Leigh, by Paho, by Sarah
Leigh, by Paho, by Sarah. Acrylic on found fabric, 6.5 x 7 inches, 2009.05.14
Click the image to visit it on Flickr.
Being a gallery artist means scheduling shows months or even years ahead of time, which means I am more or less under deadline all the time (even if that deadline is a long way off). That's good for me, I work well with a fixed timeline. But sometimes I get bogged down in the middle of a series and need to change gears.
That's where Leigh came from. In a fit of frustration the other day, I pulled out some small canvases and went to work getting wet paint all over them. This painting is from a photo of Leigh Merrill taken by Paho Mann (two friends of mine from college).
Eric Humphries Oklahoma City Triptych at aka gallery
9:02 (central panel from Three Minutes in American History) by Eric Humphries. Learn more at Paintedatrocities.com.
From the press release:
Oklahoma City based artist Eric Humphries is known for his cartoonish renditions of true life historical atrocities and in honor of the 14th anniversary of the OKC Bombing, Humphries will be unveiling a series of three paintings memorializing this tragic event entitled Three Minutes in American History.
“This is the first time I have tackled a subject so close to home,” says Humphries. “I am definitely much more anxious about this series than usual. Everyone in Oklahoma felt the bombing in one way or another.”
To prepare for the project, Humphries visited the Bombing Memorial several times and took some 200 photos of the site. He also spent weeks researching each element of the bombing, as well as the roles of the real life people involved. “ I tried to incorporate all the major parts into the composition. They are all so important to the over all experience of visiting the Memorial and I wanted the series to reflect that. It’s been an emotional experience,” admits Humphries. “But I am very glad to do my part in memorializing the victims of this horrible act.”
Each large, forty by forty eight inch, canvas is framed with its own Gate of Time, a concept central to the actual Bombing Memorial, and in turn tells it’s own story. The 9:01 canvas represents the time before the bombing and depicts the burning of the Branch Davidian Compound at Waco, Texas where McVeigh first became incensed about the federal government. The 9:02 canvas shows the actual explosion of the Ryder truck used by McVeigh in the attack. And the 9:03 canvas depicts the Field of Empty Chairs and Survivor Tree complete with ghostly spirits ascending to god‘s outstretched hands.
“Three Minutes in American History“ can be see at the aka gallery in the historic Paseo Arts District in OKC from April 3rd through May 1st. Humphries, himself, will be in attendance April 3rd for the opening. For more info please call 850-0175.
London Shop Fronts
Hao Wah, Peckham High Street, SE15, from the London Shop Fronts blog. Click image to visit the site.
As the London Shop Fronts blog reveals, every place in the world has a unique character that may be difficult to define, but is instantly recognizable. It's one of the things I love about Oklahoma City.
I'm drawn to the flat, almost clinical documentary style of these photographs. Although these are architectural spaces, the frontal perspective flattens the real-life objects into an abstracted array of color and texture. And the homebrew typography is always wonderful.
Related Paho Mann, photographer. See particularly the Reinhabited Circle-K series. Bernd and Hilla Becher, architectural photographers. See the Framework Houses series at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for examples.
Core Evidence at Mainsite 02.13.2009
Faye (Runs Hot and Cold), acrylic on canvas, 2008.
Click image to see full-size, click here and here for detail views.
I will have three paintings in Mainsite Gallery's annual group invitiational show, Core Evidence, which opens this Friday, February 13th, 2009. Mainsite is located at 122 E Main St. in Norman, Oklahoma. The reception, part of a Norman Artwalk, will be from 7-9 pm. The event is free and open to the public.
Core Evidence will display art from the featured artists' current bodies of work. Each artists is represented by works that comprise a "core sample" of their ongoing techniques and concepts. Featured artists include Todd Stewart, Paul Mays, XVALA, and myself. The group show runs concurrent to a solo show of paintings by Steve Breerwood.
This show at Mainsite is part of the Norman Arts Council's 2nd Friday Circuit of Art, a scheme developed by the Fred Jones Junior Museum of Art, the Norman Arts Council, the Norman Gallery Association and the CART (Cleveland County Area Rapid Transit) Trolley. Patrons are encouraged to park their cars in the Downtown area, at the Firehouse, the Campus Corner area or surrounding areas and travel by foot or by CART Trolley to participating events destinations. Signs and information will be available at all participating locations and in the parking lot at University and Main at the Norman Arts Council Event Tent. For more information please contact the Norman Arts Council or visit the Norman Gallery Association website.
Pluparfait at Goodwin Law, OKC, 1.22.2009
I am having a solo show of paintings at the Goodwin Law Firm, 617 N. Broadway Ave in OKC's historic Automobile Alley. The show, titled Pluparfait, features my signature portraits of unusual characters, expressed with vibrant colors and detailed brush and pen strokes. Pluparfait will be on display at Goodwin Law through June 2009. Hours are by appointment; please call 232-2400.
A reception for Pluparfait will be held Thursday, January 22 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. Refreshments will be served.
Visitors to my solo show can also go next door to 611 Creative and see works by local artists Ruth Ann Borum, David Bruehl, and Fernando Casillas.
I am also in a group show opening the same night just down the street. Seeing Other People, a show of contemporary portraiture by Oklahoma artists, is now on display in the OKC Underground Invited Artists Gallery. Read more about that here.
Pluparfait is a mostly made-up word that comes from two grammatical terms. Pluperfect is the past perfect tense. Its opposite is the future perfect tense. My made-up word alludes to my pertpetual attempt to make the "perfect" paintings I see in my head. The day after tomorrow is perpetually frozen in possibility, unattainable in the present. In working toward an ideal, I may achieve more than I thought possible.