Personal Pieces

Opening
First Friday, June 1
6pm-11pm

About the Show

There is a strange disconnect between mental illness and normalcy. As if there is a stark, dividing line between the two. Black and white, completely separate. Us and Them. I believe this arbitrary classification – ill, healthy, recovering etc. is very similar to how we catalog our colors – blue, red, green, etc. The visible color spectrum reflects the human experience in the sense that colors cannot be contained as single, definable points. The spectrum is actually one band of ever shifting, ever transitioning hues, as are we; our lives and our experiences are continuous and overlapping, yet discreet.

All persons exist in a world with other persons. We interact daily with a wide range of people and personalities. It is not possible to limit your experience to “normal.” We are but one piece in the cosmos. No one exists in a vacuum. So instead of pushing past others whose mental or physical health might not reflect exactly our own, we embrace.

We are made of many parts, parts to our personalities, our bodies, and as one part to the rest of the world.

This collection of drawings and paintings are both illustrative, narrative and use subtle humor, rainbows and faces to suggest that we are all connected to each other; as the human race and as a thinking, feeling people.

~Boz Shurr

www.ilarose.com
www.bozschurr.com

Facebook Event Page

Surprise

When I went to Launch Pad Sara had a surprise for me: a white mini portable laptop. Now I can work on the blog wherever.  Coming closer to graduation, the biggest question is, what am I learning? At school I’m preparing for my future.  At Launch Pad I’m learning how to fit into the work world, and learning the business and preparation part of the art world and the life of working at an art gallery.

When I got to Launch Pad I entered with enthusiasm. I was exited to see what my surprise was, and yes it was nice. Me and Sara went over the to do list for someone who comes in to ‘art sit,’ the term we use referring to watching the gallery and waiting for viewers to come in and look at the art and possibly buy a piece. That’s where I come in.  The first thing I would do is to turn on the lights, sweep, move furniture, and make the art space clean for the viewers. Then I place the open sign outside on the sidewalk and wait for people to come in and make them feel welcome.  If they are interested in buying a piece of art, I would take down their information on the buyers sheet; their name and contact info, the title and artist’s name, the price, and how they are paying.  That information then goes in to an online collectors form.

After we discussed this, Sara asked me to come help her hang a painting in the bathroom that has just been leaning up against the wall.  Normally we would measure the wall and painting before we hang up art but this wasn’t for the art show, so it didn’t matter how or where it was placed on the wall.  We did have to put D-rings and wire on the back. D-rings are a type of hardware that srews onto the back of a frame, with a loop to attach wire. We screwed two parallel to each other about one fourth of the way from the top of the painting on both sides. Then we took  a long piece of wire and bent it in half to double up because this was a bigger piece the size and shape of a door. We looped the wire through the D-rings on each side & secured it so that the wire was nice & tight across the back. Most of the paintings we get the artists already have this done but it is a useful skill to know.

Sara & I chatted and then she left and I covered her shift for her. Only one nice lady came in and I introduced myself and said to her that if she was interested in buying a piece that I could help her. She smiled, said thank you and then I told her about the next art show and gave her the propaganda.  She said thank you again, and she looked around, but she didn’t buy anything.

Last week

Today is Friday and i’m in a good mood one of things I have trouble with controlling, i’m on an emotional Roller coaster and a crazzy train at the same time going up, and down, and round, and round! But i’m glad that I will be going to Launch Pad to day. I’m gonna Get in the car of my life i’m  gonna be the driver, top down, music up, and Jesus can be my back seat driver to guide me down this winding road, and sometimes he can drive for me. I will not let no one else drive my car only I can cause no one else can handle how fast my car can go.
I was late going to launch pad, I was supposed to be there at noon but I left after school at three. When I did arrive at the yellow double doors, IT was locked, but luckily a nice young lady opened the door. I didn’t stay long

I went to the river on saturday, with two of my friends Rachael and Jared. We managed to get chased by bumble-bee, laugh out loud!

I went to A+G and I learned how to tie a tie. I’m Glad the sun decided to come out to  say hello, and the rain decided to go away tell another day. Oregon’s weather is so bipolar. I went to Worksound, on Alder. I met with a girl named Jamie and I asked her some Q’s  came up with today. I loved the building, I liked that there was different rooms to walk through. On one wall they had Black stripes on a white wall the wall like a jail birds uniform looks like, in a pattern that Zigzags. That one of the artists painted on for her part of the of the show May 4th at Worksound.

Phosphorescent

Opening Reception

First Friday, May 4th
6pm – 12am

with music by
Boo Frog

Out of the Odessa heat Nathan arrived in the Pacific Northwest.
Driving a Ford Pickup, spending time at the Lab, burning up a piano, sharpening thorns and pouring stems,
Orosco puts his hands in the mix.

He talks of Foundries going Cold, the Process of Doing, Long Hours and Dedication.
His work can be looked at as examples of metamorphosis, scientific process and movement.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

“As a landscape, as a journey, as an identity, West Texas is a long way from the Pacific Northwest. When I first met Nathan Orosco, that cut across the territory was raw and recent, and it showed in his work. It was angry. It was concrete, rebar and grainy video: materials shaped into metaphors for displacement and migration. Anxiety. Pollution. Maybe a little yearning.

Nathan Orosco was born and raised in Odessa, Texas. He is third-generation Mexican-American, tap-rooted to the hardpan and the greasy stink of pump jacks and tank farms. Growing up, he worked in his father’s repair shop, a laborer who fixed and painted the big rigs that service the oil fields. To be a laborer is to perform the most minor of alchemies. An oilman might accomplish the modern equivalent of turning lead to gold, but all a laborer manages is to turn sweat and strain into an overhauled truck engine, or a welded section of pipe, or a trench cut cleanly into red caliche clay.

Nathan is still a laborer. He is still an alchemist. The perfectly flat horizon of the Permian Basin has been replaced by a wrinkled and river-laced topography. His walk to the studio is lined with cedar and rhododendrons, rather than limestone and concrete block.

In his earlier work, materials were substitutions. Similes and ciphers. A red mound of West Texas earth, equivalent to the weight of Nathan’s body, was shaped by his labor to its new place. The flat floor of the gallery became the flat horizon of the Permian landscape.

In this new work, materials are a means of transformation, as in a phosphorescent substance, storing energy in one form and re-emitting it later, visible and illuminating.

Bronze and glass unify disparate elements, forming a whole radically different from their constituent parts. Nathan remakes organic materials and ephemeral phenomena to last a million years.”

- David Drake

My work is a response to my landscape, culture and social political anxieties. There are forms in my work that are directly related to the landscapes I’ve lived in. It contains the nostalgia of where I was raised, the home/memory, and the foreign identity/culture of my present place. Considering a landscape is not always my intentional format during the beginning stages of making, but something that is always an influence. The influence of form can be urban, rural, desolate, lush, or may appear representational/obvious, like the flat land of the southwest landscape with its never-ending horizontal line, or the more industrial forms and lines of factories that disrupt the plane, or the collapsing bricks of the neighborhood alley. The choice of the materials is relative with the subject matter. This provides a connection between my making process and the metaphors that are contained in the work. Phosphorescent is a reaction to the exposures of my current outer world and the ways in which it has influenced my subconscious thought. It is an attempt, through the processes of sculpture, to deal with the most basic of human emotions; anxiety, comfort, pain, danger, demise, love and identity. While making this work, I have continuously thought about the aspect of coping and its relationship to the process of making.

-Nathan Orosco

www.nathanorosco.net

One step at a time

On wednesday I went to Portland for one A + G artistry development for a scholarship, thanks to Jennifer Porter who introduced me to the runner of this program Alexeisia Castalano, they work with fashion and runway. A+G focus on Artist Development, Etiquette, Professionalism focused Workshops for goal oriented, career minded youth. We start with etiquette at the dinner table and then we do runway. Alexeisia says he will be taking us (the class) to a fancy dinner at a fancy restaurant. He also told me we will be doing runway for GAP and some other clothing lines. Its pretty intense and exciting. He even asked if he could come to my group home Spring Water to cook for us.

After, I went to Newspace an art gallery for photography, I talked with them for a little bit about, how and what things work for them, and they were familiar with the launch pad in fact one of the guys i talked to knew Ben. After I was done talking I walked around and looked at the photography. It was my first art gallery I visited so I didn’t learn much I didn’t know what I was doing so I think if I came up with a list of questions that would benefit me more than just going in and winging it.

An Opened Door

The first show I set up was For the Suspended, and I got to set up every piece, I met the artist Rio the curator for the show, Jennifer Porter and Dari. Three very sweet ladys. I was inspired by Rio’s work I went home and tried the rust thing for myself. Even the other paintings inspired me I loved each piece. The Paintings looked like I was looking down upon the earth or as if i was looking through an opened door into something like a beautiful and heavenly twilight zone love finding new ways to do art and expand my creativity.

<3 love at first sight

The first show I attended was the Love show, my school counselor Molly is the one who advised launch pad to me and I decided to try it out. There were a lot of pieces of art I fell in love with the building right away. There were these amazing metal sculptures made to look like hearts with angel wings painted red and blue like an anatomy book. That was the night I met Sara McCormick my intern, as I looked at all the art I felt as if I had been there before, it was all like a dream, almost like a sign that good things were coming. I found the love <3

New (kid) artist on the block

Hey! I’m Nick or Niky Jay, I’m an intern from New Urban High School. I’ll be volunteering for the Launch Pad art gallery for the time being and possibly for more years to come. What I have already seen and experienced from the Launch Pad is exciting, the art that comes through is amazing and inspirational.

It’s been fun setting up for the art shows, and meeting all the local artists. The last show was pretty awesome. I made Ben’s Famous Beans and Rice- I have to say it was better than my mom’s more traditional beans and rice, laugh out loud. It’s been nerve racking but it’s a learning experience for sure. I never thought I would be here doing something to support what I love, the arts. My friends are proud of me, and so is my house, the staff will be attending the upcoming art show. Everyone I tell assumes my art will be in the art show but I humbly inform them I’m only setting up for the art shows as of right now… but I do hope to have my own art show in the near future.

But right now I’m just starting off, the countdown to something great! I can feel it. So my job will be to travel around Portland to seek out other art galleries and coffee shops that display art and check out what they’re doing. We want to see what’s happening in the art community around us, reconnect, discover emerging and innovative artists and galleries, as well as to highlight those already established.

Welcome to Gallery Quest!

I’m thrilled to introduce you to a new program at Launch Pad called Gallery Quest!

We will be bringing you field reports of the local Portland art gallery scene through the eyes of our new intern Nick.

Nick is currently a Senior at New Urban High School and is interested in art and design, as well as the inner workings of the local art community, but we’ll let Nick tell you about himself and his passions in his own words in subsequent posts.

We will be sending Nick out to local galleries as a combination scout/gallery representative, delivering information about upcoming events at Launch Pad, bringing back propaganda from other art venues, meeting the staff at the local galleries he visits, conducting surveys, and reporting back his impressions,opinions and questions about his experiences.

If you would like Nick to visit your art space or show this month, or if you have a free, cool arts-related opportunity for an interested young artist, please contact us!

We are eager to see what comes of this project!

The Recycled Rain Project

OPENING FIRST FRIDAY
April 6th, 2012
6pm-12am

ABOUT THE SHOW

Recycled Rain Show

FEATURED ARTISTS

For a little background on each of our 11 artists check out the Photos section on our facebook page to view the full 2012 roster!

http://www.facebook.com/therecycledrainproject

Suspended

Rio Wrenn
www.riowrenn.com

In the waking world everything seems real. But in a dream state there are symbols and hints of reality. Grasping for the meanings can be tricky, and just when the mind can wrap around them new symbols will emerge.

The subconscious will allow for truth to be revealed. But what is this the truth?
How we see ourselves in others eyes,
What we expect from ourselves,
how everything we do affects something else,
what we see and hear……

This show is a record of time and space that I have personally moved through. A chain of thought and a diary that tells a story in symbols.
Suspended in a dream state or in reality just to catch a breath.

This suspension can only last for so long before the threads of life spin another web.

Rusting

My rusting process is an expression of the ephemeral and the natural aging and decay of all things. Life cannot exist without the aging process: birth is eventually and inevitably followed by death. Though the process blurs over time, a record of the existence of things past is contained in the earth. It is in this record where my work begins. Using natural processes, I hasten the rusting and oxidation of the mundane tools, objects and industrial metal pieces common to people’s daily lives by creating a physical record of their decay in silk and other fine fabrics. Metaphors for the fragile skin of all things living, the silks bear a record of life itself.

In the soils of their former inhabitants the detritus and castoff objects of life slowly decay and dissolve into the earth. They are my treasures. The buried iron and copper, the plants and insects decay and create the colors that bleed and stain the silks. Time sets the colors produced by heat and decomposition.

The objects of human existence lie in the soil’s strata and integrate humans and the earth. Like all of the objects of our existence we too are eventually interred. Ancient rituals and practices were founded in the wonder and awe of this reality. Thus, the act of creation has always been a sacred ritual unto itself. Creating is telling a story. The creator is the both the shaman, the spider and the artist.

Dari Stolzoff
www.daristolzoff.com

Realm of tenuous safety
Realm of creativity, traversed on the wings of artistry
The slice out of reality
Between entering and leaving the sanctity of the studio space
A state of dangerous meditation
Dangerous for what is left out threatens the state:
What is dis-/un-covered
Undesirable answers

To quote Pink Floyd’s album, “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”

Bio

Living and working in Washington State, Dari Stolzoff is a painter inspired by the natural world. Using such materials as oil, gesso, ink, and a handmade wax mixture on both paper and canvas, the artist emphasizes texture and the relationships of space, masses, lyricism, and the personal response of the viewer who ultimately enters and experiences these abstract spaces created. Scale is considered as its variants in self-similar shapes lends visual interest to the work, divided also by plastic lines. Stolzoff’s travels worldwide have also influenced her art, synthesized into motifs and repeated in the color palettes drawn from the memories of the visited environments.

Dari Stolzoff works are collected in prominent collections nationwide. Her work has won awards and been accepted in juried exhibits and auctions. The artist has exhibited in Oregon, Washington, and New York.

Hindsight is 20/20: Love in Retrospect

Opening Second Friday
February 10, 2012
7pm-12am

Images and much more info at Portlandloveshow.com

Dear Love show Artists and Fans,

After 6 years of producing a huge show with hundreds of Artists, lots of moving parts, expensive permits, and myriad details to address, we at the Love show are taking a break from it all and trying something new, and we’d like you to come along!

We’re giving birth to TWIN SHOWS

One is Physical- an alumni show featuring work by past Launch Pad artists and curators and Love show stalwarts, returning to it’s humble roots at Launch Pad

The Other Virtual- an open-call show unshackled from space limitations and available to all, all on-line at http://portlandloveshow.com

Even though the large format, open-call show of the past few years isn’t going to happen with the Love Show this year, with your help we are determined to create art opportunities that will foster some honest work about love, and to share a meeting place where we can celebrate all of you who made previous Love shows great. We are eager to have you participate in these twin Love shows and make them awesome, and return to the rollicking hugeness next year!!

ABOUT THE ALUMNI SHOW

Since space at Launch Pad is pretty limited these days, we’re not able to do our usual open call group show, so we’ve decided to invite artists who we’ve worked with extensively over the past 6 years of our existence, because it’s important to acknowledge that it is THE ARTISTS who make Launch Pad the place that it is.

In a further embrace of nostalgia, artists are invited to tune their work for this years Love show a little more specifically: hindsight is 20/20, or maybe sometimes it’s not- what have you learned from your brushes with love, both good and bad, sweet and sour? Do the good old days look a little rosier than they actually were? Or possibly you’ve been weighed down by past baggage that kept you from appreciating a good thing. The past informs the present, and yet the passing of time seems to soften some details and bring others into razor-sharp focus. We’ve invited our artists to make work for this show that responds to a love that they’ve known or know, to lessons that they’ve learned while looking back.

For more info about the Alumni show visit:
http://portlandloveshow.com/love-in-retrospect/

BENEFIT INFO

We are partnering once again with a worthy cause to try and use our collective might to do some good!

We’re collecting cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank at the opening and for the duration of the show. Tell your friends, tell your boss, tell your grocery store… Let’s feed some hungry folks together- you never know, the people who benefit from the food bank are often closer to you than you think.

Silk Painting Workshop, hosted by Asher Katz!

Launch Pad is proud to host another fantastic workshop by Asher Katz! Join us for a fun & educational afternoon with:

Introduction to Silk Painting
Thursday, February 2nd at 12:30 PM!

There is simply nothing like painting on silk. As a medium, its characteristics are totally unique. For many who have never tried it, exploring methods of silk painting opens new and exciting creative doors; it offers alternative ways of approaching and thinking about painting. This class explores tradition techniques of silk painting, including the use of resists, dyes vs. paints, antifusants, batik, shibori, discharge, and more. You will not believe the range of possibilities! Each student will have the opportunity to paint a silk hoop using any (or many) of the processes covered. If you have never painted on silk, or if you are curious about furthering your repertoire as a silk artist, you will not want to miss this class!

Asher Katz has been teaching similar workshops for Jacquard Products, “the silkscreen experts,” for several years, and is qualified as both a silkscreen artist and technician. (Check out www.jacquardproducts.com for more info!)

READY TO TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF??

For a mere $5 you can create your very own silk painting! All materials are provided for you. Just bring your creativity!

If you’d like to participate, please e-mail info@launchpadgallery.org to register. (registration fee is due at the time of the workshop)

We look forward to seeing you there!

Launch Pad closed 12/9

So sorry folks, but Launch Pad will be closed today! : (

Come back tomorrow from 12-4 to check out the latest show with large-scale paintings by Paula Keyth!

Launch Pad’s Super-Awesome Volunteer Meet-Up!

Hello Fabulous Launch Pad Volunteers (and future volunteers)!

The holidays are fast approaching. And we want to share a little holiday cheer with all of you! Please join us for a fun-filled volunteer gathering here at Launch Pad Gallery. Share your thoughts & ideas for the coming year, and enjoy some festive treats!

MEET-UP!

Wednesday, November 23rd @ 7 PM!

(join us upstairs!)

Launch Pad is proud to have so many dedicated volunteers, like yourselves, that help keep us thriving! And we want to show our appreciation, and get to know you better, with our regular volunteer meet-ups.

Meet-ups are a great opportunity for our volunteers to get to know one another, bring in new recruits, and generally have a smashing good time! They also provide us with a wonderful opportunity to find out what YOU have to say about working at Launch Pad. We want to know what keeps you coming back, and what we can do to make your volunteer experience the best it can be. And it’s a great excuse to party! ; )

We hope you’ll join for the festivities!

Thank you again for all you do! Launch Pad Loves You! ♥

Sincerely,
The Launch Pad Team

Launch Pad hosts a Silkscreen Printing Workshop!

Ever wondered about silkscreen printing? Want to learn how it works and try it out? Or are you an experienced silk screener interested in further applications for your silkscreen?

JOIN US
November 25th at 12:30 PM for a comprehensive silkscreening workshop!

***A second session will be held on Saturday the 26th at 12:30 PM***

Silkscreening is a unique printing process with unlimited possibilities. Whether you’re a painter, drawer, mixed-media artist, sculptor or fashion-designer, this class is guaranteed to have something to offer you. We’ll cover everything from basic mono-printing and screen-stenciling to polychromatic printing and photo-stencils, the traditional CYMK process, positive and negative space printing, screen maintenance and substrate possibilities.

Also, get the lowdown on the plethora of silkscreen mediums available, including varieties of inks, drawing fluid, screen filler, discharge mediums, resists, color magnet and more!

Asher Katz has been teaching similar workshops for Jacquard Products, “the silkscreen experts,” for several years, and is qualified as both a silkscreen artist and technician. (Check out www.jacquardproducts.com). Jacquard has been kind enough to sponsor this class, so it is free to anyone interested in attending.

WANT TO TRY IT FOR YOURSELF??
After the lecture and demonstration (approximately 1.5 hours) will be a hands-on silkscreen workshop! For a mere $5 you can make a print to take home with you. All inks, screens and and mediums are provided. All you need to do is bring a substrate to print on (e.g., a t-shirt, pillowcase, sheet of artist’s paper, panel of wood, canvas–whatever you would like).

(Space for the hands-on workshop is limited! If you’d like to participate, please e-mail info@launchpadgallery.org to register. The $5 registration fee will be due at time of the workshop.)

We look forward to seeing you there!

BYTE ME 2012

2012 is a year filled with anticipation… Will our planet come to a sudden end? Will the world economy crumble? Will Obama get re-elected? Who knows? Who cares? BYTE ME, 2012 can take your mind off of all these difficult questions for a few hours.

The event showcases installations and artwork by Portland artists that highlight the use of technology in different ways.

CLOSING RECEPTION!

Saturday
January 28th
6PM – 11PM

About the Show

The centerpiece is the world premiere of the installation T,E.D. (Transformations, Emotional Deconstruction), created by Sean Hathaway ( mupeg.org ), with music by Carlos Severe Marcelin ( SevereEnterprises.com ). This large work features 80 customized Teddy Ruxpin dolls wired together, delivering real-time emotional content from the internet in discreet 1-minute “packages” based on the Emotion Wheel developed by the psychologist Robert Plutchik. Additional interactive real-time input can also be received from text messaging or an on-site user interface.  For more information about the T,E.D. installation click here.

Additional Exhibits

Reality Bytes, by Libbey White  ( facebook.com/libbey.white )
An interactive augmented reality kiosk projects a unique scene for every block held up to a camera. The virtual scene appears overlaid on a video stream of the block, and responds to movement by changing shape and appearance.

Creeper, by Donald Delmar Davis  ( dorkbotpdx.org/node/9 )
A Braitenberg inspired neural network in the form of a wall of disassociated eyes that follow objects in the room. While a single cds cell is not capable of providing meaningful image data, a sufficiently large network of cells should be able to make distinctions. Especially if combined with motion.

Maxwell, by Mark Medonis ( dorkbotpdx.org/wiki/mmedonis )
A robot head and torso, suspended from the ceiling, watching the crowd. If he detects a face looking at him, he will make it known, he is watching… always watching.

The One-Sided Pendulum, by Donald Delmar Davis  ( dorkbotpdx.org/node/9 )
The one sided pendulum is a meditation on American politics since Nixon

The Modern World, a video game by Donald Delmar Davis  ( dorkbotpdx.org/node/9 )
In the modern world you use your freedom ™ controller to move right, left, vote and protest. The object of the game is to prevent the senseless destruction happening right before you.

Paintings with a Bytey theme
Works by Jonas Nash ( jonasnash.com ) and Cameron Adamez

Transmutations

Big thanks to Lost Lockets
http://www.myspace.com/lostlockets for playing at the opening

About the Artist

Paula Keyth’s work is alchemical in the most basic sense: In the paintings, feline, human and piscine forms turn hybrid; shapes shift, co-mingle, or appear from the ether; figures become abstract and vice versa. From beneath surface, ghostly images reveal themselves, emerging from an earthly prison. Inspired by Francisco Goya’s black paintings, the figures often deal with the darker side of the human condition, cruelty, and the fear of the unknown.

Paula Keyth began as an experimental painter creating textures with splatters, swirls, and drips, much in the spirit of William Turner. Over the course of time, figures began to emerge. In her words, “The paintings begin as mere strokes until images start to form, making their own conversations. I am merely an assistant, I let the paint tell me what to do.”

Another painter, who has inspired her work with his raw and direct approach, is Francis Bacon. She explains: “the accidents of the paint are as important as the rendering of the image. I want to paint with lucidity, while remaining in an unconscious state.” Walking the tightrope between abstract expressionism and figurative paintings, she creates images that are at once monstrous and beautiful.

When asked about the ‘Transmutation’ series specifically, she sums it up: “In short, it’s about the alteration of one species into another; In spite of differences, we can all feel. I want to meld together different conversations that tell the same story. The story is in the paintings.”

Paula Keyth grew up in New York City. She has also lived and studied art in England, San Francisco, Rome, and Portland. Pulling from her multifold experiences, she attempts to assemble the dark pieces of the past. She is driven by dreams, music, poetry and insanity.

-Paula Keyth, paulakeyth.weebly.com

The Wall & Other Paintings

Curated by Charles Siegfried

Big Thanks to
Jedadiah Bernards for performing at the opening

About the Artist

In my work I explore twentieth century history and parables from my own life.  My work is informed by fiction and non-fiction as well as memory.  Generally, mood and concept are ascribed suitable found imagery or still life objects as a jumping off point.

In my application of paint I marry discordant, energetic smears of diluted paints with controlled purposeful mark making.  My favorite brushes mirror my application of paint, bristle brushes are used during loose portions of painting because it is uncontrollable, whereas soft synthetic brushes are used for controlled marks.  The works go through several iterations between loose and controlled before being determined complete.

My current work seeks to find unconventional beauty in concepts deemed unsavory, from friendly totalitarian states to stalled vehicles as stand in for man on his way to heaven…  Rather than brazen statement, the collected works are meant to illicit a subtle pervasive mood in the viewer.

What We Carried

Big thanks to Ronny Hermiz and Zeyad Polus for playing at the opening

A collaborative project conceived by Jim Lommasson and Oregon Iraqi Refugees. The exhibit will include photographs and writing and paintings by Farooq Hassan and Samir Khurshid.

ABOUT THE SHOW

 ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jim Lommasson is a freelance photographer and writer living in Portland, Oregon. Lommasson received the Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize from The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University for his first book, Shadow Boxers: Sweat, Sacrifice & The Will To Survive In American Boxing Gyms.  In 2009 Oregon State University Press published Lommasson’s Oaks Park Pentimento: Portland’s Lost and Found Carousel. He is currently working on a book and traveling exhibition about American Veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and their lives after their return from war, called Exit Wounds: Soldiers’ Stories – Life After iraq and Afghanistan. The book will include Lommasson’s photographs, and photographs and writing by the participants. He was awarded a Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) Project Grant for What We Carried, and is a 2012 Oregon Humanities Conversation Grant Recipient for his public discussion “Life after War: Photography and Oral Histories of Coming Home.”

Farook Hassanwas born in Basrah, Iraq in 1939. He graduated from the Fine Arts Institute from Baghdad 1960, and from the Fine Arts Acadamy from Rome, Italy 1980. He has held many solo and joint exhibitions locally and internationally. His art work bestows the ancient city of Hatra’s Queens, moons, suns, a magical and mystical feel in today’s artistic median. His thought process, technical painting experience, and clear foresight of the future has given his artwork originality in the Iraqi artistic community.

For more information & images visit:  http://theoregoniraqirefugeeproject.blogspot.com/

LIVES: Past and Still

Opening Reception

SECOND Friday, September 9th!

6 PM – 12 AM

About the Show

The poet Wordsworth once said that life is measured in “spots of time”. This show and its contents are the remnants of those spots, moments of the past and present together.  First stemming from the talented Anna Magruder, this show began with a desire to pair two intuitive artists that both shared the precision of realism.   I have admired Anna and her work since I first met her and visited her studio a few years ago.  The idea of the show came from her, the theme, the idea of still life integrated with her forms, and the general private process of how she makes art.  She shared this show idea with her co-artist Nicholas Orr, who also works from “models” and “still life”, using a combination of real life and still life (actual models, items and photographs), just like Anna.  The pairing seemed very automatic and real, two highly skilled painters, showing the window of the soul of their characters (and the process of their art) – one stemming from antiquity and history, the other in the world of a magical realism; but both capturing the stillness and beauty of humanity.  Enjoy the works and natural beauty of both these artists, two of my all time Portland favorites, as they explore history, mythology and the character driven classicism of still life.

–Guest curator and artist, Chris Haberman, August, 2011

About The Artists

Anna Magruder

Alternating between still lives and paintings of people inspired by found photos, this show explores the magic and beauty of the fleeting moments and objects that leave indelible imprints on our lives. Whether we have emotional, aesthetic or financial attachments to objects, they can inspire us, remind us of someone or something important or simply set the mood in a space. Anna takes a fresh look at some of her favorite items collected over the years to discover how new relationships between them reshape what they mean and say. And by recreating scenes from past lives, she opens the door to new possibilities and stories that may or may not reflect the sentiment of the moment. After all, a glimpse into someone’s bygone memory can only take us so far, but curiosity about who they were or what they were doing can lead us down the magical path of our own imagination.

Anna Magruder is a Portland, Oregon artist and illustrator. In 2009, after 14 years working as a graphic designer, Anna decided to take a leap of faith and leave design to focus on oil painting and illustration. People and faces are her favorite subjects. Drifting between realism and surrealism, she enjoys recreating vintage America, re-imagining the lives and stories of characters on canvas, or just exploring the emotional color of faces in the crowd.

To view Anna’s artwork visit www.annamagruder.com.

Nicholas C. Orr

Nicholas C. Orr was born On April 29th 1979. At a very young age Nicholas saw the world differently. Along with being the youngest of three he just didn’t relate with the straight forward thinking of his family; He always saw the other side of the mirror as well. In 1985 Nicholas and his family made the transition from Jamaica to the United States; they moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Through his diligence, Nicholas was accepted into a performing arts program in High School and later won a scholarship to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan.

When Nicholas started college he began to understand why he loved art as much as he did; He could use his skills to tell stories and convey emotions for people to live in. He majored in Illustration and got his BFA in 2002. After graduating he moved to Los Angeles, California where he went on to become a freelance Graphic Designer and Artist. He spent his time fine-tuning his craft and figuring out what story he wanted to tell with it. After five years of shows and design work Nicholas decided to make another big change and moved to Portland, Oregon in 2007. He is now starting to gather up his knowledge and experience to make a new life for himself.

My art is what I like to call a reflection of what something looks like on the inside. I feel like there is so much information about things hidden behind the surfs; all you have to do is look for it. In most of my paintings I feel as though I’m giving the viewer an all access pass to a person’s or thing’s inner beauty and emotion; At least how I see them. Rarely do we get the chance to just look someone in the eye without either you or them feeling a little uncomfortable about it; you lose the connection. With the way the future is coming and coming fast there probably will never be a chance for that connection to happen again. The world now communicates with cell phones and instant messaging, practically void of direct human contact.

When I paint, I paint with every stroke building over the next like I’m forming a person’s personality from the inside out. This is why I mostly paint with oil sticks. They’re very physical, earthy and raw. It all comes together in the end to make a powerful image. Other times I use Gouache. It brings a totally different feel as it is softer and yet has the ability to get thick and meaty all at the same time, which most people tend to be.

My paintings are like a summary of a thought or person, an overall view of what they could be. Now you could stare for hours without feeling awkward. You can get to know the person in the painting and understand them through their eyes and body-language. There is just so much beauty in things but, sadly, it doesn’t seem like they notice most of the time. My paintings slow you down. They make you want to get to know things again.

Where I Hang My Hat

One Night Only!

First Friday, August 5th

6 PM – 12 AM

featuring performances by:
The T Sisters
bellacodas

&
Best Available Technology featuring Max Sympathy

Check out this video of their performance at Friday’s show!

About the Show

Where I Hang My Hat features homeless and at-risk artists who will explore the meaning of home and their experiences living in transition.  The Launch Pad Gallery, in collaboration with Outside In is hosting a one night event on Friday August 5, 2011 at 6 pm.

The goal of the event is to provide artists struggling with poverty and physical and mental health challenges with a venue to display their work.   We have artists that live on our streets and Outside In believes they are producing art that is beautiful and should be seen by other people.  100% of the sale of art pieces will go to the artists.

The show was envisioned by Kara Edge, a Mental Health Therapist in Outside In’s Clinic.  Seeing the value of art as a therapeutic and esteem-enhancing tool, Kara saw the benefits her clients experienced when their art was showed publicly: “I was getting inspired by artwork our clients were doing and I wanted them to have a venue to see how they inspire others.”

Kara Edge and Ben Pink, Director of Launch Pad Gallery will curate the show.  The public is invited to participate in an interactive, collaborative piece. Community artists, clients from Outside In and event attendees will work in collaboration to explore “What  is Home?” in an art installation.   A temporary structure will be constructed and event attendees can explore and participate in their own meaning of home.

The event is free to attend.  Donations are encouraged. Outside In can happily accept the following items: athletic socks, new hygiene supplies and backpacks.  Join us for a night of music, food and art fun!

Sponsors include Oregon Brush Clearing and Roadside Attraction.

Outside In provides services and support to more than 10,000 people in poverty each year.  For 42 years, we have provided safety off the streets, meals, and skilled counselors.  An on-site transitional housing program delivers one of the most successful outcomes in the nation.  Access to medical and mental health services, a nationally recognized job training center, a thriving education program and drug and alcohol treatment groups work to move people towards improved health and self-sufficiency.

For more information, please visit www.OutsideIn.org.

‘In the Pines’ Closing Reception THIS SATURDAY!!

Missed the opening of our awesome June show? Want to meet the artist and ask her all about her work?

Come down to Launch Pad Gallery this Saturday, June 25th, from 12 – 4 PM!

The artist of this month’s fantastic landscape paintings, Kendra Larson, will be there to answer your questions first-hand & talk about her process.

http://www.kendralarson.com/

And featuring live music by Christopher Buckingham to top it all off!

We hope you’ll join us for this wonderful opportunity!
Sincerely,
~The Launch Pad Crew

Portals: Surreal & Visionary Artists

Opening Reception

First Friday, July 1st

6 PM – 12 AM 

featuring Rare Soul and Funk by
DJ PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM

Live Painting at the Opening!

Four surreal & visionary artists paint live, exploring the concept of portal.  Join us opening night for art, music, food & drink.

Curated by Rick Curtis.

Participating Artists:

Andrew Zeutzius
J Slattum
Jasmine Star
Nemo Boko.

About the Show:

The artist creates a doorway through which the spectator can pass through, to experience another reality outside of the banal entanglements of day to day life. The painting becomes a portal to larger things, greater perceptions, dreams & emotions.

What gives the artist this special talent to stop us in our tracks, and stumble into their inner world, and what is the purpose of this apparent gift?

I believe the artist is a conduit of sorts through which we can better see ourselves, or obfuscate ourselves, if we so choose. Their work transmits volumes of information, far more than words are able to convey, even the artists own words.

How does the artist reflect our world? Can their work change us or themselves in any fundamental way?

About the Artists:

Andrew Zeutius
Self-taught artist, musician, and poet, born and raised in Green Bay, WI and now resides in and calls Portland, OR home. I have been co-creating, experimenting, exploring, probing and communing with the properties of art ever since I could put crayon to paper. I was always seeking endlessly for my niche, ideal modality of self- expression, or means to suite my seemingly endless patience and attention to detail. At an early age I was exposed to the depth of optical illusions, the playful ambitions of Pointillism, Stippling and various expressionist and surrealist techniques.

Little did I know after much soul searching, this would be the modality in which you see before you now. That I would choose to express my ambitions, my interest in presenting what I call metaphysical quantum expressions of the depth and color of various aspects of our human experience. The efforts I create are my translations or interpretations of the energy that I see within and around everyone and everything in our lives and the universe. In keeping my compositions simple I am able to explore the greater depths of complexity in these experiences that are spiritual, philosophical, sensual and transcendental. The list of properties goes on and on.

The efforts I create of course have weight and meaning specific to myself , for you the viewer its is imperative that you find yourself in my work. Take your time for once in your life, move forward and back, breath deep, slow your heart rate. Look into the piece then your own mind. Concern yourself not with what I am saying or what the person next to you is saying or seeing unless it resonates with you. Just see yourself. Grasp your full enjoyment of where you are in the art in front you. I humbly thank you for taking the time to view my work and I hope it brought some new answers, questions or choices to your path in life.

J Slattum
J. Slattum is a self-taught outsider artist, his work entering a visionary surreal world with topics ranging from mythological science-fiction and metaphysics, to humanity’s potential and politics. After a near-death experience in 2007, Slattum fell into a world of paint, inspired by a personal enlightenment. Working from his studio in Portland, Oregon, his work is collected internationally, thanks to a deep online following.

“Not places but versions of our world, twisting and turning, flying and learning… These snippets, all in your mind, doorways and portals to another find… A lucid validity in another land, tiny life on a grain of sand, Sliding through fingers of a clocks hand. Decisions and Decisions. Visions of Visions… This is what I see.”

I believe, the Artist Shaman sees the world through a different window. A universe of information behind every thing we observe- stories, emotions, and magic. Seeking enlightenment, a vortex-mind driven by curiosity or anything that answers that philosophical “Why?” of the Universe.

Inspiration is bountiful as I look at humanity and our potential, whether we squander or strive, dive or fly. There’s so much positive I portray in my work, to inspire. There’s also an equal, balancing, amount of negative I enjoy mocking and bringing forward to challenge my viewer. Constructive Anger.

In my work, it is not art unless it creates a universe of thought in the mind of the viewer.

Jasmine Star
Jasmine Star’s work describes an inner reality wrought with sharply contrasting colors and perceptions that sometimes bend and break physical laws. From paintings of austere beauty to haunting, and at times frightening forays into her subconscious, with symbols reflecting her own personal story, the viewer is left either touched by their surreal beauty or moved by their depth.

Nemo Boko
I am an artist deeply inspired by the mythic traditions of the world. I draw inspiration from ethnographic journals, museum catalogs, nature and ancient ruins. I feel that there is a connection between ancient tribal art and the mythic building blocks of human creativity. By exploring the myths and archetypes found around the world, one can begin to piece together the subconscious dream landscape of visual symbolism and chart its transformation through time, while empowering the modern with the primal fire of atavistic aesthetics.

I grew up in Miami and developed a love for exploring cultural diversity. I went to college to learn to become an international negotiator by triple majoring in Politics, Religion and East Asian Studies.  After leaving my political career in Washington, DC, jaded but with priceless experiences, I moved to Boulder, CO to relax and find a new direction. A visionary experience set me on the path of art where I began to reintegrate my political aim of tolerance and diplomacy with my aesthetic love of tribal and magical images.

ATTENTION: New Gallery Hours!

Hello art lovers!

As you may have noticed, Launch Pad is going through some changes!  But we’ll do our best to keep you informed and up to date on the latest developments.  And here’s one now:

Starting THIS WEEK, Launch Pad is changing our regular gallery hours.  Our NEW hours are now

THURSDAY – SATURDAY from 12 – 4 PM!

And, as always, you are welcome to schedule an APPOINTMENT with our friendly staff of volunteers if you are unable to visit during our regular hours.

REMEMBER: Launch Pad Gallery is part of a cooperative space!  Please do not visit outside of our regular gallery hours unless you have an appointment.  We don’t want to disturb the other wonderful folks who call our space home.  : )

In The Pines

Opening Reception

First Friday, June 3rd

6pm-12am

Live music by

The Eventuals & Ghost Montrose

CURATORS STATEMENT

ABOUT THE SHOW:

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

www.kendralarson.com

Life & Death Closing Reception!

Missed the First Friday opening & want to meet the artists? You’re in luck!

Quin Sweetman & Joe Sneed are hosting a closing reception for their show
‘Life & Death: Two Approaches to Painting People’
This coming Saturday, April 30th from 2-4 PM!

Join us for refreshments & fantastic art!  Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to meet the artists in person & chat with them about their work!

2-4 pm Saturday April 30th @ Launch Pad Gallery
534 SE Oak Street

prismACTIVISM!

prismACTIVISM is what I call the brilliant spectrum of creation that spreads when our life energy is focused through action. Translated through the story of my life this spectrum includes the products of creative work, relationships built through doing, and stories that grow with each telling. Each with its own brilliant hue, these refractions of energy illuminate my daily reality. In this light I learn what my purpose is, why I have chosen to live this way and what roads i may take to continue this path of beauty.

prismACTIVISM is a process of community interaction. Each work of creation shared is a voice in cultural dialog. Each message received creates multiple strands of reality, paths born in the act of communication. The byproduct of our action remains in the gallery, or lives in audio and visual media, what we remember for years to come, echoes of the initial conversation.

prismACTIVISM is the guiding principle in my life, the methodical madness that keeps me sane in a crazy world.
For 10 years I have been actively seeking out, building and engaging a morphing community of creative people. This began in the small town of Bristol, Vermont, where I worked with a small collective to grow a one-night art show into an annual 5 day multimedia festival.  My work continues to this day in Portland, where I produce events that
bring different forms of music (including my own) together with art and other media.

prismACTIVISM is my approach to the Hip-Hop music I write, record and perform. Rap, the vocal element of Hip-Hop culture, is how I currently refract my inspiration into a receivable spectrum. I have been rapping for ten
years and recording it for six,, on my own and with frequent collaborators.  In that time I have come to understand my voice as a powerful tool for self-expression, understanding and development, as well as conversation,
community engagement and acceptance. In the past two years I have shared my voice throughout the country with the Watch It Grow DIY arts tour, guerrilla street performances with the bike community in Portland, and a multitude of club, house and gallery shows in many states.

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to present an album that has grown with all of these experiences, and with it, a creative response from my community. Each work has been created inspired by, to comment
on, in response to or simply while engaging this set of songs. I hope that this simple exercise in community conversation will offer a rainbow of inspiration and perception, as an entry point for many to engage the
dialog.

Thank you,
Daniel M Landolt-Hoene
DMLH

Featured Artists:

For more information about the show check out the website at:  http://prismactivism.blogspot.com

Calling all volunteers! Launch Pad Gallery needs YOU!

Calling all volunteers!

Launch Pad Gallery is having a gathering for our volunteers: old & new.  Join us this Saturday April 16th from 3-4 PM for coffee, tea & good company!

Meet your fellow gallery volunteers & share your experiences. Never worked with Launch Pad before, but want to participate? Come find out how you can be one of our trusty helpers!

Volunteers are what keep this gallery going, and we can’t thank you enough.  WE NEED YOU! : D

So, see you this Saturday!

Cheers,
From all of us at Launch Pad Gallery

Check out the facebook event page and RSVP:
http://www.facebook.com/LaunchPadGallery#!/event.php?eid=202388676461633

534 SE OAK ST
Portland, OR 97214
http://www.launchpadgallery.org/

Open Hours
Wednesday-Saturday, 12-4pm
& by appointment
and by appointment.

FOR THE LOVE OF ART Craft Show & Trunk Sale!

Launch Pad Gallery & The Egg Art Collective team up with
Sara McCormick of Infinite Creature Designs to bring you:

For the Love of Art

Pre-Valentine’s Craft Show & Trunk Sale!

Saturday, January 29th from 11AM – 6 PM
at Launch Pad Gallery!

Featuring fine art, clothing, jewelry, & gifts by a collection of truly brilliant local artisans!

Come in from the cold and shop for amazing art & fabulous gifts, while enjoying hot drinks & tasty treats in a unique gallery setting.

We’re so excited to bring these folks together. This is a truly amazing group of artists who LOVE what they do, and want to share their work with the world. And now we want to share them with YOU!

UPDATE!

There’s a new addition to our wonderful show! The Portrait Booth Project will be here!
http://pixelgrain.org/portraitbooth/

“The Portrait Booth Project is a live photographic homage to the intimate, quirky and often amazing portrait photography of the early 20th Century.”

Artists include:

* Faith Hats – Hand made in Portland Oregon from 100% recycled materials
* Appetite – Hand-printed/handmade goods
* Vince & Sabrina – Handmade Porcelain Leaf Jewelry and Stoneware Leaves
* Bonus Pants – Underwear with a Sense of Humor
* Jasmine Star – Fine Art Originals & Reproductions
* Eden Kitty – Eclectic items for the eccentric spirit
* Brent Wear – Paintings and whatnot
* Lolly-Tots – Handmade Funky Hats and Accessories
* Tease Recyclewear – One-of-a-kind, eco-friendly fashions
* Littleput Books – Photo blocks & decorative banners
* Uniko Jewelry – One of a kind pendants for that one of a kind person
* Cyclical Design – Recycled vintage hardware and leather bracelets
* Birds of Oregon Lockets – Colorful art lockets & antique chain necklaces
* And more…!

ONE DAY ONLY!

Join us on Saturday, January 29th from 11 AM – 6 PM.

@ Launch Pad Gallery

534 SE Oak St. (next to Andy & Bax off of SE Grand)

Check out the event page on Facebook for updates, links to artists’ websites & more!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120141091388641

—–

And speaking of Launch Pad!

Check out Chris Haberman & Scott Chase’s brilliant show ‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly’. It’s showing now at Launch Pad Gallery! The 29th is the LAST DAY of the show, so don’t forget to take advantage of this great opportunity.

You can check out their amazing iconic portraits while munching on sweet treats & shopping for sweet deals at the same time! It’s a win-win!

PIXELGRAIN » Photography by John Ryan Brubaker

The Portrait Booth Project

see more »

The Portrait Booth Project

6th Annual Portland Love show call to artists

The Love Show is back!
Launch Pad teams up with Jason Brown and Chris Haberman (Po’Boy Gallery, Peoples Gallery) and Gallery Homeland to present this years show at the Historic Ford Building.

Now in it’s 6th year, the Portland Love show seeks to shine some light on the complicated discoball that is love, dark facets and all. With the Hallmark/florist/jewelry/chocolate conspiracy focusing so much attention (and cash) on romance and sex every February, we aim to create a visual dialogue about love in it’s many incarnations and interpretations, be it self-love, sorrow, lust, confusion, hope, bitterness, gentleness, deception, romance, imagination, jealousy, true love, young love, love lost, parental, filial, adversarial love, the surrounding abundance of love or love as the unknown….

Let’s all look a little deeper and remind ourselves and the public that there’s so much more to love. You are invited to explore the theme anyway you choose and in any media; how it fits into the show doesn’t have to be obvious to anyone else other than you.

Please read over the details below and sign up at

http://portlandloveshow.com/2011-sign-up/

QUESTIONS:
2011@portlandloveshow.com
503 427 8704

LOCATION

Gallery Homeland at the Ford Building
2505 Southeast 11th Avenue #136
Portland, OR 97202
Google place page

IMPORTANT DATES

Please review the dates below BEFORE signing up. If you know that the drop off/pick up dates are going to be a conflict, make your plans now! We have a lot of artists to coordinate!

SHOW DATES:
February 12th-March 12th, 2010

ART DROP OFF:
February 4-5, 2011
Times/location to be determined

OPENING:
Saturday the 12th, Feb. 2010, 7pm-12am

OUT OF TOWN ARTISTS- CLICK HERE!

WORK PICK-UP (tentative):
February 27, 28, 2011
Times/location to be determined

DAY YOU FORFEIT YOUR PIECE IF YOU DON’T PICK IT UP:
March 14th, 2011

ARTWORK DETAILS

• one piece per artist only, any media, 4 ft x 4ft max (please, don’t all make work this big!!) li>
• strong>Wired & ready to hang (not pinned to the wall, not clips, not a cleat, no saw-tooth- a WIRE please- See How-To Here, we can consult with you if you need help with this part)
• Labeled in a removable fashion with your TITLE, NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE & EMAIL (taping a business card to the back is a good idea

TERMS FOR SALES & EXHIBITING

• You do not need to sell your work, but if you do, here’s the basic breakdown:
• We will take a 40% commission on work sold
• You are showing your work at your own risk. While we will handle your work with the highest degree of care, the Ford building is a public space housing many businesses and we cannot control access. Theft hasn’t been a problem there or at any past Love show, but it’s always a possibility.
• Artists will be paid within 30 days of the CLOSE of the show, if not sooner. (I will personally strive to pay everyone ASAP, as I know we all need the money)
• You MUST pick up your piece at the end of the show. The best days to pick up are February 28th and March 1st, when we will have staff there to assist you, and the work will still be on the wall.
  
  If you fail to pick up your work during those times, we will be forced to find storage for it, increasing the likely hood that it will be damaged exponentially, and you will need to schedule an appointment to come get it at our convenience. PLEASE don’t make this difficult for us or you- arrange to pick up your work on the days we ask.

  Your work becomes property of the Love Show on March 14th, 2011, to do whatever we want with it.
  Furthermore, artists who abandon their work without communicating with us will not be welcome in future Love shows or Launch Pad group shows.

BENEFIT INFO

The Love Show is partnering once again with a worthy cause to try and use our collective might to do some good!

We’re collecting cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank at the opening and for the duration of the show. Tell your friends, tell your boss, tell your grocery store… Let’s feed some hungry folks together- you never know, the people who benefit from the food bank are often closer to you than you think.

Here are the specifics that apply to you:

• You pay shipping both ways, please.
  Pre-printed mailing labels are the most convenient method & it’s a good idea to include tracking capabilities and insurance. Feel free to include business cards or show cards for us to put out.

  If your piece doesn’t sell, I will strive to mail your piece back to you within two weeks of the close of the show. I’ll try to include some show cards as well for your files. Please be sure to include a removable label on your piece, and make your $10.00 check out to ‘Launch Pad Gallery’

• NOTE: You must get the work to me on time, by FRIDAY February 5th at the latest!!Because the gallery hours are sparse, I would like you to mail your piece to my home address:

  Launch Pad Gallery
  c/o Ben Pinkowitz
  5217 NE 14th Pl.
  Portland, OR 97211

  I will email you when I’ve received it.
  Thanks so much! It’s like Christmas in February when all the art arrives!
  (If you feel like it, include a note about how you heard about this show)

click to go back to where you were

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

BIG THANKS TO:
DJ DEENA B &

COUNT KELLAM

Invite friends to the show with this Easy Facebook Event

---

About the Show

“I met Scott earlier this year when he moved into our building. He was a big, friendly, kinda hairy guy hailing from a place I mock on a regular basis: The Couv (Vancouver, Washington). We talked and laughed and drank and became friends, although he was from Vantucky. Then he lost his laboring warehouse job. We became better friends and his sharp tongue and obvious intellect and charisma won me over.

One day he asked me if I would give him some paint so he could make art. He told me he liked to draw but had never painted before. I gave him what he asked (black and white paint and a board). Scott returned the next day with a completed work – a well rendered portrait of “The Oil Man” from the film There Will Be Blood. I was simply amazed that this “laborer” and boasting former “stone mason” had created this shadowy and emotive realistic painting. “Bullshit” I said. “You’ve painted before.” He swore he hadn’t. No art school, no painting, no hours bent at the artisan bench, just contrasting paints, a shoddy piece of plywood , a pit-bull at his feet, and obviously a true hidden talent. Scott began to paint more and his subjects were things he loved from movies and life: characters, athletes, icons. His simple contrast was quick and skilled, capturing the photo he worked from but integrating his style – not trying to make the picture perfect, but making it his own. He truly didn’t give a shit about the “art world” or what he “should” paint. He just painted. He sold works over the summer, gaining a few collectors, having a solo show in a restaurant and was a part of several group shows. Every time I showed his work people were attracted to its familiarity and its grit. His work is never reminded of someone who has been painting only a few months. One guy actually asked me if the artist was an old woman.

We talked about having a show together and at this time I really felt like an “art” brother to him. He regularly went out late, picking up girls, drinking, hanging out – when really all I wanted him to do was paint. “Start painting,” I said to him one day. “Stop fucking.” “Okay, I’ll try,” he said.

This series is based upon Scott’s choice of characters, and his development as a new artist. I am proud to have been his mentor in this self-discovery and I am always amazed at his commitment and courage to try this out so quickly. He doesn’t use a grid to make the characters, everything is done by hand from a photograph. Our responses to these photos were not shared with each other until this show. This is our examination of icons that reflect the bright and shadowy parts of life – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”

Chris Haberman
December, 2010
Chris Haberman Bio

“Through out history people are remembered for their actions and recognized by their portraits. When I started this series I tried to divide figures past and present into categories (Good/Bad/Ugly) but found many of the icons I had chosen fit more than one of these groups. This evolved into me finding figures whose actions fit all three categories. With the subjects selected Chris and I painted portraits of each icon though our different and unique artistic filters. Our goal is to invoke the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in each figure though these portraits.

I chose to paint with Chris Haberman for my first show because he is a good friend, a mentor and a great artist. His style is unique and creates a colorful contrast to my style while still capturing the depth of our subjects though a single portrait.”

Scott Chase
December, 2010Scott Chase Bio

Featured Icons

CHARLES BUKOWSKI, FIDEL CASTRO, MICHAEL JACKSON, ELVIS PRESLEY, GRIGORI RASPUTIN, AUDREY HEPBURN, DR. JOHN MCLOUGHLIN, CRAZY HORSE, VINCENT VAN GOGH, ERNEST HEMINGWAY, MARK TWAIN, ALICE COOPER, EVEL KNIEVAL, CHE GUEVERA, LADY GAGA, JAMES BROWN, G.G. ALLIN, DOC HOLIDAY, MIKE TYSON, WILLIE NELSON, JOHNNY CASH, TIGER WOODS ,NOTORIOUS B.I.G., MARILYN MONROE, FRIDA KAHLO, CHARLIE PARKER, HUNTER S. THOMPSON, JESUS CHRIST, BABE RUTH

Unsold work will be available for purchase via Paypal on January 11th, 2011

CALL TO ARTISTS: DECEMBER AT LAUNCH PAD

Criminales Todos

A juried group show responding to the criminalization of race.

Submissions Deadline:
Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Opening:
Friday, December 10, 2010

The Safe Communities Project and Portland Central America Solidarity Committee are calling all artists to submit pieces to be presented at the upcoming art exhibit CRIMINALES TODOS, starting December 10, 2010.

CRIMINALES TODOS is a travelling community art exhibit aiming to inspire an ongoing dialogue and examination of the social, political and cultural issues related to the criminalization of communities of color. From post-Civil War vagrancy laws targeting newly freed African Americans in the South, to police rounding up Japanese Americans and sending them to internment camps during WWII, to SB1070 targeting Latinos in Arizona; the history of police targeting communities of color has deep roots in American history.

In times of increased police surveillance, tightened border control and the implementation of anti-immigrant and racist laws across the country, we encourage artists to engage in a conversation about the devastating repercussions of policing and the militarization in our local communities.

Click Here for Submission Guidelines

FACING FEAR ARTISTS: CLICK FOR PICK UP TIMES

Work pickup from the gallery:
November 28/29/30, between 12-4pm

If you CAN’T Pick up your work during the allotted times (BAD!!!), you will need to email us to set something up. Expect to work with our scheduling needs on this. We put up these dates at the start of the show, so there shouldn’t be any surprises here….

DAY YOUR WORK CEASES TO BE YOURS IF YOU DON’T PICK IT UP!!!!
December 11th, 2010

Please please please DON’T abandon your work here.
Artists who fail communicate and abandon artwork with us will be added to the Launch Pad NO-SHOW black list and dis-invited to participate in future shows here. You gotta respect your work and the gallery enough to retrieve it. If you don’t want to keep it, you take care of throwing away.

What a great show! Thanks so much!

Nice review on PDX Art Critic of “I AM HUNTING, YOU ARE HUNTED”

Read it HERE

See work from the show at http://launchpadgallery.org/theodore-holdt/

Make the Air Thick Dance Performance, July 30-August 1, 2010

Please join us for our first-ever full-length dance performance, staged right in the gallery!

We are thrilled to work with Choreographer/Dancer Danielle Ross to present Make the Air Thick, a series of vignettes exploring relationships, need, and “our shared understanding of what we need to feel full”. The piece has been created specifically for our space and is set to live musical performance- not to be missed!

Seating is limited, so consider buying your tickets ahead of time on-line or making a reservation.

Details, performers and ticket purchases can all be found at http://launchpadgallery.org/dance/

Launch Pad is closed today, Saturday, April 24th

Sorry for the inconvenience.
We will be open again on Wednesday, April 24th for normal gallery hours.

As always, feel free to

call or email us to set up an appointment.

Have a gorgeous day!

Upcoming- New Work by Camaroonian artist Franklin Ghong Kwa

Join us for our next First Friday opening on April 2nd, 2010.

Kwa will be debuting 2 new bodies of work about family and community life in his first show with Launch Pad, and he’s bringing in some of his talented friends to share music with you at the opening.

Read more about the show HERE

Launch Pad is Closed for New Years Day

Please join us Saturday, January 2nd for our normal business hours, 12pm-4pm.

Happy New Year!

Current submissons to Light Sensitive Materials

The Submission deadline has come and gone for our first juried show!
Selections will be announced Friday, November 27 in the evening- check back for results, and peruse all the wonderful work they’ve had to choose from below:

(note- some submissions aren’t publicly viewable to non-group members- join the Flickr group to see them all)

Click on the little expand box in the lower right hand portion of the screen for a full-screen view

FAMILY ARTISTS!! Visit the resource page if you have questions….

That’s all I wanted to say!

Jeremy Okai Davis’ Show reviewed in the Willamette Week! Click here to read!!

October group show is FULL! Click here for information about the show

Jolyn Fry artist talk and final day to see the show extended hours- June 28, 1pm

Artist Talk

Sunday June 28 at 1pm
Free! Please come!

Also, we will be open extended hours from 1-5pm- don’t miss your chance to see this incredible show!

First Friday- June 5th!! Paintings by Jolyn Fry and Ritchie Young (of Loch Lomond)

Please Come!
More information about the show HERE

“Well Finished” reviewed by DK Row in The Oregonian

Thanks to DK Row for making it out to the gallery and giving us a nice review.

Read it here: http://www.oregonlive.com/art/index.ssf/2009/05/review_dinh_q_le_at_elizabeth.html

Hire Gallery Director Ben Pink…

Hey All,

I’m looking for two things currently: 1) decently paid, emotionally non-destructive & legal part-time work & 2) a benefactor to pitch in money to help Launch Pad stay afloat.

If any of you can offer either of these things or leads, please please do so.

Thanks!

benpink@launchpadgallery.org

Ben Pink Interview on Art Focus: KBOO 90.7 FM

Tune in and listen to Launch Pad director Ben Pink this Tuesday, March 3rd at 11:30am on Art Focus.

Curator and artist Eva Lake will undoubtedly uncover some interesting details about the Love Show, Launch Pad and who knows what else….

Listen to the interview HERE

Love Show Photo’s….

I’ll be posting Love Show Photo Links here– send me an email at loveshow4@launchpadgallery.org with a link to your love show photo’s online and I’ll add it to the list:

Jeremy Okai Davis on flickr

Richard Schemmerer on Pdx Art

Windy Wahlke on flickr

The 4th annual Portland Love show is NOT at Launch Pad!

It’s at Olympic Mills!

Read more HERE!