Anyone who has read this blog over the past year or so will know how many times I have gushed over the wonderful shows that have taken place at MichaelKate Interiors under the curatorial care of Brad Nack. The next show in the space will be a Valentine’s themed show and the call for submissions has gone out. This is a chance for all of you artists out there to get your work in front of some of the largest crowds of art-lovers in town. But there is an added bonus in the form of store credit at MichaelKate! I’m agnostic when it comes to the importance of Valentine’s Day, but this is a reason to be genuinely excited.

Good Luck to the artists. I hope to see you all at the show. Details below.

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MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery Presents…

I am in LOVE – Art contest and open call to artists.

Art must be submitted by 6pm, Monday January 30th, 2012

Feb. 6 – April 1, 2012 Opening Reception Friday Feb. 10, 7-11pm

Angels, Arrows, Hearts and Cupids
A re-working of the cliche’s of art.

1st Prize $1,000. store credit at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery.
2nd Prize $500. store credit at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery.
3rd Prize $250. store credit at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery

You are invited to create and submit artistic re-working of images of the cliche’s of love.

Get ready for the Valentines Day celebrations, paint a green cupid, turn that angel into a demon, sculpt rubberized love arrows or take photos of broken hearts. Our Judge will select pieces for inclusion in the show and prizes, based on creativity, emotion, desire, passion and point of view. Acceptable formats include paintings, drawings, college, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, photography.

Small work and large work acceptable, however, no work over 10×20 feet, no sculpture or ceramic work over 150 pounds, no pornographic, violent or racist, work.

It’s all about love.

Art must be submitted by 6pm, Monday January 30th, 2012

Brad Nack Curator

Details here.
http://mkiart.tumblr.com/

MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery
132 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara Ca. 93101 (805) 963-1411

Happy New Year, one and all. I hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready to get the new year started. We are going to start 2012 off with a less frantic version of the monthly 1st Thursday Art Crawl. This should allow us to take a bit more time at each location and soak in the art more thoroughly. We will end the night at the studio of one of Santa Barbara’s most talented young painters, Derek Harrison. After missing his studio last month because of a miss-communication, we are back on track for this month. It should be a great night, and I hoping to see another big crowd join us for the evening.

You can find a map of the proposed itinerary below. The Art Crawl starts PROMPTLY at 5:45, so if you can’t make it at the beginning, use the map to track us down. I also usually update our location live on twitter.

See you on Thursday!

Click on the image below for a larger, printable version of the map.

A while back I was introduced to a local Brooks MFA graduate named Sol Hill. Photography is definitely not my specialty, but it is something I have a bit of passion for.  Sol took me through a great deal of his portfolio and the photos he showed me were like nothing I had seen before. Unlike almost every other photographer on the planet, Sol makes use of the digital noise produced by a variety of different cameras to produce images that subvert the straightforward denotation that we usually associate with photography. The resulting images give a very distinct suggestion of specific subjects or locations, but make any attempts to decipher their reality futile. For me, the visual effect of the photos is a wonderful combination of science fiction and the sublime. And it is the kind of thing that rewards multiple viewings.

Check these photos out at Sol’s Open Studio Sale this Saturday afternoon. Details Below.

SOL HILL:
Open Studio Art Sale
Saturday Dec. 10 2:30-6:30PM
3013 Paseo Tranquillo • Santa Barbara • CA • 93105
Contact information: Sol Hill • 805-453-4375 • sol@solhill.com • www.solhill.com

Local artist Sol Hill will be holding his first open studio here in Santa Barbara. Hill works with artifacts produced in digital photography to create highly textured lyrical images that hover between abstraction and recognition. While Hill’s medium is photography, his work is interdisciplinary in spirit. His interest lies in removing the expected details in a photograph and replacing them with textured visual details that stimulate the senses but evade easy definition.

Hill uses photography less to record surface appearances than as a tool to investigate how the interior dimensions of the subject can be perceived. Hill hopes to glimpse something beautifully unexpected out of his interaction with the subject and the variables that affect the photographic process. He seeks to use the camera, a device built to fix a perception, in order to deliver a certain freedom from fixed perceptions. To inaugurate his new studio space, Hill is offering discounts up to 50% off all limited edition prints during the event only. It is a great opportunity to find an exceptional gift for someone special or to treat yourself this to something special this holiday season.

Wine and hors d’oeuvre will be served.

Sol Hill Open Studio

Here comes the next big show at MichaelKate Interiors. Over the past 6 month’s or so, these shows (curated by artist Brad Nack) have gained a reputation for being some of the best shows in town. The previous show, “Born in the 20s”, was one of the best shows of abstract art that I have ever seen in Santa Barbara. As a very knowledgeable acquaintance put it, “it was a museum quality show.”

With this many contemporary artists in the upcoming show, you can be that this will be a well populated reception, made all the more festive with the addition of live music. If you haven’t been to one of the shows at MichaelKate Interiors, make the extra effort on Friday to see what is moving and shaking in the Funk Zone.

I need to get out the door and start heading for the Art Crawl, but I can’t go without getting the word out about tomorrow’s big show at Roy. I recently had the chance to meet Brad Nack, and you really couldn’t find a nicer guy. He has a very unique style that has brought him a large group of dedicated fans. I’ll admit that I’ve never been to one of these shows, but every year I regret it. People just can’t stop talking about it after the fact… so tomorrow I’m gonna make the extra effort to be there.

If you don’t believe me,  read what Seasons Magazine had to say about the show:

“The holidays are almost here and so are the reindeer. Come celebrate at Roy Restaurant, as Santa Barbara artist Brad Nack returns this year with a presentation of oil paintings of reindeers. This year’s batch of painting continues to explore the concept of multi-year series based art through small elegantly framed abstracted oil paintings.

Brad Nack’s Annual 100% Reindeer Art show has become a small phenomenon that now has collectors throughout the world. “I am trying to make each painting look as if it was fast and easy to create” says Nack, “however, sometimes that is a lot of work and can be nearly impossible.”

The event will be held at Roy Restaurant, on West Carillo St., on Friday, December 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information contact Brad Nack at 805/845-5389.”

See you there…