Artist Lecture featuring our juror
John Osgood
Friday, May 18, 5-6:30p
Peggy Lewis Gallery
Refreshments - Free! (donations gladly accepted)
Sometimes a skateboard is not just a skateboard. This juried exhibit explores the skateboard as the raw material for creative expression - and you will be rocked by the ways regional artists have run with that concept.
Juror John Osgood is an urban contemporary artist & muralist* who selected 23 pieces from the 55 submitted. John says he approached the task with three pairs of eyes: those of a gallerist, a fellow artist, & as a mentor/teacher. Each perspective suggests different questions to consider when evaluating a piece. "I believe that the questions I asked myself were the fun part of this project. Being able to judge/critique this group of talented individuals has been very rewarding!"
Awards will be presented at the reception for first, second and third place pieces as well as a youth award, which is truly special. The selected youth artist will work with John to create art that will be used on water bottles produced by Liberty Bottleworks right here in Union Gap!
Come check out the show where you'll be able to chat with several of the artists while enjoying their work. The show will be on exhibit through June 1, 2012.
In conjunction with the exhibit, John Osgood will be offering an Artist's Lecture on Friday, May 18, from 5-6:30p here in the Peggy Lewis Gallery at Allied Arts Center
From teen creative to professional artist, gallery owner and curator, John's traveled a path that many of us dream about. He'll discuss how that journey's unfolded for him as well as share his impressions on the Skateboards Explored show. Our artist lectures are relaxed and informal and all are welcome. The event is free although donations are always appreciated.
John tells us that art is a lifelong passion. "I've been attracted to creating art since I was in elementary school. It was when I was in high school that I started to become more involved in the work. I began to learn things about color, line, shape, form, and composition - basic lingo and tools of the trade for being an artist. One of the biggest things that started happening was being critiqued by teachers and my peers. Critiques at that point were not fun and difficult to do but necessary. During these critiques, however, I was beginning to develop a thick skin about what people thought of my work, plus I was practicing the use of my own art vocabulary and learning about constructive criticism.
"While looking through these pieces of artwork [for the Skateboards show] a range of thoughts came over me. I would look at the work through the eyes of a gallerist, as a fellow artist, and as a mentor/teacher… [As] an artist and a curator for a gallery, I constantly look at artwork with a critical eye. As an artist I see technique and form. I wonder if the color that the artist used is correct to color theory. I ask myself does this piece work. As a gallerist I ask myself has this piece been presented correctly (does the image have good quality). Does the the piece have the right information (or enough information). Would I show this piece? Does it work?
"I find being an artist is very fulfilling and being a gallerist is very educational. In this unique spot that I am in, I feel very fortunate to pass on any information that I can."
*John Osgood is an urban contemporary artist and muralist who grew up in Edmonds, Washington. He graduated with a BA from Washington State University with a minor in Fine Arts and is also 2008 Artist Trust Edge Graduate. Osgood has created murals all over the Puget Sound area in 2010 & 2011 was only 1 of a couple US artists invited to the UK’s Urban Mural Art festival called “Upfest”. Osgood has also shown in multiple galleries and venues around the Seattle area including, ArtsWest Gallery, CoCA (Center on Contemporary Art) Gallery, Flatcolor Gallery, Halogen Gallery, Tasty Gallery, Twilight Artist Collective and more. In 2010 he also co-organized and participated in an Open Studio event called “W3AVE” at the Henry Art Gallery and was selected to participate in CoCA’s Pecha Kucha event at Bumbershoot. He currently has a studio and gallery in Seattle called Bherd Studios where he curates shows monthly for other up and coming PNW urban contemporary artists.
http://www.bherdstudios.com/
http://www.johnosgood.com/