An Eye Candy Experience

Spring Street Studios last Saturday truly showcased a visual treat for the eyes. There were new works by fifteen artist to satisfy art interests of all kinds. And of course, the event was all the more gratifying with music performed by Jo Bird & The 1.5 Star Symphony, as well as complimentary food and drinks. All of this made possible through the efforts of C&M Present, or more specifically, the collaboration between Chris Higham, Michel Muylle, and all of the volunteers that made Eye Candy a wonderful and successful event for all to experience. Not to mention the beautiful artwork of Michael Roque Collins in the background below that was the largest and one of many of his works on display.

The simplistic and rectangular space of the first level was well organized with long white walls hosting rows of arranged works that everyone had been anticipating to see for some time. It was easy to find the artists nearby their exhibits, mostly blending in among the crowds of viewers that paused to muse at their works or who briefly stopped to chat about things and people in the art world. I also had the opportunity to meet and speak with a few of the artists. It was either the case that I was meeting them and their works for the first time, I had not seen them since a previous event, or surprisingly, had not seen them since my days as a student at The Art Institute. Overall, I enjoyed having the opportunity to indulge a little in interesting and diverse conversations with each artist I met about their art.

   

Among some of them was Patrick Washburn who intrigued me with his display of wooden clock-like gears which reminded me of something I might have read about in The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Even though Washburn had such a diverse collection of works on display, the wooden gear structures were definitely unique and impressive for their simplicity, yet precise design and well planned assembly. With his interest in the physics of perpetual motion, Washburn has found a way to illustrate the aesthetics of the gear structures as his artistry within the science. No doubt, his creativity resembles qualities of the science of perpetual motion in that he will likely “continue indefinitely” with more unique works such as these.

Around the corner from Washburn, I met with artist Chris BEXAR. Upon reading the title of this work shown below (I Need More Sky, 2012), and after first noticing the crinkled blue square pieces in what is the street view in an urban setting, I was compelled to say to BEXAR that I could almost hear his voice of frustration in those words as a result of the blue squares. Needless to say, that was the commencement to my conversation with him. I was also very intrigued with his work after I found out that he too has a unique incorporation to his art that involves his background with computers. He explained to me how he uses photographs of computer components to digitally construct his urban settings from different perspectives. Definitely a distinctive approach and genius discovery of computer parts as components of art making.

To my surprise was the artist Richard Fluhr, my former and most memorable art teacher. It was such a treat to see him again after all these years and hear him speak about his work. The distinct style of the work has remained signature to Fluhr, and is still descriptive of colorful and bold narratives that are sometimes amusing in their message, and other times stern and reflective of humanity when observed more closely. I personally enjoy works such as his that are characteristic of loosely rendered figures given strong definition with black outlines to contrast their bright colors. In effect, one could say Fluhr’s artistic style is descriptive of him as a person…bright, bold, and definitely contrasting.

There were a few other artists that I had time to meet with, and I was able to see all the works before the evening was through, even though I felt I had spent more time talking than viewing. Overall, I left feeling satisfied that I had spent my evening learning from individuals that have inventive ideas to new art and insight to share about individual processes and journeys in creating it. A great event thanks to C&M Present, and l look forward to next year’s selection and new works.

If you would like to share your experience with Eye Candy, please leave a comment.

By HAS blog editor, Ruth Armas