Our December Art Show features four of our all-time favorite artists making small works perfect for gifting! Opening reception is this Thursday, December 10 from 7 to 9 pm, and the exhibition will run through January 10. (RSVP on Facebook.)
Keri Scherbring, "Blue Butt." Acrylic, 2015
You might know multidisciplinary visual artist Keri Scherbring as an in-demand stylist working as a color specialist at Bang Seattle. (Check out her Instagram: @Hairlizard.) In addition to using hair as an art form through her complex color combinations, formulations and styles, she is an installation and performance artist who recently collaborated with Seattle artist Ariana Bird in a residency at New Tomorrow and also on a performance at Cairo earlier this year.
Our December art show will feature some of Keri's playful and charming paintings, which she has also shown at a number of Seattle venues including True Love Gallery, Scratch Deli, and Office Space. We asked Keri a few questions about her paintings in advance of Thursday night's opening:
How did you arrive at your chosen medium?
I experiment with several mediums, but I most often use acrylic in my paintings. I love the vibrancy and consistency of the paint. It makes everything look cartoony and bold.
What is your favorite part of your process?
Once I have an idea it's very zen for me to paint and just let the colors lay themselves on the canvas naturally. I don't usually know exactly what a piece is going to look like when I start; I prefer letting my imagination build on each detail. I love losing the stress of my day to day and entering whatever weird world is being created.
How do you begin work on a new piece?
I try to be true to how I feel at the time I am starting a new piece. Usually I daydream for a while, think about things that have inspired me, reflect on feelings I am having and try to combine whatever comes to me in a visually appealing way.
What artists are you excited about right now?
I could honestly just go on forever, but most notably JD Banke, Yoko Honda, Peter Judson, Kristen Liu-Wong, Tina Lugo, Hikari Shimoda, Luke Pelletier, Andrea Estella, Seth Bogart, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Neonsaltwater...etc
Andrew Lamb Schultz, "Murky River Princess," ink and gouache on paper
Andrew Lamb Schultz was featured in our June exhibition and we're thrilled to have him back for the month of December. Here's the interview we did with him back in June; we asked him a few questions about what he's been up to since then:
We interviewed you about your drawings back in June. What have you been up to since then?
Since June I've been in the 'Mo-Wave art show at Vermillion.
Tell us a bit about the project you've made for this show.
For this show I've made pieces about figures in classical art history that were originally menacing presences but I think can be subverted into queer and feminist icons, and some biologic weirdos like river dolphins and monkey puzzle trees and mushroom clusters.
What's next for you?
I'm working on getting a more realized website up & making some buttons. Longer term I plan on getting some bigger-scale solo shows & printing designs on clothes.
Isabela Garcia, "Triple X Instax Grab Bags"
Seattle photographer Isabela Garcia is another artist we're super stoked to have returning to Cairo. (Here's the interview we did with her in July.) Isabela's contribution to our December art show is as titillating as it is ingenious: individually wrapped grab bags of Instax photos of anonymous sexy friends—you don't know what the image will be until you unwrap it!
Tell us a bit about the project you're doing for this show.
I have been wanting to try my hand at nude photography for a while and have been using this project to experiment with different variations of the female form. Instant photography is great because I can have a tangible image within minutes, which is a novelty I do not get with 35mm film. Growing up I always love grab bags and of course I am a big fan of being in the buff, so I came up with an idea that could encompasses the two. Triple X Intax grab bags, where every photo is a one of a kind nude portrait and you can’t see what you get until after you buy bag and reveal the photo. Only the model, artist and owner are people who share the experience of the nude. I haven’t been taking photos or scanning the Instax which has been hard because I feel like I am letting go a little piece of me each time I sell one, or rather that tangible moment in time I shared with the model that the becomes someone else’s memory and belonging.
The past two months have been great; I am very thankful for having cool friends who are down to come to my place and lay around half naked on the floor. I have gotten to experiment with some new lights and techniques, and Calvin the Dalmatian has been really excited about all the extra attention.
What's next for you?
I am having a solo show January 14th at Pettirosso, part of the Capitol Hill Art walk. I am almost equally excited as I am nervous; there’s a lot of space to fill and they get a lot of volume but I feel pretty confident in my work as a whole. I am going to be incorporating both instax and film together in seven different portrait sets showcasing the beauty of ♀ on film. I am highly self-critical and have put a lot of time and thought into this show. Actually it’s the most time I’ve ever spent on making an art collection, so make sure to check it out!
Brandon Vosika, Tombstones
Our fourth and final December artist is Brandon Vosika. Also known as a talented and prolific illustrator, Brandon has been making these adorable little tombstones that are both humorous and profound. We asked him a few questions about this project, and the other things he has going on:
How did you arrive at your chosen medium?
I'd always wanted to do some new sculpture work but could never decide what to make. And then I started drawing all these little tombstones with ridiculousness and sadness written in them so I decided the best thing to do would be to make a little graveyard of my very own.
What is your favorite part of your process?
Sculpting and painting each little tombstone and grass base by hand is the worst part of the process because it's very tedious and time consuming.. My favorite part of the process is watching Home Alone while they dry on the heater and of course carving the sentiments into them because I feel like a real manly stone worker and I laugh a lot at the whole situation.
How do you begin work on a new piece?
Usually I'll be drunk or making dinner and say to myself, "Well fuck man, I did the best I could" or "That's Amoré!" or something like that and then I'll want to put that on a tombstone.
What artists are you excited about right now?
I've been in love with the work of Ryan Humphrey continuously for years. He's probably my favorite contemporary artist. Also dipping into Toulouse Lautrec lately. Here's a few more off the top, Masami Yanagida, Vivien Mildenberger, Rosie Lockie, Henry Darger forever...Joe Rudko excites me.