Map of the Becoming, archival inkjet print collage; reconfigurable, approximately 28″ x 11″, 2011

On Saturday night a group of area artists gathered at Gabe and Jennifer Hillebrand‘s home for a sort-of salon-style opening of a one-night show called Diverge, curated by Gabe.  The point was to submit something that is a divergence from our customary practice.

Thanks to Gabe and Jen for hosting!

Above: Katie Phillips

Above: Katie Phillips, Amy Sacksteder and Chido Johnson

Above: Katie Phillips,  Chido Johnson and Kyohei Abe

Above: Amy Sacksteder and Chido Johnson

Above: part of my Last Map series installed in new, custom-made frames.  Reclaimed oak frames by Matt O’Brien (with white finishing by me).  Framing done by Molly Nuzzo.

Thanks to Alison, Jacklyn, Kelly, and Elizabeth for a great opening!

In other news, I just finished installing work at Butter Projects for their upcoming four-person exhibition Non Native.  Details are below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Feb 15, 2011
BUTTER PROJECTS
Alison Wong Kelly Frank Jacklyn Brickman Elizabeth Boyd Hartmann butter.projects@gmail.com www.butterprojects.info

WELCOME TO MICHIGAN, STAY A WHILE….
Royal Oak, Michigan.

BUTTER projects presents the first exhibition of our 2011 season titled NON-NATIVE. The exhibit runs from March 5 – April 1, 2011 with an opening reception on March 5, 2011 from 7-10pm. Free and open to the public.

NON-NATIVE brings together a group of four Non-Michiganders who are currently living and working in the Metro-Detroit area. The exhibition highlights the role community and sense of place plays in work that addresses varying cultures, techniques, traditions and methods. Featuring works in fiber, painting, photography and sculpture.

Participating artists include Kyohei Abe (Anjo-shi, Aichi, Japan/Ferndale), Chido Johnson (Mutare, Zimbabwe / Detroit), Katie Phillips (Louisville, KY / Bloomfield Hills) and Amy Sacksteder (Augusta, GA / Ypsilanti).

In conjunction with the exhibit, a panel discussion with the artists of NON-NATIVE will be held on March 20 at 2pm. Guest moderators Vince Carducci and renee c. hoogland will lead the discussion regarding the unique framework of Metro-Detroit; what draws artists here, where does our location fit in the contemporary art world and how it’s played a role in the panelists work.

About Butter Projects

BUTTER projects is a studio and exhibition space founded in October of 2009. Housed in a storefront built in 1915, the space was conceived to be flexible and open to a multitude of creative endeavors. Our mission is to engage with the community and participate in the promotion of the arts in the Metro-Detroit area by providing a place to make, discuss and exhibit artwork. Butter Projects is run and operated by Alison Wong, Kelly Frank, Jacklyn Brickman and Elizabeth Boyd Hartmann.

Butter is located at 814 West Eleven Mile Road, in Royal Oak, Michigan. Parking is available behind the building. For more information visit www.butterprojects.info or contact butter.projects@gmail.com
Hours are by appointment only with the exception of special events and receptions. ###

The opening of Fixing the Sky on Thursday night was well attended. People really seemed to like the work and there were two entrancing sets of music by Brett Hool, half of the singer-songwriter duo Hool, managed by our new friend Yannick. They brought a video of Brett’s that played in the background, which added another dimension to the exhibition/performance.

There was a lot of wine, new friends, and a fun kaleidoscope to play with (see the amazing image of Yannick below). Nicole and I were both surprised when old friends from grad school showed up.  My childhood friend Meghan, now an attorney in Manhattan, also trekked down to Brooklyn for the festivities and was kind enough to host me for the five days I was in New York. Brick & Mortar (Helen’s loft) was a perfect setting for the event.

Helen, me and Nicole in front of the Island Projects installation Fixing the Sky. Check out my and Nicole’s site for more images of the installation.

Saturday morning, we hosted a brunch. It was wonderful to see the show in the daylight. We had a good crowd at that event as well, including friends from Michigan, Jen and Walter. Jen had video work in the Media Lounge at the concurrent College Art Association conference. Walter was pleased that a childhood friend, who lives only a train stop away in Brooklyn, was able to make it to the brunch.

Thanks to Nicole for flying in from Iceland, Helen for hosting and organizing, to Hool and Yannick for lending their talents and to everyone who came out. It was great to meet and see so many wonderful people!

My work: Out of the Blue and Into the Black 5.1 and 9.1

My work: Out of the Blue and Into the Black: 2.2, 12.1 and 1.1

Above images: Nicole Pietrantoni

Above images: Helen Dennis

Installation: Island Projects

Thursday night was our opening for the three-person exhibition Fixing the Sky, which took place at Brick & Mortar in Brooklyn.  The turn-out for the opening Thursday and Brunch Saturday were great.  I’ll post images of those events soon.

Ice Above, Fire Below | color transparencies, thread, cyanotypes and lithographs | dimensions variable  (this installation approximately 96″ wide) | 2010, in collaboration with Nicole Pietrantoni, SÍM House, Reykjavík, Iceland.

Friday night was the opening of the residents’ exhibition, dubbed  The Supreme Council of Higher Beings.  There was some great work in the show and Mark was involved in an exciting collaboration/interactive music and sound-based performance with our friends Jan and Beer.  It turned the opening into a party.  A lot of people showed up and the residents received great feedback about all of the work, including an interactive Venn diagram connecting artists and related people in Iceland by Rebecca Key.

One of the best outcomes of this November residency has been meeting and and beginning  a collaborative partnership with American artist Nicole Pietrantoni.  She is in Iceland for a year on a Fulbright fellowship and a Leifur Eiriksson Foundation grant. This installation was our first collaborative endeavor.

Amy Sacksteder: We are running…

October 4th-October 29th

The work included in this project is derived from the last moments of Amelia Earhart’s life and is used as a springboard to examine and confront mortality. The title is an excerpt of Earhart’s last words. The work is also influenced by the artists’s June 2010 residency in Iceland.

Artist Talk: Friday October 29th, 11am
Reception: Friday October 15th, 6-9pm

The Fine Arts Center Gallery
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 N St. Louis Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

The Gallery is located on the NEIU campus inside the Salme Harju Steinberg Fine Arts Center. Park in the lot the west side of campus via the entrances Foster or Bryn Mawr Avenues.

Directions here.

To see invividual images of pieces in the show, visit this page on my website.

Museum, Monument (where we can go to save ourselves), transparency collage, sand, painted plaster and foam islands maquette, transparencies on projector, 2009-10

Sub Terrain

What lies below the surface of the physical, the perceptible, and the quantifiable? Invisible forces of the subconscious simmer until they come to a head in subtle circumstances of serendipity or in violent disruption, sparring with the perceived logic of life.

Sub Terrain is an all-media exhibition that invites artists to give vision to the invisible and explore the landscape of the immaterial and its convergence with the physical realm.

Artists:
Debra Broz, Mira Burack, Ginger Chase, Susan Evans, Rachel Frank, Matt Frieburghaus, Lauren Harlowe, Megan Heeres, Melissa Jones, Julie Lambert, Amanda Lechner, Ryan Molloy, Barbara Neri, Manisha Patel, Judy Rushin, Audrey Russell, Amy Sacksteder, Madeline Stillwell, Cedric Tai, Sally Schluter-Tardella, Amanda Thatch, Christopher Ulivo, B.J. Vogt, Scotty Wagner and Morgan Morel, Graem Whyte, Audra Wolowiec.

Work: Ann Arbor, 306 State Street, Ann Arbor, MI

Exhibition runs September 10th – October 5th
Opening Reception: September 10th 6-9 pm

Come out to the opening if you can!