Post by svenman on Sept 25, 2013 13:44:52 GMT -8
Very excited about the October shows we have lined up at Breeze Block Gallery...
Breeze Block Gallery presents in Gallery 1:
We Bleed Black Blood When We Die Dark Deaths: New work by Mike Egan
And in Gallery 2:
Little Exorcisms: New work by John Casey
Two solo exhibitions curated by Sven Davis
Breeze Block Gallery Portland OR.
3 October – 2 November 2013
Breeze Block Gallery is proud to present We Bleed Black Blood When We Die Dark Deaths, an all-new collection of work by Pittsburgh based artist Mike Egan.
Some might say that Mike Egan is sick or twisted. With subject matter such as devils, skeletons, coffins, blood, jack-o-lanterns and murder, those people may just be correct. Whilst working in funeral homes, Mike was surrounded by death and mourning and he started painting not only the stories of those who have passed, but the stories of those left behind after one's passing; the mourners, the lovers, the hurt and the relieved.
We Bleed Black Blood When We Die Dark Deaths presents Mike's love for Halloween, devils talking about coffins, victims of the Black Death, and men looking for knife fights. Although the subject matter is dark, mainly dealing with death and violence, Egan paints in a warm, colorful folk art style that commands a closer look. Egan invites the viewer to make their own stories when they look at each painting - maybe the narrative concerns a lost relative, a recent news headline, or maybe, just maybe, the painting is about the viewer themselves.
Breeze Block Gallery is proud to present Little Exorcisms, a solo exhibition from Oakland based artist, John Casey.
John Casey is obsessed with fictitious human morphology, which he explores in his ink drawings and sculptural work.
At first glance, his works seem to portray a menagerie of deformed creatures.
A collective analysis reveals this array of oddball creations to be a series of psychological studies — self-portraits of the artist's inner psyche in all of its multifaceted incarnations. Some sad, some horrific, and some whimsical, these characters evoke responses from laughter and sympathy to disgust and discomfort.
Whilst one might call Casey's work the exorcising of inner demons, his creations inspire more empathy than they do loathing. By depicting the grotesque as pitiable, John Casey illuminates the darkest corners of the mind, seeking redemption for all of us.
Casey says of his work; "My creatures are called monsters by some, but I often feel that the connotations associated with "monster" don't always apply to these critters unless one can add descriptors like "vulnerable" and "fragile" to the definition of monster. Maybe I have issue with the monster moniker because I see my critters as self-portraits. The idea that I expel my inner demons in the form of drawn, painted, or sculpted totems appeals to me."
Both exhibitions open at Breeze Block Gallery on Thursday 3rd October 2013 6-10pm.
Both artists will be present.
About Mike Egan
Mike Egan grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a child, he started drawing cartoons, skateboard graphics, break-dancers and found interest in the iconography of skeletons and devils.
Through high school he continued to draw and decided to study fine art.
Egan received a bachelor of fine arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where he focused on printmaking. His studies lead him to discover the works of Jose Guadalupe Posada, and expressionist painters Max Beckman and Kathe Kollwitz, who all became major influences. After college, with no direct access to the printmaking tools he had familiarized himself with, he taught himself to paint and eventually took on a similar aesthetic that he had previously created within his printmaking practice.
More recently, he attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and became a licensed embalmer/funeral director. Continuing to paint, Egan developed a unique highly graphical style that incorporated his surroundings within the funeral homes in which he was working as well as other subject matter and influences including folk art, the day of the dead, horror films, religion, Halloween and German Expressionism. Since 2006, Mike has continued to show his work in galleries throughout the USA and the UK.
About John Casey
Born on Friday the 13th in Salem, Massachusetts, John Casey has been inventing creatures since was able to hold a crayon. Drawings that his mother saved from when he was only three years old reveal an obsession with the figure. The figures in these drawings show not only the distorted perceptions of a child, but a fascination with skulls, teeth, spirographic eyes, and invented body parts. This obsession with strange creatures continued throughout his youth. “Monster models, war dioramas, dinosaurs, and horror movies on the T.V. [this included "Creature Double Feature" on Saturday afternoons, of course] occupied much of my time."
John graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston in 1988 with a BFA in Painting. Recently, John has participated in the Headlands Center for the Arts Affiliate Artist Program in Sausalito, California. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in France, Germany and throughout the USA. He currently lives and works in Oakland, California.
For more information, images, preview or sales inquiries, please contact Paige Prendergast:
paige@breezeblockgallery.com
Breeze Block Gallery
323 NW 6th Ave.
Portland
OR 97209
USA
breezeblockgallery.com/
Breeze Block Gallery presents in Gallery 1:
We Bleed Black Blood When We Die Dark Deaths: New work by Mike Egan
And in Gallery 2:
Little Exorcisms: New work by John Casey
Two solo exhibitions curated by Sven Davis
Breeze Block Gallery Portland OR.
3 October – 2 November 2013
Breeze Block Gallery is proud to present We Bleed Black Blood When We Die Dark Deaths, an all-new collection of work by Pittsburgh based artist Mike Egan.
Some might say that Mike Egan is sick or twisted. With subject matter such as devils, skeletons, coffins, blood, jack-o-lanterns and murder, those people may just be correct. Whilst working in funeral homes, Mike was surrounded by death and mourning and he started painting not only the stories of those who have passed, but the stories of those left behind after one's passing; the mourners, the lovers, the hurt and the relieved.
We Bleed Black Blood When We Die Dark Deaths presents Mike's love for Halloween, devils talking about coffins, victims of the Black Death, and men looking for knife fights. Although the subject matter is dark, mainly dealing with death and violence, Egan paints in a warm, colorful folk art style that commands a closer look. Egan invites the viewer to make their own stories when they look at each painting - maybe the narrative concerns a lost relative, a recent news headline, or maybe, just maybe, the painting is about the viewer themselves.
Breeze Block Gallery is proud to present Little Exorcisms, a solo exhibition from Oakland based artist, John Casey.
John Casey is obsessed with fictitious human morphology, which he explores in his ink drawings and sculptural work.
At first glance, his works seem to portray a menagerie of deformed creatures.
A collective analysis reveals this array of oddball creations to be a series of psychological studies — self-portraits of the artist's inner psyche in all of its multifaceted incarnations. Some sad, some horrific, and some whimsical, these characters evoke responses from laughter and sympathy to disgust and discomfort.
Whilst one might call Casey's work the exorcising of inner demons, his creations inspire more empathy than they do loathing. By depicting the grotesque as pitiable, John Casey illuminates the darkest corners of the mind, seeking redemption for all of us.
Casey says of his work; "My creatures are called monsters by some, but I often feel that the connotations associated with "monster" don't always apply to these critters unless one can add descriptors like "vulnerable" and "fragile" to the definition of monster. Maybe I have issue with the monster moniker because I see my critters as self-portraits. The idea that I expel my inner demons in the form of drawn, painted, or sculpted totems appeals to me."
Both exhibitions open at Breeze Block Gallery on Thursday 3rd October 2013 6-10pm.
Both artists will be present.
About Mike Egan
Mike Egan grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a child, he started drawing cartoons, skateboard graphics, break-dancers and found interest in the iconography of skeletons and devils.
Through high school he continued to draw and decided to study fine art.
Egan received a bachelor of fine arts from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where he focused on printmaking. His studies lead him to discover the works of Jose Guadalupe Posada, and expressionist painters Max Beckman and Kathe Kollwitz, who all became major influences. After college, with no direct access to the printmaking tools he had familiarized himself with, he taught himself to paint and eventually took on a similar aesthetic that he had previously created within his printmaking practice.
More recently, he attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and became a licensed embalmer/funeral director. Continuing to paint, Egan developed a unique highly graphical style that incorporated his surroundings within the funeral homes in which he was working as well as other subject matter and influences including folk art, the day of the dead, horror films, religion, Halloween and German Expressionism. Since 2006, Mike has continued to show his work in galleries throughout the USA and the UK.
About John Casey
Born on Friday the 13th in Salem, Massachusetts, John Casey has been inventing creatures since was able to hold a crayon. Drawings that his mother saved from when he was only three years old reveal an obsession with the figure. The figures in these drawings show not only the distorted perceptions of a child, but a fascination with skulls, teeth, spirographic eyes, and invented body parts. This obsession with strange creatures continued throughout his youth. “Monster models, war dioramas, dinosaurs, and horror movies on the T.V. [this included "Creature Double Feature" on Saturday afternoons, of course] occupied much of my time."
John graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston in 1988 with a BFA in Painting. Recently, John has participated in the Headlands Center for the Arts Affiliate Artist Program in Sausalito, California. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in France, Germany and throughout the USA. He currently lives and works in Oakland, California.
For more information, images, preview or sales inquiries, please contact Paige Prendergast:
paige@breezeblockgallery.com
Breeze Block Gallery
323 NW 6th Ave.
Portland
OR 97209
USA
breezeblockgallery.com/
