Join us on December 2 (First Friday) from 6 -10 pm as we showcase amazing works of wonder created by local artists.

This year, we will be accepting donations of new and gently used art supplies on behalf of VSA Indiana. This wonderful organization provides lifelong learning and creative expression through the arts for people with disabilities in Indiana. VSA Indiana (formerly Very Special Arts) has served Hoosiers for nearly 30 years.
To learn more about VSA, please visit VSAI.org.

We’ve invited Indiana’s finest artists to create a piece based on the theme of toys for our ninth annual show. Check out the talented artists participating in this year’s event:

Joseph Crone
Lauren Ditchley
Erin K. Drew
Elyse Elder
Jeff Geesa
Mike Graves
Susanna Hoone
Andre Jefferson
Penny Knight
Carol Myers
MaryAnne Nguyen
Jay Parnell
Brian James Priest
Casey Roberts
Aaron Scamihorn
Eric Stine
Barb Zech

Support local art and give back to a very unique and wonderful cause for the arts.

Circle of Champions features the following artists:

• Amory Abbott
• Ryan Alvis
• Mab Graves
• Emma Overman
• Dane Sauer
• Chris Sickles

Work will be up through August and seen by appointment. Contact Carrie Hagans at primarygallery@gmail.com.

Primary Colours will also host a closing reception on Friday, August 26 from 6-9 p.m.

Unlike the Art vs. Art’s thrilling Main Event in September, no art will be destroyed during this show.

Primary Gallery is a space shared with the Mt. Comfort Gallery and operates as a nonprofit gallery run by local arts organization Primary Colours. Its mission is to bring progressive and contemporary art to the Indianapolis community. Primary Gallery’s goal is to present a valuable resource in providing a space for professional active working artists to showcase and sell their work.

For more information about this and upcoming shows, check out the gallery on Facebook or online.

Artists, take a few moments to provide us with some crucial feedback on the current art scene in Indianapolis. Your honest opinions will help us provide better opportunities to help emerging artists in the City.

Take the Survey Here.

Check out today’s featured artists. Their works remain on sale at Gallery 924 at the Arts Council until Dec. 22! If you haven’t yet checked out the TOYS show, don’t miss your chance.

Jamie Pawlus and Frankie (Australian Shepherd), Chicken With Its Head Chewed Off, 2010, found object–plastic farm animal, NFS

Pam Wishbow, Odds and Ends, 2010, acrylic on panel, $300

Holly Streekstra, Sawing a Man in Half Effect, 2010, mixed-media, $1,067

Ryan Alvis, Beluga Bath, 2010, acrylic on canvas, $200

MAMUS, Toys were so much fucking cooler when they where radioactive and covered in lead paint., 2010, polymer clay, found objects, acrylic paint, $300

Blythe Noble Hager, American Strings, 2010, mixed-media, $200

Aaron Scamihorn, The Totalitarian of Toys, 2010, digital illustration, $200

Jeffrey S. Martin, “Oh, and remember: next Friday……is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans.” 2010, mild steel, $50 per piece; 10 pieces

Eric Smith, Cobra Grenadier, 2010, serigraph, $40

Bruce Dean, “Uncle Luey” AKA – SS Rotterdam, 2010, ink and pastel on archival paper, $400

Justin Cooper, Steam Train (detail), 2009, mixed-media on wood

Carl B. Leck, Sockem (detail, 2010, mixed-media, $2,500

Nathan Shinkle, The Depths (detail), 2010, house paint and wheat paste on board, $750

Judie L. Sloan, Glass Ball Gown, 2010, blown glass, $300

Phil Velikan, Model Kit, 2010, Resin, $1,000 (original); $150 (kit; edition of 20)

Mike Altman, ALTered #53 (detail), 2010, mixed-media, $100

Emma Overman, Snow Globe (detail), 2010, acrylic on birch, $1,250

Kyle A. Herrington, Telephone Etiquette, 2010, mixed-media on paper, $500

Justin Akiem Trapp, Heaven Only Knows!, 2010, ceramic, $100 per piece; 11 pieces

Nate Greuel, Imagination, 2010, photography, tracing paper, wood, metal, $150

OPENING: The opening for this year’s art showcase takes place at Gallery 924 at the Arts Council (924 N. Pennsylvania St. – map) on Friday, December 3, 2010 from 6 to 9 p.m. We’ll have wine from New Day Meadery and craft beer from Brugge Brasserie and free apps from the Bar at the Ambassador.

AFTER PARTY: Join us down the block at the The Bar at the Ambassador (39 E. 9th St.) to continue the celebration, meet the artists, and hang with the Primary Colours gang.

The biggest change in this, our eighth installment, is that for the first time, the exhibit will remain on display beyond our opening night in the gallery for viewing and purchase, remaining up through December 22.

We’ve chosen the following artists to each produce a piece of artwork for this year’s exhibition:

* Mike Altman
* Ryan Alvis
* Justin Cooper
* Bruce Dean
* Nate Greuel
* Blythe Noble Hager
* Kyle A. Herrington
* MAMUS
* Carl B. Leck
* Jeffrey S. Martin
* Emma Overman
* Jamie Pawlus
* Aaron Scamihorn
* Nathan Shinkle
* Judie L Sloan
* Eric Smith
* Holly Streekstra
* Justin Akiem Trapp
* Phil Velikan
* Pam Wishbow

Exhibiting artists keep 75% of the proceeds they receive from the sale of their art. The remaining 25% goes to the Gallery, and, per tradition, Primary Colours will not a take cut. It’s all about supporting the artists and the Arts Council’s new gallery.

The opening for this free event coincides with the IDADA (Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association) First Friday Art Tour.

This year, we’re teaming up with VSA arts of Indiana and asks attendees to bring new or very gently used basic art supplies, such as acrylic, watercolor or tempera paints; colored pencils; erasers; paper; canvases; and brushes that volunteers will collect at the door. VSA will use donated supplies to provide arts activities to young patients and their families at Riley Hospital for Children and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in addition to community arts classes around the state.

VSA arts of Indiana provides lifelong learning and creative expression through the arts for people with disabilities in Indiana.

Once again, The Vogue Theatre in Broad Ripple provided the area for combat in the seventh staging of the Art vs. Art Main Event by Primary Colours and Groove Truck Productions.

As the doors opened, a line of spectator judges quickly formed up College Avenue on the pleasant September night. Upon entering, the crowd quickly learned which 32 canvases received the most online votes and survived the first cut to compete. Bargain hunters quickly snapped up several of the 104 paintings not making the cut and plunked down $50 to claim their canvas.

As A Squared Industries spun the hot tunes, the crowd filed past the top 32 contenders and selected three canvases on their ticket stubs. Once the ballots were cast and furiously but meticulously counted, the top 16 paintings were brought to the stage to do battle.

Emcee Mike Wiltrout took the stage with the bejeweled trophy belt in hand. In Round One, last year’s winner, Mab Graves (#102), fell to defeat at the hands of two-time winner Amory Abbott (#89). Doug, the auctioneer, was busy selling Mab’s painting for $500 along with most of the other paintings during the first two rounds.

Through the first two rounds, only two painting succumbed to the dreaded Wheel of Death, one (#71) by chainsaw and another (#39) by a Viking’s blade.

Round 3’s two bouts determined the final two combatants by the slimmest of margins. Jessica Dunn’s Goya Cookie Monster (#63) fell by .6 decibels to Andrew Bridges’ King Kong corn (#80) and suffered an embarrassing destruction via the Monet Shot.

The last former champion remaining, Ryan Alvis’ ice cream caterpillar (#70) had maneuvered its way through the field and beat out Carl Leck’s unlucky bunny (#36) by only one-tenth of a decibel! Carl’s bunny proved even more unlucky drawing the Instant Death on the Wheel and suffering a death by Wiltrout’s firebreathing and Molly’s Hatchet.

So, only the final bout remained, and with King Kong corn battling the ice cream caterpillar. Just .6 decibels brought the marauding vegetable to defeat and ruin at the hands of the BP oil drum.

Ryan Alvis emerged as the 2010 Art vs. Art Champion receiving the belt, the serenade, and the Big Check for $4,000. Given the option of keeping his winning canvas or putting it up for auction, Ryan immediately chose auction. A spin of the Wheel landed on Chainsaw, and the auction commenced. When the gavel finally fell, Ryan had sold his piece for a record $1,025!

Congratulations to Ryan and all who competed!

Painter hopes to spark thought

Indianapolis Star
10:10 AM, Sep 23, 2010
By T.J. Banes

A plastic “thank-you” bag floating in midair is enough to evoke a feeling that Brian Myers wants to share with others.

The graduate of Herron School of Art uses painting to convey social messages about the environment.

One series depicting tree stumps is titled “Land Management;” another of paper airplanes in a blue sky is titled “Drifters.” His latest works include large-scale public murals, one on display at the Chicago O’Hare branch of the Intercontinental Hotel Chain.

Myers has exhibited at the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art, the Harrison Center for the Arts and the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette. He is the recipient of the Efroymson Contemporary Art Fellowship and the Harry A. Davis Outstanding Faculty Award.

“In general, I’m inspired to create works that respond to my environment,” said Myers, who teaches foundation courses in drawing and painting at Herron. “I’m hoping viewers can respond to their actions in their physical environment in an introspective way. I want to give the viewers reason to pause and meditate.”

No stranger to the art world, Myers grew up with a studio in his childhood home. His mother, Carol L. Myers, a mixed-media artist, occupies space in the Stutz Building, and his father, Stephen Myers, is a photographer.

“I was raised in an environment where the arts were always supported and encouraged. Mom had a studio space in the back of the house when I was growing up, so the smell of paints and erasers was part of my life,” said Myers.

As a professional, Myers said, his greatest challenge is marketing his work.

“I think the Stutz residency program is relatively high-profile. The artists as a group do a great job of promoting themselves, and being part of that is going to offer a focal point for my work,” he said.

From an early age, Myers, who enjoys camping, hiking and sailing, has maintained a deep interest in the outdoors and nature. He was a Boy Scout until the age of 16 and spent time after high school hiking in the mountains and along the West Coast.

“There’s a general awe of the landscape,” he said. “I think art can be purely decorative or analytical. I like my work to be visually pleasing, but accessible and proactive.”