it is a success to be one."
- Charles Horton Cooley, American sociologist (1864-1929)
It was a cold, crisp night tonight. Full moon, high clouds. Nice not to have rain after the last week we've had. Stacie and I went downtown to the Belltown Art Walk, specifically to see local artist Troy Gua. The show was called Local Aesthetic and it was at the Suite 100 Gallery on Second Avenue between Bell and Battery. Tonight was the opening, but the work will be up all month and through February 6th. I would highly recommend stopping by and checking it out. (Incidentally, I just found out that over the years Troy has also shown and sold some of his work at one of my fave Seattle bars, the Hideout - which may explain why some of his style seems familiar to me.)
Troy's latest work Hybrid (Face) Series, on display at Suite 100, are bold, graphic images of two iconic pop culture faces superimposed on one another. Working with resin coated enamel and acrylic on canvas, he ties the two images together not just visually, but metaphorically as well. One of my favorites (above - top image) is entitled "The Pope John Paul Stanley." The dual images of the front man from KISS and the former leader of the Catholic church just does something for me. (I also love "The Burt and Ernie" which pairs Burt Reynolds' iconic mug with that lovable goof from Sesame Street.) There is a lot of humor and sarcasm in this work, two things I love, and two things I think we need more of.
He also has some fascinating and absorbing paintings and mixed-media work, which you can see on his website, TroyGua.com. I particularly like "Devil's Food" and "Artist as Landscape."
And a thank you to his beautiful wife Catherine, for letting us take up far too much of her time.
Also at the gallery are the works of two other local artists, Ryan Molenkamp and Greg Boudreau, which I found to be quite stimulating. I particularly appreciated Molenkamp's "Place Sketch 1".
Support Independent Art & Artists!
KJT - Seattle (2009)
KJT - Seattle (2009)
2 comments:
Tres cool, Kevin. Many thanks for the links.
Glad you like 'em... there was some really, really cool work on display. Made me feel good just being in the gallery (made me realize how lazy I've become with some of my own stuff).
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