Monday, April 14, 2008

Deep Ellum Gallery Walk: A walk through

Bill Holston

What a great gallery walk in Deep Ellum.

First up was Continental Gin Gallery. First, this is a really cool building. The past industrial use of the property is evident in the huge gears, doors, and even the ancient water tower out back.. There were some lovely paintings displayed by the resident artists.

Next, up was a real surprise, the wonderful outdoor photography of Tom Maddrey, who chronicled his one man trip to Alaska at Blue Square Art. There were stunning photos of photos of Denali, of fjords, or eagles. He's a very friendly guy too. Jill and I enjoyed hearing about his trip and the fact that he'd done a show for the local Sierra Club. I was really pleased to hear he’s planning a trip to Big Bend and would love to get to see those images. Jill and I were both struck with the solitary image of a house in a field in Montana. Interestingly, he said it was the biggest seller of the show. It's much less dramatic than the stunning photos of glacial ice, but its simplicity is quite striking. We’ll be back to this wonderful spot.

Next to Public Trust. This is always a sure bet in terms of exhibiting interesting art. I particularly enjoyed Brent Ozaeta’s work. Brent’s drawings feature aspects of Asian culture, Samurai, anime and warriors, interspersed with contemporary American culture. They are very nice pieces. Also, Denton's Jeremy Smith showed some strips from his comic, Ropeburn. Very funny pieces by this young man. I should have bought one of his books. I learned later they are very reasonably priced at $4.00. We also saw work by Steven Hopwood-Lewis, Cody Hudson, and Evan Hecox,

Then on to Gallery 2910. I love the fact that this gallery has large glass windows. It creates a very inviting atmosphere. I had already notice the gallery, just driving down Commerce. You are immediately drawn to the great art glass, displayed along with a video of the process of making this wonderful colorful glass. We met one of the owners, Jerry Joyner, who was a really friendly guy. By the way, nice touch, baking cookies for guests! We got to see some portraits by Rick Timmons, a local artist who does some very impressive portraits, especially the ones of fire fighters. They were wonderful powerful images. The gallery features lots of local and national artists, and is a very eclectic mix of medium, styles and subjects. Great addition to the neighborhood.

Then on to dinner at St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin. I had a cold Negra Modelo and the signature tuna sandwich. Quite tasty and we had great service too.

Then on to another great show at Kettle Art. The place was packed and spilling out onto the sidewalk. I loved the new work by Wilhelmina Adams. This is her first show, which is amazing, because it’s wonderful work, disturbing and inviting at the same time. One painting, of two children, dressed in clothing of perhaps the turn of the century, The girl is wearing a veil, both standing in a field. The entire image sticks in my mind. Havi Frost’s images are quite striking as well. I loved the painting of the bird, with the cork. It was fun to run into so many friends, like Andrea and Jason Roberts (happy bullets) and to talk with Erica Felicella, which is always delightful and Jeff Liles, now back in Dallas, gracias a Dios.

We didn’t make Hal Samples Gallery having attended the opening last weekend. Hal has transformed this spot at 2814 Main into a wonderful showcase for his photography. He should be really proud of what a wonderful spot this is. His work is always wonderful, especially his work of homeless folk and their environment.

We ended the night at Club Dada, with a cold beer on the patio, chatting with the always interesting Earl Darling (Vaqueros Electronicos) and Allison Welsh, aka The Sub-Rosa.

Once again, a really wonderful weekend in Deep Ellum. Can’t wait to do this again, and hit some of the galleries we missed this time, like Studio Fling.

This story was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community

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