Sweet Hickory Art and Music presents “It Is What It Is” Increment Number 1
Opening Reception: Friday, May 12, 2006 at Sweet Hickory Art and Music (317 E. 3rd St. in downtown Bloomington). 7-10pm. Featuring refreshments and a musical performance by Leah Yeppi.
Sweet Hickory is proud to present the first increment of “It Is What It Is”, a group show featuring a diverse body of work by six young Bloomington-based artists. The first increment features work by Matte Cathcart, Chiara Galimberti, Jeremy Kennedy, Sherri Miller, Peter Shear, and Ryan Woods. Though these artists have a widely varying approach to their art and reflect a range of formal training, all make work that is bold and engaging, and that reflects an emerging culture of creativity in Bloomington. Defying the rigid conventions of the formal art community and reflecting a mobile, vibrant personal vision, all these artists make artwork that defies simple classification. In the end, “It Is What It Is!” This show opens Friday, May 12 and will continue until June 8th.
Matte Cathcart is a long-time Bloomington resident and visionary artist who makes bright, playful paintings that seem to document the people and objects that pass through his life. In addition to his work as an artist, Matte plays in a number of Bloomington-based bands including the pop-punk band, The Door-Keys.
Chiara Galimberti is a student at Indiana University in the BFA painting program. Her paintings and drawings reflect a more traditional approach than some of the other artists in this show in a way that is exciting and refreshing.
Jeremy Kennedy is a local musician and artist who performs with the band Puppy vs. Dyslexia, his solo experimental project DJ Sony Playstation, and collaborates to make intricate, small run CD-R releases with the FMSMP recording collective. His paintings, drawings, and mixed media work combine elements of popular culture, fantasy, humor, and personal narrative into pieces that are disorienting and provacative.
Sherri Miller is one of the co-proprieters of Sweet Hickory and has ventured in and out of the fine arts from a background in industrial design. Her design background is apparent in her stark, highly graphic portraits, but her work also reflects her natural inclination towards invention and experimentation with process and material.
Peter Shear is a 26 year old bloomington resident who works mostly in drawings and acrylic painting. His works tend to be quite simple and quick, yet contain a great amount of narrative in their simplicity. More of his work can be found at http://www.myspace.com/petershear.
Ryan Woods (BFA Art Academy of Cincinnati) is the other co-proprietor of Sweet Hickory. He makes paintings that use a wide variety of materials, from oil paint to shellac, spackle, and other building materials. The complexity and richness of material and the resulting texture is paralleled in the imagery of his paintings. Provacative and perhaps a bit unnerving, his paintings often evoke the intersection of personal and cultural mythologies, of childhood and decay.
Sweet Hickory is a new addition to the Bloomington arts community and serves to provide a venue for exhibiting the work of contemporary artists, independent musical and theatrical performance, the sale of reasonably-priced punk, hardcore, and other independent records and original, handmade, clothing and art pieces. The store is located at 317 E. 3rd St., near the corner of 3rd and Grant in downtown Bloomington. For more information about the store, the “It Is What It Is” group show, or other upcoming events, contact 812.369.5284 or sweethickory@gmail.com.