Serie Project XX
and
Young Latino Artists 18: Con/Juntos
June 7 – September 8, 2013
Opening Reception: June 7, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Catering generously provided by Serranos
$10/Free for Members
Special performance by Daniel Adame: 8:00 – 8:10 pm
Stephanie Mercado
My work merges fashion, painting, printmaking and historical European imagery with contemporary issues concerning identity construction, displays of wealth, imperialism and the pursuit of the American Dream. Through couture dress sculptures, and fine art production I investigate how material objects become symbols of one’s success and define one’s identity. Houses become icons, and the use of pattern is symbolic for the need to adorn, embellish and personalize one’s possessions. Elements of cartography personify land and real-estate, and one’s curiosity to categorize, explore and conquer the unknown.
We the board of directors, staff, and interns of The Serie Project sincerely express our condolences to the family and friends of Marilu Flores Gruben, a greatly talented artist and friend of our organization who participated in our Artist in Residence program.
Like many artists who grew up on the Mexico-Texas border, inspiration often manifests itself in the form of vibrant appreciation for two countries. Marilu Flores Gruben is no exception. Though her formal art education has supplied her with an impressive resume, Gruben’s solo and group exhibitions provide her domestic and international experience throughout Texas and in California, Mexico, and Argentina. Much of Gruben’s work is a reflection of mystic and religious artifacts that she often finds in Mexican homes.
On several occasions, Gruben crossed the Rio Grande River to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and literally painted within homes to capture the raw essence of life across the river – a river that Gruben says does not separate, but rather, brings people together. An advocate of using various materials in her work, Gruben has most recently found fabrics to be her preferred medium. Gruben enjoys making installations mostly because of the varying ways viewers can perceive Gruben’s preferred subjects: women. → Read more
Press: o.n. at Kingwood Art Gallery
Lone Star College in Kingwood, Texas – through June 17, 2013
Opening receptions on May 31, 6:00 – 8:00 pm and June 5, 12:30 – 2:30 pm
This Houston printmaking exhibition features prints, paintings, books and assemblage by print artists Dean Dass, University of Virginia, Lari Gibbons, University of North Texas and Sandra C. Fernandez, University of Texas, Austin. Sandra Fernandez participated in The Serie Project’s 12th and 15th annual Artist in Residence Programs, and she will be printing again this year as part of the 2013 program (Serie XX).
White living room with pastel accents – from Decoist.com
Obviously, we cannot own the most famous fine art pieces such as The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, Water Lilies by Claude Monet, The Flower Seller by Diego Rivera, The Scream by Edvard Munch, Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, or any piece by Leonardo, Rembrandt, or Picasso – but you can always purchase the cheap poster reproductions. Then again, how original is that? Or you can go to Target or Hobby Lobby and buy some “abstract art” that is only fit for your doctor’s waiting room or in the living room of a relative who still thinks mauve and gray are the “in” colors.
Farley Bookout at Serie Project
(photo by Scott David Gordon)
Drawing from her first love of war propaganda illustration and Victorian history, Farley Bookout is driven to create imagery of pensive women in lonely spaces, reminiscent of a vintage screen print. Bookout began drawing at the age of 12, inspired by the horses she owned and the desire to capture their weight and beauty. Finding she had a knack for it, she took classes in high school and the nearby Rhode Island School of Design. Her father also owned many art books with Civil War paintings, WWI propaganda posters, WPA posters, and plates of large Leyendecker and Rockwell images.
“I lived in an old, dusty Victorian that had once been a girls’ school, and I was convinced that it was haunted,” says Bookout. “I found old school books in the hidden cabinets in our living room, which had once been the school’s library. I believe all of these things affected me profoundly in the way I see the past.”
Margarita Cabrera’s residency at the Serie Project
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th century Mexican nun, celebrated playwright, mathematician, and poet during the Baroque period, when women were restricted from education. In 1667, this self-taught scholar enterd a convent, the only place she was allowed to educate herself. Although some of her work was burned during the 17th century, it is now looked upon as a defense for women’s right to education.
The tribute at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center to Sor Juana → Read more
What Time Is It There?
J. Salvador Lopez
CLICK HERE TO BUY
Born in Long Beach, California, J. Salvador Lopez has lived in Texas since the age of eight, residing between Dallas and San Antonio. Lopez studied at San Antonio Arts Institute and Mountain View Community College. An active exhibitor, of his work he says he wishes to express his ideas and beliefs by creating a bridge between human trials and exploration of the spirit. He sees it as the glorification of what life can give to us and the tragedy of what it can take away.
“I’m a self-taught painter, but I’ve had formal training,” says Lopez. “My growth has been difficult since I have been constructing themes which are very personal and original.”
Photo Credit: Jojo Marion
SXSW is upon us – and film and music is in the air! One of the mainstays of the festival is Flatstock, and we’ll be there selling our prints. Co-presented by the American Poster Institute (API) and SXSW, Flatstock 38 will display the works of the world’s top gig poster artists. The show runs March 14-16 and will feature posters of varying styles, colors and techniques for sale by the very artists who created them. (You’ll even be able to hear acoustic sets by a variety of SXSW-curated bands while you peruse!) The best part about it…no badge required. It’s free and open to the public!
Over the past five years, I have been making ink drawings in small sketchbooks in a daily-like manner. In these drawings, I work quickly from one to the next, spontaneously filling sketchbooks with minute line depictions that are simple and naive by nature, but evoke issues from a subconscious level.
Photo by Scott David Gordon
For the Serie Project, I chose drawings from some of these sketchbooks to work out my composition. I picked them randomly, and I made sure that they correspond to each other. This, I believe, reflects the way in which I work. I love to work in this fashion. It’s like a mirror reflecting images of memory, which surface as a poetic language of drawing. → Read more
