January 2011: Siegele & Haley, Campbell, Parker and Berman

Join us First Thursday January 6th from 5-8pm at the Fayetteville Underground as we celebrate the new year and another exciting month of all new exhibitions!

Ceramic artists, Susy Siegele and Mike Haley will be featured in the E Street Gallery. Underground studio artist Adam Campbell will be featured in the Vault. Visiting installation artist Jan Parker from Chicago will be in the Hive and the works of the late Carl Berman are being presented by his widow Blanche Berman and curated by Hank Kaminksy in the Revolver. All exhibitions will be up through January 29th. Gallery hours are W-F 12-7 and Saturday 10-5pm.

Susy Siegele and Mike Haley

Susy Siegele and Mike Haley

Colored Porcelain

E Street Gallery

Ceramic artists, Susy Siegele and Mike Haley will be featured for the month of January in the E Street Gallery of the Fayetteville Underground. This husband-and-wife (or vise versa) team has been making high-fired, colored porcelain dinnerware since1976. Among other collections, their work was chosen to be included in The White House Craft Collection, which resides today at the Clinton Library in Little Rock.

“We met in a glaze chemistry class in college over a quarter of a century ago,and have been involved together in clay ever since. In the early years we made pretty traditional wheel-turned stoneware and porcelain. We never dreamed when we first experimented with coloring the clay that it would turn into our life's work. Our work is an ongoing inquiry into the very nature of our existence, using a common material in an uncommon way. We are constantly striving to create work that resonates with a connection to the natural world and to humanity's place in it.”

Adam Campbell

Adam Campbell

Vault Gallery

The End of Isolation

As an artist, my job is to see the world in a different way and to share this vision with others. For this exhibit, I am showing my portraiture. The way I see other people is determined by how I see myself. Keeping a journal and practicing meditation has enabled me to appreciate the subtle beauty of thoughts and expressions, which I convey in the portraits I paint.

Jan Parker

Jan Parker

Oppression, Suppression, Detachment, Growth

Hive Gallery

I am constantly responding to my environment. Through art making, my responses become self-expression, self-examination, activism, and communication. Since 2007 I have been creating installations working with the invasive plant kudzu as the primary medium in my art. Initially my response to kudzu came from the sculptural forms it created. Later, I became intrigued by its uncontrollable and uncontainable domination over anything in its path. This focus has evolved into an installation and study that has been documented since May 2009. In this work, I use outdoor kudzu growth with personal objects related to my family. Both the kudzu and objects are saturated with meaning. Together, given time in their environment, they conveyed a metaphorical narrative of family dysfunction, abuse, and growth.With photographic documentation, and the re-installation of the objects coupled with the skeletal form kudzu takes in the winter, my exhibition illustrates and exposes what underlies family dysfunction and the dichotomy of growth.I dedicate this study to my beloved Mother.

Carl Berman

Carl Berman: Presented by his widow Blanche Berman and curated by Hank Kaminsky

Revolver Gallery

Carl Berman spent 50 years tracking the lifeways of the “People of the High Plateau,” the ancient tribes who live along the rooftop of the world. With sketchbook and diary, canvas and paint, he created a living record of these remarkable inhabitants of the remote and desolate mountain regions of Asia and the Americas.

His son, Carl Jr. said: “What was the purpose of these journeys? Initially, I think my father’s fascination with the people of the world’s highland stemmed from his association with the design of fabrics and fibers. [However], his first visits to South America not only increased his knowledge of the local designs and artisans but also brought into sharp detail the rate at which these aboriginal cultures were being overtaken by the ‘civilized’ world. So, he began a one-man effort to immortalize, on canvas, the dress and customs of the people he encountered. I heard him say, on one occasion, that should he arrive in a village and see plastic buckets in use, he was too late.”

As you view this exhibit, keep in mind that it represents the life’s work of a man on a single-minded mission to understand and preserve traditions that were slowly fading into history.

Join us for this special event: January 15th.

Blanche Berman, widow of the painter Carl Berman will be at the Revolver Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground Saturday afternoon January 15th to talk to visitors about her husband's work. Carl Berman was a textile engineer and adventurer who made classical paintings of the people of the high plateau. His paintings look at life in the high Andes, the Himalayas and other places around the world with the kind of understanding that only comes to artists who work from drawings and life. He passed away in 1990

Mrs. Berman, 97 years of age has a great spirit and brings her husband's work to the attention of her newly adopted community.

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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. After the reception be sure to come back and visit the galleries during our regular business hours of W-F 12-7 and Sat 10-5.

Tell your friends and see you there!
The exhibitions will remain up through January 29th.

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

Art For the Holidays!

First Thursday December 2nd 5-8pm - Art for the Holidays II

Join us first Thursday to celebrate the opening of Art for the Holidays II. This month we will feature fun, affordable works of original art created by our Fayetteville Underground Studio artists, E street Artists, as well many of the visiting artists that have shown at the Underground in 2009 and 2010. A variety of works will be shown including painting, mixed media, collage, and photography; to jewelry, ceramics and custom blown glass and sculpture. Come find your perfect gift.

The Revolver gallery will host many of the visiting artists that have shown in our 2009/2010 season. This is a great opportunity to come and see their work again and pick up that special affordable piece for your collection. You will find photography by Christian Demare, Thomas Krapausky, Institute du Loop, Thomas Petillo, Marianne Wilson, as well as the Estate of the late Steve Moore. There will be paintings by Christopher Baber, Matthew Lyman, and Jo Ann Kaminsky. We will have a selection of sculptures by Jesse Kaminsky and ceramics by Don Nibert and much much more! It is a great way for us to look back and revisit some of the wonderful artists we have had the pleasure of hosting at the Underground.

The Hive and Front Vault Gallery will be filled to the brim with small, affordable, original one of a kind pieces of art from our current studio artists such as Adam Campbell, Megan Chapman, Matthew Depper, Jennifer Libby Fay, William Mayes Flanagan, Duane Gardner, Jan Gosnell, Sam Gray, Don House, Dana Idlet, Jon Peven, Doug Randall, and Sabine Schmidt. This exhibition is a great way to start collecting these artist's work at affordable prices and of course perfect for gift giving. The back vault will have a new selection of paintings by our talented studio artists on display as well.

Underground studio artist Don House will continue his wonderful photography project and will be available to take your portraits in his studio during the First Thursday Festivities.

The E Street Gallery will also be freshly stocked by all our e street artists and we will be introducing two new artists to the E Street group, ceramists, Susy Siegle and Mike Haley!

This is a cash and carry show, meaning you can pay for it when you see it and take it home! Purchasing original art is easy at the Fayetteville Underground. Just contact anyone wearing a name badge, and we will be happy to facilitate your sale, our sales office is located within the E Street Gallery. Cash, Check, and Major credit cards are accepted.

As always there are open studios to tour, work in progress to see, and artists to meet. It is all a part of the cultural amenity that is the visual arts on the First Thursday of every month at the Fayetteville Underground from 5-8p.m. Fayetteville Underground Gallery Hours are W-F 12-7 and Saturday 10-5 These exhibitions will be remain up through the end of the month. The Underground will be closed for the holidays: December 25th through January 4th. We will re-open on Wednesday Jan 5th and look forward to kicking off the new year at First Thursday January 6th from 5-8pm with all new exhibitions!

ALSO PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL MUSICAL EVENT IN DECEMBER:

Join us on Sunday December 5th at 4pm for a concert of free improvisation featuring Tatsuya Nakatani, percussion, and Gerald Sloan, trombone.

Tatsuya Nakatani is a contemporary percussionist, originally from Osaka, Japan. He performs creative music around the world. He has created a totally unique sound which defies category or genre. He utilizes the drum set, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls and metal objects. To learn more about Tatsuya Nakatani please visit his website.

Gerald Sloan joined the UA music faculty in 1970, where he is currently Professor of Music. He has taught low brass, jazz studies, and music history (including Jazz History, Latin American Music, and 20th Century Music). He has also directed the Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, The Trombone Ensemble, and various jazz ensembles.

November: Chapman, Idlet, Gardner, Bohn

Join us First Thursday November 4th from 5-8pm at the Fayetteville Underground for another exciting month of all new exhibitions!

Megan Chapman will debut all new paintings created in 2010 in her latest exhibition Falling into Sound in the Hive Gallery. Duane Gardner will present his latest works the the Revolver gallery in his exhibition entitled Looking for the Broadcaster. These will be the premier exhibitions for Megan Chapman and Duane Gardner in the Underground galleries, since having their studios within. Dana Idlet will be presenting new works in her exhibition Six Miles Down a Dirt Road, in the Vault Gallery. Cheri Bohn will be the featured artist in the E street gallery, presenting her whimsical stained glass and wood works. All exhibitions will be up through November 27th.

We will sink to the bottom of the ocean together
© 2010 Megan Chapman

Megan Chapman
Falling into Sound
Hive Gallery

Megan Chapman's exhibition Falling into Sound features all new work created during 2010.Falling into Sound will debut in the Hive Gallery at the Fayetteville Underground during the month of November. Megan Chapman is better known for her richly colored mixed media paintings on canvas and paper, while this work is more minimalist in nature, with a near monochromatic palette comprised of various tones of dark charcoal, translucent shades of blue, yellow, rust, and the occasional flash of green. As the title suggests, Chapman's works are greatly influenced by the music she listens to while painting. These paintings are quiet and meditative but also buzzing with layers of subtle colors and texture. Along with her works on canvas, Chapman will be showing the Manual for Living : A ten page guide. This "book" will never be bound but will be shown in sequential order, always to remain together. Each page its own chapter, the viewer will “read” this work starting with the wordless prologue, the eight pages in between with their text, and concluding with a wordless epilogue.This work explores themes of love and loss mixed into a poetry of longing.

Megan Chapman was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She received her B.F.A. in painting from the University of Oregon. Chapman has shown her paintings over the past fifteen years in galleries in Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington State and Washington D.C. Most recently a collaborative painting by Chapman was exhibited in the Liverpool Independents Biennial in Liverpool England. Chapman's work has appeared in various publications and is held in numerous private collections nationally as well as internationally. For more information about her work please visit her website www.meganchapman.com and her studio blog www.meganchapman.blogspot.com

© 2010 Dana Idlet

Dana Idlet
Six Miles Down a Dirt Road
The Vault Gallery

I see lines everywhere, in rocks, maps, veins, roots, cuts of fish, petals, and leaves. My interest in lines sparked ideas of representing growth drought, scars, time lines, and personal history in the tree rings. Like trees, people extend themselves, move toward light, branch, are marred, go without, and heal. The parallels have moved me. By drawing imagined rings and lines,some more realistic than others, I have begun to draw connections between recorded human experience and the histories revealed in what seem on the surface to be simple cross sections
of cedar.

© 2010 Duane Gardner

Duane Gardner
Looking for the Broadcaster
The Revolver Gallery

This series of paintings is about exploring mark-making, about returning to the artistic control, or lack thereof, one had as a child. I find the expressive quality of children’s art work curious and interesting because of the lack of control. I like to think of it as returning to the innocence of mark-making. There is also something about the immediacy of drawing that I enjoy and attempt to make happen in the paintings.

Along with mark-making, I also allow the history, or process, of the work to be seen. In my style of working, I continually edit the piece, adding and subtracting paint, lines, shapes, as I am working. The viewer can see the decisions that I made to achieve the final product, the evidence of solving the problem. But it also makes the viewer wonder what may be going on underneath the images they see. I hope to show the viewer the questions and answers that presented themselves throughout the process of the piece.

Ultimately for me, the process of creating the work is where the enjoyment lies. I do not attempt to paint from emotion or experience. I think more along the lines of color and composition. I wish the viewer would see something new or different each time they looked at one of my pieces, letting the painting evoke emotion.

©2010 Cheri Bohn

Cheri Bohn
The Ascension
The E Street Gallery

I am a 38 year old mother of three. I have been interested in the arts since the first grade when I learned about Van Gogh’s ear. I grew up in Texas and graduated from The University of North Texas with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. My family and I moved to the Ozark Mountains in 1999. I had grown up on 20 acres and it was great getting back to nature. I have been working with stained glass for fifteen years.In 2002, I was inspired to add glass and pure crystal balls to the unique tree roots that were on our land.

I give the tree respect and preserve its beauty. The hearts of the tree, the roots are rarely seen. Like the human spirit, these masterpieces are often overlooked. After being introduced to Andy Goldsworthy’s work in 1997 he has been a major influence in my work. My sculptures express the communion we need to have with nature, to work as one.

I recycle dead tree roots that would normally be burnt or rot away. As an artist, I surrender most of the design principles to the tree. The natural designs in the wood are so amazing. Some of the roots take the shape of something like dragons or butterflies; that I bring out with stained glass wings. Others end up being abstract pieces. Most of these can be mounted onto the wall bringing nature into the homes and businesses in a way that has never been seen before.

My work has been evolving over the years. It expresses the fusion between humans and nature. The balance we need to have. Nature has greatly affected me and should be respected in every way.

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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. After the reception be sure to come back and visit the galleries during our regular business hours of W-F 12-7 and Sat 10-5.

Tell your friends and see you there!
The exhibitions will remain up through November 27th.

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

Spirit of the Times, More than a Picture & Earth and Fire

Fayetteville Underground First Thursday Opening Reception October 7th 5-8pm

October will be another exciting month for Fayetteville Underground. The Hive and Revolver Galleries will host photography from the South Central Region Society for Photographic Education, who's members are having their annual conference in Fayetteville. The Vault Gallery will feature photography from most of the Fayetteville Underground Studio artists in a show entitled "More Than a Picture." Martha Molina's non-functional Raku pottery works will be shown in the E-Street Gallery.

Devyn G

Eat. Chill.

Sonja Rieger
K'hia Campbell as Queen Amidala

Revolver Gallery & Hive Gallery

The University of Arkansas Art Department

The University of Arkansas Art Department will be hosting The South Central Region Society for Photographic Education annual conference, “Spirits of the Times”, October 7 - 9, 2010. Programming is scheduled on October 8^th and 9^th at the UA Global Campus, located in downtown Fayetteville, and in the Fine Arts Center, located on the main University of Arkansas campus. Registration is required for conference programming. More information can be found at www.spesouthcentral.org

The conference will bring photography educators, students and professionals from a six state region to Fayetteville for two days of presentations and lectures. This year’s Honored Educator is Sonja Rieger from the University of Alabama. The SPE holds its national conference in the spring and the individual regions hold their annual conference in the fall. Conference location rotates around the region. The Art Department at UA has previously hosted the SCSPE conference in 1981 and 2000.

The featured speaker at the conference will be internationally renowned documentary photographer Danny Lyon. Lyon’s keynote address will be held on Friday evening, October 8, at 7:00 in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Center. Seating is limited. For information call the Art Department at 479-575-5202.

An exhibition of Danny Lyon’s photographs on motorcycle culture, “The Bikeriders,” will be on display at Crystal Bridges at the Massey in Bentonville from September 9 – October 31. Crystal Bridges at the Massey is open Thursday – Saturday from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.

Other photography exhibits on display during October in conjunction with the conference include the SCSPE Members and Students exhibits at the Fayetteville Underground galleries October 6 through the 30^th. The Revolver Gallery will feature the work of SCSPE members, photographic educators and professionals, and The Hive, will feature work by photography students from universities and colleges in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. An opening reception is will be held on “First Thursday” October 7 from 5:00-8:00pm. For more information: http://www.fayettevilleunderground.com. Fayetteville Underground is open Wednesday – Friday from 12:00 am – 7:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

“Black in White America,” photographs by Leonard Freed, curated by the Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York City will be the featured exhibition in the UA Fine Arts Center Gallery. “Black in White America” is a moving collection of photos that document the African American struggle for self definition in mid-20^th century America. Leonard Freed (1929-2006) was a member of the Magnum photo agency. “Black in White America” will be on exhibit in the Fine Arts Center Gallery on campus October 6 – 29. Gallery hours are 9:00 am – 5:30 pm, Monday – Friday and 2:00 – 5:00 pm on Sunday. For more information: smitche@uark.edu or call the UA Gallery Office at 479-575-7987.

“Arkansas Photography Educators,” an exhibit featuring current work by twelve faculty members from universities and colleges in Arkansas, will be on display at the sUgAR Gallery in Bentonville from September 30 – October 23 with an opening reception scheduled for Saturday October 9 from 4:30-7:30. Featured artists include Beverly Buys, Gary Cawood, Victor Chalfant, Neal Holland, Joanne Jones, Margaret LeJuene, Maxine Payne, Michael Peven, Donna Pinckley, Carey Roberson, Curtis Steele and Marcia Wallace.

Also during the month of October, the work of UA photography students will be on display in the hallway cases in the Fine Arts Center.

For more information on conference programming and registration, please contact: Michael Peven at mpeven@uark.edu or the Art Department at artinfo@uark.edu. Or call the UA art department at 479-575-5202

Sabine Schmidt

Vault Gallery

More Than a Picture

Fayetteville Underground Studio Artists

Fayetteville Underground studio artists will be presenting photography-based works in a group show entitled More Than a Picture in the Vault Gallery during the month of October.The artists are excited and inspired by the visiting SCSPE member and student exhibition that will be hosted in the Hive and Revolver galleries. More than a Picture will be an interesting and varied exhibition as the artists come together to explore photography as a group.

Martha Molina

E Street Gallery

Martha Molina

Essential Elements: Earth & Fire

Martha Molina grew up in Clay County in Northeast Arkansas influenced and encouraged to embrace her great grandmother’s Native American culture. She actively practiced various crafts and loved the materials that were found in nature and from an early age she hand built animals and vessels from clay. Martha received her B.A. and M.ED. from Southeastern Louisiana University where she discovered the process for life masks and began making performance masks for costumes and storytelling as well as decorations such as three dimensional portraits through experimentation. Martha returned to Arkansas in 1993 and has been active in the arts community every since living and working in Fayetteville. She has worked as a multi-disciplined on the Arkansas Arts Council AIE Artist Roster and has conducted artist residencies throughout the state in theatre, mask-making, watercolor, and clay. She currently teaches art at St. Joseph School in Fayetteville.

Martha Molina’s recent works are mostly nonfunctional pottery choosing alternative firing techniques which give the most unpredictable results. The process of Raku firing intrigues and excites Martha the most as she watches the translucent glow of the work as she pulls it from a 1900 degree kiln. The rapid reduction, cooling and trailing made by the flames creates a final product that cannot be reproduced. It is like an amazing Christmas morning every time she opens the kiln!

The word “Raku” in Japanese literally translates to “pleasure.” Martha gains much pleasure from the process of creating pottery and she hopes others gain pleasure from it as well.

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 and sculpture 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. After the reception be sure to come back and visit the galleries during our regular business hours of W-F 12-7 and Sat 10-5.

Tell your friends and see you there!
The exhibitions will remain up through October 30th.

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

September: Petillo, Gosnell, Chen and more...

September at the Fayetteville Underground:

First Thursday Opening reception Sept 2nd 5-8pm.

This September will be another exciting month for the Fayetteville Underground. The Hive gallery will host Nashville, Tennessee based photographer Thomas Petillo. In the Revolver gallery painter Lin Chen will present her exhibition of still life paintings. The Fayetteville Underground's own Jan Gosnell will present his most recent work in an exhibition in the Vault gallery, entitled Past Forward. Join us First Thursday on September 2nd from 5-8pm for our opening reception and meet these talented artists.

Thomas Petillo

Hive Gallery

Thomas Petillo : North, West, East, South

Thomas Petillo is perhaps best known for his strikingly intimate portraits of great musicians (Robert Plant, Ben Folds, John Prine, Kid Rock and Porter Wagoner, to name only a few).Thomas has spent fifteen years honing the skills necessary to produce these beautiful images for record labels, magazines, and ad agencies. These portraits have come to define his style. But a very different Petillo has emerged in the last few years as the result of a series of commissions by Hammock, the ambient duo, who asked him to create images for their recordings. No matter his subject, Petillo's images are characterized by a delicate balance of stark realism and magical wonder, as if he stands with one foot in the spirit and the other in the flesh. This rare talent has given his work a singular imprint and has earned for him a distinguished place among contemporary photographers.

Jan Gosnell

Vault Gallery:

Jan Gosnell: Past Forward

Jan Gosnell will be exhibiting a selection of paintings he has completed during the past year. They are the results of the desire to explore subject matter chosen intuitively from a lifetime exposure to the written word, media imagery, and the works of other artists. This series of paintings represents a development along a natural path, primarily with regard to the resolution of opposites. This direction is reflected in an attempt to resolve the use of masculine subject matter exhibiting aggressive spatial confrontation with a more sensitive usage of line and a richness of color. While these paintings are apparently straight forward in their imagery, they are also an engaging invitation for personal interpretation.

Jan Gosnell received a B.F.A. from the University of Texas and an M.F. A. from the University of Arkansas. His professional personae includes that of college level art instructor, gallery owner, commercial art director, movie sketch artist, and editorial cartoonist. He presently lives in Fayetteville, teaches painting and drawing at NWACC, and is a resident member of the Fayetteville Underground.

Lin Chen

Revolver Gallery:

Lin Chen

Artist Statement:
"When I set up things to paint, I have a vague idea about how I want the picture plane divided depending on the shape and attitude of the figure, still life, etc. After spending a brief time looking at the setup, I establish a vision. All I do after that is geared toward realizing that vision.

Vision is bigger than sight, or, what meets the eye. It can also be fragile and elusive, and paradoxically, can only be made visible through sight. I try to hang on to that vision because it is what has stirred my imagination in the first place. In the meantime I remain open to necessity for revisions, even serendipitous happenings. Not infrequently I find myself, half-way through a composition, stopping to completely revise a setup or color scheme. When the established vision is too forced, or worse, false, I have no choice except to adjust or throw it away and start over upon the realization of it.

Painting from observation requires the process to be dynamic. Sight is physical, empirical to the extent applicable to the structure of the human eye. Vision wants purging, clarification, eventually, crystallization. The painter moves between the tension of the two forces, slowly peeling away and discarding the false and the incidental. An apple must look like an apple, also a globe, a circle, a crucial participant in the poetry of the picture’s totality.

As a painter I am not a rationalist. What’s being purged and discarded are confusion, false notions, melodrama, bravado, etc., not mystery.

I paint to understand who I am, how I relate to the external world, with which I am smitten. But more often than not I paint to overcome boredom, to combat ennui."

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. After the reception be sure to come back and visit the galleries during our regular business hours of W-F 12-7 and Sat 10-5.

Tell your friends and see you there!
The exhibitions will remain up through October 2nd

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

August Art talks: Fayetteville Undergound

One of the Fayetteville Underground's goals is to present more regularly scheduled artist talks in the coming months. We really want to engage the community, allowing potential patrons to learn a bit more about the artists and the work that the Fayetteville Underground represents. Our first Thursday opening receptions each month are a fun and lively event, but sometimes due to the crowds and the reception atmosphere it is hard for those who are truly interested in learning more about the artists and their processes to connect.

Last month, we gave a talk about the photographs by the Institute du loop, the exhibition that was visiting from Taiwan. Visiting artist Matthew Lyman spoke about his paintings in the Revolver, and Gailen Hudson spoke about his pottery that was featured in the E Street.

For the month of August, Leilani Law will be speaking about the Shift Gallery Collective,visiting from Seattle, currently in the Revolver and Gregory Moore will be speaking about his paintings on metal in the Vault. Their talk will be Thursday night August 26th 6:30pm.

Megan Chapman will be speaking about the photographic works in the Hive Gallery by Christian Demare, a photographer from Paris, France and his exhibition, Ghosts in the Landscape #2 on Saturday morning August 28th at 11am, on the final day of the exhibition.

In the future we plan to have dedicated days once or twice a month when we will have the artist's talks so that people can depend on them as easily as first Thursday. We are excited about offering these casual and more intimate gatherings for those in the community interested in learning more about our current exhibitions at the Fayetteville Underground.

Upcoming Talks:Hosted by the Fayetteville Underground
Thursday August 26, 6:30pm

Leilani Law and Gregory Moore

Come to Fayetteville Underground for a Thursday night art talk with Fayetteville Underground artists Leilani Law and Gregory Moore. Leilani will discuss the current show entitled "Continental Shift" which features work from a Seattle art collective Shift in the Revolver Gallery at the Underground. Gregory will discuss his exhibitiong of paintings on found objects,"Reclaimed Surfaces" in the Vault Gallery.

Saturday August 28, 11:00a.m.

Megan Chapman

Pop in from the Farmer's Market and come to the Fayetteville Underground for an informal Saturday morning art talk with Fayetteville Underground studio artist Megan Chapman. Megan will discuss the photographic works of French photographer Christian Demare in his exhibition Ghosts in the Landscape #2 currently on display in the Hive Gallery. Megan will talk about Mr. Demare's process as well as answer any questions viewers may about the artist's work during the final day of the exhibition.

Please join us Thursday August 26th at 6:30pm and Saturday August 28th at 11:00am to learn more about these wonderful exhibitions. Dig deeper at the Fayetteville Underground.

Once again this is all a part of the cultural amenity that is the visual arts presented by the Fayetteville Underground.

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

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

July: Institute du loop, Kelly Price-Colston, Matthew Lyman and Gailen Hudson

Fayetteville Underground First Thursday Opening Reception July 1st 5-8pm

This July, Fayetteville Underground will host four new art exhibitions. In the Hive Gallery, the mysterious Institute du loop from Taipei, Taiwan will show a series of photographs, in their premier international exhibition, A place to drown. In the Vault Gallery, Fayetteville Underground artist Kelly Price-Colston's exhibition entitled "The Super Cute Show" will feature her multi-media collages. The Revolver Gallery will be filled with the works by area artist Matthew Lyman whose show will include UV reflex paintings, an animated UV lighting installation, custom furniture and a surround soundtrack. In the E-Street Gallery, pottery by Gailen Hudson will be on exhibit. It's going to be another exciting month at the Fayetteville Underground!

Institute Du Loop

In the Hive Gallery:
A Place to Drown
Institute Du Loop

Institute du Loop will present its premier international exhibition, A Place to Drown, in the Hive Gallery within the Fayetteville Underground during the month of July. This exhibition, curated by artist Megan Chapman, comes to the Fayetteville Underground from Taipei, Taiwan. The Institute du Loop is the brain child of English born visual and sound artist, "Mr. Loop." Mr. Loop has lived in Taipei for two years, and this body of work reflects his sense of being lost in the city, drowning in emotions, submerged and dreaming on the strange island he now calls home.

The photographic works presented capture what the artist's eye misses, he is using his camera to “see” what he cannot. The camera gives the artist a chance to lose himself in fleeting moments again and again. Mr. Loop sees his work as a form of emotional documentation: through these images he is finding his eyes and his heart. The Institute du Loop's exhibition presents the viewer with an archive of images, words, and sounds, or as the title suggests, A Place to Drown.

Kelly Price-Colston

In the Vault Gallery:
The Super Cute Show
Kelly Price-Colston

Kelly Price-Colston is a mixed media artist residing in Farmington, Arkansas. She has been published in the book We Feel Fine about bloggers and social media. She also is a regularly featured artist in the magazine Sew Somerset Mixed Media and will be contributing to Somerset digital magazine in September. Her studio is located in the Fayetteville Underground artist collective where she also teaches mixed media collage classes Wed. nights at 6:45pm. This is her second solo exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground Vault gallery. Cupcakes, happy child-like illustrations and paintings will set the scene for the next First Thursday show. This will be a great family event for everyone.

Matthew Lyman

In the Revolver Gallery:
Poor Traits & Land Scapegoats
Matthew Lyman

Matthew Lyman lives in the woods, with his cat Lonely Jay Kadogan, on the northern most outskirts of Northwest Arkansas. It’s all too easy to say “Unusual” when dissecting his brand of mixed media painting. When asked about his influences he names a cross section of his favorite nineteenth century scientists and twentieth century cartoon animators. When asked about his education he proclaims: “I didn’t know anything until I knew nothing.” In fact, the more you ask Matthew about his art, the more he makes it abundantly clear that art should be the last thing on your mind. For Matthew, this is simply an attempt at connecting.

A self-proclaimed existentialist weightlifter, art bodybuilder, long distance drummer and magical wizard, Matthew seems to perpetuate his own mythology which bleeds through every pore of his highly personal catalog of characters. Portraits of closed-eyed figures appear from darkness, radiating their own light reflected by a canopy of neon sky. Landscapes cascade to occupy space like slow migrations of house and hill. The ever-changing array of pattern work acts as a system of iconic folklore, unrefined ideas and rhythms. The narratives are subtle, singing quiet songs of Jungian duality, existential dilemma, high anxiety, irony, satire, desperation and beauty. It’s the kind of poetic storytelling that is abstract and painfully absurd but, somehow, everyone can still relate to. Matthew has created a whole world of imagery and iconography. There is a certain all encompassing, big bang to black hole feeling about viewing even the smallest and simplest of his multi layered paintings. Something vaguely familiar. There is, at first, an immediate connection with the obvious, the vivid color palette, two-dimensional cartoon like rendering and often quite humorous text sprinkled throughout but, there is still something more to be felt. The work tends to leave the viewer reeling for more of that deeper, invisible and unexplainable connection.

Matthew has exhibited paintings and sculptures in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Atlanta and Dallas. In July 2010, he intends to bring it home to Fayetteville. Matthew’s first solo exhibition at the Fayetteville Underground titled Poor Traits & Land Scapegoats promises a selection of over thirty new UV reflex paintings, an animated UV lighting installation, custom furniture, a surround soundtrack orchestrated by none other than the magic wizard himself and, possibly, some balloons.

Gailen Hudson

In the E-Street Gallery:
Gailen Hudson

"Clay is a fascinating thing to me. When I am in the woods or along a creek, I search for this material derived from the natural processes of chemical weathering and erosion of the bedrock and soils. I enjoy the formless natural and primitive character of clay and its manipulation and creation into an entity of my choice. The process of this raw earth material and its interaction with fire, transforming the clay into a man-made stone is exciting to me and when opening the kiln after the work of the fire is complete on the clay, I know that something new and never before seen is waiting inside.

Clay lends itself to many processes of manipulation, ideas, dimensions, form, color, texture, volume, scale, and function. I enjoy making forms on the potter’s wheel and hand forming pieces and combining forms. My influences include the functional ware of the Southern Folk Pottery tradition of wood ash glazed functional ware with storage jars, bowls, urns, and whiskey jugs. The earthenware of the Mississippian / Central and Southern Plains tradition of Native American pottery have always been a favorite of mine for its decorative designs used to enliven the fragile pottery in daily use. The stonewares of the Japanese Shino and Chinese Sung Dynasty always have my attention, as the soft boldness of the clay bodies and the covering glazes have created forms that entreat you to physically interact with the work, to feel its form, its mass, its texture and color. I like the post-fired reduction of American Raku, playing with fire, smoke, and color.

Clay is a natural organic form which can be made into a coffee mug to hold and feel the transmitted warmth of the liquid it carries, a piggy bank to hold my pocket change, a casserole pot in which to cook my supper, or a sculpture to create and define a spatial identity in my home. Or, it can be engineered into a design of a 3200 degree fabric blanket for the space shuttle, ceramic cutlery, or as a material of cold fusion technology research. I like to think of myself as somewhere in the middle of this process … but leaning more towards the coffee mug."

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 July 31st.

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