Enlight...Residency Exhibition @ Darke Gallery, Friday, August 31, from 6-9pm

DARKE | gallery is pleased to present Enlight, Emily Sloan's solo exhibition.  The opening reception is Labor Day weekend, Friday, August 31, 6-9 PM.  The exhibition continues through Saturday, September 29, 2012.

Emily Sloan is DARKE gallery’s artist in residence for 2012.  Sloan will be using the gallery as a studio, along with a small stipend, to create an exhibition that will open on August 31.  The four Saturdays in August are open studio days, when the public can stop in and see the work in progress.  These open houses may include a simple time to visit, a performance exercise or something inspired by mandalas.

Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning "circle." In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions, art often takes a mandala form. These mandalas, concentric diagrams, are often used as a spiritual teaching tools and as aids to meditation and trance induction in meditation practices.

The psychoanalyst Carl Jung saw the mandala as "a representation of the unconscious self”, and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness in personality.

In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos.

The exhibtion will include a series of mandala-inspired shade sculptures and a video Sloan has created with Jonathan Jindra.

Referencing the mandalas, shade and light, the show title will be: "Enlight"

Emily Sloan has an MFA in sculpture and interdisciplinary studies from the University of Houston and an MA from Stephen F. Austin State University. She has participated in many artist residencies, exhibitions, and the New York Studio School's Drawing Marathon in 2004. Sloan's work incorporates drawing, sculpture and painting. Many of her pieces use humor to engage the viewer in a dialogue about the environment and preoccupations with the social. To view more of her artwork visit: www.emilysloanblog.blogspot.com.

Current projects include the Southern Naptist Convention 2012 at Venice Beach, CA; and The Kenmore exhibition object at Skydive Art Space.

Now in its sixth year, DARKE | gallery exhibits contemporary art of the finest quality, with a focus on emerging and established artists with Texas ties.  Located at 320 B Detering @ Feagan, the gallery is open noon to 5:00 PM, Wednesday through Saturday, and by appointment.   For more information call 713-542-3802 or visit www.darkegallery.com.

The Kenmore's Artisit-in-Residence, Sasha Dela

Sasha Dela debuts new work as the Artist-in-Residence of The Kenmore, on view at Darke Gallery, August 31- September 29, 2012.

There will be a reception on Friday, August 31 from 6-9pm. Also, on view: Enlight by Emily Sloan.

Sasha Dela will be debuting a new video for her residency at The Kenmore which is sub-residing at Darke Gallery with its owner Emily Sloan while Sloan has a summer residency at Darke Gallery. For The Kenmore’s sub-residency, Sloan has provided Dela studio space, a portion of her resi

dency’s stipend, and a show to open August 31 along with her residency.

About Sasha Dela:
Dela completed a residency at the Museum of Fine Arts’ Core Program in 2007. She received her Master of Fine Art in San Francisco at California College of the Arts in 2005, and her Bachelor of Fine Art at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2000, and was awarded the DeCosse Fellowship, to study at the Accademia Di Belle Arte, Florence, Italy in 2000. Dela is Houston Regional Editor for the Temporary Art Review, St Louis. Sasha Dela is the co-founder and co-director of SKYDIVE, an art space hosting a range of art practices that push the limits of their material forms.

About The Kenmore:
Not just another white cube, The Kenmore is a small, cold artist-run gallery space measuring approximately 36" x 24"x 24". It's mission is to keep ideas fresh through the opportunity of a unique exhibition context. The Kenmore participated in FotoFest 2010, FotoFest 2012 and Lawndale Art Center’s “The BIG Show” (2010) with its debut of “The small Show.”

Location of show:
Darke Gallery
320B Detering (at Feagan)
Houston, TX 77007

Contact:
Emily Sloan
713-582-1198
thekenmore@gmail.com

Recreational Aesthetics @ Darke Gallery

For the month of August, I have DARKE gallery for a studio as their artist in residence for 2012.  During this time, I will be working on "Enlight" an exhibition to open Friday, August, 30 from 6-9pm. 

Additionally, Saturdays in August from 2:00 to 4:00 PM are open residency days for "Recreational Aesthetics".  This is a time the gallery is open to the public both to see what's going on and to be distracted from such.  Refreshments and parking provided.
 
August 4: Please Don't Tell My Parents
August 11: "Water, Water Fresh and Clear" hosted by special guest Carrie A. Nation
August 18: How Galleries Remind Me of Churches 
August 25: Is that a Baby Ruth in the Swimming Pool?!
 

Location:
Darke Gallery
320 B Detering @ Feagan
Houston, TX 77007
713-542-3802
www.darkegallery.com

and The Kenmore's Artist-in-Residence is...

Sasha Dela!

Look for her work on Friday, August 31 from 6-9pm at The Kenmore within Darke Gallery.

Location:
The Kenmore
c/o Darke Gallery
320 B Detering at Feagan
Houston, TX 77007

2012 Southern Naptist Convention to be held in Southern California

The 2012 Southern Naptist Convention will be held the morning of Sunday, June 17 in Southern California at the Venice Boardwalk in Venice, CA.

“Southern California’s and specifically Venice’s abundance of muscle, sand, and proximity to water make it a perfect site for sharing healthful and relaxing blessed rest and immersion if needed,” according to Reverend Emily. “In keeping with our belief: Let s/he who has never fallen asleep in a church cast the first pillow, the convention, as always, is open to all faiths,” added the Reverend.

About the Southern Naptist Convention:

Napping Affects Performance (NAP) and the Southern Naptist Convention are interactive performance projects by Emily Sloan providing community naps in collaboration with various performances, including (but not limited to) collaborations with sound, word, touch, and the delivery of naps to various sites and/or contexts. In May and June of 2010, NAP operated out of Art League Houston with six weeks of continuous performances taking place during Art League’s regular hours of operation. Since then, followers and napophiles began meeting once a month for a Sunday naps and naptisms during NAP Church services. For more information, please visit:  www.nappingaffectsperformance.blogspot.com

About Emily Sloan:
Internationally unknown artist and post-Campbellite Emily Sloan is the founding reverend of the controversial Southern Naptist Convention and chief caretaker and curator of The Kenmore exhibition object. Sloan is based out of Houston, Texas where her practice includes education, performance, public art projects and object making.

For more information, please visit: www.emilysloanblog.blogspot.com

Image:  Restful Leg Blessing, 2010

Karen Brasier Young at The Kenmore

Artist Karen Brasier Young will unveil a new site-specific work of sculptural intervention at The Kenmore, located at Skydive Art Space, with water water everywhere. This one night only event will take place on May 17, 2012 from 7:00pm to 10:00p.m.

Featuring manipulated blue water balloons, some chilled by The Kenmore and some warmed by the sun, water water everywhere is primarily interested in abstract composition, with a hint to material qualities of water, its mechanisms and transformations, and the pure, dripping potential of the material.

When asked about her motives, Brasier Young states, I’m a “disillusioned ex-competitive swimmer and peaceful Galveston Island native, with a personal relationship with water that is conflicted and sometimes leads to ruminating.” While maintaining an allusion to those murkier undercurrents, Karen seeks to redeem the celebratory aspects of water in her mind through an intervention that taps into the youthful nostalgia of water balloon fights and running through sprinklers on a drought-stricken Texas summer day.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Karen Brasier-Young is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Houston, TX. She holds a masters degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati and has also pursued graduate studies in sculpture at the San Francisco Art Institute. Fueled by an interest in the built environment, Karen’s work indirectly explores issues of space, place, social interaction, and assemblage from a perspective of abstract sculptural practice. Karen is a resident artist at Box 13 ArtSpace, teaches art as an adjunct at Houston Community College, and works as an architectural and interior designer.

ABOUT THE KENMORE
Not just another white cube, The Kenmore is a small, cold exhibition object measuring approximately 36" x 24"x 24". The Kenmore's mission is to keep ideas fresh through the opportunity of a unique exhibition context and the experience of collaborating with an object.

ABOUT SKYDIVE ART SPACE
SKYDIVE is an artist run exhibition venue unique to Houston. The aim of SKYDIVE is to host a range of art practices that push the limits of their material forms, including non-traditional methods of sculpture, installation, video, performance, and works that engage the viewer through participation, as well as text and web-based projects.

GENERAL INFORMATION
One night only: Thursday, May 17, 7-10pm

CONTACT:
Emily Sloan
The Kenmore
c/o SKYDIVE Art Space
2041 Norfolk St.
77098
713-582-1198
thekenmore@gmail.com
www.the-kenmore.blogspot.com

The Kenmore proudly presents: David McClain, 2012 FotoFest Bienniel

David McClain, a Houston-based photographer and interdisciplinary artist, debuts new work at The Kenmore at SKYDIVE Art Space on Saturday, March 24. McClain's installation transforms the inside of the refrigerator into a peepshow using "authentic" vintage porn of famous people including Sylvester Stallone, alleged vintage porn of famous people including Marilyn Monroe and recreated porn based on real porn including famous people such as Erin Andrews, the ESPN sportscaster who was surreptitiously filmed in the nude in her hotel room. Questions raised include our voyeuristic urges, our addiction to celebrity culture, and what it means to be authentic in a digital age.

When asked about borrowing vintage porn for his work, McClain borrows Jim Jarmusch’s words: “Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.” Furthermore, states McClain, “Maybe I was an adult film star in Bulgaria before migrating to the United States…”




ABOUT THE ARTIST:
David McClain holds a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a JD from the University of Houston Law Center, and a BA from Rice University. His work has been exhibited in Mission, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, and Houston and published in TimeOut New York, Fifth Wednesday Journal and PhotoNews Magazine (Germany). He is a resident artist at Box 13 ArtSpace. McClain incorporates photography, painting, sculpture, parade floats, and performance in his work. For more information, please visit:

ABOUT THE KENMORE:
Not just another white cube, The Kenmore is a small, cold artist-run exhibition object measuring approximately 36" x 24"x 24". It is mobile and presently located at SKYDIVE Art Space in Houston, Texas. The Kenmore's mission is to keep ideas fresh through the opportunity of a unique exhibition context.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Opening reception: Saturday, March 24, 7-10pm
On view through April 28, Saturdays from 1-5pm or by appointment.

CONTACT:
Emily Sloan
The Kenmore
c/o SKYDIVE Art Space
2041 Norfolk St. 77098
713-582-1198

Exhibition image: Screen capture from "Erin Andrews Recreation," video by Breton Peterson (2010).