Art Clash - THE EXHIBITION

As the sun begins to rise, I'm sitting on the floor of the hallway of an apartment, my back gloriously massaged by the ridges of a radiator, my de-heeled feet propped up on the wall, I am a human bridge sipping a strange brown syrup mixed with Club Oráiste. I look to my left and IT BEGINS AGAIN;
"What do you do?"
"I'm a painter."
"Like a house painter?"
"No, an artist."
"Oh I can't even draw a straight line, all I do are stick men."
"I don't generally do many straight lines myself."
"Yeah but I'd love to be creative. I mean I used to draw in school a bit."

Working as a artist for nearly 11 years now (allow me to introduce you to my zimmerframe), I have a long history of going to parties. (I'll be HONEST, I'm fond of a drink... I once put a bicycle in a people carrier taxi so that I could continue an evening.) I hear these parties loosen people up, allow them to try out interpretive dance rolling on the floor to Bjork's Hyperballad (and later to Kylie Minogues Slow, shhh.), and I've had the conversation above at least 47,000 times. The above is usually an introduction to a gushing speech over this persons admiration of the creative and my efforts to encourage them in that they are in fact probably creative if they have an interest and if they would allow themselves to try...and so on and slurp syrup.

AND SO, Art Clash began after a full year of careful planning. I approached The Little Green Gallery and U Bar who were oober accommodating and allowed me to host this experiment. The idea was that I would combine my experience of nightlife, not strictly that I would be a booze hound, but that I have DJed, been organised in club production and promotion, I've twirled around the burlesque and cabaret cirquit, all whilst painting my way through various exhibitions and curatorial projects. I invited a different tutor to host each week, I shall now do a fun pictorial guide, as I know if I'd read this far my concentration would have waned and I would have been itching to check for a glorious notification or @me twit-twot SO LETTUCE LOOK AT PICK CHURS!

1. Steve McCarthy; An incredible drawing class with blind drawing, a specially named cocktail (jungle juice, if you will), ridey models, and a DJ from Anseo. It was the perfect introduction to a night resplendent with unintimidating, non competitive, nightlife soaked creativity.

2. ADW - Graffiti Art Workshop

3. Gerry Lee - Art Therapist where people were encouraged to try to communicate through a conversation in drawing amounting in a large scale group artwork.

 

 4. Gaetan Billault - Doll Making

5. Ciara Scanlan, a performance artist did a workshop in speed arting, IT WAS LOVELY!! There were BALLOOONS!

6. Will St Leger - Stencil Workshop

7. Morb with Peter Dunne - an incredible introduction to shock cinema - located in an abandoned convent in Harold's Cross

8. Fanci Schmancy - Clothing Customisation workshop - making hairdryers FUN

9. ME - 1930s style cabaret watercolour life painting class - I thought it would be a catchy title, rolls off the tongue!

And FINALLY, we come to the final Art Clash for season one happening Wednesday the 20th of June in the Upstairs Space of The Copper House Gallery.

Stag&Deer, who are wonderful people and amazingly productive will be helping us to hang a show in the gallery and talk us through the practicalities of organising your own exhibitions, it'll be an opportunity to look back at what those who have come to any of the sessions have done, and will give you the title of gallery exhibited artist all through the booze fuelled goggles of the last 9 weeks! Putting up shows is always really fun too, I find myself when I'm hanging an exhibition always at some point lying on the ground and staring at the wall and seeing if it looks ok sideways, this combined with a few bubbles and the lovely Art Clash attendees should make for a perfect Wednesday evening. There will be a charge of €15 for this workshop, and they've been working hard on this workshop for months so it's bound to have a few surprises!

THEN on Thursday there will be an opening reception, with the opportunity to invite friends, family and freaks to come stare at what we've been doing!

Here's the poster for the event, please do come to either night, we can discuss your creativity!
Book your place and get all the technical information at www.artclash.net - and remember that spaces do book up fast, so hurry hurry!