Construct Destruct. New works by Chris Clark at Stupid Easy

Construct Destruct, Chris Clark’s first solo exhibition with Stupid Easy Gallery, debuts Saturday, September 24th .

Clark uses a mix of spray paint stenciling, screen printing, collage and painting to create environments that are rich in depth and texture. His work explores the relationship between the natural world and technology. It suggests a certain tension between the two elements, creating an energy that is both kinetic and foreboding.

Organic and manufactured forms along with portions of text and images from blueprints & diagrams are fantastically layered to create environments that feel engineered and beautifully toxic. The objects could be anywhere, and the complex physically worked surfaces can become so dense that there is little room for anything else. His blending of organic forms with manufactured surfaces suggests technology run amok and a natural world in accelerated flux. His richly layered and obsessively detailed environments leave you with a feeling of being taken out of time as well as out of place.


Stupid Easy is located at 307 Market Street above Artist & Craftsman Supply.

Dates are as follows:
Show: September 24th - October 22nd
Private Reception for Press & Distinguished Guests: Saturday, September 24th. 7-10pm
Public First Friday Opening: Friday, October 7th. 7-10pm

Stupid Easy Gallery
307 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA
www.stupideasyideas.com
www.chrismclark.com

My picks for First Friday! Friday, May 7th 2010

Get stupIDEAsy This First Friday. I am in 3 shows.. so my First Friday PICKS are for the shows that I am participating in.

DeckHeads 3 at Exit Philadelphia
825 N. 2nd St. Phila., PA

Spring Show at Salt Gallery
212 Race St. Phila., PA

And...
The stupIDEAsy Group Show at 307 Market Street

All 3 Openings go from about 6-9pm

March First Friday Picks

My Picks for Friday March 5th:

Alex Eckman-Lawn
REBUILT
Proximity Gallery

Silicon/SPE Photo Competition
Silicon Gallery Fine Art Prints

Art Auction Fundraiser
Bossone Lobby and Atrium
Drexel University

Dead Flowers
Vox Populi

December First Friday

First Friday Pics:

AWAY FROM TIME - New Collages By Chris Clark
Opening Reception Dec. 4, 2009 6pm
http://chrismclark.blogspot.com/
http://www.proximityart.com/www.proximityart.com/Welcome.html

2009 Neighborhood Holiday Walk
Fishtown and Kensington’s biggest, most festive First Friday ever!
http://frankfordavearts.org/

Russell Underwood @ Primer Micro-Gallery
http://www.primerinc.com/primer2.0/microgallery_ms.php?itemno=1

I Don't Watch the Internet
Fleisher/Ollman
http://www.fleisherollman.com

All First Friday happenings mapped here
http://maps.theartblog.org/index.html

AWAY FROM TIME - Proximity Gallery - First Friday, December

CHRIS CLARK
AWAY FROM TIME
Opening Reception December 4, 2009 6pm-9pm

Proximity Gallery is pleased to present “Away From Time,” an exhibition of new collages and screen prints by Fishtown based artist Chris Clark. This is Clark’s second solo show with Proximity and his third solo show of 2009.

"Away from Time" continues Clark’s message of being environmentally conscious. For this show his interest in street art and spray paint stenciling is more apparent than ever. He is also working larger and a few pieces are on alternative surfaces. Besides his typical wood panels, this show includes three collaged skate decks (recycled from a local skate shop) and two collaged table tops.

Organic and manufactured forms along with portions of text and images from blueprints & diagrams are fantastically layered to create environments that feel engineered and beautifully toxic. In many of these works there is a sense of expectation that some sort of powerful event might occur. The objects could be anywhere, and the complex physically worked surfaces can become so dense that there is little room for anything else. His blending of organic forms with manufactured surfaces suggests technology run amok and a natural world in accelerated flux. These richly layered and obsessively detailed environments leave you with a feeling of being taken out of time as well as out of place.

Clark has been approaching environmental issues in a variety of powerful ways. In October, Clark was asked to participate in a traveling exhibition "Eco-Expression: Art for Sustainability." The exhibition functioned as an inspiration for solving environmental issues and was held at Northeastern University in Boston. It coincided with an international day of action on climate change coordinated by 350.org. Clark's work was included along with world-renown graffiti artists, Banksy and Shepard Fairey, as well as internationally known artists such as Harri Kallio and Mary Van der Park.

Proximity Gallery
2434 East Dauphin St.
Philadelphia PA 19125
www.proximityart.com
www.myspace.com/proximityart
267.825.2949
Hours: Fri. and Sat. 1pm-4pm
Always by appointment

The Metro

Christopher Gabello from the Metro came out to my studio to photograph me for the Metro article. I want to thank him for the great pics.

A few Days later I met with Bruce Walsh for the interview at Rocket Cat Cafe. I can not thank Bruce enough for writing such a great article. 4 different people approached me at the opening on July 3rd to let me know that they came because they liked the write up and they wanted to see the piece pictured in the Metro.

Read it here: http://tinyurl.com/npgz5n

Copy Paste at Primer Micro Studio. MAY 1st 2009

Copy Paste at Primer Micro Studio. MAY 2009

Last Friday I met with Larry and Brian at PRIMER in Hatboro, PA. We went over the details for my MAY show and had a great lunch before parting ways. I spent some time this weekend thinking about titles for the show. After some emails back and forth we decided on "Copy Paste". The month long show opens MAY 1st at Primer Micro Studio and will consist of over 20 collages and screen prints from the past 24 months. It will be a great way to see how my work has progressed over the last 2 years. Obviously there will be a lot of older works, but there will also be at least 3-5 (hopefully more) newly finished pieces in the show.

Primer was recently featured on A Design Mafia.

Last fall, Roberta Fallon said this about my work: "The objects could be anywhere, and the complex backgrounds suggestive of Islamic screens or patterned wallpaper set them out of time as well as out of place. The atmosphere is Mad Maxian -- depopulated outposts after or before a global dark night of the soul."

ROCK