Last Saturday night, a couple of friends and I went to the D-Block Projects’ inaugural exhibition, “Open Storage” in Downtown Long Beach. We started out the night by entering in the show from the back door. The place was slightly difficult to find.
D-Block project invited artists to show their artwork in a storage facility that would not have otherwise be in the public eye. The show intended the artwork to be at random selection from each other, so it was up to the viewers to use their imagination and create a narrative story as they go.
Artist Steve Schmidt shared about his creative process. What looked like canvas painted in ochre were actually painted with artist's self-grind pigment. Schmidt used dirt from the location of the show, grind, and mix in turpentine to create his own shade of colors that brought deeper meaning to artist.
Artist Ed Bopp displayed his speech bubbles from his series shown in MESA. These giant black and white paintings were inspired by comic books and created to evoke conversation with power tools and dynamic design in the blank space.
The urge to explain the unknown was screaming inside of me as I walk through the space. It was not easy for me to thoroughly understand and appreciate the artwork during the opening night. Maybe it was the excitement of meeting new acquaintances, attempt to carry a nice conversation without a drunk person's flirtatious interruption, or a crowd that continues to flood in, which unconsciously screamed at me to move on to the next artwork. Also check out artists Chris Morales, and Albert Lopez's artwork in the show. The show runs until January 15th.
D-Block Projects’ inaugural exhibition, “Open Storage”
Opening Reception: Jan 8th 7-10pm
Show runs: Dec 11, 2010 – Jan 15, 2011
Downtown Long Beach – 218 The Promenade, Long Beach, CA
-JC
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