Explosive Art Exhibit

The title of this exhibit alone got me excited to go see it, Girls 'N' Guns, by Rachel Nieborg and Ine Mulder is going on until June 10th at 709 Penn Avenue and to say the least, it is explosive. Go see it now.

Last week, after working at the Public Theater, I was able to take the block walk to 709 with Isaac to see the exhibit. I mostly wanted to see it because I didn't know what to expect, whether the art would just be exciting with a fun title, or if real guns would be involved. And both would be the correct answer.

Explosive photography by Rachel Nieborg and Ine Mulder now at 709 Penn Ave.

While the walls of the gallery were all painted bright red, the photographs were the ones that made bold statements. Each piece had a different arrangement of items, usually involving fish and mice, as well as things that could be found in the average kitchen, displayed on a table. Not too exciting so far, except that in each piece the action of something in the scene was shot, which made each one interesting to browse. Though most of the objects were everyday, some of them needed a closer look and Isaac didn't really appreciate the ones with mice, but I guess it's all just art in this space. On a postcard of the event that I picked up on the way out, it says that the exhibit is of "stop-action photographs" which is a great depiction of what this exhibit is.

I'd suggest that if you're in the area between now and mid-June that you go into 709 Penn to see this exhibit, it's one that really cannot be accurately described and really just must be seen in person so you can make your own assumptions about it and how artistic you think it is or isn't. Personally, I think it's great art because of the reaction Isaac and I had to each piece. Even if you're not into art, you might still want to check it out because you like to see stuff get blown up. Whatever your reason, it's worth seeing!

As one closes, another opens...

Well, this is a bit long overdue considering I went to both of these galleries on Friday but, sometimes life happens and you have to deal with the more important things first. But, better late than never.

On Friday, I went to two galleries to check out the work - I was very excited to see both of these exhibits because both were said to be featuring forms of travel, which I would love to do more of. The first, was at 709 Penn Gallery and had new work by Melissa Kuntz the exhibit called Caravan, showcased paintings that were mainly of RVs. I loved every piece. I loved that the canvases still looked wet from the paint, each of them shinny and new. I loved the solid and bold painting style. I loved how Melissa's point of view seemed to come in at an atypical angle, not just straight on and boring. I just loved each piece. Friday (April 13th) was the closing of this exhibit and I'm sorry that I did not go to see it sooner and comment on it, because if you didn't see it, you really missed out on some quality art. And who would have thought I can be that passionate about a bunch of paintings of trailer homes?

The other exhibit I went to was going on at Future Tenant and was actually the opening reception. This was actually the first opening or closing art reception that I have gone to where I did not know the artist, so I kind of felt that that girl that was crashing the party. I'm also one of those people who likes to go about an exhibit by myself so I can make my own observations and take my time looking at certain pieces. (Yes, I am lame.) I might have to go back to this one to get that full effect and to actually appreciate it more. But I also loved this exhibit. This work was right up my alley...or runway rather, since a lot of the pieces here featured airplanes.

"Your Life is an Accident" by Johnathan Chamberlain

At Future Tenant, the exhibit is currently running through May 5th and features artwork by Arthur Mohagen III, Johnathan Chamberlain and John Phillip Abbott is called Broken Slogan. I really liked this exhibit as well because of the focus on travel, but also because there was a quite a bit of text used in each work and if I was an artist, I would put text on everything. I also liked that the guys did more than just paintings, but drawings, sketches and some objects as well. My favorite piece though was done by Johnathan Chamberlain, who is also a Pittsburgh native, called "Your Life is an Accident." I thought the emotion in the work was real and I also liked his use of vertical lines, which to me created a disconnect between the two main figures in the work.

I would suggest checking out Broken Slogan while it's here in Pittsburgh, I can easily say that you will not be disappointed in the technique each artist obviously has and the fresh look on what is art, is not only evident, but poetic throughout each piece represented.  You can do so either on your own during their hours, or there is also a Gallery Crawl on Friday, April 27th from 5:30pm until 9pm, where you'll be able to access every gallery downtown, you might see me out and about there!

A Man's Internal Reflection & A Few Paper Thin Hearts

As promised, today was the second step in my February Gallery Fest and I'm pleased to report the art is getting better and better (in my opinion at least). Today, I went to 707 Penn Ave. and 709 Penn Ave., which are located about five feet away from each other. Both exhibits were fabulous.


707 - Steve Emmett: Internal Reflections

Man's Best Friend

In this gallery you will find a number of paintings that focus on "his motif of the solitary male figure," done by the late Steve Emmett, who was a professor at Edinboro University, as well as an artist. Now I must admit, these paintings were quite manly in the sense that I could imagine all of them being done in real life, by men and only men. A lot of them made me feel like I accidentally walked in on a man just living his life on a typical Saturday afternoon. Boxers, mess and beer is an easy way to sum up the gallery as a whole. And while I found it a bit off to have the paintings hanging in a perfectly clean gallery, maybe that was the intent. I love when artists let you walk in on real life, each of Steve's paintings were very rich in color and raw in emotion. It's not everyday that you see art that's beautifully messy, usually, from what I've seen, artists tend to pick one or the other. I admire when artists break out of the "norms"...I believe that's really what art is supposed to do anyway.

My favorite piece from this collection was called Man's Best Friend, which was done in 2005 and is being sold for $1,900...in case anyone is interested. Again, the emotion on the man's face in this painting is so real and the scene is striking but yet, depicting something so common. Whatever is going on in this man's mind must be agonizing, but at least his faithful little companion is there to support him.


709 - Kathryn Carr: Paper Thin Theater

Mother Earth

I absolutely adored this exhibit! I seriously could not get over it; the detail, the humor and wit, the innovation and interaction, the technique...all flawless. (I'm pretty sure I became her number one fan today.) On a sheet of paper, as you make your way into the gallery is an explanation of the art. Kathryn Carr does paper cut art, which focuses on storytelling, mostly children's tales, puppetry and opera, which are presented in a silhouette form. The paper also said that she began this kind of art in 2008 and that it has remained her only medium because she loves the bold effects of the silhouette and straightforwardness of the creative process. Seriously, Kathryn must have been that one kid in the second grade who was making these bomb paper snowflakes while everyone else was just trying not to cut their fingers off. This exhibit was amazing! Not only was I filled with so much joy going through and actually remembering some of the fables, but it was so cool to see something so unique. Maybe this is a huge medium somewhere, but I've never seen something this beautiful and as simple paper cut-outs. And of course, since the gallery was selling prints of some pieces and cards with some other pieces on them, I had to buy something! And if you know me, you know that I spend far too much time being in love with stationary and the card aisle of every store...even if I don't actually need to buy a card for someone, so I bought a few the cards. Probably the best purchase of the year and it's only February.

Staged Identity

Since I loved Kathryn's exhibit so much, I'll just let her pieces speak for themselves. I'm currently using Mother Earth as the background on my phone and really had to pull myself away from buying it. But the cards are so beautiful as well. I'm not posting them, because I want the people who I plan on sending them to, to be surprised, but I will say that two are very "teacher-like" and two are about love and Pittsburgh. In other news: both of the exhibits mentioned are going on until Sunday the 19th, so if you're in the area, be sure to check them out! You cannot get the full experience simply through reading my blog - get out there and support the artists, Pittsburgh! You'll be glad you did!