A curatorial talk led by Annie Strader and Matthew C. Weedman will be held Saturday, February 18th at 3pm.

Luminous
Kristen Beal, Tobias Fike, Chris Lavery, Stephen V. Martonis, Rick Silva, Annie Strader and Matthew C. Weedman
Curated by Annie Strader and Matthew C. Weedman
Downstairs Front, Back, Window and Upstairs BOXes

Light is the original technology. Light simultaneously reveals the history of the universe, while prompting the question, what is this thing we call history? Light’s material qualities can be shaped to fit our aesthetic needs and desires while unwaveringly feeding the very biological essence of life itself.

Artists require two things at all times, inspiration and tools, light consistently fulfills both of these necessities. From Vermeer’s bending of light through lenses to pull never before seen exactness from his subjects, to Monet’s obsessive use of light’s direct retinal stimulation in order to capture never before seen colors of the “moment” specific, to ManRay’s burning of light on paper showing a new sense of form and volume, to Bruce Nauman’s exploitation of video and neon tubes proclaiming the “now” of art itself. Throughout history and in contemporary practice light remains a consistent source for artistic inspiration.

Kristin Beal received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002. She is represented by ADA Gallery in Richmond, VA and Mulherin Pollard Projects in NYC. Kristin is a founding member and principle player of Hack Art Lab, a collaborative group of artists and engineers based in Wichita, KS.  She was recognized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in 2006 with their Professional Artist Fellowship Award, and most recently by the Kansas Arts Commission when she was awarded their individual Artist Innovation Grant in 2010.  Recent and scheduled exhibitions include; Ness, Reynolds Gallery, Univ. Of the Pacific, Stockton, CA(Oct); Mix Masters(HAL), 427 Artspace, Greensburg, KS; Indigenous Territory, ADA Gallery; Dream Come True, Mulherin Pollard Projects, NYC; You Complete Me(HAL), Paragraph Gallery c/o Charlotte Street Foundation, KCMO; Inland Systems, River City Biennale, Wichita, KS.

Tobias Fike was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1975. He spent the first 10 years of life there and then moved to a suburb of Kansas City, Kansas, where he lived until college. He then went back to Lincoln to attend the University of Nebraska where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2000 and his MFA in Sculpture from The University of Colorado; Boudler, CO. He exhibits nationally with exhibits at Limner Gallery, NY, NY, Maxhausen Gallery of Art, Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, Colorado and The Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado. Tobias Fike lives and works in Arvada, Colorado.

Christopher M. Lavery is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Maine, Farmington where he teaches sculpture, installation, sound art and physical computing.  He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for his graduate degree and has exhibited his art both nationally and internationally.  Currently, Lavery has just completed a large-scale public art project titled Cloudscape for Denver International Airport (2009-2011).  He is also performing and recording with his noise-based, electro-acoustic band, Noise Furniture which incorporates sounds that range from the recorded/documented, traditional musical instruments to circuit bent toys, electronics and homemade synthesizers.  Lavery’s sculptural work develops in a broad range of media including sound, video, electronics, fabrics, wood, found object and drawing.  

Originally from Silver Creek, NY, Stephen V. Martonis received his BFA in Painting from the State University of New York at Fredonia and his MFA in Sculpture from West Virginia University. He currently works from his studio, where he resides, in Longmont, CO. He is employed in Boulder, CO as the Exhibitions Manager for the CU Art Museum and as a Lecturer in the Department of Art & Art History at the University of Colorado. Stephen has exhibited nationally in galleries, museums and many alternative venues.

Rick Silva‘s artwork combines video, animation, sound, and performance to explore the intersections of nature and technology, perception and place, subculture and the avant-garde. His art and research has been supported through grants and commissions from places such as Turbulence, Rhizome at the New Museum, and The Whitney Museum of American Art. He has shown in exhibitions and festivals worldwide, including Transmediale (Germany), Futuresonic (U.K.), and Sonar (Spain). He has performed live multimedia works in London at E:VENT Gallery, Tokyo at The Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, and throughout North America including the Software Cinema Festival in Houston Texas. Media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian UK, Liberation, El Pais, and The CBS Evening News have all recognized his art. Most recently, the author of the book Transmission Arts: Artists and Airwaves regarded him as “a recognized pioneer in New Media Art” (PAJ Publications: 2011).He was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor of Digital Media at the University of Georgia-Athens, and is now Permanent Instructor at the Alberta College of Art and Design. Rick was born in Brazil and lives in Calgary, Canada.  

Annie Strader is an interdisciplinary artist who utilizes sculptural, digital and video processes to create objects, installations and performances. She has had solo exhibitions at The Sculpture Center in Cleveland Ohio; The Hartnett Gallery in Rochester, NY; and The Roy G Biv Gallery in Columbus, OH.  Her work has also been shown at The Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids Michigan; The Athens Institute for Contemporary Art in Athens, Georgia; The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Boulder, Colorado; and The DAAP Gallery at The University of Cincinnati in Ohio.  In addition to her individual studio practice Strader is also a member of The Bridge Club Art and Performance Collaborative.  The Bridge Club creates site responsive performances, installations, video and digital works. Recent exhibition venues include Lawndale Art Center in Houston, Texas; SPACES gallery in Cleveland, OH and1708 Gallery in Richmond, VA.She received her MFA from The University of Colorado; Boulder, CO and her BFA from Ohio University; Athens, OH. Strader is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. 

Matthew Weedman utilizes objects, sound, performance and video to explore a personal and social history of living through the cold-war/space-race era and the implications there-of. He has done solo performances at The Denver Art Museum and The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. His video and digital based work has been included at The Bearded Child Film Festival, Myles Reif Performing Arts, Minnesota; Cultural Signs, Instituto de Artes, Medallin, Columbia; Digital Nature, Botanical Gardens Denver Colorado; IUGTE, Bovec, Slovenia, EU, The Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY. He has been a guest lecturer at The Big Feed, Irrigation Research Farm, Yuma, CO, Concordia University, Seward, NE, and Wichita State University, Wichita, KS. Matt holds a BA in Film Studies and Studio Art and an MFA in Sculpture from The University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO.  Matt was born in Dwight, Illinois and currently resides in Huntsville, TX.

WEBSITES:

Kristen Beal

Tobias Fike

Christopher M. Lavery

Rick Silva

Annie Strader

BOX 13 ArtSpace is an artist run, non-profit, innovative environment for the creation and advancement of experimental contemporary art in Houston. BOX 13 artists create this environment through the offering of affordable workspaces for emerging and established artists, dedicating three interior spaces to the exhibition of artistic explorations, a window gallery for installations and an outdoor courtyard space. BOX 13 promotes dialogue among artists and the art community on current trends affecting the arts.

BOX13 ArtSpace is currently accepting proposals for 2012/2013 for exhibitions in its two Downstairs Galleries, the Window BOX gallery, and the Upstairs Gallery. Artists and curators are invited to submit recent (or proposed) experimental works not previously shown in Houston.

Exhibition and performance proposals will be reviewed and selections made by a committee of artist resident members of BOX 13 and potentially guest curator(s) for exhibitions/performances.

BOX 13 will accept proposals annually to discuss and make programming decisions for BOX 13 for no more than 18 months into the future from the meeting date. The next upcoming submission deadline for review is January 15, 2012.

This is not a postmark deadline – submissions must be received by 5pm at BOX13 ArtSpace, 6700 Harrisburg Blvd, Houston, Texas 77011.

BOX 13 exhibition/performance space floor plans can be viewed and downloaded here.

All proposals must be submitted in digital format on CD/DVD only. Additionally, all requested material may be posted to a single page on a website and the link may be submitted. No paper materials will be reviewed. BOX 13 is committed to the reducing our environmental impact when possible and streamlining the application and review process.

For more information, to make an appointment to view the galleries or to inquire about proposal drop off please email Emily Link, Exhibitions Coordinator, at box13artspace@gmail.com.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

All proposals must include the following:

1. Letter of intent or exhibition proposal in a Word document or PDF file, 500 words or less. Please be sure to include:

For more information on ARTCRAWL Houston, please visit: www.artcrawlhouston.com

DOWNLOAD THE MAP HERE!

A reception for the Dutch artists will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2011
from 6 – 8PM. Panel discussion at 5PM.

Dutch invasiON
Curated by Maria Smits in collaboration with Mrs. J. Bolten-Rempt
with work by Christine Bittremieux, Anna Bolten, Hans de Bruijn, Demiak 
and Jessica Muller

Front & Back BOXes

Dutch invasiON presents the work of five artists living and working in the Netherlands. They are Christine Bittremieux, Anna Bolten, Hans de Bruijn, Demiak (Maarten Demmink) and Jessica Muller. In the variety of their artistic approach one can find one common subject: it is all about space. Every one of them appropriates space in a different way, the outside space, interior space and conceptual space translated into two or three dimensions. This preoccupation with space in and around us is typically Dutch.

With broad gestures in intense color Christine Bittremieux invokes remembered, preferably empty landscapes into atmospherically almost abstract vistas, as visual poetry: as if the after-image still glows even with closed eyes. Or she ‘crops’ just a detail, as enlarged under a magnifying glass. As a drop of gasoline spreads in a split second on the water surface, so the color jells in layers on the canvas.

For Anna Bolten, the observed landscapes or the reality surrounding her are images that become lodged in her memory, also thanks to photography. The context, like location and time of the day, the speed of the movement and the focus of the camera are all of importance. In her studio she creates free, painted collage out of the memory-pictures. As Mondrian creates a harmonious balance with horizontal and vertical planes in the primary colors, black and white, so she constructs a balance with her landscape elements, horizontal, vertical, distant and nearby.

In the mind of Hans de Bruijn, natural space takes its form through the lens of art history with a passion for the Romantic Movement. The unsurpassed knowledge of art works of the past, thanks to the countless reproductions available through the Internet, allows us to see unprejudiced, let alone to paint unbiased. For him his paintings are comments on the observations of space in art (history). He paints the landscape of art, emulating the great landscapists like Hercules Segers, William Turner, Jackson Pollock or Mark Rothko.

The outcome and consequences of nature’s violence and catastrophes are reconstructed by Demiak, pseudonym of Maarten Demmink, in models which he stages. He uses photography and painting to emphasize the natural appearance of the disastrous situation. His works are an actual and convincing “memento mori” (remember dying). The message is not resignation nor wallowing in the misery, it is more an indictment against human “superbia” (recklessness), indifference and negligence.

In the beginning the canvas was empty. Jessica Muller creates with color and paint (her handwriting) a new and visual space in which distance and nearness are synchronous. “The work starts from zero: emptiness, meaninglessness, without any preconception, nor is it a preconceived image to aim at,” Jessica explains. “The whole work is a timeless ‘being’, originated from a piling up of instantaneous actions which together are to be its opposite: timeless or limitless. The result is a view into different dimensions at the same time.”

Maria Smits was born in The Netherlands and currently lives and works in Houston, Texas. She studied fashion and monumental textile at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague, The Netherlands.

During the first 10 years of her career she owned a fashion design studio. She designed many exclusive fashion collections, sold in Holland and Germany. After her post academic study at the V.A., University , The Hague, where she studied sculpture, etching, digital photography and video, Maria started her career as an independent artist and curator. She has curated exhibitions and exhibited work at Pulchri Studio, The Hague. Most recently her work has been included in exhibitions at Gallery New Untitled, Venlo, Gallery TH, The Hague; Art Berlin, Germany, Art Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Art Cologne, Germany, Kunst eijssen, Alkmaar, O’Quinn Gallery, Lawndale, Houston. In October 2010, her work was exhibited at Museum Kunsthalle, Osnabruck, Germany. In December 2011 she will show at Red Bud Gallery, The Heights, Houston. Her work is represented in important Dutch Collections.

Websites:
www.bittremieux.nl
www.annabolten.com
www.hansdebruijn.com 
www.demiak.nl
www.jessicamuller.nl
www.mariasmits.nl

This project is funded in part by a grant from the City of Houston’s Mayor’s City Initiative Program through the Houston Arts Alliance. 

Additional work for Dutch invasiON will be on view at the Williams Tower Gallery, December 8, 2011 – January 6, 2012. A reception will be held December 8, 2011 from 6 – 8PM.

Complementing the exhibitions, Hans de Bruijn will present a lecture on “Romanticism in Dutch Painting Revisited” at the UH Fine Arts Building on November 17, 2011.

Timothy Harding
Omitted
Window BOX

Omitted is a new work within Timothy Harding‘s on-going series of constructed drawings that explores scribbling and how it is used to omit information. Usually, the artist works in a controlled environment. The acts of concealing and revealing information are, ideally, decided upon by the artist. Whether or not the studio and process work are seen is normally at the discretion of the artist, as well. In review of the documentation of my past construction processes, Harding has become fascinated with his own inherent awkwardness. Harding has captured a number of the awkward positions and interactions that take place throughout construction. This awkwardness exists in stark contrast with the final work seen by the viewer. In a response to the highly controlled image that is normally seen, he has decided to intentionally show the awkward scenarios that are not usually desirable. However, the urge to control has become instinctive and the scribble represents Harding’s tendency to try and hide what he has already presented.

Timothy Harding received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. Born in Houston and raised in Irving, TX, Timothy has exhibited his work regularly since 2007 in many solo and group exhibitions, including the 2011 Texas Biennial. He was a recipient of a Kimbrough Fund Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art in 2009. Timothy is a member of 500X Gallery in Dallas; he currently lives and works in Fort Worth, TX.

www.timothyevanharding.com

Saturday, November 5, 2011,  1 – 5PM

Researching quiltmaking from a contemporary art perspective, Quilt 

Artists accepted into residence actively participate in the operation, maintenance and promotion of BOX 13. Each artist receives a workspace as part of residence/membership. Resident workspaces range from $125 to $650 per month based on square footage plus an annual contribution of artwork(s) to BOX 13.
To become a resident of BOX 13, artists must schedule an appointment for an interview with current artist residents and be prepared to bring evidence of a professional career in the visual or performing arts (slides, cd, dvd, or other visuals), plus personal references and a commitment to support the activities of BOX 13. It is imperative that you visually and mentally engage us with your application material. Most residents are people that another current resident is familar with, so it is recommended that you introduce yourself and talk to members at openings, events and other venues.

To set up an appointment to interview, meet the other residents, and come and look at the space please email Kristy Peet. Interviews are normally conducted during monthly member meetings the 15th of each month.

New residents are encouraged to jump in, bring new ideas or develop old ones and inspire the direction BOX 13 takes. If you have experience as a curator, with exhibitions, art writing, carpentry skills, grant writing, etc. please make this evident when you apply.

2nd floor studio(s) available January 1, 2012 (click to enlarge):

Monica Vidal
Temple Hive
Downstairs Front BOX

Temple Hive is the second in Monica Vidal‘s series of large scale forms whose purpose is to distort the relationship between body and sculpture.  The first, Tumor Hive, represented the enormous emotional impact of an excised lump of cells gone amok.  Temple Hive is inspired by the idiosyncrasies of Vidal’s youth as they linger into hypothetical adulthood.  She was then, as she is now, obsessed with escape, for both body and mind.

Vidal explains, “When I was young we had gold-colored, polyester curtains in our dining room.  They had a dense, abstract pattern and if you stared at them for long enough you saw rows of crouched figures, the heads tucked down and their knees brought up.  At least, if I stared at them long enough, I did.  On weekends I spent my time in a homemade tent of blankets and dining room chairs, tucked away from my rowdy brothers. I liked my space, even if it was just the mini mental vacation provided by picking out the pattern in stippled sunlight through curtains.”

Temple Hive is meant for the act of isolating yourself from the world to contemplate pattern and texture.  It is an ode to sunlight and quilts and calico and brocade, all at once.  It was built from triangles into hexagons-like the cells of honeycombs– and as they spread they also collapse. Vidal created this space for herself and to share.

Monica Vidal received her BFA from Cleveland Institute of Art and a MFA from Tyler School of Art. She has exhibited in Houston, Austin and Dallas and had a residency at Art 342 in Fort Collins, Colorado. When not making drawings, paintings and sculptures in #10 at Winter Street Studios, she is the Registrar at the University Museum at Texas Southern. In the summer of 2012 she will be showing the series of Hives at the Lawrence Art Center, Kansas.