The awesome Chérie Fawcett is now in the house as Silicon W’s new Gallery Manager. You may know her from Artery, and it was only later in the evening when I figured out why she looked familiar: she helped out at my 5+5 event and was one of Paul Walker’s room mates. Chérie’s first show at SW kicked off Thursday night and featured…
the…
completely…
amazing…
work…
of my good friend, Mister…
Bernie (centre)…
Rohde. Bernie told me that this is the best showing of his work so far, given the complete dark of the…
side gallery…
where…
his…
work…
was…
hung.
I think this is the single largest showing of Bernie’s work that I’ve seen. The venue was the best opportunity so far for me to shoot Bernie’s work. If I had had more time I would have jumped out to grab the tripod, but for now we’ll have to make do with these hand-held shots. This showing is a must-see.
kwartzlab’s Karl Williams (above) was showing his concept clock, and…
Brohemus and I checked out…
Ink on acrylic – Kristen Antaya
some other cool work. These drawings by Kristen were floated out from the wall about half an inch, casting great shadows behind and giving a great depth to this work.
I like the mash-up of media happening here, with…
art, music, and…
Ink on paper? – Branko Vranic
Branko had some insanely…
Ink on paper? – Branko Vranic
underpriced 1/1 prints, framed (!) for $15 to $20. Really cool work.
Ink on paper – Angela Werstine
Angela’s drawings/prints are interesting and make me think about some work I’m doing on my new drawing tablet.
More snacks…
and familiar faces: Ernest Daetwyler (right). Ernest mentioned that his Tree of Life piece was out for casting. Can’t wait to see that.
With a lock on this show, Dave and I headed off for our weekend adventure in the near west to visit our folks. Congrats to Bernie and the other artists and virtual fist bump to Chérie for running a great show. Looking forward to more great things at Silicon W.
And I have to ask: is anyone besides me concerned about the possibility of gentrification squeezing out this type of venue/event? Rock the comments below if this is on your radar. After-the-fact I-told-you-so’s are so… reactive. Let’s get in front of this one. I’ll capture the value proposition with photos/blog (done), you organize with friends and speak to your city councillor. If you want to see what’s possible, check out the Evergreen Brick Works in T.O.
Happy making,
DW
Bernie is a genius! His work is crazy good in all ways possible. His brilliant and precise technical abilities and artistic eye have created an incredible body of incredible works!
Silicon W is makin things happen. Great value to the community. It’s always a fun time getting out to their shows.
As for the gentrification issue, sadly, the map of economic prosperity rarely includes the preservation or subsidization of great creative studio/gallery space. Things move so fast that it’s usually discussed as an afterthought when the community realizes that the creative void can’t be filled with high-end retail space or trendy lofts. Artists need help. It may not look good, or even make sense, in short term financial reports, but sometimes the significance of the creative force can’t be measured with strat plans and share holder returns. This is a community concern that must be addressed by visionaries, not profiteers.
Great shots as always Darin !! You can get in there with the tripod on Friday afternoons or any weekday by appointment. I believe it runs almost until the end of March.
About gentrification… it’s good we’ve stopped tearing down those buildings. Even if the renovations make the space too expensive for experimental art, the atmosphere downtown is more alive than what you get with modern concrete boxes. The gentry make a good audience and a civilized neighbour.
Even if the artists had to move into some other slum, it’s not a bad thing to stay flexible, and not to mention – under the radar and well away from municipal control.
bernie
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