I was given the opportunity to curate Vuka's Monthly Art Show for the month of July. Throughout this experience I got in touch with nearly 60 artists in Austin and narrowed it down to 7. The best part of this process was getting to see the amount of talented artists that live in this city. The show included installation art from Brooke Gassiot, Street Art from Michael "Truth" Johnston and a sculpture by David Culpepper. Our sponsor Dos Equis provided refreshments for the 200+ art lovers that attended the 3 hour event. 

Vuka has graciously given me the opportunity to continue curating their future art shows. Check back for future dates and if you have any art you would like to submit just send it my way!

List of artists:

Ben Aqua (Video installation)

Brooke Gassiot ( Art installation)

David Culpepper (Sculpture)

Kiki Whatley ( In drawings)

Olin Roth (Painting)

Michael "Truth" Johnston (Painting) 

Ben Newman (Photography)

Luis Angulo (Painting) 

Vuka's website: 

vukaaustin.com

Grayduck Gallery is currently exhibiting the work of two talented artists: Mathew John Winters and Pat Snow. Pat's work consists of expressive portraits done on panels with transparent layers of paint and bold line work. Reminiscent of Elizabeth Peyton, Pat has a minimalistic approach to the art of portraiture. His use of black and bright primary colors is lean and effective. The white of the panels is left untouched both in the background and areas of light areas on the face creating strong areas of contrast. Some of the paintings include text which I find is more effective on some of the pieces than others.

Working in a different vein, Matthew John Winters creates amorphous shapes with densely compacted ink drawings. The imagery found in the drawings is whimsical and seemingly random. His use of black ink and a minimal color palette helps guide the eye throughout each piece. Matthew also exhibited other paintings that would seem to have been made by a completely different artist. Nevertheless they are strong abstract pieces that play with geometry and different materials such as spray paint.  

WINTERSNOW SNOWINTERS will be up from june 21 - july 21, 2013. Grayduck gallery is open to the public Thursdays - Saturdays 11-6pm and Sundays 12-5pm. Their next show titled Buk Collection features artist Jason Webb. Opening reception takes place on Friday, July 26, 7-9pm. The exhibition will run from July 26 to August 25, 2013

Click on the image below for more pictures!

This past weekend Co-Lab hosted performance artist Cody Levidna at their East Austin location. Cody's piece included video, live improvised drumming and actors. The whole piece lasted no more than 3 minutes and seemed to have no particular narrative. The first time you experience the performance, it is hard to grasp and fully understand what the artist is trying to achieve. Cody executed the three minute piece, every eight minutes between 7 and 11pm and thats where the hook is. Although each performance followed the same script, through shear mind numbing repetition, Cody puts the viewer in a sort of trance where you unwittingly look for the subtle differences between each performance. Admittedly, I did not stick around the whole night but I can imagine that by the end of the night the last performance had very little resemblance to the first one of the night. It was a perpetual game of telephone where Cody created a Groundhogs Day effect that the viewer could experience for as long or as little as they wanted to.

Please visit the link below to view more of Cody Ledvina's work.

http://codyledvina.com/ 

It was inevitable ​that the 3D craze would spread into all aspects of our life. Grayduck Gallery's newest show explores the trend through photographs, paintings and sculptures that have to be viewed through 3D glasses to be fully appreciated. The show titled Red Left, Blue Right  is a collective of artists from across North America. Most of the artwork is strong enough to be enjoyed with or without the glasses, but photographer Dan Forbes has the most success with the effect.  Dan Forbes layers contrasting images in his photopraphs that when viewed through the glasses jump out at you. The images are beautifully shot and well composed. 

​Although 3D art is nothing new, Grayduck's newest exhibition succeeds because there is substance beyond the gimmick. Opening night took place on May 11th and despite the strong storm that blew through town, the gallery had a steady stream of 3D spectacle wearing art enthusiasts flowing in and out of the gallery. 

​Red Left, Blue Right will be on view through June 16th and the show was put together by guest curator Phillip Edward Niemeyer. For more information please visit the Grayduck Gallery website at: http://www.grayduckgallery.com/

Art enthusiasts wearing 3D glasses provided by gallery.

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