JEFF MUELLER + HARMONY PADGETT

at William Campbell Contemporary Art (Ft Worth) through April 28th
by Todd Camplin

William Campbell Contemporary Art Inc., a Fort Worth gallery, has a great showing of works by Jeff Mueller and Harmony Padgett. This group show titled “R*A*V*E*L” implies these two artists are trouble makers, which I can agree, but I also see one artist using influences  to drive the work while the other is driven by material used in the art making.

Jeff Mueller combines the sensibility of highly layered street art, with a Rauschenberg collage  influence, and a conceptual weight like that of Vernon Fisher. I see a great deal of Fisher in Mueller’s work, because of his layering of images and texts that are unrestrained by a square canvas. I am pretty sure Mueller went to the University of North Texas while Fisher was a teacher
there, so I am sure Fisher must have had an influence on his work, but I really see Mueller taking on some of the formal qualities used by Fisher and then pushing those boundaries to form a counter voice to Fisher. Mueller seems to feel at home as an installation artist using the space like a graffiti artist might. Mueller’s limits are the exhibition space alone. The word art interests me the most, because the messages in the text are overlaid with more words to get the effect
of an unclear thought. The effect slows the reader down to get a message that mirrors something you might read tagged on a wall. The painted words can also be fluid in their look, as if Mueller writes from pouring paint from the can.

moderndallas.art

Lloyd Lowe JR interviewed by moderndallas.net

The Artist Archetype
moderndallas.net interviews
Lloyd D. Lowe Jr., Artist
by Robert M. Diago

I visited Rising Galley to check out ‘So…how are things?’ and found myself in a smaller room – ‘On The Rocks’ – a show within the show. I sat in awe. I got up occasionally for closer inspections. Mostly I sat. There in silence I got a text from my friend and publisher of moderndallas.net, “Let’s talk. Next profile. Who?”  – Light bulb flash!

Archetype 16 (Orphan)

RMD: Lloyd, why you’re an artist Lloyd?

LDL: Because I’m emotionally defunct. Seriously, art allows me to express fears, anxieties and hopes in ways that I’m comfortable.

RMD: Tell me about your art.
LDL: I try to give my art a conscience. I hope that it will incite positive curiosity,thought, and change.

read the interview >>

Dallas Artist, Joey Brock will unveil his new series, “Northwestern Exposure” with the opening of his new Studio | Gallery.

Brock Studio Gallery Opens
in Dallas’ Cedars District

Dallas Artist, Joey Brock will unveil his new series,  ”Northwestern Exposure” with the opening of his new Studio | Gallery.

An avid traveler, the collection was inspired by Brock’s recent travels to  the Pacific Northwest and  communicates the clash between  urban and natural environments using acrylic paint, conté crayon, pencil and paper on clayboard and canvas.  Brock incorporates concepts like layering, texture and proportion that  he learned while studying fashion.

“There is a unique balance that dances between the natural landscapes as they collide with the man-made environment,” said Brock. “I find that there is a certain beauty in the collision of these two worlds and the balance that will eventually emerge.”

more about Joey Brock

moderndallas.artist Debbie Klein

featured artist

DEBBIE KLEIN

exploration of color brings energy and light.

images add form, content and balance.
layering gives depth and dimension.
art and design merge.

My work as an artist has been developing for many years. After graduating
from  both the Parsons School of Design and  the U of Texas in Austin.Debbie brought together aesthetic and conceptual ideas in art and design.She works in  multimedia, which solidified her  computer skills and her understanding of  how technology can play a role in the making of art.The work she creates today  is a combination of ideas and techniques that she has accumulated over time.

” It is a true reflection of my experience. Design, technology and popular
culture continue to be great influences. I am extremely interested in how these things interact with the process of making fine art.”

read more about Debbie Klein

moderndallas.net featured artist Shane Pennington

Bug Jar Chandelier, h 72 x w 36 in, Bug Jar, h8 x w4 in, Mixed Media Sculpture,mixed media sculpture, 2009 American Dream Series, 2008

Shane Pennington recently received the 2009 New Dallas Nine Award at         D Art Slam.  The original Dallas Nine were a special group of experimental artists that were leading exponents of the regionalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s.  D Magazine and f.i.g. have revived the spirit of the
original Nine with D Art Slam 2009.  Shane joins Pamela Chance, Sunny Jacquet, Jennifer Jones, David Leonard, Rich Morgan, Joshua Stone, Kathleen Wilke, and William Young as the New Dallas Nine and will be featured in August’s “Best of Big D” issue of D Magazine. [ more info]

Conversation with Dallas Artist Geoff Hager

We had the pleasure of meeting with Geoff at his studio and learning
more about his background and the future..

moderndallas.net: What was your inspiration and how long have you been painting?

Geoff Hager: I grew up in a painters house, my mother was an abstract painter (Helen Hager). I watched her painting at her easel which was next to the TV in our living room since I was very young. So I was watching Gilligan’s Island and abstract art seven days a week. I started painting as a child and later received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from
the University of Texas  at Austin in 1982.

M.D. When you completed College, did you immediately start working as an artist?

G.H.- My first professional job was in Dallas at an Architects office doing
architectural illustrations. I did that for one year and then went freelance and have been working on my own since then doing commissioned work for Architects, Interior Designers, Developers and Galleries.

M.D. What is it about your work that you feel makes a connection with the viewer?

G.H. I try to use color, pattern and texture to touch the feeling of the viewer. To mimic patterns and tonal  variance, to recreate a non realism visual experience from our world. I think we are all connected to the universe through our visual dialog. There are certain visual languages that speak to us all. I try to find those and describe them on a 2-d plane.

M.D. We’ve seen in your work that you also do sculptures in welded steel and various other materials. With so much of you work being commissioned who decides which way a piece goes?

G.H. In commissioned work its 90% about listening to the client. Not that they can describe the final art but their input can be the foundation for the piece. For instance, to see a finished art package of numerous works fit into a new buildings lobby where the art, the architecture, and the interiors all look seamless is a very exciting thing.

M.D. Do you produce more work for private collectors or corporate clients.

G.H. It’s about even in terms of clientele. My work hangs in both private and public spaces, corporate collections, as well as numerous galleries. Some of my paintings are in lobbies and seen by thousands of people every year.I get a real kick out of that.

M.D.- What do you see as the future of Geoff Hager art?
G.H. – I’ve been working with clients all across the country. I recently had a great show at the New York Art Expo. From contracts signed from that effort my work is now expanding to 44 countries world wide. I’ll be staying in Texas and working and we’ll see if I can touch the feeling of viewers around the globe. more info

Josh Reames – featured artist

The physical world is made of physical elements; therefore, the spiritual world must be comprised of spiritual elements.  Bridges exist as evidence of the parallels between these dimensions, such as thought existing simultaneously as physical and spiritual The spiritual world is a place where psychological responses are the essence  of matter, like an alternate reality or a parallel universe where the periodic table is replaced with  thoughts and emotions. Collective mental processes are translated into symbolic depictions using color, symbolism, line, and shape, by replacing the non-physical fundamental matter. (read more)

Featured Artist – George Lacy

George Lacy has shown in galleries in London, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami.I think color is amazing. I love colors. I almost don’t care what the subject matter is as long as I like the colors. I lik

e to use some sort of literal imagery too because it ads visual and mental texture. And it creates a mysterious narrative all on its own. Some of the work might have a message loosely based on some emotion or idea that was present with when it was created, but I don’t want to be obvious and heavy handed with any ‘meaning’. That kills a piece for me if I see that.

The work is also a diary of sorts as it is a record of my life and what was happening when I created it. I have to pull the inspiration from somewhere and that place is from my internal world of emotion and ideas stemming from dealing with external influences that swim around in me and conversely I swim around in them.I’m interested in historical reference and time as a concept and that plays into creating my work. Building on layers gives a sense of historical events, like abillboard that has peeled revealing previous postings. Our daily lives are a lot like that. One day builds on another, some things are erased and some things in our past are never quite covered. view more artwork