#terryjamesconrad

Terry James Conrad's show rocks, boxes, and dirt is currently on display at Good Weather Gallery in North Little Rock. Good Weather Gallery is a contemporary art gallery just north of downtown Little Rock across the river. Transforming a single-car garage into an interactive space, Good Weather offers an inviting and relatable environment to view contemporary art. There is an impressive balance between the "art gallery next door"/Southern charm attitude of welcoming visitors upstairs for a bowl of warm soup or hot cocoa and some really incredible, thought-provoking and innovative contemporary art by visiting artists from across America. Good Weather welcomes neighbors and art enthusiasts alike when the garage door is rolled up and gallery lights are turned on.

Good Weather Gallery stemmed from "an investigation of the American suburban garage and its vast flexibility. Often times, garages transcend their original function (i.e. storage for cars) by morphing into domestic galleries indicative of vastly different tastes and socio-economic conditions. This reveals an unpretentious curation of an individual’s ideas and interests: a wood shop, a miniature railroad museum, a cereal box collection, an indoor patio, a makeshift living room, an aviary, and so on." I love this idea and innovative use of space; it's an interesting conception in Little Rock – a place that seems full of open space and unused buildings. The gift of space, of a garage dedicated to new projects and emerging artists, is full of possibilities.

For example, exhibiting artist Terry James Conrad flew in from Buffalo, New York where he lives and works to build and make at Good Weather prior to the opening reception of the show on January 10. Conrad collected Arkansas dirt, found objects, and other raw materials to create a sculptural form that functions both as a piece in itself and a tool to creating stains or prints on paper. The garage served as both studio and gallery for Conrad's work, ultimately transforming into an artist and participant guided experience during the opening reception. Conrad happily explained his sculpture and the subsequent prints to all visitors - once again creating an accessible atmosphere for contemporary art. Most inspiring to me was to talk to Conrad and Haynes Riley, the founder and director of Good Weather. Both introduced themselves immediately, welcomed visitors into the space, and even offered a personal tour of the house and interior art collection led by a fellow family member. Mom was upstairs offering soup, dessert, and cocoa in the kitchen. This atmosphere is hard to describe - it comes off sounding kitsch and amateur in writing; however, it was far from it. The house was beautiful, modern and full of interesting work by artists who had exhibited at Good Weather or graduate school classmates. (One lesson learned is that I should really start collecting/trading with my own graduate school classmates). The gallery is both professional and outrageously comfortable. It feels refreshing to ask questions and interact with the artist and gallery director (in an intimate yet not intimidating environment), without the air of mystery or intrigue I often felt stuck behind in San Francisco. Perhaps its my own misperception of how galleries function back home, or maybe just the post-MFA perception. All I know is I left Good Weather Gallery excited about art, excited about my own art, and with an awesome new place to return to in the future.

A little about Terry James Conrad's work - which so greatly rung true to me and my own thoughts about my practice:

"Change can be loose (slow) yet permanent. Something impressed upon by one’s surroundings, unbeknownst to them until the weight of this change has left a mark. Terry Conrad embraces this meditative process with presses built in piles and tiers (as if they are layers or strata) and evolving prints that form over time and under pressure; a scrappy-architectural and geological approach which acknowledges Fluxus tactics of chance. The traces of these ruminations are intertwined with their object-maker: a growing collection of elements (found objects, scraps, and raw materials specific to the site of exhibition/excavation) amalgamated as sculptural form. In the active storage of rocks, boxes, and dirt, contained energy seeps into the substrate and sets in motion a metamorphose imprint. Control can be earnest, but letting go is where harmony resides."

Beautifully written and executed in the work. I greatly appreciate the revealing of the process and materials for the prints, something I find difficult to do in my own work. Conrad's materials seep organically through organized stratosphere, leaving an imprint of both place and time. 

The Sunday Post

A look back at this week:

Freezing - Quite literally, it was freezing this week. We are no longer in California, my friends. Dom woke up Monday morning to an iced windshield...inside the car. A mini ice skating rink made its home on our front path. No snow yet, just ice. It tricks me every time - it looks lovely and sunny outside the window, but in reality it's 20 degrees. 

Back to work - It was a delightfully busy week back to work at Wildwood. Preparations for our first Art in the Park exhibition of 2015 began last Sunday. On Tuesday, I hid behind the scenes at Fox16 Morning News as Wildwood's Art in the Park Exhibition of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Department of Art's Faculty, Students, and Alumni was featured for a brief interview. I accidentally made a split second TV appearance, but thankfully that didn't make the online clip.

Installing - Faculty, alumni, and students for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Department of Art began to drop off their work for our exhibition at the park beginning this weekend. Artwork drop off began at a trickle, with a few faculty and students dropping by on Sunday and Monday. By Wednesday afternoon, I had welcomed artwork from 39 individuals including faculty, alumni, staff, and students. In what began as a panic seeing 87 pieces of art, ranging from installation to sculpture to 2D, the exhibition came to life by Friday with the help of artists Tom Tull and Robin Trevor Tucker who work in our studio/shop at Wildwood. I discovered pedestals used from different stage productions and events and gave them a fresh coat of white for the eleven sculpture pieces we received. Faculty from UALR helped to install some of their own pieces, and excited students dropped off lots of hard work to be displayed. It was a pleasure to meet all 39 of these artists and to see the contemporary work going on here in Little Rock. Preparations continue as we have an Opening Reception for the exhibition this coming Thursday, January 15.

Pausing - After each day's busy schedule, I often pause on the walk to my car around 5 pm (if it's not too cold). The sun lingers just a little longer now that it is January. The cold creates some incredible sunsets, ranging from purples to crystal clear blues and hints of orange. 

Tasting - On Friday evening, we tried out a new local brewery called Lost Forty Brewing to reunite with our fellow San Francisco friends after the holidays. The brewery seems to be a renovated warehouse, and it is located just to the right of the Clinton Presidential Library and the Democratic Gazette buildings off of the River Market. Although a little off the beaten path, inside was beautifully designed with overhanging strings of lights and an industrial feel to the bar. We tasted 6 different beers all made on site. We will definitely be back to try to the food and more beer, I'm sure.

Gallery opening - Last night we finally ventured across the river to North Little Rock to attend the opening reception for artist Terry James Conrad's show at Good Weather Gallery. I first heard of this place on our first night in Little Rock, actually. That was also the night I realized how small of a world Little Rock is (a fellow med school classmate's good friend lives in the house the gallery is in which his brother created/founded - It's all connected, always.) The gallery space is a beautifully renovated single-car garage. The current show 'rocks, boxes, and dirt' features work by Terry James Conrad who creates forms which in turn create prints using found objects and raw materials. I was enamored with the colors and the visual of the process immediately. I was even more delighted to have some great conversations with the artist, the gallery founder and director, and the resident of the home who gets to enjoy quite the collection of art. The welcoming and homegrown, yet extremely well-executed, professional atmosphere was refreshing and unique to any gallery I've visited in San Francisco. So far, Good Weather Gallery is definitely the best venue for contemporary art I have experienced in Little Rock. (More info on the artist and the space to come later this week!)