Saturday Night: Draw, Waiting for Ararat and Winner Warz

Draw, Waiting for Ararat and Winner Warz
Shooting Gallery, White Walls & Gallery Three
April 11, 2009
Review by Joshua "Creep" G.
Better than: I have a hard time imaging what could be better than looking at art.

I was pretty sure that the night before Easter would be uneventful, but it was also the start of my college's spring break so I crossed my fingers something big would happen. Shooting Gallery, White Walls and Gallery Three came to the rescue, opening up three insane art shows. At the Shooting Gallery the traveling show "Draw" curated by Erik Foss and Curse Mackey took place. White Walls hosted "Waiting for Ararat," a duo show featuring new work by Mike Shine and Caleb Neelon and finally, upstairs at Gallery Three was "Winner Warz" with new works by Adam Flores.

I always like to get to the shows a bit early so that I can take some unobstructed photos and look at the art for a bit before the crowds show up. There was no way that was happening this time, all three galleries were packed. The Shooting Gallery, which is narrow to begin with, was filled to capacity. I was waiting for someone to yell out "who grabbed my butt?!". It was prime conditions for that sort of shenanigans to go down, but the art and constant battle to work your way through the human sludge was enough to keep everyone busy. As you can see the artwork was hung from the floor right up the top, so viewing it all with the crowd was quite a feat. It was also tricky for a guy of my average height to see the topmost works. Next time I'll be sure to bring a giant for some "Master Blaster, runs Bartertown" kind of action.

The "Draw" show was the highlight of the evening. There was around 360 pieces representing all styles of art, and no matter what your budget there was something for everyone. The gallery supplied an inventory list so all you had to do was look at the number next to the work and match it up. It really helped if you were looking for a specific artist, or like me were interested in learning about new artists. I was excited to see drawings by artists such as Ron English (shown), Jonathan Weiner, Tara McPherson, Glenn Barr, Mike Giant, Paul Chatem, Sas Christian, Henry Lewis, Shawn Barber and even a few by HR Giger, David Byrne (Talking Heads), Gibby Haynes (Butthole Surfers) and Bob Tyrell. Many of the drawings in the show were not framed, just held up by the binder clips you see in the above pic. This method for hanging did allow for more works to be in the show and help to create a wall of art. The viewer was bludgeoned with color, and while I made my way down the wall I imagined people going into seizures much like those kids went into after watching that 97' Pokemon cartoon in Japan. Drawings by painters, concept artists, tattoo artists, musicians and even gallery owners such as Jonathan Levine. The "Draw" show is definately a sight to see, and if you are close to the gallery make sure you go before the show is out. Right next door at White Walls, was the Caleb Neelon and Mike Shine exhibition. The gallery is much larger so it wasn't as suffocating. The first thing that you noticed was the massive structure that Mike Shine had created on the back of the wall. The lights were also not as bright as they usually are, but this could also be a component of the show. Mike did have some video type pieces in the show and it being dimmer did allow for these to show up better. I enjoyed what Caleb Neelon had to offer, but there was far more from Mike and a wide variety as well. The two did fit together very well, overall it was a great show and a nice addition to the Draw show as it gave you different works to see and a break. Gallery Three is now located in the upstairs portion of the White Walls gallery as opposed to clear across town, so new works from Adam Flores were just a staircase away. The whole room smelled of fresh paint as Adam has painted the floor earlier that day. He had a wall painting the right of the staircase, some killer script greeting you at the top. When you were finally in the gallery there was a good amount of paintings and much like Mike Shine, a construction that Adam had made. It looked like he pulled on his creations right out from a painting and planted it in the corner of the room. It was a great addition and succeeded in letting you know you were in an entirely different gallery, even though you could still hear the commotion from the other two. I love Adam's work, and this new stuff is very welcome to any of his fans. He also has some of the best names for his paintings, such as "Santa's a Bitch", "These Fuckers Burned a Cross in My Front Yard" & "Stuffing Your Face With Meaningless Titles".

I was happy with these galleries before, but now with there effectively being three galleries in one space, and the proof that they keep on putting on killer shows there is no doubt this is a must see area if you love art. These exhibitions will be up until May 7th, so make sure you head on over and check them out.

Critic's Notebook

Personal Bias: Not only do I love these galleries, but many of the artists they show.

Random Detail: Being short means your basically a victim to the flow the crowds at events this large.

By the Way: You can check out the rest of the show photos I took over on the Creep Machine Flickr