Anthony Garcia-Copian / HagerSmith

Anthony Garcia-Copian

September/October

When I paint, I paint abstract memories. Sometimes the memory is foggy and has been replaced by an imaginary sediment, a residue that has made one memory solid and the other fluid.

Everything in art is a memory.

I have empathic traits, therefore I paint the images of the emotions that I am able to absorb from strangers and from those who surround me.

The only expectation that I have from my art is pleasure.

- AGC

indelible marks: what we’ve been, or might, or never will

indelible marks: what we’ve been, or might, or never will
Eliza Kiser | Emily Malpass

August 4-24, 2017
Opening Reception: August 4, 6-10pm
 

Project Statement:
When we see the word “collaboration,” we think of each other. Throughout changes to our families, identities and approaches to art-making over the last four years, we continue to share ideas and dream of our future as artists and friends. The work you see around you is our attempt at using our art-making to work through the questions and struggles in our lives at this moment, and to explore ideas about the identities and veneers we have worn, shed, cultivated, lost, clung to, or will never experience.

Rick Carlson / UAC

Rick Carlson

United Arts Council
August

Artist Statement

Twelve years ago I started my own graphic design business. In-between design assignments, I paint. Contemporary impressionism best describes my style. Like the early Impressionists, it is my fascination of how light interacts with form and color. The final result is not a representation, but instead my interpretation of the subject. Simplifying the moment and making the most impact. As an artist, I try to embellish on this and create a piece that is unique and appealing to the viewer.

bloomed

bloomed

Sarah Tector @ Art of Style

Sarah Tector has taken over Art of Style's front window in conjunction with VAE's upcoming call Multiples. 

Working with my hands has always been a natural fit and source of fulfillment. While deciding where to go in life and what to study I was fortunate enough to have parents that said to pick a field that would make me happy. Metalsmithing satisfied many parts of my creative brain; designing and making in 3D, using mixed materials, and fantastic tools. And while I have made silverware, bowls, and pendant lights amongst other things, jewelry is the most recognized form of what I can do. Treating it as small-scale sculpture,  my pieces catch the eye when on the body or not. I create clean, geometric, and architecturally influenced pieces in sterling silver, cast bronze, powder coating, and other mixed materials. These are mainly one-of-a-kind, limited edition, and production pieces of jewelry and most recently collaborations, allowing me to push myself out of my creative comfort zone and the opportunity and challenge of artistic evolution. 

Comedy Night: MEZCLA edition!

On Saturday August 12, 8-9:30pm, VAE will host four hilarious Latinx comedians in conjunction with our MEZCLA exhibition, curated by Claudia Corletto. This is the first of three Comedy Nights happening this year. The goal is to showcase talented comedy performers while creating deeper experiences of our exhibitions, encouraging new community connections, and giving you a chance to laugh your head off for 90 minutes. Who doesn't need a good laugh nowadays?!

For August, comedy guru and host Adam Cohen is bringing Rene Luna, Freddy Valoy, Kenyon Adamcik, and Carlos Valencia to tickle your funny bones. That's a whole lot of silly under one roof-- don't miss it! Doors open at 7 so you can check out our amazing MEZCLA exhibition. Show starts at 8!

Cost: $10
Ages 18+

>> FUTURE COMEDY NIGHTS
While you've got your babysitter on the phone, have her pencil in these dates too!

Comedy Night: Black On Black edition!
Saturday, November 4, 8-9:30pm

Comedy Night: Feminine Spectrum edition!
Saturday, April 14, 8-9:30pm

Copy Center

Copy Center 

An off-site group show curated by J.S. Wright and Kyle Hazard

@ 17 East Martin Street
    Raleigh NC, 27601 

Artists

Sarah Parker
Derek Wycoff
E. E. Keely
Ricardo Vincent Jose Ruiz
J. S. Wright
Alec Castillo
Tyreese McDurmont

Ignite Gallery Owners Speed Date →

MONDAY, AUGUST 14TH @ VAE RALEIGH

SPEED DATES are thematized 30-minute one-on-ones with area smartypants who can answer your pressing professional questions! This time, we are excited to host four gallery owners from the Triangle area to answer your questions about how to get your work seen and out into the world. Space is limited. Grab yourself a date before it's too late! 

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HOW IT WORKS

This is your chance to pick some smart brains in a relaxed, comfortable environment! You should come with a few questions you want to ask your guru(s) during your 30-minute meeting(s). The Speed Date registration form will give them a little background on you before you meet so you won't have to start your conversation totally from scratch.

This event will be held from 2-6 pm on Monday, August 14. That time frame is just when the gurus are available to meet. You get to pick who you meet with and when (depending on availability). You are not expected to be at the event the whole four hours it's happening. Pick and choose to suit your needs and schedule!

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REGISTRATION

STEP ONE: Complete the registration form through Wufoo [CLICK HERE]. You will be asked for your contact information and a short survey of questions to help the gurus understand your needs. This event is FREE for current VAE members and $10 for non-members.

Questions/prompts Include:
 - What are the five words that BEST describe your creative work?
 - What kids of marketing do you currently do?
 - What marketing outreach do you enjoy doing? 
 - What are the main challenges with marketing your creative work? 

STEP TWO: Once you've completed step one we'll give you a link to an outside scheduling service called Sign Up Genius where you will choose the guru(s) and time(s) you want – remember! MAX is TWO gurus + time selection per registrant. Once you've done that and hit submit, you're 100% registered!

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MEET YOUR DATES

Shelley Smith Anchorlight, Raleigh
Anchorlight is an interdisciplinary creative space, founded with the intent of fostering artists and small businesses at varying stages of their development. The space provides exhibition, performance and production space in addition to artist studios and residency opportunities. 
Shelley Smith is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Raleigh, NC, and a Master of Art + Design candidate at the NCSU College of Design. 

 

Laura Ritchie The Carrack, Durham 
The Carrack is an artist-centered, volunteer-run, zero-commission exhibition and event space in downtown Durham. The mission of the organization is to empower local artists to forge productive cultural and social-economic ties with their community through professional exhibit and performance opportunities.
Laura Ritchie is the co-founder and director of The Carrack. She is passionate about creating opportunities across the arts and is working with her community to build safe, inclusive space for underrepresented and emerging artists. Currently, she is in pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at Duke University.

Stacy Bloom-Rexrode, The Block Gallery, Raleigh
The Block Gallery connects local artists to community through ongoing exhibitions and public outreach. Located on the first and second floors of the Raleigh Municipal Building, five to six exhibitions are displayed each year and feature works by artists who live or work in Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Orange or Wake County. Exhibitions are scheduled through a call for artists, juried by a selection panel of visual arts professionals, Raleigh Arts Commissioners and City staff.
Stacy Bloom-Rexrode is the Curator of Exhibitions and Collections with the Office of Raleigh Arts. She also holds a MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Studio Art-Painting and Sculpture. 

 

Kelly McChesney, LUMP, Raleigh
Lump has served the community by providing a space for the presentation of thought-provoking art, while acting as a pipeline between NC and the world of contemporary art.
Kelly McChesney, re-directed her efforts as director of Flanders Gallery to serve as the Director of Lump as it transitioned into a non-profit entity. McChesney is known for eyeing emerging contemporary artists and for supporting up-and-coming artists. 
 

Ray Pfeiffer / HangerSmith Design

July-August

Songs Without Words: Meditations 

For me, music and photography have always been inextricably linked. Artists use both forms to tell stories, elicit feelings, or otherwise express the inexpressible. This idea was stated quite succinctly by Graham Nash who once observed: "To me there's absolutely no difference between photography and music. After all, I'm just playing with frequencies: light or sound."

The “Meditations” series, represents the ways photographs, like music, can tell stories without the need for words. Each image is a visual representation, or meditation on an idea expressed in much the same way as if improvised by a musician. Expressing thoughts that are often difficult to put into words.

These images are an exploration of musical meditations represented by the never-ending ebb and flow of ocean waves as they caress the beach. Classical composers would often create works intended to put the listener in a state of thoughtful calm or meditation. Music designed for the listener to relax and explore their inner thoughts. For me, listening to the ocean will produce the same effect. I approached this series in the same vein, listening to the sounds and recording my responses as I listened.

About Ray

Ray is a Visual Anthropologist based in Raleigh, NC. Rather than use words, he creates images to illustrate an idea, or create a narrative for the viewer to follow. When not searching for stories to tell, Ray has guest lectured, taught photography, and understanding creativity, for many educational and civic groups. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Panorama Photographers, he is also the moderator for the photographers’ forum at Visual Art Exchange, as well as an event/exhibition coordinator for the annual Click! Photography Festival. He also bakes great cookies.

Recurring dream

RECURRING DREAM

Katie Byrum | Jade Hoyer

July 7 - 27, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, July 7, 6-10pm

Project Statement:
Recurring dream is collaboration between poet Katie Byrum (Brooklyn, NY), and visual artist Jade Hoyer (Minneapolis, MN). Byrum’s poem, To the River House (recurring dream), is a poignant work on coming-of-age, of quiet hometowns and nostalgia. Inspired by Byrum’s work, Hoyer addresses these ideas through printmaking (woodcut and silkscreen) and installation.

National Fly Killin' Week by Chance Murray

National Fly Killin' Week

June 21 - August 4
First Friday Receptions: July 7 & August 4
Artist Talk: TBD

  One day I walked into my house and it was full of flies. “ have mercy, I am going to need a whole lotta fly swatters” so I made some, 100 to be exact. Later that same day, the interior of my house looked like World War two for flies. The next thought was, there ought to be a national damn holiday for this. So I now present you with how opening day for National Fly Killing Week would look, kinda like Disney world if it was opened by your Uncle Bubba. complete with parade, a celebratory hornworm drop at midnight, souvenir fly swatters and pointers on how you may wish to decorate your own home for National Fly Killin week.
 
National Fly Killin’ Week is real. Believe it. If you still don’t believe it, come see for yourself. After all, there’s a week for everything else…

ARTIST BIO

Chance Murray is a Southerner first, and an artist second. Using skills grafted from farming his large-scale mixed media works cobble together traditional painting, woodworking, and pure redneck engineering, producing vivid and slightly skewed scenes of rural life. these conjured images often come from a place both hard to describe yet somehow familiar, casting the viewer into a crudely altered world. Roughly scribbled text, often severing as comic relief, sprawl across the surface enhancing these scenes, sometimes providing description while sometimes, or simultaneously, flipping the image on its head, changing and confounding any sense of meaning. Chance is the recipient of the 2011-2012 Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artist award, He lives and works in Cedar Grove, N.C.
 

Under Pressure: The Performance Exhibition

Under Pressure: The Performance Exhibition

July 7 - 27

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

First Friday, July 7 -  Various
July 8 - Ginger Wagg & Charles Chace - Drum Power
July 12 - Reflex Arc - Crowmeat Bob & Ginger Wagg
July 14 - Cara Hagan - The Body in the Breath (In Color!)
July 15 - Heather Gordon and Chris Vitiello - Typeface
July 19 - Chandler Thomas - /Skein/ 
July 20 - Andi Steele - Ignorance is Bliss
July 21 -  Stephanie Leathers - Valve
July 22 - Debra Wuliger - Wisdom Collects
July 26 - The Upward Dogs
July 27 - Julia Casten - Privilege Coffee

Performance Exhibition Project Seed Grant

As a part of the Under Pressure: Performance Exhibition, VAE gave away two $250 grants to artists whose work is performance based and are looking for resources to begin new projects, further their current practice, and continue their creativity. 

Grant Recipients

Stephanie Leathers

Bio-

Stephanie Leathers is a choreographer, educator, photographer, performer and Durham native. In addition to connecting and collaborating with members in the community, she is the organizer of Sunday SITES, a site-responsive investigation to infrastructural change. Currently, Stephanie teaches at American Dance Festival’s Samuel H. Scripps Studios and is a Dance Educator for Durham Public Schools. Learn more about her work at stephaniepleathers.com.


Maria Lindseth

Bio-

A kaleidoscope human, born in the USSR, grew up in Prague and residing in the US since 2005, I've had formal art education as a youngster but swayed away to freedom of my own art soul. An enthusiastic artiscientist with solid background in diverse fields, I enjoy challenges and a fast paced environment. I've received BS in Microbiology from Arizona State University and worked as a scientist before returning to art full time. I've always regarded art as this absolute freedom and joy. Similar to that feeling when you are Skipping and catching wind on your face. My goal is to bring that feeling to viewers through my work. To achieve the goal, I use acrylics and mixed media with a variety of application methods including palette knives, household objects and palmar action. My abstract work is centered on diversity and beauty of People and Nature, and the complexity in human souls. The elements of exploration and discovery in my often vibrant and dynamic work facilitate connection and exploration in viewers.