THE PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO DARKNESS

Black Book Gallery
304 Elati Street
Denver, Colorado 80223

Opening Reception: November 3, 2017, 7 – 10 PM
Exhibition Dates: November 3, 2017 – November 24, 2017

Free and Open to the Public.

Email info@blackbookgallery.com with inquiries.

FROM THE OVERFLOWING, BAGPIPER
Media: India ink and screen print on paper mounted to wood, framed
Size: 18 x 24 Inches
Year: 2017
Price: $1,800
Availability: Inquire

I am excited to announce my upcoming solo show at Black Book Gallery titled “Strike Everywhere”. The title of the exhibit is a reference to a new series of work, as well as my overall creative process.

In this exhibit, my entire range of abilities will be incorporated into several cohesive series.

The “Mightier Than” series of firearms constructed from disassembled antique typewriters, continues to gain recognition and attention from people around the world. In this series, I have created a visual and mental stimulant to illicit a wide range of responses from viewers. While on display during Art Basel Miami last December, they attracted the attention of art collectors, gun enthusiasts, scholars, musicians and many critiques both positive and negative. I believe that pushing people to reconsider a weapon born into violence as a piece of art carrying a positive influence is very relevant across the entire world.

Another body of work I continue to develop is the “Opposable Thumbs” series featuring animals portrayed engaging in human activities that specifically involve weapons, hunting, exploration and sport. However, the only human characteristic of these figures is the five digit human hand. In a time when animal and human interaction is at its highest, we experience a wide range of outcomes. Now more than ever, animals and their intellectual abilities are being considered in regards to their similarities in humans. The characters in this ongoing series are perfect examples of these interactions and relations. Althought I have created many pieces in this series, the ones displayed in this exhibit are in a larger format which allows for even more intricate detail. There will also be a limited edition large format print featuring one of the new works.

I’ll also be introducing two new bodies of work for this exhibition.

“Strike Everywhere” is a collaboration with Arna Miller inspired by the art that decorated early match boxes. These old boxes featured all manner of odd subject matter. I have employed the iconic skeleton style of Mexico’s Jose Posada to depict scenes of current social and political importance: police violence, the justice system, income inequality, abuses by the finical sector and so on. The images are relief prints carved from ordinary, orange traffic cones and printed on an antique printing press. The text was then added with screen printing.

“Age Of Enlightenment” is a new series which features original drawings in the style of religious and alchemical arts from the middle ages and renaissance. I chose to to emulate artists with a range of techniques both sophisticated and crude, and the subject matter reflects a similar range of ideas and themes. Sometimes unsettling, sometimes light, often mysterious—they depict odd scenes combining characters from the ancient world, mythological creatures and ordinary objects of our modern life.

STRIKE EVERYWHERE

Black Book Gallery
304 Elati St
Denver, CO 80223

March 19th – April 9th

Opening Reception:
Saturday, March 19, 2016
6-10 PM
Artist in attendance
Free & Open to the public

Contact Black Book Gallery for a preview of available artwork.

BLACK BOOK GALLERY RETURNS TO CONTEXT ART MIAMI

Black Book Gallery is exhibiting at Context Art Miami 2015. This is the gallery’s third year exhibiting in Miami during Art Basel week and first time exhibiting at Context Art Miami. The gallery will present a mini solo exhibition of new works from myself alongside a handful of very talented artists from around the world including Martin Whatson (Norway), Ben Eine (UK/US), Snik (UK), Alexis Diaz (Puerto Rico), Hari & Deepti (India) and Sergio Garcia (US).

My year began with a sold out show at Black Book Gallery where some of my work was acquired by several prominent private collections. I also participated in several group exhibitions throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including two museum exhibitions.

For my exhibit at Context Art Miami entitled “What Have We Learned So Far?” I have created nine new paintings and seven new “Mightier Than” sculptures. As always, the imagery within each painting is richly varied with references to multiple movements throughout art history—all of which are entirely created by my own hands.

INSPIRATION FOR “WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SO FAR?”

As each movement in art develops, new artists (as well as viewers) tend to have a strange unconscious idea that this new development represents the most sophisticated and best version of art. Just like young school children who look at fashion from generations prior and laugh. It seems to them that earlier societies had somehow gotten fashion wrong. And that we in this era have figured out the right answer to the question “What should people wear?”

But each of these different aesthetics, processes and traditions were valuable in ways that others are not. A crude ancient Aztec codec for example can produce an effect inside the body and mind of a viewer wholly different from that of a photo realistic portrait from the 19th Century. And yet both are wonderful and valuable. I seek to integrate some of these different methods of depiction and ask the question, “What have we learned so far?”

It has also been a goal of mine for many years to take my controlled detailed work (inspired by classical painters, printmakers, thangka tapestries and so on) and find graceful ways of integrating that control with the chaotic expressiveness of abstraction (inspired by artists like Twombly, Basquiat and Rauschenberg). In the last year, I have made great advances in this endeavor. Again, I look back and ask, “What have I learned so far?”

A CONTINUATION OF THE “MIGHTIER THAN” SERIES

In combination with the paintings, I have created a new group of “Mightier Than” typewriter machine guns. Black Book Gallery unveiled a handful of these sculptures at last year’s Scope Miami Fair and the response from viewers and collectors was overwhelming.

Because the “firearms” look so convincing some people ask if they actually fire (which they do not). Their appearance is also so striking that they recently garnered the attention of law enforcement. While crating the new “Mightier Than” works for shipment to Miami, Black Book was approached by police officers responding to a call by a neighbor concerned about potential “gun running”.

Each piece is constructed, primarily from disassembled antique typewriters. There are also stapler components and some scrap metal. Everything is held together with welds, bolts and rivets. The stocks and wooden handles are all shaped from salvaged oak. The ammunition is comprised of Speedball pen nibs and used bullet cartridges of various sizes. The pen nib points of the 223 and smaller are pressure fit into the neck of the cartridge and the nibs of the larger caliber casings are pressure fit and held into place with a section of a standard number 2 pencil. Each cartridge is laser etched with the artist’s signature, plow and scythe symbol.