August: Demare, Moore, Freeman & Shift

Fayetteville Underground First Thursday Opening Reception August 5 from 5-8pm

This August, The Fayetteville Underground is pleased to present four new exhibitions with works by local, national and international artists. Christian Demare, a photographer from Paris, France will present his mysterious dark worlds in his photographic exhibition, Ghosts in the Landscape #2 in the Hive Gallery. The Revolver gallery will host our first gallery exchange, with the works of Seattle, Washington based artist collective Shift.The Vault Gallery will feature Fayetteville Underground artist Gregory Moore's new additions to his Reclaimed Surfaces paintings on found objects. Over the past year, Gregory's subject matter has expanded to include feral animals along with weeds and wildflowers. The E Street Gallery will showcase pottery artist Karan Freeman's functional vessels in her exhibition, Let's Eat.

Christian Demare

Christian Demare
Ghosts in the Landscape #2
Hive Gallery

Christian Demare is a photographer living and working in Paris, France. His exhibition, Ghosts in the Landscape #2 will be featured in the Hive Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground during the month of August. After exploring drawing, painting and engraving, it is photography that Christian has turned to in recent years. Exhibitions and publications punctuate this prolific artist's life entirely devoted to his work, research and experimentation. Recently his work entered a period of greater visibility, with exhibitions at the French Institute in Thessaloniki, Greece as part of the 2010 Photo-Biennale, and at Les Insolites, in Tangiers, Morocco. Artist Megan Chapman, always inspired and impressed by Christian's dark, lush and mysterious photographic worlds asked the artist if he would consider having an exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground, she was thrilled when he agreed.

About his work, Christian Demare writes, "Stopping for a moment, seeing, trying to take the time to look at things humbly; between contemplation and meditation. Trying to offer a view of the immensity of things, approaching the others, touching the palpitations of life. Offering people a view, expanding their perspective, feeling and touching reality with the fingertips.This reality that contains all the tragic and the magic. All the light and the incredible hope.The torn hearts and the dazzling nature.The deadly boredom and the absolute love. My art is figurative even if sometimes the subject disappears; my art is narrative even if the stories are fragmentary.The images are nothing other than furtive traces and testimonies; a few clues left here and there…"

Shift Collective

Shift Collective from Seattle Washington
Continental Shift
Revolver Gallery

Shift, a collaborative artists’ studio/gallery in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle Washington will feature 9 of it’s member artists in this exhibition titled Continental Shift. Shift was established as an artist-run space, with the primary goal of supporting Northwest area artists, working in a variety of media, who are dedicated to creating challenging and innovative work. Shift is committed to celebrating art of diverse media and rigorous content. Exhibiting artists include Sharon Birzer, Yun Hong Chang, Mary Coss, Ellen Hochberg, Jo Moniz, Bailey Russell, June Sekiguchi, Paula Stokes and Rickie Wolfe.

June Sekiguchi from Shift collaborative studio and Fayettville Underground studio artist Leilani Law co-facilitated this member exhibition exchange. Fayetteville Underground studio artists will be featured in October at Shift Collaborative Studio in Seattle.

Gregory Moore

Gregory Moore

Reclaimed Surfaces
Vault Gallery

Gregory Moore's paintings are about searching through discarded rubble and finding beautiful things. He find pieces of rusted, dented metal debris and paints on them in a way that doesn’t obscure the original texture and color of the object. He seeks out objects that are notable for their their interesting stains, rust and damage and he lets those characteristics guide the painting.

"The subject matter I choose is largely informed by the pieces of debris I start with. Often I evoke or re-imagine the scene where decaying trash might be found (a field of red clover, a cluster of thistles). When I first began painting on metal, I was drawn to weeds and wildflowers. Now I find my self more open to letting the metal guide me," Moore says, "My recent works include birds, insects, cats and fish."

Moore hopes to take forgotten, decaying objects usually thought of as trash, and use them to make intriguing and soulful works of art that people would want to bring into their homes, offices or gardens.

Karan Freeman

Karan Freeman
Let's Eat

E Street Gallery

As an independent potter working out of my home in Fayetteville, I think most about the functionality of my pieces. I prefer to work with white stoneware, midfire, that lends itself to long lasting, durable pieces.I have been actively involved in clay work since the 1970s, originally hand building and then throwing on the wheel. I’ve attended workshops and other collaborative events with other artists to learn new techniques and develop my own style. For me touchability and texture is a huge part of clay appreciation both in the crafting and the finished product. It is impossible for me to simply look at a finished clay object, it must be explored. There is a need to check out the surface, lift the piece to see it from another angle, look inside or see if the weight matches the visual perception. The enduring quality of clay objects also appeals to me. When someone tells me they have a 5 or 10 year old bowl or mug, they still love it and use it regularly; it reinforces my sense of purpose and satisfaction. Working with clay reminds me of my connection to the earth; how the earth provides everything we need to produce food and forms the vessels to contain the food.

As always there are open studios to tour, work in progress to see, and artists to meet. There will be new work by the talented underground studio artists in the back Vault gallery and the fine crafts you have come to expect in the E Street Gallery.

Once again this is all a part of the cultural amenity that is the visual arts on the First Thursday of every month at the Fayetteville Underground on the Fayetteville Square from 5-8p.m.

Tell your friends and see you there!
The exhibitions will remain up through August 28th.

The Fayetteville Underground
Basement of One East Square Plaza
East side of the Historic Fayetteville Square.
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Gallery Hours W-F 12-7pm
Saturday 10-5pm
4 galleries: Open Studios
www.fayettevilleunderground.com
www.fayettevilleunderground.blogspot.com