BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAYThinkspace Presents:
(April 15th, 2010 – Los Angeles) Thinkspace is honored to welcome back New York based artist Allison Sommers for her second solo show with our gallery, following a smaller exhibition in our project room last spring.
In this new series Sommers aims to engage with the metaphor of Schlaraffenland, the world of plenty, to explore the facets of gross abundance and to complicate what it means to take pleasure in the flesh. In Schlaraffenland, everything and everyone is part of a grotesque banquet of plenty, and consumption of others is not a transgressive act, but rather a necessary engagement of the world around them.
There is an eroticism that charges Schlaraffenland with excitement and danger; while some creatures give themselves freely for consumption, others are trapped, tricked, or cajoled into giving bits of themselves up to the feast. The uncertainty this creates in the relationships between her creatures, who are at once both so cheerful and dangerous, is fascinating. It’s the tension created by this ambiguity that invigorates the world of these creatures: seductive, dangerous, peculiar Schlaraffenland.
We are also excited to welcome back João Ruas for his second solo show in our project room this May. ‘III’ asks the question – what divides the sacred from the mundane? Is that a universal or a personal matter? Can a moment, a place, or a person in your life ever be sacred? These questions were the starting point of obsessive and transforming thoughts and drawings which resulted in this series of works. Iconography obviously plays a big part in the aesthetic being explored by Ruas in ‘III’, but so do everyday life, everyday dreams and everyday fears. Sacred can give you hope and happiness. Sacred can bring you disillusionment and tears.
Allison Sommers "Coconut Woman"
In our main gallery space::
Allison Sommers
‘Schlaraffenland’
Abandoning deference for playful irreverence, Allison Sommers draws on her interests in renaissance and baroque art, toying with staid motifs and trading solemnity for nose-thumbing whimsy. She delights in deconstructing the seriousness of historical tropes of art, and tempers sweetness with subtle touches of dark foreboding and sexual deviance.
Allison Sommers studied early modern history at the University of Virginia, where she was able to legitimize a lifelong love of the historical narratives and themes of the Old World, much of which continue to inform her work. She currently lives and works in New York City, where she lives with her husband, Gerrit, and their hedgehog, Ludwig. She has previously exhibited work at Ad Hoc (NYC), Gallery1988 (Los Angeles and San Francisco), Distinction Gallery (Escondido), DvA Gallery (Chicago), and at the Gen Art Vanguard New Contemporary Art Fair during Art Basel Miami in 2008 and the Aqua Art Fair during Art Basel Miami 2009.
Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ‘Sclaraffenland’ coming together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157623393138819/
Artist website: www.allisonsommers.com
Joao Ruas Untilted
In our project room:
João Ruas
‘III’
Born in Brazil, 28-year old artist João Paulo Alvares Ruas was still a young child when his interest for visual art started to grow. Comic books were his first bridge to lines and colors, during high school much of his time was devoted to creative thinking due to the almost alternative education institution he studied under. Later, he took Design as his choice in University.
After a three year stint in London, Ruas went back to his home town, São Paulo, where he works and lives.
Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ‘III’ coming together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157623517671516/
Artist website: http://feral-kid.com/
About Thinkspace Gallery:
Established in November of 2005, Thinkspace exists as a catalyst for the ever expanding new contemporary art movement that is exploding forth from the streets and art schools the world over. We are here to help represent this new generation of artists, to provide them that home base and to aid them in building the right awareness and collector base necessary for long-term growth.
Our aim is to help these new talents shine and to provide them a gallery setting in which to prove themselves. It is our hope and dream that through these opportunities these individuals will prosper and continue to grow to amaze us all for years to come. With the love of and for our community, and with the talents of so many incredible artists involved, we believe that this movement will provide the necessary proving ground for the ideas and dreams of today to become the foundations of a new tomorrow.
Thinkspace Gallery is located at 6009 Washington Blvd, in the heart of the Culver City Arts District, Culver City, CA 90232. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, please call 310.558.3375, visit www.thinkspacegallery.com, or email contact@thinkspacegallery.com.
For Press and Publicity Inquiries Please Contact:
Andrew Hosner
M: 310.403.8549
Opening Reception:
Fri, May 7th 7-10PM with both artists in attendance
The Mandoline Grill Food Truck will be out during the opening reception – come hungry!
Both exhibitions on view: May 7th – June 4th
thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
#310.558.3375
Hours:
Wednesday thru Saturday
1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (or by appointment)
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