Nerv Gallery & Studios Opens Constructing Perspective, Art Exhibition and Reception, September 22, 2012

Nerv Gallery & Studios announces the opening night and reception of Constructing Perspective, an art installation using perspective and perception to humanize art on September 22, 2012. End Quote

Dallas, TX (1888PressRelease) September 14, 2012 - Nerv Gallery & Studios along with Humano Art , located at 4819 Woodall St. in the Warehouse District, is pleased to announce the opening of the art exhibition and reception for Constructing Perspective, Saturday, September 22, from 7:00 to 11:00 P.M. The exhibit features twelve artists, who have created installations that will be on exhibit for one month, during which time Nerv will also host special events, including music and art collaboration nights. Local favorite So-Cal Taco Truck will also be offering their wide variety of delicious tacos at the event on September 22nd.

After a recent trip to Italy, Natalie Vaughan, Nerv Gallery curator, fresh with ideas of the Renaissance and constructing new forms combined with artist Mary Mecca's "material is content" focus, created the Installation Idea that will be Constructing Perspective. At Nerv's sophomore show of 2012, artists from Dallas, Texas and across the nation will fill the gallery with work using perspective and perception to humanize art and relate to others, unearthing a rebirth in material form. The artists include Mary Mecca, Joshua Vance, Evita Cortez, Jonathan Foisset, Elisa Guardiola, Chirayu Patel and Bhavna Dharni, Jeff 2.0, Taylor Clark, artist/professor Rob Carpenter, Nerv resident artists, Rusty Bouvier and Amy Mahler and George Mecca as Offallio Spazzatura with special piece by sculptor Sandi Stein.

Curator and producer Natalie Vaughan elaborated, "We wanted the artists to work on creating an environment, on constructing a space, a feeling of working individually but also as a collaborative group with similar intentions. Nerv Gallery and Studios offers so many possibilities by sharing a space with Mecca Design & Production; we have the ability to offer unique spaces and studios, high-end materials and machinery as well as recycled spaces and spots for resident and studio artists alike. Much like a maker space, Nerv is developing into a true working artist locale. We will have a permanent exhibit as well as have the ability to continuously show work and take part in exhibitions. As art facilitators our goal is to build a collective here and keep artists working and growing; I am thrilled to be able to bring to light some artists' work that has never before been experienced."

Mary Mecca is a visual artist from Dallas, Texas. She has shared that "her journey in art begins with the mystery of the Universe. Or is it really a mystery? Humanity's collective intuition is that we were created, but at the end of the day, one answer could never satisfy us all. Throughout our lifetimes we discover wisdom in ordinary places, we grow, and our minds evolve. But for the most part, the absolute certainty of a point or reason for existence, well, doesn't exist." Mary Mecca has a BFA in Painting and also Jewelry Design & Metalsmithing from Texas Tech University School of Art. Currently she lives and works in Dallas and is owner and operator of Nerv Gallery & Studios, which is overall a multifunctional, co-working space for the creative class of Dallas. As a Dallas native Mary felt the need to facilitate artists within the community and give them (and herself ) a place to create and play. When not working on her own art, she is a contract artist for hire, a yogi and an ethical vegetarian.

Featured Dallas artist, Joshua Vance, created a collection of work from the last five years, fully assembling them for the first time at this exhibition. Music is an important element of his installation. He is hoping to create in his work an element of space, to show a symbiotic relationship between the music and the artwork and not take away from either. His installation is based on a calligraphy symbol from Zen Buddhism, representative of the soul, of rebirth. The whole piece is like a Tibetan wheel of life, approximately 50 feet wide. The large, round piece will be suspended with light elements for a cosmic feel, representative of the sun in the universe. Vance is a self-taught artist, and most often shows his artwork in a musical setting. Influenced by Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, he likes to work in symbols and patterns, with something that has deep, deep meaning. Natural, organic forms are most interesting to him.

Nerv Studio Artist Evita Cortez is working on her MFA from Vermont College and just finished her first residency. Previously working in a two-dimensional format, she is excited to use space and incorporate different media and materials into her work, hoping to create an enigmatic and mysterious feeling. She feels she communicates better in 3-D and deliberately chooses to manipulate ancient symbols connected to Meso-American art as a way to explore her own cultural identity and where she fits within the continuum of human history. Cortez shared, "I am concerned with issues of decolonization/postcolonialism, cultural identity, ritual, symbolism, abstraction and spirituality. My work relates to contemporary culture in that it exists as a response to racist cultural appropriation. The imagery in my drawings is an attempt to synthesize symbolic elements used by the peoples of Aztlan (mythical homeland of the Aztecs; Central-American and Southwestern native cultures) and techniques used in contemporary tattooing (stippling and gradations). This is a visual way to link together the intersection of spirituality, cultural identification, and manipulation of the body throughout human history. My vocabulary for creating imagery is ancient; it is in this way that I honor my ancestors."

Dallas artist Jonathan Foisset enjoys working with shapes and how someone visually sees something. He feels he is trying to create a three-dimensional representation of a two-dimensional concept, which is an abstract of a three-dimensional idea. He loves illusion and what the eye sees and what it doesn't. Foisset uses lines to create an environment. When the viewer first sees the lines, he might see a symbol, but as he gets closer he starts to deconstruct the image because of the person's perspective and perception. In this way, he feels his art is interactive. This installation will also include projected images of stars and planets, giving it the feeling of a bigger space. He finds it interesting that "Humans put themselves in a box, but we live on a sphere."

Dallas-based artist Elisa Guardiola uses mixed media with a focus on found, reclaimed objects and natural elements. Guardiola is excited to work on such a big installation, creating an environment that will come together as people walk through and see individual pieces and the collective as a whole. She wants it to flow and uses more organic images such as rocks, mountains, science, and animals. This installation will feel organic and cohesive, seen on a larger scale with bigger images on found materials such as blueprint paper with little elements of faces and pieces. Currently attending El Centro College for an associate degree in art, her pieces are available at In Accord and The Sunshine Store in Deep Ellum as well as on etsy and on her Swampbaby.wordpress blog.

Dallas artist George Mecca, exhibiting as alter ego Offallio Spazzatura, will convey a second perception at Constructing Perspective. Through his collaborative exhibit the viewer will experience an immersion into an environment beyond their initial impression or interpretation. Spectators will be figuratively as well as literally transported. He uses fabric, wood, metal, electric motors, hydraulics, smoke and some mirrors to convey his sentiments. As a collaboration with other artists, he will facilitate new viewing avenues for previously made creations, a recycled art experience. The audio portion of the program will also be integral to pulling off this mind boggle. George Mecca has been a comedy fixture in Dallas since he was a kid. And as a creative director, head engineer, title of the day, at Mecca Design & Production, he produces commercial art, pleasing the customer as opposed to creating something for his own artistic need. The Nerv show gives him a chance to produce art for art's sake as he shares, "It is a great feeling to bring to life the ideas in my head and heart without having to have it approved, re-written, scrapped and redone, or otherwise taken away."

Nerv, the brain child of Curator and producer Natalie Vaughan and owner /operator artist Mary Mecca, began from a desire to become facilitators and build a collective of artists who want the art world to grow. Located in the Warehouse District, just north of the Design District, Nerv is a gallery constructed from 100% recycled materials from previously loved sets, walls and trade show booths and includes many unique studio settings as well. Humano Art is an ongoing Nerv Gallery exhibition which explores the human condition through means of visually articulating one's perspective or perceived reality. Nerv also shares a building with Mecca Design & Production which has a panel of artists, carpenters, sculptors, and dream fulfillers on staff to help with creative vision. Nerv's mission is to facilitate artists with a creative playground, equipped with studio space, gallery/exhibition space, representation, tools, materials & a community of creatives to help motivate and inspire each other. As seen on the gallery wall, the founders of Nerv Gallery & Studios believe that "When art is facilitated and created, all is right with the world."

For further information, please contact Natalie Vaughan at 903.484.6378 or nerv.humanoart ( @ ) gmail dot com www.facebook.com/NervGalleryAndStudios ( @ ) HumanoArt , @NervGallery.

###

space

Other Related Press Releases