opens Friday June 13th 6-9pm runs through July 5th Both artists will be in attendance music by DJ Vodka Twist
Roq La Rue is pleased to present two solo shows for the month of June, by Seattle painter Chris Crites, and Los Angeles based artist and animator Chris Reccardi.
Chris Reccardi is a very successful animator ,having worked closely on Ren and Stimpy, Powepuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Spongebob Squarepants, as well as films (Shrek 3 & 4, "Monsters vs. Aliens [2009]) Sony Pictures ("Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" [2009]) and the soon-to-be released "Rob Zombie's haunted world of ElSuperbeasto" and an original Pilot for Nickelodeon "The Modifyers").
However, in the fine art world Reccardi is highly sought after for his playful mod retro-space age paintings. Lush with color and exquisite linework, his work harkens back to animation from the 50's and 60's, exuding a pop beatnik cool and original hipster sensibility. His mix of the space age idealogy of the 60's (also called psy-fi) mixed with campy spy imagery creates a world that is hauntingly familiar yet also very of the moment. Reccardi's latest solo exhibition "Mono" explores a fantastical future-retro world, it's colorfully Mod inhabitants and their mysterious bond to a secret code ...
Chris Reccardi "Miss Mono" acrylic on board
Chris Crites also paints in a vibrant color palette, with a more somber subject matter. The iconic image of the gun is the focus of his current show. Hie paintings are painted on paper bags and painted in such a way that no surface is ever painted over twice. Each color is laid down individually in sections, and each tiny detail is left empty until the proper color is ready to be applied. This incredibly labour intensive method creates a painting that looks much like a mass produced screenprint, yet is actually a one of a kind, highly detailed original. Crites' decision to paint such a highly charged subject is addressed in his statement:
"All tools are extensions of the human body. Guns by definition are extensions of the fist. This defines guns as tools of power, force or violence. That being said, this body of work is neither anti-gun nor pro-gun but rather an examination of a tool that has been used in much conflict and controversy throughout the modern age of mankind. Why are Americans in particular so obsessed with guns? Why are there so many firearms in the United States? They permeate our history as well as our entertainment. They are also a big business and seem to be practically everywhere. I have no answers for why this is, but recognize how powerful a symbol just the image of a gun can be. For better or worse, guns are a part of our history, a history that fascinates me. This series allowed me a way to examine the innovation and design of these firearms and see them in a different way..."
image: Chris Crites "Mauser C96" 15.25"w x 10"h, acrylic on paper bag (all works are professionally framed).
LUSHY Seattle's Primo Lounge act Extraordiare is playing with local Garage faves The BUG NASTIES Tuesday June 3rd @ Nectar
You know I'll be there.
I was clued in because the lead singer of Lushy accepted my invitation - with garth - to SPEAKEASY TUESDAYS.
EVERY Tuesday Capitol Hill's ROSEBUD Lounge is Hosting a weekly dedicated to 20s music a night called SPEAKEASY.
$2 well drink happy hours as well as signature martinis, highballs and cocktails of the era- a full menu in fact.
The DJ tonight, DJ Dubonnet (aka Coldheart) dressed to the nines of course, alternated betwixt a large collection of CDs and an equally large collection of 78s which he played on an ancient turntable.
I was impressed.
Quite a few dress for the occasion and the host of the night is the very talented William who tends bar at said club, yes the very same who fronts Seattle's best BAUHAUS cover band The Skies Gone Out as well as the original Legion Within.
His silent film nights were a smash in the past, though I didn't promote him at the time because I had a similar thing the same night @ another venue. This I must say is livelier.
Anyway check out LUSHY next Tuesday @ Nectar with the Bug Nasties in Fremont- and then hit SPEAKEASY @ Rosebud EVERY Tuesday.. The garden patio is open and so is my tab.
The new Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Album is incredible. I haven't been this into them since 'From Her to Eternity' I'll be playing this song tonight at the gallery.
The Lord of Success The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.
Roq La Rue Artists Reception Party for Femke Hiemstra & Travis Louie Tomorrow Friday April 11th
As usual I’ll be playing music to fit the art being displayed. This month it’s a Dark Carnival theme. I shall be playing music by Robyn Hitchcock, Gogol Bordello, Circus Contraption, the Tiger Lillies, Young Gods, Edith Piaf, Kurt Weill show tunes, vintage jazz and whatever else the Gnomes working for me manage to dig up.
Please join us for a fantastic gathering.
Afterwards there are other gallery receptions nearby and a night of deep 80s by DJ B Wonder Jones at Bhudda Bar a block nearby.
Roq La Rue Gallery "Purveyors Of Fine Pop Surrealism and Contemporary Art Since ’98" 2312 2nd Ave Seattle WA 98121 (206)374-8977 Wens-Sat 1-6pm www. roqlarue. com
Beginning Sunday, March 16 through Saturday, March 22, restaurants will invite their customers to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they would normally get for free. For every dollar raised, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days.
A "onsie" (pronounced wun-zee) is a garment traditionally worn by infants. It takes a special man to appear in public dressed in a lime green colored onesie. That man is known to the world as the Green Lantern, and he wears his lime green onesie as a badge of honor. It covers more area on his body than an actual badge would; it’s his superhero costume. Despite the complete body coverage, the costume doesn’t leave much to one’s imagination. The fabric is stretched so tightly that if your gaze happened to drift down his backside (you naughty thing), you would most likely notice if he had a pimple on his posterior. In point of fact, if you were sitting down in a chair, and the Green Lantern stood in front of you, it would be difficult not to notice that he is uncircumsized. A superhero’s got to flaunt all of those muscles, you understand. The brazen immodesty of the costume helps to advertise the fact that this superhero is so buff that, should the need arise, he could lift you up and toss you skyward like pizza dough. Take it from us, it’s best to stay on the right side of the law so that you don’t wind up tossed in the air like a sqeeky toy by a man in a glorified St. Patrick’s Day outfit. Trust us, it would be humiliating as well as injurious. Green Lantern has graciously agreed to strut his tightly wrapped stuff at the Viceroy (2332 Second Avenue, Belltown, Downtown Seattle) on Sunday for the monthly Superhero Party starting at 9pm. There he will bust a move on the dancefloor, and perhaps sign a few autographs. A final word from Green Lantern, himself: "Go ahead and check out my butt. I don’t mind. That’s why I don’t wear a cape." ------Mission Control
