Sunday, September 25, 2011

Nick Howard - Illustrator



“Circle”

Nick Howard

Name: Nick Howard
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: nickhowardart@yahoo.com
Website: http://nickhowardart.blogspot.com/
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=48220

Bio- Nick Howard grew up in St. Louis Park, MN and went to St. John’s University where he received a BA in studio art. Nick has been showing his drawings for the past six years locally and received a MN state arts board grant in 2009. He has also shown work at the Design Shop in Athens Greece, Grandview University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the State Street Gallery in Madison, WI.



"Exam Discovery"


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
At the moment I am making work for my upcoming solo show at Rosalux Gallery (http://rosaluxgallery.com/) in October. This new body of work features drawings of large armies of masked figures that are gathered in loose formation as well as some abstracted figures, which look like structures or mountains. In some drawings the armies surround or emerge from the mountainous figures and in others the mountainous figures appears to emerge quietly from the background The new work seems to take a step back to look at patterns and how things proliferate and the sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle nature of these patterns. I have found these drawings feel quieter and maybe at times more ominous then my previous work. They also seem to have less of a narrative feel than my older work, which typically revolved around a few reoccurring toothy multiple mouthed characters. .

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
My art has always had a very psychological bend to it. I have had a very strong interest in studying how the mind works in order to understand why world is the way it is. I have drawn as much from reading books about the brain to observation of my own behavior and experience. I used to really want to make conclusions about the way things are in hopes it would help change them but now I feel more interested in just observing and the art is a product of this observation. Therefore, I don’t have a directed statement and leave conclusions pretty open for the audience and myself.




"Formation of Masked Figures



What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
I was told that a career has many ups and downs and to be patient and persistent with the low times and ride the swell of the up times. I was also told to take a day off and relax now and then.



Tell me about your workspace and your creative process.
I work in a shared studio space that is within walking distance from my apartment in Northeast Minneapolis. It is really great to be close to my studio because the sometimes labor intensive nature of my work means I spend a good deal of time there. I usually start a handful of drawing at once but then really focus on one or two until they are finished. Overall I find that my process is very finicky and changes a lot depending on where I’m at, so really the biggest part of my process is just showing up and trying to do what feels right. This is especially true with the work I am making now because the concepts are fairly simple, pattern and proliferation. I am learning to let the drawings develop very naturally and play off one another.




”Masked Group with Structure”

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
There are so many great artists in this state it would be a long list if I mentioned all of them so here are a few people’s work I really like and follow.

Joel Starkey http://www.flickr.com/photos/30693446@N04/
Anna Tsantir http://www.annatsantir.com/annatsantir/
Dan Luedtke http://danimaldanimal.blogspot.com/
Aaron Dysart http://www.aarondysart.com/index.htm


If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

I actually make the MIA a pretty regular stop. I like to see what is going on in the MAEP gallery. While there we would look at the Dutch paintings, Christian icons and the Japanese Buddhist sculptures and prints. I usually don’t have the time to do this but we’d hit the road and head out to Franconia. I also always enjoy seeing what is going on at Soo Vac.

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

There are a few places I stop by on the internet:
Fecal Face (http://www.fecalface.com/SF/),
My Love for you is a Stampede of Horses (http://myloveforyou.typepad.com/),
The Drawing Center (http://www.drawingcenter.org/),
and sometimes I watch the Art 21 videos on PBS’s website (http://www.pbs.org/art21/).
Most of the best stuff I find out about is from word of mouth recommendation though.




"Profusion"

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

Yes, I am working on my first solo show called “Profusion/Glimmer” which will be at Roslaux’s (http://rosaluxgallery.com/) new location in October.
I am also looking forward to showing at Barbette this fall with another one of my favorite local artists Terrence Payne (http://www.terrencepayne.com/index.html).

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Asia Ward - Sculptor


Asia Ward

Name: Asia Ward
City/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Email: asiaward@gmail.com
Website: asiaward.com
MNartist.org profile
Facebook page:
MNOriginal Feature
Twitter: @asia_ward

Bio~
I am a Minnesota based sculpture artist, and my work ranges from animatronic creatures to large-scale metal sculptures and aluminum dioramas. I exhibit my most recent experiments in kinetic sculpture at Rosalux Gallery, a member run gallery cooperative in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

Within the past ten years I have created two different bodies of work. My current and future work is about strong dreamscapes that have affected my life. My earlier work is about using animatronics and fabric from stuffed animals and old clothes to give artificial spirit to my animal sculptures. Although the themes of both bodies of work are different, their similarities are my use of electronics to give them light, motion, and sound.

The landscape sculptures were created to represent "scenes" of strong dreams I have had during my life. The dreamscapes are distorted perspectives of real landscapes around my parent's house, an old school house in the country. They are also based on places I have lived where I have experienced clarity and fear. My unconscious neatly summarized everything I knew and felt at the time of my dream, and narrowed it down into a detached landscape symbolic of those events. I have often remembered the dreams during turbulent times in my life, and have used them to help me see a clear and detached perspective of current events. The dreamscapes have shaped my moods, perspectives, and choices, so I honor and remember them by the construction of these sculptures.


"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

My aluminum landscape work is about seeing things from different perspectives. I distort a real landscape by turning the perspective into layers. I make features in the landscape appear near or far by twisting, fanning, or pinching the aluminum layers in different ways. This gives the viewer the opportunity to approach the three-dimensional relief landscape from all perspectives - flying above view, or below the earth view, etc.

I want the viewers to identify with the landscapes in my sculptures and to daydream about being a part of it - like a train set, or a Christmas village - to pretend and take part in this miniature world.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

You have to go where the artists are to continue to have community and support.

You have to defend your time as an artist, and declare that you are “ at work.” To yourself, and to others.

Spend at least two hours a day doing your art. That includes research, drawing, workshops, applying for grants and shows, and going to gallery openings.

Buy a nice camera and document your work. All of it- the good stuff and the bad stuff, then share it with the public as much as possible.

Listen when someone is critiquing your work. Ask them questions and get them to explain their reasoning. Do not get defensive.

Tell me about your workspace and your creative process.

My studio is in the Casket Arts Building in NE Minneapolis.
I like to figure out the capabilities of my materials. Right now it’s electronics, microcontrollers, aluminum sheet, steel and a mig welder. I have an idea in mind and I push the material and tools to the limit. I fight them. I break the aluminum and steel! I try not to break my welder or catch anything on fire! I enjoy working with materials that can handle a lot of abuse. Natural materials like wood and clay don’t work for me because they have their own way. Whereas steel and plastic, you can bend and break, and weld it back together again.

I challenge myself by coming up with a project idea that is really hard to draw because of its complex 3-dimensional shape. I try to be flexible and compromise, and continue to strive to complete a good and finished sculpture.

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

John Diebel
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35689679@N08/sets/72157623020753079/
John Diebel creates collages of places and situations. He is a master at using color, layers of paper, and composition to pull out and push back the subject matter in his work.

Amelia Biewald
http://www.ameliabiewald.com/
Amelia Biewald’s work is about the sensual and slightly dirty feeling of fantasy, sexuality, and rich tactile objects.

Jack Pavlik
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=5337
I love Jack Pavlik’s ability to make bands of steel sing and move gracefully.

David Bowen
http://www.dwbowen.com/
David Bowen’s work inspires me. He can grow plastic shaped onion bulbs at the same rate as real ones, let house flies pilot four foot blimps, and make a field of grass in Minneapolis move exactly in same way as a field of grass in Duluth.




If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Rosalux Gallery in N.E. Minneapolis
http://rosaluxgallery.com/
I’m a part of the Rosalux Gallery Co-operative, and can’t help but promote the amazing group of artists that show their work there.

The Museum of Russian Art
http://tmora.org/
Some of the paintings in the museum’s collection have really captured the ugliness and the enduring nature of human labor.

Franconia Sculpture Park
http://www.franconia.org/
An hours drive from the cities, and well worth the trip to see emerging and professional sculptures create monumental pieces of work. Watch them weld! Participate in an iron pour!


Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

Springboard for the Arts
http://www.springboardforthearts.org/

Mira’s List
http://miraslist.blogspot.com/

The Art Newspaper
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/

The Jealous Curator
http://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

Rosalux will be having a group show titled XXL at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, in Burnsville, MN running through the month of December.

I was chosen to be an Artist in Residence at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN for the month of September 2011.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Louis N LaPierre - Painter

"Needed" acrylic on wood panel
Louis N. LaPierre
Name:Louis N. LaPierre
City/State: St Paul, MN
Email:LouisNLaPierre@gmail.com
Website:www.LouisNLaPierre.com
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=189435
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Louis-N-LaPierre-ARTIST/173995722623577?sk=wall

Bio.
Louis N LaPierre hails from St. Paul Minnesota. He was born, learned
to walk and create. He is still walking, and doesn't remember when he
began painting. His favorite thing to do is watch, and his second is
to paint. Louis uses art to find comfort in the uncomfortable, and a
way to cope with the inevitable. Since his graduation from CVA in
Saint Paul Minnesota in 2005 he has adopted a vigorous art practice in
a variety of mediums. His work can be seen in many venues and on
projects such as album covers, gig posters, steel, books, galleys,
film, private collections and murals across the U.S.A.

"A to B" acrylic on wood


Tell me about your work?
What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
My work is a constant revolving door. Some times a piece I'm working on
comes to fruition instantly, some times in mingles in a large pile for
an undetermined amount of time. I start twice as much as I want to
finish. And end up not finishing enough. projects tend to be like a
rolling ball of snow. They are not independent from one another. Time
is the only separation. Currently I think I'm going to focus more on
fishing. There is plenty of time to create when I have to trudge to
the studio.

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but
what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What
statement do you hope to make?


Art is a attempt to connect. We all want to feel connected, somehow.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

“Why walk, when you can run in circles” G'd Out Anthony


Tell me about your work space and your creative process.
As long as I pay attention things come together I'm some sort of
subconscious capacity. Its really all just a study in how everything
connects. I have a place were I actually apply paint to a substrate
but all the important stuff happens elsewhere.



"On Looker" acrylic on paper


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
George Thompson (Trans Plant):
http://knowngallery.com/artists/george-ewok-thompson
Broken Crow: http://www.brokencrow.com/
Michael Gaughan: http://www.michael-gaughan.com/
Jennifer Davis: http://www.jenniferdavisart.com/

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places
would we go? What would we see?
Walker Art Center: www.walkerart.org
Cult Status: http://cultstatusgallery.com/
XYZ: http://thexyandz.com/#/gallery
Yen34
Bridge: (Gotta find that one yourself)
Soap Factory: http://www.soapfactory.org/

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new
artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and
otherwise?
Springboard for the arts( http://www.springboardforthearts.org/ ) and
mnartists.org are the best recorces in MN by far. This website is a
good one to stumble upon new artists (http://wbfkr.com/ ).


"Blue Bird", acrylic and silkscreen on paper



Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Yes
Closing Party!
Cult Status Gallery
2913 Harriet Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Closing Reception: Saturday, September 17th 7pm-1am
Music By: makr/brodR (Mark Mcgee and Andrew Broder)

Cult Status Gallery is pleased to announce Nay-Say, featuring the art
of J. Wasyk and Louis N. LaPierre. Cohabitants of the same St. Paul
studio for four years, Wasyk and LaPierre have created all the work in
this show within their studio walls. While both of their work explores
contemporary issues of environment and space, their end results are
polar opposites.


Their individual approaches to making art have
created an ongoing argument at the studio. J. Wasyk insists that there
must be a vision of the final product and executes it to a tee without
straying. He doesn't start until he knows that his vision can be
perfectly fulfilled in the end. Conversely, Louis insists that the
vision must come through the process and never knows what the final
product will look like until he is done.


Their collaboration within
the walls of Cult Status creates a body of work with vast differences
and few similarities, all stemming from the same conversations and
arguments.

"Eat Until You Cant" acrylic and silkscreen on paper

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Nate Szklarski - Painter

Nate Vincent Szklarski


Name: Nate Vincent Szklarski
City/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Email: nathanvincent13@gmail.com
Website: http://natevs.tumblr.com/
MNartist.org
 profile: http://www.mnartists.org/Nate_Vincent_Szklarski
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/natevincentszklarski


Bio~
My name is Nate Vincent Szklarski. I am a 24 year young artist will a taste for greater things. I co founded the infamous MPLS DETH CREW upon my arrival to Minneapolis in 2006. Since then I have made a name for myself by being a curator at the Cult Status Gallery, an artist of fine work, and even projecting the scrawls of the alias Hellmouth lurking around every corner. I am a constant.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is
this different from past projects?
My work is definitely a complete reflection of my personal interests.
I watch a lot of cult film and take an interest in magic and history.
Also, my interest in the traditional tattoo style is very apparent. I
am currently working on a project with my best friend, co-DETH mate,
and fellow tattoo enthusiast, Chris Krapohl.
(http://totaldepravity.blogspot.com/) It's a very dark and mystifying
art showcase at Cult Status Gallery on September 23rd called 'Sons of
Northern Darkness'. It will feature work from the two of us that we
have been collecting since this spring. From our standard water color
and India ink paintings to an 8 foot tall red illuminated black cross.
We also will have some wonderful music provided by DJ Bitsbits and the
band Nomia. Possible appearance by the video masters Wonderhaus. This
project is going to be the first showing that Chris and I have done
exclusively together.  We have always had similar interests and ideas
when it comes to how to present art, so when the idea for SoND came up
it was in instant yes and ran 100% smoothly. And it feels great to
work next to your best friend.


God Is Love and Love Is A Savage Tyranny

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but
what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What
statement do you hope to make?

The art that I make is pretty straight forward for the most part. I
try and paint images and ideas that are timeless and universal. One
thing about my work is definitely that the devil is in the details.
Anyone from any walk of life can see a painting I have done and think
that it is a beautiful piece of art, but then when they truly start to
focus in on what is exactly happening or where the idea came from they
can shudder a bit in discomfort. There is no real statement I am
trying to make with these sort of pieces. I am very uninterested in
most of the world around me and most everything I am interested in is
long since passed or some people think truly doesn't exist at all.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
All advice is great in some form. I get advice subconsciously from my
surroundings everyday. Most of this is from myself. I will look at an
image of something that I have drawn before a few time and see a new
line or perspective that I can add to make my art better. As for
advice from others.. people have suggestions about materials I should
try out or practices that I can do to sharpen my abilities. I try and
keep an open mind to all of this.


God Is Love and Love Is A Savage Tyranny


Tell me about your work space and your creative process.

I work from home mostly, unless it is something on location. My home
is my sanctuary, truly. I recently made a studio of the front four
season porch in my house that I am very excited about. My creative
process is very basic. I will sit down with a sketch book and draw
away very roughly. Most of these sketches and ideas never see the
light of day only because there are not as many hours in a day as I
would like. What I draw comes from my interests and imagination.. a
crow adorned in jewels building a nest inside of a human skull or a
vampire mermaid creature lady waiting patiently for some passing
seaman to enchant and devour. Once I fall in love with a sketch or
idea, I transfer it onto my canvas and paint away. Very basic. It's
the imagination that counts.


Witch Trials (1692-1693)

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
I love so many! My home is cluttered with works from some of these folks.
My good friend, 27, (http://www.flickr.com/groups/422469@N20/) is an
amazing street artist that I have seen fortunate enough to paint
beside and own some work. The legend, Alex Kuno.
(http://alexkuno.blogspot.com/) He tells such wonderful stories with
his work. Don't own anything yet but would love to. Alex, if you
reading this lets do a swap! ;) All the Uptown tattoo artists.
(http://uptowntattoo.com/) Matt Kolling, Jon Sweet, Nic Skrade, Zack
Kinsey! There are so many more.

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places
would we go? What would we see?
We would go to the MIA, which has such a wonderful collection of
everything. I can spend hours in there looking at the entire
collection. We would go to the rail yards in Northeast and watch some
of the most bright and crazy graffiti work you have ever seen roll by
right in front of you. The library and the book store at The Walker
are always fun. The Ink Lab tattoo shop to look at what my friends are
up to there. They always have art that they are working on that blows
my mind. And to Cult Status and Rogue Buddha. The best galleries for
my taste.


Snake, Heart, Dagger

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new
artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and
otherwise?
I spend a lot of time rummaging through Tumblr. I can follow all of my
favorite artists from around to world and others who just post
interesting photos that can get me brainstorming.

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future? 
Sons of Northern Darkness at 


Cult Status Gallery
2913 Harriet Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408

on Friday September 23rd, 2011 with Chris Krapohl.