The grout of life

Tim Kapustka’s latest show celebrates the everyday (with a little canned ham thrown in)

by Stephen Sellers

“Take her to Belt Salvage! Trust me, she’ll love it!”

– Tim Kapustka, dating advice

For this week’s “Between the Beats,” I sat down with local artist and dear friend Tim Kapustka. He is the bearded and mustachioed yeoman of Studio & who, over the last decade and with fellow gallery counterparts past and present, has wrested a vibrantly inclusive arts collective unlike anything in Durango. It goes without saying, but his idea of a hot date is meandering through the sweaty muse that is a rusty salvage yard.

Perhaps you’ve run into Kapustka deep in the bowels of the aforementioned salvage yard or while sifting through a Saturday morning garage sale. Kapustka has a predilection for seeking out the forgotten everyday objects of our postcapitalist hellscape and using them as vector-based story starters for dialogue, conversation and general merriment. Kapustka’s latest solo show, “In Between Everything” transcends traditional art shows and launches this Fri., May 12, at Studio & with an opening reception from 5-9 p.m.

SS: What can we expect from your first solo show in three years?

TK: What I’m hoping to push off the dock with this show is, “the wonderful grout of life.” My thoughts are that we have the tendency to define our lives on the big days – the good and the bad. The wedding day, the day someone you love passes away. These are good and bad, big tent poles. My point is that most of the days are just days. Friday and Monday, they get all of the press. Tuesday is magnificent. Most of our life and most of our existence is in between.

SS: How do you prepare for a solo art show?

TK: I want to have a concept. In the fall, I knew I was going to have a show in May. One part of me is very analytical. I can work backwards from the gallery space. I can show you my notebook where I’ve got it mapped out –how big of pieces can go where. And, that helped me decide, “OK, 18 pieces.” Then, I start making a list, “Old this, old that.” Lots of old stuff. Or, go down to my studio and realize that what I’m doing with my life has so much bleed in with what I’m doing as an artist. So, all this s*** I’m acquiring from garage sales or Belt Salvage just because it’s stuff that I like has really come to life and is justified being in this show. I have almost everything that I can touch and have in my hand that I’ve made pieces on. One of the things I did for this show was I set up a photo studio to take reference photos where I can control the light and shadows. I take a bunch of pictures, control what I want to control, and then I just build it digitally from there.

SS: The power of suggestion is largely at play in your work. You seem keenly interested in what your art evokes in the audience. How has that come about?

High Quality. Great Prices.

TK: We have that in us, that sense of story, of memory. They are very close to synonymous, memory and story. My Mom was an elementary school teacher, and so I’d always go to school early and we’d go into the office and we’d make dittos on the ditto machine. And, she’d always give me these story starters to keep me busy. I always go back to those story starters, and I try to do that with my work. They’re story starters. We could sit here all night flipping through my prints and take turns telling stories.

SS: Are there things that you’re pushing back on with your art?

TK: When I am making my work, that’s mine. I can make these statements about pushing against capitalism or whatever. Those things are part of who I am, and when I’m making these pieces, they’re mine. When I sign off and put them on the wall, they’re not mine anymore. That’s why I’m so excited to tee this show up as, “What do you think this piece means?” I very rarely will share what a piece means to others. I’m not the one who definitively gets to say what this means anymore.

SS: Your art and design is very iconic in Durango. What’s it like to see people wear your shirts, look at your “Fun” mural at Zia or see the “Weminuche” bumper sticker on pickup truck? I’ve even seen your “Soup” hat in airports and outside of Durango, even.

TK: In these divided times, let us come together around soup! It’s different. It’s humbling that people are like, “Yeah, I love soup, too!” To be fair, I’m championing things that are kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. You’re certainly not gonna see many people like, “F*** the Weminuche! And, I certainly don’t like fun!”

SS: Why do you think people gravitate to your work?

TK: I was born in 1975, I grew up in the ’80s. This is the bloom of American society decades after the war. The blender, that typewriter. People say, “Write about what you know.” These things are what I know. When people dig on my stuff, I can tell you how old they are within three years.

SS: How did you find yourself becoming enamored with vector-based art?

TK: Really it wasn’t until I moved here. I’ve been a graphic designer for a couple of decades now. I’m rocking (Adobe) CS5 on a computer I bought in 2009. When I do upgrade, I’m sure things will get easier, but I just don’t care. I’m not trying to chase the dragon of new technology.

SS: What special things are in store for your opening.

TK: We will be having a canned ham giveaway and instigating people to share stories. There’s going to be

Find out more about Kapustka, his salvage yard and his art on Instagram @wdebalt. ■ is Monday at noon. To submit an item,

Thursday11

Tico Time Bluegrass Festival, 5 p.m., May 1114, ticotimebluegrassfest.com

Alex Maryol Band plays, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard Ave.

Bingo Night, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Thursday Night Sitting Group, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

BluPhunk Collective plays, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Jeff Solon Jazz Duo play, every Thursday, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Tara Rose plays, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio.

Merely Players present “Bright Star,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center.

“Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience,” 7:30 p.m., FLC’s Community Concert Hall.

Friday12

Tico Time Bluegrass Festival, 5 p.m., May 1114, ticotimebluegrassfest.com

BID Coffee & Conversation, 8:30 a.m., TBK Community Room, 259 W. 9th St.

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave.

Open Meditation, 12 noon-1 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Free Legal Clinic, 4-5 p.m., Ignacio Library, 470 Goddard Ave.

“In Between Everything: A Solo Exhibition by Tim Kapustka,” opening reception, 5-9 p.m., Stuido & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Bryce Pettit & Elsa Sroka opening reception, 5-7 p.m., Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave.

Thee Fearless Peasants play, 5-8 p.m., Durango Craft Spirits, 1120 Main Ave.

Ghost Tapes play, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

The Concerns play, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Ru Paul’s Drag Race Watch Party, 6 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Merely Players present “Bright Star,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center.

Movie Night, featuring a snow sports film created by local youth, 7 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Windswept plays, woodwind trio, 7 p.m., St. Marks Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave.

The Light Box at Stillwater Music Grand Opening, 8 p.m., Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave.

Drag Show, 8:30 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Saturday13

Tico Time Bluegrass Festival, 5 p.m., May 1114, ticotimebluegrassfest.com

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m., TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St. Music by The Jackson Martin Project.

Vallecito Lake Heavy Half Marathon, 9 a.m., Vallecito Reservoir.

“Windows on the Past: Learning from Historic Cemeteries,” 10:30 a.m., Durango Public Library. Hosted by Southwest Genealogy Society.

Free Sewing Repair Work, 12 noon-4 p.m., Channel 37, 1129 Narrow Gauge Ave. (behind 11th St. Station). Also bikes for sale and handmade goods.

History of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, 1 p.m., Zoom only: animasmuseum.org/events.html

Rob Webster plays, 5 p.m., Gazpacho, 431 E. 2nd Ave.

High Altitude Blues play, 6-9 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Merely Players present “Bright Star,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center.

Ghost Tapes and Jeff Sontag play, 8 p.m., iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave.

Silent Disco, 9-11:30 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Sunday14

Tico Time Bluegrass Festival, 5 p.m., May 1114, ticotimebluegrassfest.com

Durango Flea Market, 8 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Donny Johnson plays, 11 a.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Feed the People! free mutual aid meal & winter gear drive for homeless community members, every Sunday, 2 p.m., Buckley Park.

Merely Players present “Bright Star,” 2 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center.

Open Mic, 2 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Open Mic, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Monday15

CPW Wildlife Museum opening day, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 151 E. 16th St.

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Comedy Showcase, 7:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.