Introductions: 2013-14 at Bherd Studios Gallery
Bherd Studios Gallery Urban Contemporary Art Gallery 312 N. 85th St. Suite 101 Seattle WA 98103 (206) 234-8348 www.bherdstudios.com Catalog copyright @ 2013 Bherd Studios All images courtesy and copyright of their respective artists. Introductory text and design by Sarra Scherb. Cover Image by Jenny Dayton.
Grab a drink, and come on over. There are some people we want you to meet. Bherd Studios Gallery presents works by fourteen emerging and established Northwest artists throughout the 2013-2014 season. Ranging from traditional oil painters to spray paint savants, photorealists to tattoo masters, they represent some of the most vibrant and promising contemporary artists in Seattle. This catalog provides snapshot introductions to the artists who will be featured at Bherd Studios Gallery over the next year. It includes ornate oils by Chris Sheridan and Crystal Barbre, neon-drenched cityscapes by Greg Boudreau and Kate Protage, Kellie Talbot’s photorealism, Ryan Molenkamp’s atmospheric abstracts, John Osgood’s endlessly metamorphosing imagery, and more.
But don’t let us keep you. Here, shake hands, make nice. Meet your fourteen new best friends.
Aaron
Aaron Jasinski’s paintings have shown across the US, and internationally. He also illustrates children’s books, album covers, and creates electronic music. Aaron grew up in in a family of musicians and the love of music is a major influence in his visual art. His paintings often feature musical, pop-culture, and nostalgic references peppered with social commentary and whimsical creatures utilizing a Technicolor palette.
Aaron resides near Seattle, Washington with his wife and four children. “My family is one of the best things in my life. I get a lot of happiness, inspiration, and motivation to work from my love for them. I also draw on my childhood, current cultural issues, and things I love like classic video games, science fiction, fantasy, toys, movies and other pop-culture references all blended up into some kind of visual stew.”
Jasinski Aerial and Accordion Acrylic on Canvas 20” x 16”
Hearts Minds and Idle Hands Acrylic on Canvas 24” x 20”
Peppermint Acrylic on Canvas
Kate
“I have a love/hate relationship with the cities in which I’ve lived. 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. These are the moments that remind me to take a breath, look closer, and recognize that there is still beauty in the world despite all of the chaos that surrounds us. Painting these moments is, in a strange way, my minor act of rebellion.“ Kate Protage gravitated towards art throughout her education, and received a BA degree in Studio Art from Smith College, and an MFA degree in Painting with academic distinction from Pratt Institute. But the West Coast was calling, and she moved to Seattle in 2006 and set up shop. She plans to stay a while. Protage shows regularly in Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Princeton and New York.
Protage Above: Heading Over Oil on Wood Panel 6” x 24”
Feels Like Home Oil on Wood Panel 36” x 36”
Next Page: Across Broadway Oil on Wood Panel 36” x 48”
Jenny
“At the far end of Jenny Dayton’s studio, next to a curtained window, a young, dark haired woman with an intense gaze peers out of a painting. She is embraced by a mythic creature, a white and turquoise furred animal with a bear claw paw. The animal arm is draped almost tenderly across the girl’s shoulder and over her heart. The girl in the painting wears Cyrillic tattoos under her eyes. ‘Hearts Beating’, the tattoos say. These words are taken from a John Paul Richter quote, ‘Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account?’ Jenny Dayton is passionate about animal rights... compassion and respect for animals is the gospel she preaches, but she does it quietly. The message is always there, but you have to unfold the layers of the work to see it clearly. Dayton uses images, Cyrillic text and other graphic elements to guide the invested viewer toward an important truth.” -Excerpted from an interview with Siolo Thompson.
Dayton Nihsreyasa Acrylic on Canvas 16” x 20”
Hearts Beating Acrylic on Wood Panel 16” x 20”
Girls Gone Mad Acrylic on Canvas 36” x 40”
Ryan Molenkamp
“My work is rooted in the landscape of the Northwest. I continue to be fascinated by the form and structure of both the natural environment, and the things that we build upon it. These works may seem graphic and abstract at times, but the imagery comes out of the context of thinking about the changing Northwest landscape, where I have lived most of my life. The Bouquet paintings have become something more object based; almost as if the landscape and the man-made structures built across it are melding into one fused creation. I’m interested in the lines and shapes that form in such creations, and what that can say about the kinds of structures we build around our environments. Around ourselves.” Bouquet 21 Acrylic and Gouache on Panel 14” x 14”
“The Place series, in particular, is an exploration of landscape and structure within the context of line, shape, color, and application-painterly process. Or, to put it another way, can I create a sense of place, of the structures that are consuming our landscape with such unfettered and fascinating growth? There is dark beauty in the way we systematically build over such natural beauty.“ View from Mt. Erie 3 Acrylic on Canvas 48” x 36”
Next Page: Berg Acrylic and Gouache on Panel 30” x 40”
Chris
Chris Sheridan is an award-winning figurative oil painter based in Seattle, WA. Born and raised in Cape Cod, MA, Chris has spent several of his adult years changing addresses and showing his work both nationally and internationally, with recent solo gallery exhibitions in Seattle and Washington D.C. Along the way, he earned a BFA from the Ringling College of Art and Design and an MFA in Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He found his way to Seattle in 2006.
Sheridan
Doled out to three, He ruled the sea Oil on Canvas 24� x 12�
Arduinna The Huntress, And Her Boar Oil on Canvas 48” x 24”
The Embodiment of Her Soul Oil on Canvas 48” x 28”
Kellie Talbot’s work revolves around the landscape of American artifacts, craftsmanship and history. Signs and typography, architecture, cemeteries and other emblems of society are the inspiration for her oil paintings. The rust and decay in the work aren’t negatives--they are both an elegy and a hope. Kellie Talbot was born in Hawaii and, as a daughter of a career Marine, lived on both coasts while growing up. Her first jobs--in a print shop and as a sign painter--developed her love of typography and design. Kellie moved to Seattle in 1989 and finished school at Seattle Central Community College. After graduation, she worked as the graphic designer for Cornish College of the Arts. Since 1993, Kellie has worked extensively as an illustrator and designer for the snowboard industry, in addition to being the Art Director for Signal Snowboards since its inception in 2003.
Talbot
Barrels Oil on Canvas 60”x40”
Next Page: Crescent City Steaks Oil on Canvas 40”x60”
John
John Osgood is an urban contemporary artist and muralist who grew up in Edmonds, WA. He graduated with a BA from Washington State University with a minor in Fine Arts, and is a 2008 Artist Trust Edge Graduate. Osgood has created murals all over the Puget Sound area and was an invitee to Upfest, the United Kingdom’s Urban Mural Art festival. Osgood has shown at ArtsWest Gallery, CoCA (Center on Contemporary Art) Gallery, Flatcolor Gallery, Halogen Gallery, Tasty Gallery, Twilight Artist Collective and others. In 2011, he was selected as one of 22 internationally commissioned artists for CNN’s “9/11 | 10 Years Later: Ripple Effect” tribute. Osgood is co-owner and artist in residence at Bherd Studios Gallery, and an organizer of W3AVE, Seattle’s urban arts festival. His style has evolved from character-based works to more abstract paintings, playing with line, color and rhythm. Drawing the viewer’s attention to every section of the piece with carefully balanced compositions, Osgood unleashes dynamic aerosol and acrylic colors, funky patterns and a sense of rushing motion with every new canvas.
Osgood #18 Acrylic & Aerosol on Canvas 30” x 104”
Headdress Acrylic & Aerosol on Canvas 20” x 16”
Getting Up Going Over Acrylic & Aerosol on Canvas 16” x 12”
Thank You For Letting Me Sage Acrylic & Aerosol on Canvas 60” x 48”
Troy
Troy Gua was born and raised in Seatac, Washington. He consistently produces accessible and engaging conceptual work in a wide range of media, marrying the commercial and contemporary, conveying a glossy design aesthetic with a keen sense of humor. Gua’s subject matter deals with the investigation and layering of identities, cultural critique and commentary and the universal human need for recognition. ‘‘Pop Hybrids” are about, among other things, reduction: the reduction of personality into logo, the reduction of individuality into the collective, the reduction of photography into design. They are a subtraction of images: the recycling, re-using and reducing of two or more images into one iconic collection of shapes. This mesmeric series of work deals with popular iconography, ironic duality and satirical juxtapositions. By portraying famous and infamous cultural icons inter-layered with one another, these highly lustrous, visually arresting pieces challenge the viewer to decipher the image while making the sardonic, metaphorical and sometimes philosophical connections within. The imagery is created digitally, printed on metallic photo paper, and mounted on panel. Gua finishes the pieces by hand by applying the final touch: a smooth-as-glass resin coating.”
Gua
Men With No Names Resin-coated Metallic C-print on Panel Different sizes available
The Amazing Graces Resin-coated Metallic C-print on Panel Different sizes available
The Leonards Resin-coated Metallic C-print on Panel Different sizes available
EGO Ego is a Seattle-based artist with a flair for slightly dark, whimsical creepiness, influenced by the macabre sides of tattoo culture, street art, and underground fine art. His work has been featured in galleries around the world, and published in many various media. In 2012, his painting style was called “tight as a Dutch master� by the art critic for The Stranger.
Fortitude Acrylic on Panel
Little Big Man Acrylic on Panel
Nihil Novi Acrylic on Panel
Greg Greg creates artwork with multi-layered spray stencils on frames constructed of salvaged wood. The images are based on photographs, collected in a variety of means, digitally adjusted and separated into layers. The layers are then printed as architecture blueprint plots and cut by hand with an X-acto blade. The process mixes together photography, graphic design, industrial manufacturing, and traditional ‘hands-oriented’ artistic approaches. His projects aspire to work against his own constraints of time and resources, emphasizing quantity, size, and increasing detail and difficulty, culminating in exhibits and installations of startling visual impact and ambition. He was born in Redmond, WA and grew up in North County San Diego in a town called Fallbrook. He moved back to Seattle seven years ago for college, graduated three years ago with a degree in Business Administration, Marketing and began working on an art career.
Boudreau Hanford Stenciled Aerosol on Salvaged Wood 72” x 48”
Above: South Bridge Stenciled Aerosol on Salvaged Wood 32” x 83”
Below: Ballard Warehouse Stenciled Aerosol on Salvaged Wood 32� x 78�
Crystal “Crystal Barbre touches upon a beautiful deviance through the scope of her painted work. Fearless and without censor, she plays with themes that would make most uncomfortable. She embraces the pornographic and revels in our animalistic urges, perfectly rendering our true nature in spite of what the media has trained our minds to believe and balancing our dark side with a dark humor. There is no shock to Crystal’s artwork, only a confidence and a playful honesty that comes with a true artist’s brush stroke.” Bill Shaffer – owner of Hyeana Gallery
Untitled Oil on Panel 12” x 36”
Barbre
Vulpes Zerda Oil on Panel 24” x 12”
Rabbit Hole Mural Oil on Wall
Joe Squeaky Wheels and Leaky Roofs Acrylic on Canvas 20” x 30”
Vollan
Seattle artist Joe Vollan has a distinct and eerie style. His works describe tales of heartache and adventure. The bulk of his paintings take place in the city of Rusted Gallows, a post apocalyptic, rundown factory town populated by secret skeleton societies and strange, but friendly, creatures. The characters in his works demonstrate that there can be contentment and hope in an otherwise delapidated world. Vollan has shown up and down the West Coast of the US in various galleries, and as far away as Tokyo, Japan.
When Nightmares Become Dreams Acrylic on Canvas 12” x 36”
Graveyard Shift Daydream Acrylic on Canvas 12” x 24”
Megon Megon Shore most recently participated in the Bherd exhibit “Telephone”. A painter and tattoo artist at the Greenwood-based Fist Full of Metal Tattoo, she studied printmaking and painting at Emily Carr University in Vancouver, BC, and apprenticed at Under the Needle Tattoo Studio in Seattle.
Shore
Iguana Farmer Acrylic on Paper 8” x 10”
Next Page: Cell Phone Killed the Telephone Pole Acrylic on Paper 14” x 10”
Crowded Acrylic and Enamel on Wood 24” x 24”
SOLACE
Born at the dawn of the 80’s, Solace was molded by a golden era of pop culture. Raised on Star Wars, Mad Magazine, and Batman, Solace displayed a love for drawing and art at an early age. He began, as most do, by mimicking the heroes of the day. It wasn’t long before pages upon pages were filled with doodles of Spy vs. Spy, Alf, Garfield, and the always-popular skateboarding T-Rex. Garnering the praise of impressed classmates and his family was all the show-off needed: “I want to be an artist when I grow up.” Well, Solace hasn’t quite grown up, but he is an artist. Rooted in the Northwest, he draws much inspiration from his surroundings: lush landscapes that are broken up by cities and towns. It’s a place where the “hustle & bustle”, and taking it easy go hand in hand. From this emerges a pop sensibility that fuses organic textures and vivid graphics. Using street tools and techniques, Solace paints backgrounds that transport you into a different time and place. Utilizing nature as stencils, with an often electric palette, he gives the illusion that you’ve been immersed in a Technicolor forest. Intent on engrossing us in his own world, Solace has an always growing stable of characters known as “The Wanders.” Although these characters reside in an alternate realm, it is a realm akin to ours. Like every civilization, its obsession with experience and worldly trinkets drives “The Wanders” to explore the unknown and bring with them their criticisms on mankind. These vacant-eyed beasts allow Solace to explore the many facets of his visual narrative. Relying heavily on irony and comedy, he hopes to induce a sense of nostalgia. Next Page: Capture and Release Acrylic on Canvas 16” x 20”
2013-14 Exhibition Line-Up: Introductions (All 14 Artists) October 11 – November 01, 2013 Joe Vollan & Megon Shore November 08 - December 20, 2013 Kate Protage & Crystal Barbre January 10 - February 28, 2014 Kellie Talbot & Troy Gua March 14 - April 28, 2014
Marine Ironworks (detail) - Greg Boudreau Stenciled Aerosol on Salvaged Wood 32” x 68”
Solace & John Osgood May 09 - June 27, 2014 Chris Sheridan & Aaron Jasinski July 11 - August 29, 2014 Ego & Jenny Dayton September 12 - October 31, 2014 Ryan Molenkamp & Greg Boudreau November 14 - December 19, 2014
Exhibition information subject to change. Contact the gallery or check our website for updates throughout the year.
Bherd Studios Gallery is an urban and contemporary art gallery featuring emerging and mid-career artists from the Pacific NW. Our mission is to provide these artists with a voice to “bherd” & be seen. We firmly believe that there is a new contemporary art movement taking place in Seattle and we are committed to bringing this movement to the forefront. Gallery Hours Wednesday–Friday from 12-6pm and by appointment Every 2nd Friday from 6-10pm for PhinneyWood Art Walk
Bherd Studios Gallery Urban Contemporary Art Gallery 312 N. 85th St. Suite 101 Seattle WA 98103 (206) 234-8348 gallery@bherdstudios.com www.bherdstudios.com Back Cover: Only Seafood II - Kellie Talbot Oil on Canvas 36”x18”