Guest Blogger: Kate Dowell

ARTillery ARTtalks kicked off this past Thursday at the Shoebox featuring Adam Brouillette, Larissa Mellor, and Bobby Rosenstock.  Friends and community members came out to hear about their work straight from the artists’ mouth.  (And to try my homemade pie of course).

To start the night Eric Rausch gave a brief intro about ARTillery and officially announced that we are seeking new members.  If you are interested in becoming a member check out the benefits at www.artilleryohio.com and submit a form on the site telling us why you what to be involved and what you can bring to the group.

As for the artists, first up was Bobby Rosenstock.  Bobby is showing March 4-27 in the Shoebox as ARTillery’s featured artist.  He is a printmaker from New Jersey, currently residing in Marietta, Ohio.  Bobby’s work (above) includes elaborate wood cut prints in combination with letterpress techniques on his Vandercook press.  The majority of Rosenstock’s work is narrative; recapturing personal stories or retelling historical oddities.  This piece, 19th and Walnut, is about an eclectic Philadelphian woman Bobby encountered daily on his walk home from school on this corner of 19th and Walnut.  Everyday, no matter the weather she would play her penny whistle with no shoes on.  Rosenstock holds a desire to document these modern day characters while referencing historical folklore. For more information, check out www.bobbyrosenstock.com

Next up was Larissa Mellor, the artist showing at OAL next month.  Mellor is a recent OSU graduate in Sculpture.  Often working in series, she develops bodies of work around a particular film or narrative. She often works in layered cut paper with delicate detail, physically references stage and audience, viewer and film.   Her interests lie in the relationship of presence and absence, resulting in experimental work such as physically removing her studio wall and recreating its presence in a gallery context.

Last but not least, Adam Brouillette (above) spoke about his works in Heroes and Legends, currently on view at Arts Initiative.  Brouillette’s work references comic books, cartoons, and advertising by his use of characters and color.  These techniques allow for accessibility he strives to achieve.  Narrative (proven to be the running theme between these artists) is also important to Brouillette. The viewer can construct a story from his works inspired by his own personal narrative.  Some are whimsical, such as Things That Start With R, which is inspired by Adam’s dog and features her escaping via doggy jet pack from robot animals.  Other works take a more personal note, such as It Keeps Coming, Forever that depicts his characters creepily happy utopia, conveying a sense of perfection on the surface with an underlying tone of personal stress.  For more information visit www.littleredmen.com

All in all, the first ARTillery ARTtalk was a success and I would like to thank Bobby, Adam, and Larissa for participating and of course everyone who came to check it out.  The next ARTtalk will take place in April and feature artists showing at Arts in the Alley throughout April and May.

Author's Bio:

Kate Dowell is originally from Cleveland and earned a BFA in ceramics from The Ohio State University in 2006 and an MFA in ceramics from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia in 2009.  She is currently Assistant Director of ARTillery in charge of Exhibition Programming and is completing a curatorial fellowship with the Arts Initiative.  Presently, she is working on a body of work in clay, paper, and ink about architecture, pattern and time as it relates to the human psyche.  When not making art, she enjoys watching HBO dramas and hanging out with her boyfriend Jesse and the newest member of their home, Billie the Kitten.  For more information, please visit www.kate-dowell.com.