Heisler | Starr on ArtDish

As seen on ArtDish this morning.  Thanks for the mention, Jim and Eric!  If you haven't seen the show, you have until February 26th. 

Tyler's Talk

A big thanks to everyone who made it to Cullom Gallery to hear Tyler Starr last Saturday.  Here are some photos of the event.  Tyler walked us though some interesting passages in his creative process.  We saw jet engine diagrams from his father's career as an engineer, unintentionally comical pictures from a Japanese illustrated children's Bible, snap shots of cultural events in his Tokyo neighborhood, Japanese naval bases, and bigger public works projects across Japan, particularly dam construction and resulting protests. The later has become the source material for many of Starr's newest works, including a small illustrated pamphlet, which I have available through the gallery.  I found his description of these dam projects to be the most interesting and blackly comical portion of his talk.  As he described it, the building of new dams in Japan is largely conceived as a way to support jobs projects.  Their consequences both unavoidable (the flooding of centuries-old towns and villages and resulting displacement of some of Japan's oldest citizens) and unintentional (like the reservoir made largely useless as a result of Tokyo's massive effort to install low-flow toilets), have sparked wide spread protest across the country.  All the parts of the dam stories are the stuff that fascinates Starr.  As he says in his statement for this show, There is a gap in manmade things between the idea and the actual realization of the idea.  This gap is a result of many things including unintended consequences and contradictory intentions.

But whether it was his telling of the facts surrounding these dams, or the machinations of neighborhood festivals and protests, or the national conflict around U.S. bases in Japan, I was struck by Starr's thoughtful and respectful, even distant, approach to his subjects.  Though the circumstances he lays out are often the stuff that makes you smack your forehead in disbelief, still he takes a look at all angles, the history, cultural aspects that affect these projects for better and for worse, and the how often the solution is not seen as a failure by the recipients.  Like that dam full of water.  It's now a tourist stop to watch the artificial waterfall released from the sluice gates twice a day, and a light show projected against the dam's massive concrete wall on summer evenings.

Miyagase Dam.  Photo courtesy of Tyler Starr.

Tyler Starr at Cullom Gallery, January 29, 2011

Tyler Starr at Cullom Gallery with (left) Structural Props (right) Infrastructure.

Illustration from a Japanese children's Bible.  Photo courtesy of Tyler Starr

Artist Talk with Tyler Starr

I spent a good day with Tokyo artist Tyler Starr today, showing him some of the architecture and history of Seattle's neighborhoods.  I also had a chance to preview some of the images he will use to illustrate his talk at the gallery tomorrow afternoon.  Looks to be a very interesting presentation.  Please join us at Cullom Gallery tomorrow, 1/29, at 1 pm for this rare chance to meet Tyler and hear more about his observations of historic and contemporary events in Tokyo that shape his work.  

Artist Talk with Tyler Starr

Saturday, January 29, 2011, 1 pm

Cullom Gallery
603 S Main Street
Seattle, WA  98104
map
This is a free event and open to the public.

Tyler Starr at Fishermen's Terminal, Seattle

Tyler Starr at Kerry Park, Seattle

Opening with Richard Heisler

Some photos of Opening night of Richard Heisler | Tyler Starr: Tokyo Paintings & Mixed Media Works.  We had a great turn out, though by the time I thought to grab the camera, things had mellowed to a nice hum.  Thanks to everyone who came out to make it a special night! 

Mark your calendars for this Saturday, January 29th, at 1 pm, when Cullom Gallery will also host an artist talk with Tokyo-based artist, Tyler Starr.  Starr will be in Seattle to talk about his work hanging in the current show from the series, Attempted Fixes and the Wallowing Series, as well as recent work from his doctoral program final exhibition at Tokyo University of Fine Arts. This is a free event and open to the public.  I hope to see you at the gallery on Saturday!

Richard with Ginza # 5 from 100 Views of Tokyo

Richard and Mom

Cullom Gallery Opening Night

Ginza #3 (left) & Akihabara #2 (right)

 

Richard Heisler | Tyler Star Opens Tonight, 6 to 8 pm

Top: Tyler Starr.  Attempted Fix: Phantom Recovery.  Mixed media with ganpi paper, gouache, and pencil on paper.  Bottom: Richard Heisler.  Roppongi #1.  Mixed media on panel.

 If you are in Seattle tonight, stop by the gallery from 6 to 8 pm for the opening party and reception for the new exhibit: Richard Heisler | Tyler Starr: Tokyo Paintings & Mixed Media Works.  Below is the press release for the show.  I hope to see you tonight!


Richard Heisler | Tyler Starr: Tokyo Paintings & Mixed Media Works
January 21 - February 26, 2011
Opening Reception with Richard Heisler, Friday, January 21, 6 to 8 pm
Artist Talk with Tyler Starr, Saturday, January 29, 1 pmBoth events are free and open to the public.

Two American artists consider contemporary views and events within Tokyo's urban neighborhoods.  Seattle artist, Richard Heisler's photorealist paintings from his ongoing series, One Hundred Views of Tokyo, quietly reference the landmark 19th century woodblock prints, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858).  Selections from two of Tokyo artist, Tyler Starr's mixed media series, The Wallowing Series and Attempted Fixes, look at political, military, and municipal constructions and events in present-day Tokyo.

Heisler's dense paintings contrast with the vast empty spaces of Starr's mixed media works, yet the meticulous requirements of both artists' chosen technical approaches lead to a similar close focus on their subject. Heisler's precisely chosen layers of color and perfect lines are carefully laid in over many months; Starr applies intricatly cut layers of thin, decoupaged ganpi paper, gouache paint, and tight graphite details.  The artists' labor-intensive media draw the colors, angles, and real events of Tokyo into a sharper focus.

Richard Heisler was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1973.  He was a student at Seattle Central Community College and Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA.  Heisler is represented by Cullom Gallery as well as Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts, Binghamton, NY; MA Doran Gallery, Tulsa OK; and Galerie Persterer, Zurich, Switzerland.  His paintings have been shown in numerous solo and jurried group exhibits including the 2008 Biennial National Exhibiton, La Grange Museum of Art, LaGrange, GA; the 2008 Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Realism, Ft. Wayne Museum of Art, Ft. Wayne, IN; the CPSA Explore This 5 Exhibition, where he received the Award for Excellence; and solo exhibits at Anthony Brunelli Gallery, Binghamton, NY.  Heisler's paintings have also been featured multiple times in Southwest Art Magazine.

Tyler Starr was born in 1974 and lived in Connetiticut, Rhode Island, and Minnesota before moving to Tokyo several years ago.  In 1999, Starr was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, Poland.  He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.  He is currently a PHD candidate at the Tokyo National Univerisity of Fine Arts, Ueno, Japan.  His work has been featured in numerous solo exhibits and jurried biennials, most recently, the International Biennial of Contemporary Prints, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Liège, Belgium; the 2nd Bangkok Triennale International Print and Drawing Exhibition, Excellence Prize,PSG Art Gallery, Silpakorn University, Bangkok Thailand; and Tokyo Wonderwall 2009, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo Japan.  His work is in the permanant collections of the Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC; Univerisity of Connecticut; and Pozan Museum of Fine Arts, Poland.

For more information please contact Beth Cullom, Cullom Gallery, 206-340-8000, info@cullomgallery.com.