the dynamics between tension, balance, and stillness are all elements of Ian’s works that helps them access a sense of the archetypal. Go see the show to learn about titles for these works and to read Ian’s longer statement about the work. Seriously, you need to experience the light and space around each work to get a true feeling for what he’s accomplishing through his playful yet intensely felt art. Good stuff. Glad I got to see it.
The show is up until September 7th, so check the Foundry’s website to get directions and hours of operation. Go there!

PS: This isn’t the first time Ian’s inspired me… Click here.

Current Shows and News

Posted on by under Art, Life, news

It’s been a full summer so far… plenty to be excited about in spite of the 107 degree heat!

I’ve currently got work up at PS Gallery in Columbia, MO. It’s a solo show – titled Adding – in their secondary gallery space, the Hallery. It’ll be up through July 28th. The Reception for the exhibition takes place July 14th at 6:00pm and we’ll be around for that. Also, stop by on Artrageous Friday, July 20th. Artageous Fridays are always epic cultural events in Columbia. Below are a few images from the installation.

Already making sales!

I have a piece of work at First Street Gallery in NYC until July 14th. First Street is a quality stop if you’re out there!

I am in a show (exhibiting a collaboration with Marcus Miers) at the 930 Art Center that runs through August 12th, called Phoneography. Check it out if you’re in Louisville!

I’ve got a work – already sold! – up at the Columbia Art League Annual Member’s Summer Open Exhibition. It garnered a 2nd place ribbon even…

I was the juror for Figure It Out! at the Craft Studio Gallery on the campus of the University of Missouri which was up from June 14 through June 28. I was delighted to select some amazing work and have a piece of my own there as well. See some shots below.

A detail of Catherine Armbrust’s amazing “The Titillator”

Ryan Johnson’s Crisis (on the pedestal) and Morgan Hobbs’ Self Portrait – which won an Honorable Mention.

Detail of John Schneider’s Do These Stripes Make Me Look Fat? – Oil on panel.

Detail of Jane Jun’s Journey.

My own monotype print titled Extend on the back wall, and a front view of Armbrust’s The Titillator.

Detail of David Mazure‘s Habakkuk, a luminous ink and marker on translucent paper that won Best in Show.

Wow… quite a bit going on since the spring semester ended. I’m trying to get my studio really set up and am enjoying time with my wife and daughter. I’m teaching a summer session of painting at Mizzou, which is quite a lot of fun, and working on a few odds and ends here and there in our new place. I made some hanging polyhedral sculptures for the front porch, a first for me. But perhaps the most effervescent developments of the last few days are my first brews – both IPAs – a Chinook and a Double. I’m using Northern Brewer equipment.

Beer Room…

ACTIVE FERMENTATION!

 

 

 

Surrounded by the Hours

Posted on by under Art, Life

I’m moving into a new studio. One of the best things about this new space is that I can see so much of my work at once. Today, as I unloaded my work and began the process of organizing things, I was struck by all of the hours that surrounded me. Hours painting, thinking, trying, failing, moving down one path, trying another, etc, etc… So many works have left me, but I’ve got this amazing representative sample around me right now. I’m thankful to have spent that time. It’s been worth it.

Inspiration – Laurie Anderson

Posted on by under Art, Life, Teaching

Above: Anderson singing with a luminous microphone inside her mouth…

“I don’t necessarily think that political art is any better or more worthwhile or more relevant than making a giant blue painting. We need giant blue paintings and they can sometimes be more about freedom than works of art that tell you how to be free. Giant blue paintings can show you.” – Laurie Anderson, at the SVA commencement ceremony, 2012.

Watch her whole speech here. Be sure to watch through to her “pillow recorder” performance at the end – fantastic!

And here’s a (mostly) “giant blue painting” – Ocean Park #129.

 

On the Easel, on the Web

Posted on by under Art, Life, Updates

Now that the semester has ended I’m making some finishing touches on a current painting that’s been on the easel for a while. It’s a part of a growing body of work centering on interrelationships of angle and shape. Click here to see that group of works – you can see the piece I’m finalizing below. It’s oil on panel, 24 inches in diameter… it’ll be in the final stages for a couple more weeks. I’ve got four other artworks in progress and am feeling more refreshed in the studio these days… feeling like I can instinctively pivot and shift. I’m hoping for a fruitful, evocative summer.

One of the paintings from this group, a work titled Resonators, will appear at First Street Gallery in NYC this June and July. Click here to see that painting. I’m pretty happy about it, particularly since the juror who chose the piece was Dore Ashton; it was an honor to have my work selected by her.

I’ve also been framing and staging things for my upcoming show at PS Gallery here in Columbia, MO. It’s been fun to coordinate that 20 piece show – I hope you’ll be able to come see it – click here for more info about it.

Finally (after about 2 years), I’ve updated my main website. I futzed with the colors and layout, and added some more work… Check it out here.

Exiting Painting MFAs

Posted on by under Art, Life, Teaching

Jacob Johnson, Jackie Lin, and David Spear all graduated from the University of Missouri Art Department this semester. I was on each of their graduate committees and was with them from the first days of their graduate experience. I could write a lot about their work, their thesis writing, and the things they’ve been trying to do. Instead I want to share just one piece of work (or so) from each of them.

Above: Jacob Johnson, Untitled (Neil’s Back, Green), Oil on Canvas mounted on Panel, 72 by 48 inches, 2009.

Below: Jacob Johnson, The Professor (Portrait of Matt Ballou), Oil on Panel, 8 by 6 inches, 2012. This was a tribute piece Jake made for me…

Above: Jackie Lin, Stir Fry, Oil on Canvas, 66 by 52.5 inches, 2010.

Below: Jackie took my family out for Peking Duck at House of Chow here in Columbia, MO as a gift to me… it was amazing!

Above: Harrison Bergeron (managed, directed and produced by David Spear), Who Are We, Where Do We Come From, Where Are We Going?, Oil on three Panels, 114 by 31.5 inches, 2012.

Below: Me and Harrison hamming it up at the Multimedia Extravaganza that was the thesis show…

The paintings above are three of my favorites from the production of these artists. I’m proud to have seen them develop and strive and fail and scream and leap for joy over these years. Here’s to many more years of learning to fail well.