You are on page 1of 2

4711 California Avenue SW

Seattle, WA 98116
www.artswest.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


END DATE: February 27, 2010
Contact: Nichole DeMent
Phone: (206) 938-0963, ext 115
Email: nicholed@artswest.org

ARTSWEST GALLERY PRESENTS “URBAN CONSTRUCTIONS”

In a Landscape, Keith Troester, Untitled (Balance),Monika Dalkin, and Thinking Before


Speaking No. 1, John Osgood

What: Urban Constructions


John Osgood, Monika Dalkin and Keith Troester

When: January 31 – February 27


Noon to 7:00 PM, Tuesday through Saturday.
Admission is free.

Wine and Cheese Artist Reception: Thursday, February 11, 6-7:30pm

Where: ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery


4711 California Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98116
www.artswest.org

The creation of art is a means to explore the barriers that we build around us; viewing art is a way
to see beyond these safeguards to another perspective. This February in “Urban Constructions,”
Keith Troester, John Osgood and Monika Dalkin provide innovative and inspired representations
of the literal and figurative walls that surround us.

Dalkin presents playful constructions in shapes of homes. Working adeptly in many mediums, her
strong conceptual pieces in ceramic and mixed media on panel convey a natural creative
expression. Her iconic house shapes convey a myriad of ideas from warmth and protection to
stability and social standing, all the while creating labels for those that live there. Dalkin’s
installation of 100 ceramic 'tags' which make up a house structure, draw upon this idea directly,
and suggest a playful metaphor for graffiti. The shapes and symbols on the surface of her work
explores the mysterious facets of walls. Dalkin holds an MFA from the University of Arizona, has
exhibited her work internationally and has ongoing representation at Gallery 110 in Seattle.
Osgood paints idiosyncratic characters with a bold palette in a graffiti art style. His collection of
colorful oddballs are inspired by life and represent the uncomfortable and forlorn circumstances
that can occur within it. These unique characters are the embodiment of all of the idiosyncrasies
recognized as one peers over the walls we surround our true characters with. Osgood was
recently recognized in a feature story in the Seattle Times for his brainchild and work on a mural
in Greenwood that memorialized the strength resulting from the neighborhood being targeted by
an arsonist. This is yet another example of his immense creative effort to transform heartbreak
into remarkable art. Osgood graduated from Washington State University and is owner and
resident artist at Bherd Studios Gallery in Greenwood.

We are pleased to present New York video artist, Keith Troester, in AMP at ArtsWest for the
month of February. His video, “In a Landscape,” was inspired and accompanied by John Cage's
musical composition of the same name. Troester’s video collapses day and night into the same
frame. It’s as if we sit looking through slats of a fence onto an enigmatic urban landscape as it
whizzes by. Like Cage's piece, the elements accumulate over time, slowly and deeply. This
piece was exhibited in Italy's "Festival dell'Architettura 4" in 2008. Troester has worked in video
since 1999 and recently began collaborating with OgreOgress productions creating original
videos that compliment their recordings of works by avant garde composers such as Cage and
Morton Feldman. Most recently, he has been experimenting with ways of making videos without
a traditional video camera.

Join us for lively conversations and great art at the artists’ reception on February 11 from 6-
7:30pm.

The ArtsWest Gallery is always free, handicap accessible, and continually enhancing the total
“ArtsWest experience” by combining stimulating visual art alongside compelling performances.

About ArtsWest: ArtsWest produces artistic events so fiercely compelling that they require
conversation, improve the imagination, and promote cultural vibrancy as a core value for the
communities of West Seattle. Utilizing a 149-seat, 3/4 thrust theater and visual art gallery,
ArtsWest has presented over 400 different performing arts productions and gallery exhibitions to
over 200,000 visitors since 1999.
###

You might also like