art shows & news

Count on the Punch Gallery to do something different for fundraising. Instead of taking the traditional route of silent auctions and car washes and the like, the good folks behind the Punch Gallery are doing a “Winner Takes All” fundraiser. What that means: one lucky winner will win the entire October collection of works on display at the gallery. The show starts on First Thursday, aka tonight.

The contest is limited to 1,000 entries, so it’s not impossible to win, and there are three methods of entry. Two cost money. One doesn’t.

You can donate $10 to the gallery online via PayPal to receive an entry. You can stop by the gallery, check out the works, and donate $10 to receive an entry. You can receive one FREE entry by doing an original drawing and mailing it to the good folks of Punch Gallery (see complete details on their website at http://www.punchgallery.org/sweepstakes/#).

One winner will receive thirteen original works, and the prize will be awarded in a random drawing. An approximate value of $7,157.00! Holy shit!

Here are some of the things YOU might be able to win:

Howard Barlow’s From Good Stock features a cute little ol’ bunny rabbit on a rifle stock. How bout that for a great addition to your living room wall?

Continuing on with the Western theme, Justin Colt Beckman’s Untitled (John Wayne) features a digital collage of the artist’s face on a found photo.

Unicörn Fledermäus is a watercolor, pencil, and magic rendition of a fictional animal created by Justin Gibbens.

And sure, all the works are certainly thematically divergent, but they all match very well… making a potentialy great suite of additions to your home, your office, your whatever. Visit their website to find out more!

http://www.punchgallery.org/sweepstakes/#
www.beckman.ws
www.justingibbens.com

Sometimes I’ll come across artwork online that makes me gasp aloud because it’s simply so well-executed — but most of all, shockingly unexpected.

The above sculptures by Pacific Northwest native Scott Fife, now on display at the Platform Gallery, elicited just such a reaction from me. Given the show’s name, American Beauty, Fife’s work is just about the last thing I would have expected.

Part of the appeal of the sculptures is that they are reminiscent to me of drawings set on a bed of watercolor, only come to three-dimensional life. It makes sense, when one takes into account Fife’s painting abilities as well (evident in the T. Rx (study) in the image above, to the left of the sculpture). Take their size into account as well — with T. Rex at 64″H x 41″W x 64″D and Elvis at 42″H x 24″W x 30″D — and the pieces become even more astounding.

Drywall screws, archival cardboard, and glue, when used by Fife, make sculpture with these uncommon items seem easy.

On display now through October 10th, 2009.

www.platformgallery.com

Sure, you have until December 18th to actually catch this show, but be a trendsetter and be one of the first to check out the Suyama Peterson Deguchi Gallery’s exciting new show, Grotesque Arabesque.
 

Local sculpture artist Dan Corson, who is known for public installation works such as the Wave Rave Cave beneath the Highway 99 Viaduct and the green and black striped spires at the Sound Transit Maintenance Facility is the man behind this show.
 

Poetic in name and elaborate in reality, the installation features mirrors and electroluminescent strips on bent steel that, when coupled together, transform the gallery spahttp://www.redefinemag.com/arts/wp-admin/post-new.phpce into a maze-like indoor cavern. Go now, and be the first to tell your friends about this otherworldly show!
 

www.suyamapetersondeguchi.com
www.corsonart.com

There’s only 10 days left to this epic show at White Walls Gallery in San Francisco, but if you haven’t scoped out Philly-based artist AJ Fosik’s new works yet, get over to White Walls right away!!! Fosik offers a brand new rendition of classic wall-mounted animal heads using thin sheets of cut wood, nails, and paint. The show, entitled Aliens In Our Midst, features mythical beasts crafted in a way that makes them reminiscent of ’80s neon color palettes meets Eastern architectural ornamentation. See more of his recent work on his Flickr or MySpace.

www.whitewallssf.com
www.myspace.com/aaaajaaaay
www.flickr.com/photos/36098170@N06/

No one should be able to accuse illustrator Travis Lampe of not working hard enough, because it’s quite clear from his show at Roq La Rue that Lampe has got his shit together and his vision clear. As if coming up with a dozen amazing paintings isn’t enough, Lampe presents us with wood-cut panels and stuffed creatures that absolutely solidify the necessity for his twisted world of fairytale. All of his pieces are also connected by a queer little rainbow that makes the whole show have continuity. My favorite, although not pictured, is Lampe’s depiction of the standard hunter’s trophy animal head — only Lampe’s is a sagging head of clay, textile, and paint.

Showing alongside Seattle’s “Bag Painter”, Chris Crites, this show at Roq La Rue is not to be missed. It is positively delightful.

www.travislampe.com
www.bagpainter.com
www.roqlarue.com

Austin’s Hideout is an improv comedy club, concert venue, art gallery, and coffee shop all in one. A recent stint in this all-in-one haven led me to the eye-catching works of Hope Perkins, who, in this particular case, morbid curiosity and neon colors transform the taxidermied heads of animals into cleverly-named, slightly strange works of art. Truly awesome.

www.hideouttheatre.com
www.hotpinkpistol.com

Sculptor Jeff Schomberg, Burning Man veteran and art car builder, has a simple, colorful website that cuts the crap and gets straight to the art. His unique style incorporates steel, stone, and found objects to create pieces that are often fun and sometimes reminiscent of nature.

www.jeffschomberg.com

H. Mathis is quite the peculiar artist. He revels in AntiSuccess. He utilizes MySpace to get supplies he needs for art. He puts together secret art meetings (also with the assistance of CraigsList) that are so secretive that I don’t even quite understand them after reading about them in detail (see the beginnings of secret art meeting in the image below).

H. Mathis’ new book and DVD collection, “Super Secret Art Interaction,” is now on sale at Multi Polar Projects. Although I still have no idea as to the exact details of said book and DVD, H. Mathis’ methods of putting together art shows, creating art, and bringing artsy folks together spark curiosity. His art interactions almost entirely rely on the curiosity of others, and they bring art and experimentation out of the galleries and into the streets.

Below is AK, or Alaska, piled with dirt. Strangers off of CraigsList were asked to submit dirt from their hometowns, and they did. The submissions were strained and shown off on cute little sculptures such as the one below.

Head on over to AntiSuccess to dive deeper into the mystery; prepare to be simultaneously elated and confused.

www.antisuccess.com
store.multipolarprojects.com/product/ssai-by-h-mathis

With a Bachelors of Fine Arts and a Masters in Counseling Psychology, Laura Kimpton makes art that’s even more diverse than her education; she has a wide array of gallery installations, Burning Man sculptures, collage works, and encaustic pieces under her belt. Showcased above is one piece from her most recent creations that combines collages with textures and dripping waxes.

This Wednesday, March 18th, will be the opening reception for her latest show, His & Her: Line In The Middle, at the Project One Gallery in San Francisco. Her works will be showing alongside the sculptures of Jeff Schomberg.

www.jeffschomberg.com
www.laurakimpton.com
www.p1sf.com

Don’t be alarmed, folks! The bees aren’t really holing up in telephone booths because they’re dwindling in numbers anyway! This is just the product of California’s Bumblebee at work, turning abandoned phone booths into beautiful art installations. Here are the thought-provoking words he had to say about his work:

“Telephone companies have been abandoning their public telephone booths by taking out the phones and leaving the structures beehind. (Probably due to the rise in cell phone users.) I want to reuse these structures as a way of communication with the public once more by replacing that empty space with paper-mache beehives. To me, this symbolizes the irony beehind the question, ‘where have so many of the bees gone’ and the theory that cell phone signals have been misguiding their normal patterns of migration.”

www.flickr.com/photos/theuglyyou