The whole thing came about somewhat unexpectedly when my friend (Athica Gallery board member and fellow Athens artist/designer) Michael Lachowski suggested I enter the ‘Mystery Selections Triennial Exhibit’ they were having at the end of the summer. The event was conceived as a clever way to raise funds for the non-profit gallery while at the same time bringing some attention to a very diverse set of local artists. All artists were encouraged to donate 2 or more small works (5.5″ x 8,5″) to be auctioned off at a predetermined price of $60, with all proceeds benefiting the gallery. At last count they had raised over $8000, with a lot of the pieces still available (including mine, haha!). The pieces I submitted were both adaptations of my commercial design / illustration work. Part of my aesthetic involves “sampling” and “remixing” my own work as a way to coax some more (or different) meaning through re-contextualization.
To my surprise, I got an email from the Athica Gallery a few weeks later, informing me I had been chosen to show some more work in the follow up show. Even though I jumped at the chance, the whole thing posed a bit of a problem for me. First, because of the various freelance projects I was already juggling and secondly, because I really had no “gallery ready” art to speak of. I took a few days to mull it over and came up with a plan. I wanted to show work that was in the same vein as the first two pieces, both of which were digitally created and riffing on pop (hip hop) culture, incorporating typography. Over the next week -after some ridiculously long hours- I managed to pull together some pieces I was happy with. They are all either brand new or newly updated from my vaults. I want to refrain from explaining the work too much, since I like to hear people’s interpretations of “what it all means”. I also want to emphasize that in my day job as a graphic designer, my aim is mostly to communicate a message or sell a product by developing a certain visual language. This show was a chance for me to do something where the message could be perceived as divorced from the medium, that is, without having to worry too much about clarity of purpose.
'Juicy' (8,5" x 24")
'Synaesthetic Time Machine' (8,5" x 24")
'Do You Have A Life?' (Custom print on T-shirt)
'They Shook' (30" x 30")
These pieces, alongside work by the other Selections Choice artists Jorie Berman, Will Eskridge, Cindy Jerrell, Missy Kulik and Rebecca Brantley are on display at Athica Gallery until November 6, 2011.
*For the people who inquired about buying art from the show: some have already been sold or reserved, but send me an email to check for availability. I will also be launching a web store on this site next month, with archival prints (and the one teeshirt design) available of pieces in this show, as well as some brand new stuff!*
