Art Attack – Spaced Out
John Rankine
4/4/2013
Thanks to all who came out Good Friday for the opening reception of Graven Images at The Space. It was quite the party.
Special shoutouts to Ms. Lilah Stiger, whose slightly naughty Playboy bunny performance had tails wagging – to Marvin Jonason for his lighting expertise – to Alan Margolis who poured a lot of wine and pointed peeps towards the Peep Show – to Mark Hughes for loaning out his stash of extension cords and his special 1979, “if anything happens to it, it can never be replaced,” hot glue gun – to Marty Cogan for her bunny cake and cookies that were little works of art – to June Hegedus and Diane Bewinger for their sweets and sweetness – to Local Flave faves Britt and Connie Evans for their classic spinach/artichoke dip – to good friend, Zeek Taylor, for making my hair cotton-candy pink – and to my partner, Billy, whose steady calm kept me grounded even when the floor to ceiling stacked snowmen (the snowtem pole) came crashing down the day before opening night.
The Space, located at Spring and Pine above Sweet Spring Antiques is a perfect venue for art exhibits. The large, former Odd Fellows Hall with its high original tin ceiling, beautiful wooden floors, spacious walls and track lighting is one of the very few venues in town that can showcase one-person exhibits or large scale group shows. So in between wedding receptions (that pay the rent) and yoga classes, I’ve used The Space to showcase my own work as well as lending it out to other artists.
Starting Friday April 5, local artist Drew Gentle takes over The Space with a special one-man exhibit of new work – A Singular Humanity. The former Hanna Barbera animator has locked himself in his studio this past year and fans (I am one) are eagerly anticipating the results.
I got to know Drew during Cné Breaux’s 13-week Artist In Situ workshop that culminated with an extremely ambitious group exhibit at three locations, including The Space – nothing like an elaborate group show involving five other artists for a intimate bonding experience.
Drew is a good painter and has his roots firmly planted in the early American Abstract Impressionist movement of the ‘40s and ‘50s. It’s abstraction that expresses his inner nature, and one can see the influence of painters like Kandinsky and especially Willem de Kooning in all of his work.
Opening night reception is this Friday April 5, from 6:30 – 10:30. The exhibit can also be viewed the following Saturday and Sunday between 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Chaffyn (rhymes with laughin’) Lovejoy also brings his digital craziness to The Space this week for one night only. Tuesday April 9, starting at 7 p.m., Chaffyn will have his digital art prints for sale. This will no doubt be a very fun show.
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