AVAILABLE ARTWORK

Join us on Friday, October 4th in our front room for an exhibit of new artwork and sculpture from Denver artists Hari & Deepti Nairti.

There will also be an installation in the front window!

Hari and Deepti are a Denver based artist couple and for them storytelling is what makes everyday interesting and worth living. Born and raised in India along with a million stories, they have always been drawn towards the imaginative aspect of story telling and seek inspiration from them. Stories have so many shades and depth in them, and paper as a medium has the exact qualities to reflect and interpret them. Having worked with paper over the years and constantly reinventing how they can use the medium with the use of LED lights and paper cut illustrations, Hari & Deepti believe that “Paper is brutal in its simplicity as a medium. It demands the attention of the artist while it provides the softness they need to mould it in to something beautiful.It is playful, light, colorless and colorful. It is minimal and intricate.It reflects light, creates depth and illusions in a way that it takes the artist through a journey with limitless possibilities.”

Exhibit runs September 14th – October 4th.

Tim Kerr, Scott Stanton & Lindsey Kuhn
Do You Hear What You See?

Skateboarding, Music & Fun! These are the reasons that led to Tim Kerr, Scott Stanton and Lindsey Kuhn to meet and stay friends since the age of 15. Through the years they have used their individual creative talents based in skateboard and music culture to become successful artists, musicians and part time trouble makers. We are really excited to see what they have planned; all 3 will be at the gallery for the opening reception.

From Lindsey Kuhn:

Tim Kerr, from Austin, TX, was in a skate rock band called the Big Boys which was a big influence on my life, making me see that it was ok to be strange or different and have a great time doing what came naturally! Tim has gone on to be in many great bands. Including Poison 13, Bad Mutha Goose, Monkeywrench, Jack O’Fire and many more, as well as recording and producing other bands all over the world. He also has been a skater, artist and all around good person, blazing trails in so many directions and having fun the whole time. Now he has been traveling the world doing art shows as well as playing his music.

Scott Stanton was a grom around ’84 that came to the “Swamp Ramp” and within a few hours was learning new tricks. He was a natural ripper. We basically grew up together along the Gulf Coast promoting Vert skating to the fullest. He ended up turning pro for Zorlac Skateboards. He also played music and has been in many bands including The Causey Way and Pilot Scott Tracy! He eventually started having art shows under the alias “Panhandle Slim” and is now based out of Savannah , GA. His most recent show was at GCSU’s Museum of Modern Art at Blackbridge Hall.

As for me, I was in a band in high school for about 3 weeks and then I got kicked out because I was always skating and not showing up for practice. I still continue to do what I did then… skateboard and make stuff. I have been working on new originals for this show and can’t wait to see what Tim and Scott bring. It’s gonna be a fun show!

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In honor of the ending of one the greatest television shows ever we are starting something new at the gallery. We recently transformed our entry room into an area suitable for small exhibits and to inaugurate the occasion we are bringing you “By Any Means Necessary” A Tribute to Breaking Bad.

Quite possibly one of the best shows in the history of cable, Breaking Bad is on the verge of ending. For many, this is bitter sweet; over the course of 5 years Breaking Bad has infiltrated many people’s lives much like the “Blue Dream” has for Walter White and the rest of the Breaking Bad characters.

On the eve of the first episode of the final season, we invite you to celebrate with us as we pay a tribute to Breaking Bad with an exhibit of artwork featuring characters, moments and interpretations of the show. We have a great group of artists that are fans of the show and excited to pay homage to the series.

Axel Geittmann, Max Kauffman, Michael Coriano, Melanie Pruitt, Mike Graves, Dea Webb, Jeremy Burns, The Gropes, Fobia De Leon, Scram Artist, Andrew Hoffman, Sara Ford, Jaime Molina, Hari Panicker, Harrison Nealey, Joseph Martinez and Emily J Moore

Exhibit will run until September 6th (September First Friday)

AVAILABLE ARTWORK

Images:
TOP – Emily J Moore – Collision Course – Oil on canvas
BOTTOM – Max Kauffman – Combustion (Detail) – Watercolor on paper

“In A Dream” features all new work from Titi filled with Japanese influence both visually and artistically. Vibrant colors and organic textures converge into portraits laced with a multitude of colors and layers. A new series of “nature” portraits based on foliage and natural abstract shapes applies the same techniques within a more confined space. The centerpiece of this exhibit is a large 10 panel wood piece (Fleeing The Storm) featuring a Japanese Koi suspended in time on a white background. The Koi can be found throughout Japanese art history and is considered by Japanese to be a symbol of long life, luck and fortune.

Titi Freak (Hamilton Yokota) was born in 1974, at the age of 13 he started working with comic books. During 7 years he designed national and international comics for Maurício de Souza, Disney and Marvel. Between 1994 and 1995 he started doing illustrations and work with animation for MTVBrasil. In 1996 Titi started painting with spray paint on the streets. “The graffiti made me find my picture! Other techniques, other references and attitudes in my life. After that I saw my work with fresh eyes: feelings, people, chaos, dreams, urban calligraphy, culture and nature”. Titi has exhibited his work in galleries across the world including London, Madrid, Paris, Tokyo, Osaka, New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Berlin, and São Paulo’s art museum MASP.

OPENING RECEPTION
August 2nd, 2013
6-11pm
Free & open to the public
Artist in attendance

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“Beauty is never simple in the work of Sandi Calistro, and for all the strength she infuses her usually-female subjects with there is also danger, vulnerability, and pain beneath the alluring veneer. Her examination of femininity is fearless, a sharp contrast to the false positivism found in some circles, and incorporates a galaxy of open symbols and metaphors to contrast and heighten the assured line work. Calistro works tendrils of paint and ink into the growing chasms between expectation and reality, and in addition to her explorations of gender she exposes the disconnect between the modern consciousness and the natural world, where living creatures and the earth itself are but afterthoughts to trivial things we imbue with absurd importance. Somewhere between the menaced and the menacing, the tragic and the wonderful, the art of Sandi Calistro presents itself to the viewer as both open-ended riddle and self-contained fairy tale. That, and it fucking rocks.” Jesse Bullington author of Tale of the Brothers Grossbart and The Enterprise of Death

Sandi has created 20 new pieces for this exhibit and we will also have 2 exclusive prints.

OPENING RECEPTION
July 5th, 2013
6-11pm
Free & open to the public
Artist in attendance

AVAILABLE ARTWORK

Denver, CO – May 30, 2013 – Los Angeles based artist MEAR ONE begins a weeklong stint in Colorado on June 10th. Internationally hailed as “The Michelangelo of Graffiti” and “The Salvador Dali of Hip-Hop”, MEAR ONE begins his time in Denver with a 3-day mural painting at Izakaya Den (South 1518 Pearl St.) June 10th – 12th. Following this will be a gallery show at Black Book Gallery (555 Santa Fe Dr.) from 5:30 – 8 pm on June 13th. This week of activities culminates on Friday, June 14th with MEAR ONE joining DeVotchKa and the Colorado Symphony on stage for live painting under the stars of Red Rocks.

‘Mono Distortions’ are an entirely unique creation of Mear’s, an invention by the artist that displays hand-painted repetitions of like pieces resulting in one-off paintings. Essentially, Mear becomes a human printer! In the artist’s own words:
“Several years ago I was pondering my Live Art juxtaposed with my print work and wanted to find a bridge. I experimented and came up with the Mono Distortion and called it “M1” and it was a phoenix on top of a distressed hand done buff job like walls on the streets. I added a lot of sketch work and juicy tags with thick oil base Dalo Markers. The end result was like nothing I’ve ever done and I felt altered from the experience.

My philosophy on the distortions is as we head into these easy times to create art from photoshopping internet flicks, learning graffiti in an art school, that there seems to be a lax attitude in things that take time or effort, things that mean something other than compensation or simple fame. My endeavor would consist as a challenge to myself to re-create my relationship to art and my relationship to the experience of doing it. I pull from my live painting experiences styles that I developed through hundreds of live art nights.

‘Sketches Of Babylon’ is a pictorial montage of the deterioration of the Western World, post-apocalyptic cityscape under destruction or construction. A void space full of emptiness and history, a place of ideas and dreams.”

MEAR ONE will then join DeVotchKa on-stage for their performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on June 14th. Come see MEAR ONE live paint to the eclectic style of DeVotchKa, and the punk cabaret sounds of Amanda Palmer, along with a full 60-piece orchestra. Also appearing will be local favorites Paper Bird. Tickets are on-sale now and start at $25. They are available online, by phone, 303-623-7876, or in person at the Box Office in Boettcher Concert Hall, Monday through Saturday, 10 am-6 pm.

MEAR ONE began his career in 1986 as a graffiti artist living in Los Angeles, often hailed internationally as “The Michelangelo of Graffiti” and “The Salvador Dali of Hip-Hop.” He is considered by many to be Los Angeles’ most prolific artist because of the way he revolutionized graffiti with his fine-art realism, breaking out of traditional 2D letter forms, and using perspective to develop complex characters with dynamic backgrounds in epic scale.

By the early 1990’s, MEAR ONE had established a large fan base through his notorious work on the streets, underground hip-hop album covers featuring his iconic imagery, and his involvement in pioneering early street wear clothing and graffiti culture. In 1993, MEAR ONE was the first graffiti artist from Los Angeles invited by writers in Tokyo, Japan, to paint in front of a live public audience at the height of the graffiti movement in East Asia.
In the mid-90’s, hip-hop imagery and cultural icons in his work were replaced with a deeper, more introspective conversation based around a politically disillusioned reality that the artist felt hip-hop had ceased to address. At this point, MEAR ONE began his transition from street graffiti to works on canvas, resulting in his first and much lauded body of acrylic and airbrushed paintings. He continued developing his original style throughout the 90’s, and in 1996 coined the term “Live Art” to describe the spontaneous, performative, and interactive act of painting in front of a live audience, which he considered akin to freestyle poetry and music.

Over the next two decades of his career, MEAR ONE’s public murals and works on canvas have won over audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. His work is inspired by ancient technology, science, philosophy, mythology and mysticism, along with political and cultural revolution, and notions of the apocalypse. Using art as a tool to express his feelings of frustration with what he feels is a broken system, the artist uses visual language to provide a critical viewpoint that exposes the history of corruption in America and the world at large. The diversity in his work often depicts an experience of transcendence in sharp contrast with depictions of the horrors of humanity, war, and oppression.

MEAR ONE’s current body of work can be described as a series of allegorical oil paintings that draw upon history, mythology, political theory, conspiracy theory, modern myths, and current events. Stylistically he has been described as “urban psychedelic surreal,” and is perhaps best known for his climactic battle scenes taking place under broad expansive cityscapes with billowing cumulous clouds.

About DeVotchKa
For more than a decade, DeVotchKa has been melting its sweeping collection of influences into an authentic and totally original blend of rock ‘n’ roll. Like many bands, DeVotchKa spent much of their early years traveling the highways and byways. One day world-renowned KCRW DJ Nic Harcourt introduced LA listeners to DeVotchKa on his daily radio show, Morning Becomes Eclectic. The directors of “Little Miss Sunshine” happened to be listening this fateful day, loved what they heard, and hired the band to write the score for their film. A critical and box office smash, the film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and, for DeVotchKa’s soundtrack, a Grammy®. The little band from Denver was suddenly internationally admired, headlining large venues and performing at practically every major music festival, from Coachella to Lollapalooza. The love spread to Europe, which has become a regular destination for the band. For more information on DeVotchKa, please visit

About the Colorado Symphony
The region’s only full-time professional orchestra, the Colorado Symphony embraces a tradition of musical excellence by presenting a diverse array of symphonic performances throughout the year. Originally established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony, the Colorado Symphony thrives on a spirit of collaboration among musicians, staff, trustees and the community. The Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall and On Location throughout the state and region utilizing small ensembles to the full-sized orchestra. Programs include expanded education and outreach initiatives, as well as Masterworks, Pops, Holiday, Family, Inside the Score and Symphony on the Rocks series that have attracted an ever-increasing level of concertgoers. By presenting music that is both timeless and inspiring, while taking risks with new musical collaborations and interactive concerts, the Colorado Symphony is committed to reaching global audiences with the use of state-of-the-art digital media via live streaming and concert downloads.

For additional information regarding MEAR ONE, please contact:
Candice Lee at Candice@cl-projects.com

For additional information regarding DeVotchKa, please contact:
Rob Thomas at rt@enditmanagement.com

Mear One
Devotchka with The Colorado Symphony and special guest Amanda Palmer at Red Rocks
Regular Edition
Signed by Mear One
Available at concert

Borf “They Made A Desert And Called It Peace”

Opening Reception:
Friday, June 7th, 2013
6pm-11pm
Free & Open to the public
June 2013 marks our 3rd Anniversary!

Summer has arrived in Colorado and with it comes beautiful blue skies, long nights and the return of Borf. One of America’s most infamous and ingenious young artists; Borf is a part of all of us whether we like it or not. Borf represents for the rebellious and mischievous nature inherent in everyone yet expressed by few. Rarely will you find somebody with the ability to communicate in a visual context a message inside a message as effortlessly as Borf does.

In his solo show “They Made A Desert And Called It Peace” Borf will be exhibiting pieces from his critically lauded “Rothko’s Modern Life” series, as well as a new series of jokes painted on salvaged wood panels imported from Detroit. Both parts of the show reveal the artist’s wry humor as he grapples with some existential and societal qualms.

The “Rothko’s Modern Life” series pantomimes Mark Rothko’s famous color field paintings, much like a class clown behind a teacher’s back. Borf associates these multi-million dollar masterpieces to the way property owners and city officials censor his peers on the streets around the world; with large squares of mis-tinted color overlaid on each other to form a layered composition of silence. Borf: “When Mark Rothko painted his pieces he was also looking for these “pockets of silence,” as he referred to it. He put all worldly signifiers to the side and solely worked with colors to express his ideal spaces where he could ‘root and grow’ and become a better person. However, today, the most accessible form of this style of painting is done by those in control (when they paint over graffiti), and is meant to smash any emergent opposition or disregard to the laws of the arid land. The same monied forces that made Rothko’s later work so beloved by most; also ensure the truly alienated sectors of society may only speak up in the boxes designated for them to do so.” Borf touches on these points simultaneously and, seemingly, effortlessly in this series.

The joke series started on the streets of Athens, Greece in 2009 during an extended stay by Borf in which he was witnessing the beginnings of the Greek economic collapse and the subsequent austerity measures. “Austerity will always lose in the face of laughter” Borf says. That’s why he started writing one-line jokes on the walls of cities around the world since 2009. Here at Black Book Gallery, Borf displays his jokes indoors for the first time spray-painted on the familiar surfaces of Detroit’s unkept buildings. “Detroit itself has struggled with massive debt (and the usual and customary budget cuts associated with that) for many years and these surfaces are the visual imprint of ‘austere’ circumstances without the maintenance of the ever-present forces of control,” says Borf.

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/artists/john-fellows/

Black Book Gallery is pleased to announce “Every Here Has A There”, new works by Colorado-based artist John Fellows, in what will be his second solo exhibition at the gallery. Fellows’ signature “contemporary folk” style weaves together layers of found paper, graphic block prints and handwritten text to create an old time, hands-on feel. The artist collects a variety of found paper, maps and books dating from the 1880’s to the present to create unique linoleum carving collages that while at the very base reflect his personal experiences, are more like a brief glimpse into another person’s story.

For this new body of work, John once again draws inspiration from his recent travels to the Swiss and French Alps, Sayulita and Baja, Mexico as well as the mountains of his home state of Colorado. Grizzled mountain men, salty sailors, stormy seas and rugged mountains layered on used nautical charts and topographic maps draw the viewer in and hopefully trigger memories of their own past travels and experiences.

John Fellows currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado. He travels constantly and spends much of his time in the outdoors, both of which impact his work. John has shown work in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, and around the US. Recently his worked has been used on t-shirts for Element Skateboards, Vail Resorts and Shaun White for Target, wine labels, and featured on the cover of BombFlow magazine.