Revelations - Opens June 2nd

Re-Imagining the Spaces that Surround Us

Student Show - The Haunted Hall #2

Artist Reception & Fashion Show March 3rd 6:30-10 pm

BEAUTY DEBATE - OPENING MARCH 3rd

Beauty Debate

TheDetroiter.com’s First Annual Invitational - Coming to ART EFFECT GALLERY MARCH 3rd - APRIL 21st.

What is beauty? Do we care?  In contemporary art, beauty is a controversial topic of discussion:  Is beauty too sentimental? Does contemporary art ignore beauty? Can artificial concepts of physical beauty trap women? Are masculinity and beauty mutually exclusive?
 

For its First Annual Invitational Show titled Beauty Debate, TheDetroiter.com invites 18 established and emerging artists from New York, Michigan, Illinois, and California to explore concepts of beauty in contemporary art.  These artists will create a dialogue about beauty that will challenge and delight viewers.
 

The show features rising stars, such as Man Bartlett (New York), who has been featured in Art in America, ARTnews, and LA Weekly, among other publications.  The show also features established artists like Tim White-Sobieski (Berlin/New York), who is a critically acclaimed international multimedia artist whose work has shown at the Prague Biennale, the Lyon Biennale, and the Bucharest Biennale.  And there will be a selection of local favorites that are also rising stars, such as Topher Crowder and Brian Barr. (A complete list of participating artists is below.)
 

Prior to the show, TheDetroiter.com will moderate a panel discussion with some of the artists and some art critics at The Boll Family YMCA theatre on February 29, 2012 (beginning at 7 p.m).  Among others, panelists include Tate Osten, Director of Kunsthalle-Detroit Museum; Vince Carducci, art critic and Assistant Dean and Interim Chair of Fine Arts at College for Creative Studies; Travis Wright, reporter for WDET, cultural editor for Metro Times; Hrag Vartanian, owner Hyperallergic.com (one of the most influential art blogs); and Stephen Maine, artist, writer, and curator (he is the art book editor for art critic David Cohen’s artcritical.com). 

Panelists:

        Colin Darke, artist, curator, writer, Editor-in-Chief TheDetroiter.com

        Tate Osten, Director of Kunsthalle-Detroit Museum

        Rebecca Hart, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Detroit Institute of Art

        Vince Carducci, art critic and Assistant Dean and Interim Chair of Fine Arts at College for Creative Studies

        Travis Wright, reporter for WDET, cultural editor for Metro Times

        Rishi Jaitly, Program Director, Detroit John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

        Stephen Maine, artist, curator, writer, teacher (via Skype from New York)

        Kianga Ellis, Owner Kianga Ellis Projects (via Skype from New York)

        Hrag Vartanian, Owner Hyperallergic.com (via Skype from New York)

        Robin Grearson, writer, curator, teacher (via Skype from New York)
 

The show opens on March 3 at Art Effect Gallery in the Eastern Market area of Detroit, Michigan, and it runs through April 21.  The show opens at 8 p.m., but there will be a special charity preview at 6:30 p.m. where Morada Blue Swimwear will conduct a fashion show with a sneak peak of its upcoming collection (starting at 7:30).  The suggested donation for the charity preview will be $25, and a portion of these funds and funds from the sale of select pieces of art will go towards establishing a writing fellowship for TheDetroiter.com through the YMCA’s Y-Arts program.

Charity Preview Participating Sponsors:

Morada Blue - Swimwear designer

High Liquors

Lazares  - Furrier
Gemmayze - Royal Oak restauranteur

Artists:      
      Topher Crowder  (Detroit)
      Brian Barr (Detroit)
      Lauren Rice (Detroit)
      Ron Zakrin (Detroit)
      Geno Harris (Detroit)
      Carla Gannis (New York)
      Man Bartlett (New York)
      Stephen Maine (New York)
      Clarina Bezzola (New York)
      Ashley Zelinskie (New York)
      Elle Deadsexicon  (New York)
      Judith Hoffman (New York)
      Tim White-Sobieski (Berlin/New York)
      Matthew Davey (Indianapolis)
      David Gerhard (San Fran)
      Vince Cacciotti (LA)
      Claudia Shepard (Detroit)

Topher Crowder "Beauty is a fickle beast. Sometimes the most beautiful people are the most empty. But that being said, I don’t try and make things ugly or crappy….ok, well sometimes I shoot for ‘craptacular’. But I try to create an impression with my work. Something that the viewer will take with them after looking at it, something that will stick with them in the dark forgotten corners of their brain."

David Gerhard "Art’s concern with beauty is in its communicative powers. I have so many beautiful pictures of clouds and ocean waves, which some would consider art worth purchasing. I took each of those photos because of the immense beauty of nature, hopefully one that I may be able to tap into when the right piece of art calls for it. I appreciate the beauty surrounding me everyday and often find it to be the beginning of aesthetic inspiration in my work."

Ron Zakrin  "...beauty is subjective. I hear people say that beauty is dead. Really? Why should we discard beauty in art when we embrace it in every other realm? It’s easy for a bad painter to embrace the “beauty is dead” anthem. But again, the subjectivity of beauty allows for steaming vomit on satin sheets to be heralded as beautiful by at least a few. Beauty to me is good composition, contrast, and color. Very simple, but simply hard to find."

We had a wonderful year in 2011!  We held 8 group art exhibitions, two solo art exhibitions, and showcased about 150 metro-Detroit area artists.  And, we started a trend of bringing fine arts and culture to the Eastern Market area, which is catching on with recent additions like Signal-Return and 2:1. 

Thank you Detroiters! 

It is coooollllddddd in our industrial chic building, and thus we must close for the winter!  But, hey!  Just because we aren't using the space, doesn't mean you can't!  Call us and make a pitch to host a pop-up show or other one-night event during Jan. or Feb 2012.  We will crank the heat up for you! 
 

Fine Art Photography from our Holiday Market
by Linda K. Rodney

Happy Holidays!

The AEG is in full Holiday swing!

To celebrate we're throwing a Holiday Market Closing Party December 17th, from Noon until 3pm.
Come and experience the Holiday Spirit of Detroit in the Eastern Market!