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3CarPileUp – New Work from the Local Artists’ Collective May 17-June 15

3CarPileUp – New Work from the Local Artists’ Collective

Randy Slack
David Dauncey
James Angel

And an animated video installation from:
Perry Allen

Opening Friday, May 17
May 17-June 15

Modified Arts is proud to exhibit the work from this original band of downtown artists. 3CarPileUp is an artist collective established in the late 90′s and whose work informed and became synonymous with the then-burgeoning downtown art scene. The group is also responsible for founding the Annual Chaos Theory event to exhibit local creatives. Now in its fourteenth year, this artist-run group show features over fifty local artists.

The Sky Is Falling: A Group Exhibition about the Gravity of Things April 19-May 11

The Sky is Falling: A Group Exhibition about the Gravity of Things

Curated by Kristin Bauer for Modified Arts
Opening April 19
April 19-May 11

Artists:
Logan Bellew, Eric Cox, Sean Deckert, Daniel Funkhouser, Dayvid LeMmon, Christina Mesiti, Seneca Beth Miller, John Randall Nelson, Crystal Phelps, Lara Plecas, B Spiderman, Brandon Sullivan

The multidisciplinary show will feature work that explores weight and tension. Artwork that visually conveys these aspects emotionally, physically, allegorically and philosophically through content or materials will be included. Merriam Webster defines “gravity” as: dignity or sobriety of bearing, a serious situation or problem, and the gravitational attraction of the mass of the earth, the moon, or a planet for bodies at or near its surface, a fundamental physical force that is
 responsible for interactions which occur because of mass between particles, between aggregations of matter. “The Sky is Falling” brings together artwork by twelve diverse artists, who currently or formerly lived and worked in Phoenix. The work in this exhibition explores the presence and the feeling of abstract and intangible forms of gravity- i.e., philosophical, spiritual, political, psychological, etc.- which are conveyed physically by transmission into image or object. The Sky is Falling surveys photography, painting, sculptural works and works on paper that provides a spectrum of our visual storytelling of the “gravitas” sensed in life, outside of the surface of our physicality.

Courtney Marie Andrews “On My Page” Album Release Show Tuesday, April 23


Courtney Marie Andrews is an American singer/songwriter originally from Phoenix, Arizona. After several releases and tours she made her way up to Seattle, Washington, where she currently lives. She will be releasing her fifth album, “On My Page” on April 23rd, produced by Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Ra Ra Riot, Blonde Redhead) at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington. In the Spring and Summer of 2013 she will be touring through the U.S. and Europe in support of “On My Page”.

For the release of the album, Ms. Andrews is returning to her original home, where she hosted her first album release shows.

All ages.
Tickets are $8 in advance at Stinkweeds record shop, and $10 at the door.

Robin Vining of Sweetbleeders and many others will open the show.

Doors: 7:30pm
Robin Vining: 8:30pm
Courtney Marie Andrews: 9:00pm

Find official event details here.

Mixed Messages: New work by Kristin Bauer and Emmett Potter March 15-April 13

Gallery
Info

  • I Don't Know, Emmett Potter

    Mixed Messages brings together multimedia work by artist couple Kristin Bauer and Emmett Potter.  Both artists work in various painting and drawing media, with two dimensional and three dimensional work and incorporate stenciling, text and a myriad of genres, as well as appropriate pop and cultural imagery into their work.

    This exhibition features all new work from both artists, who have not shown together since their last show at Squeeze Gallery, a pop-up gallery they owned and operated in Scottsdale.

    Kristin Bauer’s new work explores opposites in content and formal execution, and conceptually combines references to iconic artistic and literary works and movements ranging from ancient history to contemporary pop culture.  She combines these references in brightly colored irregular shaped wall and installation pieces that are both flat and sculptural at the same time.  How these pieces come together and move in space parallels Bauer’s inquisition into how certain themes in visual and written history circulate into one another.  Does time and our understanding of artistic and cultural human evolution move forward in a linear aspect, do we circle back in on ourselves, or does our cultural movement through time form quizzical lines through which new shapes and form emerge when scattered points of the past and present combine?  As we revisit themes and myths culturally in the representation of characters and imagery, what kind of hybrid mythologies emerge?

    Emmett Potter’s new work appropriates nostalgic 20th century and contemporary pop and comic book imagery and iconography.  He explores and addresses themes of mass marketing and consumeristic culture, and the simultaneous humor, love, blindness and horror inherent.   Potter will be exhibiting new works on paper, mixed media paintings and found object sculptures that reconfigure familiar aesthetics and imagery in new formats.

    NeverMore, Kristin Bauer

Geoffrey Gersten: The Days We Left Behind

Modified Arts is proud to present the work of Geoffrey Gersten, an American Surrealist. Though he is a
Phoenix native, his paintings often draw from rural, Midwestern themes. Gersten’s work is approachable
and new, often taking familiar settings and pushing them further to create tension in imagery and prompt
self-reflection. He has a rare gift for creating depth within his work, often leaving viewers haunted by a
more complex story beyond his blissful surface characters.

“The Days We Left Behind” is a solo exhibition featuring 13 of Gersten’s original works.

The exhibit focuses on the chaos and spontaneous upheaval that accompany personal and societal conflict. The included works draw inspiration from iconic events in American history with details of the World Wars, the atomic bomb, and even President Obama. The work elegantly layers tumultuous settings with the internal struggles of its characters and masterfully juxtaposes images of childhood serenity and war. The power of this exhibit stems from the delicate combination of beauty, destruction, and hope… seemingly disparate themes forming an intrigue that is uniquely Gersten.

The exhibition opens Third Friday February 15th and will hang thru March 9th
Art Detour: March 2 and 3, 2013

Ann Morton ‘Unentitled: The Inaugural Edition’ show opens January 18th 2013

Living by sheer circumstance through events large and small, over time we envelope ourselves with the shroud of our cultural influences.
Thru the filter of my own experience as a white female born in1950′s America, I explore themes of assumed entitlements, homogenization, marginalization, and human obsolescence – social divides we’ve come to accept as normal cultural paradigms.
In questioning this acceptance, I recognize the insignificant – marginalized found objects and disenfranchised people. Driven by a desire to make right, the exhibition reflects my own handwork, but also orchestrates handwork of homeless individuals.
In this inaugural season, and after our experience of last 4 years of a historic administration, this show
presents an examination of our place in history, our sense of lost entitlement and contemplates how we’ve
become a product of our society’s headlines.
The work in this exhibition exploits traditional fiber techniques as conceptual tools for aesthetic, social
communication to examine a society of which we are all a part – as bystanders, participants, victims and
perpetrators

Opening Reception Friday, January 18th, 6-10 pm. Second receptin Friday February 1st, 6-10 pm. Additional gallery hours Saturdays 1-5 pm or by appointment. 602 312 4203. Show hangs through February 10th.

   

 

Residual Benefits Community Roundtable Discussion

2:00 – 4:00 pm
Modified Arts, 407 E. Roosevelt, Phoenix, 85004

Please join us for a roundtable discussion about the Phoenix Creative Community with artists who have attended residencies including the members of the Los Angeles-based artist group Finishing School, Tempe-based artist Erin Sotak, Sue Chenoweth, and others. Refreshments provided by Tertio.

Supported in part by the Ted Decker Catalyst Fund.

Downtown Chamber Series players at Modified

A string quartet performs Beethoven and Schubert in the dirt lot next to Modified Arts. These musicians enjoy being a part of the urban fabric, so you will notice dogs, kids, cars, squeaky bus brakes and everything else you will hear in the heart of the city. The urban sounds blend beautifully with the works.

Date:
Nov. 16, 2012

Musicians:
Nokuthula Ngwenyama – Violin
Tessa Gotman – Violin
Mark Dix – Viola
Jan Simiz -Cello

Performing:
Beethoven String Quartet
No. 4 in C minor Op. 18
Schubert “Death and the Maiden”
Movement II
Andante

Residual Benefits

Carolyn Lavender Probably

Residual Benefits: Artists Employing Residencies in Professional Practice

Exhibition Dates
Nov. 16 – Dec. 31, 2012

Opening Reception
Friday, Nov. 16 from 6-9pm

Panel Discussion
Saturday, Dec. 1 at Modified Arts

Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art (phICA) inaugurates its fourth exhibition project Residual Benefits: Artists Employing Residencies in Professional Practice at Modified Arts, Phoenix, in conjunction with the Phoenix presentation of Sue Chenoweth: Real and Applied which was shown at Largo das Artes Gallery in Rio de Janeiro (August 4 – September 22, 2012). The exhibition is being curated for phICA by Ted G. Decker with Vicki L. Stouffer.

Residual Benefits: Artists Employing Residencies in Professional Practice includes a small, but impactful and richly diverse selection of works by professional visual artists who have attended artist residencies. Artist residencies emphasize community dynamic, mutual respect, cooperation, and understanding. These environments offer an artist the luxury of time to make new work, to conceptualize and experiment with new ideas, to be immersed in a culture or place other than where the artist is based, and to be a contributing member of a diverse, creative community of artists, often resulting in new trajectories in art making practice.

Artists in the exhibition reside in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Brazil, Cuba, and Portugal. They have attended artist residencies in their own countries as well as in some international locations. Participating artists include:

Wanderson Alves (São Paulo, Brazil)
Melinda Bergman (Phoenix)
Fernanda Chieco (São Paulo, Brazil)
Finishing School + Joseph G. Cruz (Los Angeles, CA)
Carolyn Lavender (Phoenix)
Miguel Palma (Lisbon, Portugal)
Fábia Schnoor (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Karolina Sussland (Phoenix)
José Angel Toirac (Havana, Cuba)

Accompanying educational programming focuses on the value of including artist residencies as a strategy in artists’ professional careers. It will feature one panel discussion on Saturday, December 1st, 2012 at Modified Arts with Sue Chenoweth and a selection of artists from the community who have attended artist residencies to discuss this topic. There will be a mix of artists on the panel who are represented with work in the exhibit as well as some who are not.

Download PRESS RELEASE

Sue Chenoweth: Real and Applied

Exhibition Dates
Nov. 16 – Dec. 31, 2012

Opening Reception
Friday, Nov. 16 from 6-9pm

Panel Discussion
Saturday, Dec. 1 at Modified Arts

Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art (phICA) inaugurates its fourth exhibition project the Phoenix presentation of Sue Chenoweth: Real and Applied in conjunction with the exhibit Residual Benefits: Artists Employing Residencies in Professional Practice at Modified Arts, Phoenix. The Chenoweth exhibition features all new work by the Phoenix-based artist which has not been shown in Phoenix and includes paintings shown at Largo das Artes Gallery in Rio de Janeiro (August 4 – September 22, 2012). The exhibition is being curated for phICA by Ted G. Decker.

The Rio de Janeiro presentation capped a 5-week artist residency by Chenoweth and provided a platform for phICA to facilitate the introduction of Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton to Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes and the Rio community via video that played at the exhibit. The exhibition is phICA’s first international collaboration, as well as the first solo international exhibition for Chenoweth.

“I use the term ‘Real and Applied’ to explain how I paint conceptually,” Chenoweth explains. “I paint ‘pre-memories’ of what it would be like to go on an adventure. Then I paint the actual experience of the adventure after or during having it.” Self-described as a “process oriented intuitive painter,” Chenoweth never knows how everything will tie together in the end. “Painting is a spiritual process for me, and I have to fall into an abyss of unknowing to get to a new place of understanding.”

Accompanying educational programming focuses on the value of including artist residencies as a strategy in artists’
professional careers. It will feature one panel discussion on Saturday, December 1st, 2012 at Modified Arts with Sue Chenoweth and a selection of artists from the community who have attended artist residencies to discuss this topic. There will be a mix of artists on the panel who are represented with work in the exhibit as well as some who are not.

Download Press Release

Editions Showcase

Gabriela Munoz Sonoran Disappearance Detail 1

Modified Arts is now showcasing several artist editions in the gallery’s west (smaller) space. Included are works by Ed Gomez, Jen Urso, Gabriela Munoz, Sean Deckert, Robert Brandan Martinez, and Eduardo L. Rivera. Prints range in price from $75 – $250. The editions will be on display until Nov. 10, 2012.

To purchase online, visit our editions page.

War Texts

Exhibition Dates:
Oct. 19 – Nov.10, 2012

Opening Reception:
Friday, Oct. 19, 6-9 p.m.

“War Texts” is a group art exhibition that explores new constructs, interpretations, and subtexts relating to the meaning of war. The exhibition is comprised of works in painting, video, performance documentation, text-based installation, photography and other media from artists based in Belgium, Mexico, Serbia, Sweden, the United States, and Venezuela.

“War Texts” is part of a multi-venue collaboration with Arizona State University’s “The End of War” project, which includes art installations at Northlight Gallery, Tilt Gallery, and other locations.

Artists exhibiting at Modified Arts include:

Demián Flores
Ed Gomez
Simon Grabovac
Luis G. Hernandez
Darren Hostetter
Alfredo Manzo Cedeño
Luis Molina-Pantin
Gabriela Munoz
Mokhallad Rasem et al.
Jenny Yurshansky
Alan Disparte & Renetta Sitoy

Curated by Jeff Chabot

Special thanks to Vesna Dragojlov and Ted Decker.

Partially sponsored by FastSigns, Downtown, Phoenix.

Download Press Release

Jen Urso “Warning Walk”

“Don’t trespass, don’t smoke, do not enter, stay back, keep off, watch out, see something say something, no dogs, no bikes, no skateboards, no eating, no sleeping, no stopping, no standing, cross here, wait here. How limited do you feel in your public spaces?”

Saturday, October 6 at 1pm, join artist Jen Urso on a “Warning Walk” through downtown Phoenix as she helps you draw closer attention to the signs and warnings around you and whether you agree or disagree with them. In conjunction with Urso’s multi-disciplinary exhibit “Saying No” at Modified Arts, she will talk about the importance and power of saying “yes” and “no” to the directions, people and influences in your life. Part protest, part empowerment and part social engagement, this walk will open your eyes to the amount of information we digest and comply with every day.

Meet at the Modified Arts gallery at 1pm and bring a small notebook, pen or pencil and any other preparations to walk outdoors for about an hour. Bottled water will be provided.

Sean Deckert ‘Dsypnea’ lenticular prints

Sean Deckert and Modified Arts have teamed up to offer limited edition lenticular prints. The image, titled ”Dsypnea,” is available in two sizes including 8″x10″ and 16″x20″. Lenticular prints create an illusion of depth and change or move as the print is viewed from different angles.

Work description:

Dyspnea is the medical term for “breathlessness”. It is a feeling often felt during hypnotic love or a traumatic event. This work attempts to recreate part of my ephemeral experience as a pedestrian in the Sonoran desert landscape.”

Video documentation: https://vimeo.com/45373126

“Dsypnea” available sizes

Jen Urso: Saying No

Exhibition Dates:
Sept. 21 through Oct. 13, 2012

Opening Reception
Sept. 21, 6-9pm

Phoenix-based artist Jen Urso uses the landscape to question boundaries, both physical and sociological, in order to understand presumptions about safety, “flock” mentality, and complacency in regard to authority. Urso’s multidisciplinary installations explore places of demarcation using photography, text, video, and documentation to construct dialogues between art and viewer.

Artist Statement:

I’m tired of being told where to go and what to do for the sake of security and safety. I want to make my own mistakes without being protected while respecting the autonomy of others. I want to take the risk of my own death. I want to say no. I want to say no to being told no. In many ways, the system of caution that umbrellas us through written and audible words is a continuation and exaggeration of a system that has existed for ages constructed to take care of us. We are the flock and the state or governing system is our shepherd.

In my collection of work “saying NO”, I construct scenarios utilizing signs, projections and interventions within the city to intentionally question the concept of a boundary. How do we formulate it physically given external visual and audible messages in our spaces and mentally given internal messages like our own guilt, sense of safety, and our desire to feel welcome? These pieces define and question physical boundaries such as the arbitrary “edge” of a cloud and the shifting projected message of a sign installed on the edge of a property—it’s message moving with the rising and setting of the sun. The work also looks at the subtleties of social boundaries by using familiar signage to suggest that a person frame her conversation differently.

Press: Phoenix New Times
Download: Press Release

Modified Arts is open 1st and 3rd Fridays, 6-9pm and Saturdays 12-4pm. The gallery is also open by appointment. Please contact us for private viewing.

Heather Lembcke: Internal Domain

Exhibition Dates:
Sept. 21 through Oct. 13, 2012

Opening Reception
Sept. 21, 6-9pm

With nature as inspiration, Los Angeles-based artist Heather Lembcke paints abstract landscapes using techniques borrowed from ink drawing to render a consistent palette of line, form, and color. Her paintings recall nature’s inexorable chaos, however beautiful in its simplicity, through dense patterns and brush strokes that reflect a sense of controlled disorganization.

Download Press Release

Modified Arts is open 1st and 3rd Fridays, 6-9pm and Saturdays 12-4pm. The gallery is also open by appointment. Please contact us for private viewing.

Robert Brandan Martinez limited edition photos

Robert Brandan Martinez and Modified Arts have collaborated to offer a limited number of photographic prints from Martinez’s photographs of Rio de Janerio. Martinez has selected three images from his “Carioca” project, a series that started in 2010 and continues to be a focus of his work. Each signed 8.5″ x 11″ photograph (actual image size 6″ x 9″), is printed with archival inks on museum quality 100% cotton rag paper. This limited edition series is exclusive to Modified Arts. Each print costs $100 (or all 3 for $275), and includes free shipping within the US. View our Limited Editions page to order.

Robert Brandan Martinez Press: Phoenix 100 Creatives

Random Interference


New works by Saskia Jordá and Chris Oatey

Exhibition Dates:
Aug. 17 – Sept. 15, 2012

Opening Reception
Aug. 17, 6-9pm

Artists Saskia Jordá and Chris Oatey will present new works at Modified Arts from Aug. 17 through Sept. 14, 2012. Titled “Random Interference,” the works establish each artist’s unique relationship to materials as well as demonstrate site specific concerns.

Saskia Jordá is a Phoenix-based artist who recently exhibited a large scale installation at the Scottsdale Public Library and is currently featured in a group exhibition at the Shemer Art Center.

Chris Oatey is a Los Angeles-based artist who recently showed work at the Prince at the Forum exhibition and is developing work for an exhibition in Feb., 2013 at CB1 Gallery in Los Angeles.

Curated by Jeff Chabot

Download Press Release

Modified Arts is open 1st and 3rd Fridays, 6-9pm and Saturdays 12-4pm. The gallery is also open by appointment. Please contact us for private viewing.

Practically Everything

Practically Everything
July 20 – August 11, 2012

Opening Reception
July 20, 6-9pm

“Practically Everything” is based upon an ongoing series of informal discussions between the artists in the exhibition. At the root of this dialogue is a collective appreciation for the paradoxical nature of photography — that the camera simultaneously describes and transforms what it sees. This exhibition is an exploration of that duality, as seen through the works of several emerging artists.

Participating artists:

Christian Widmer
Cory Fitzgerald
Dana Buhl
Michael Lundgren
Michael Max McLeod
Bucky Miller
Nidaa Aboulhosn
Mike Williams

Curated by Bucky Miller

Jake Fischer ‘Night Series’

Exhibition Dates
June 15 – July 14, 2012

Opening: June 15, 6-9pm

Modified Arts presents new paintings from Jake Fischer, selected from the artist’s “Night Series” completed from 2011 through 2012.

Jake Fischer’s paintings are tied to moments in time, when the artist utilizes a video camera to record his everyday surroundings. Using video stills as reference, Fischer articulates a minimal and subdued palette that is reflective of the nocturnal landscape he documents. Fischer’s imagery recalls moonless nights when only artificial light sources reveal slices of urban civilization.

(Pictured above: Jake Fischer “Floating” 2012, oil on panel, 26″x41″)