I have lived in Salt Lake City for over seven years. In that time, I have lived in several neighborhoods on the east and west side. I've loved every place I have lived. For about eight months I have been driving around Salt Lake City taking photographs of homes in every neighborhood. My goal is to put together a portrait of the city we live in. The show will include both photography/mixed media work and paintings. As the work has come together, I began to realize that there aren't any people in any of the pieces. This is where you come in. In order to add the element of humanity to the whole project, I would appreciate your attendance at the show. I think it would be fascinating to socialize with the people that live in the homes that are a part of the work. If you have never been to a gallery opening before, it is a casual event where you can come and go as you please, it's family friendly, and there will be refreshments. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at justwheat@yahoo.com.
Here's the press release sent out by Finch Lane Gallery, which is associated with the Salt Lake City Arts Council:
ARTISTS
JUSTIN WHEATLEY AND AARON ASHCRAFT EXHIBIT THEIR WORK AT FINCH LANE GALLERY
Salt
Lake City-- Two new exhibitions at the Finch Lane Gallery explore the theme of relationships.
Justin Wheatley’s mixed media installation Salt
Lake City: Chain Link and Welcome Mats examines the city from an east side/west
side perspective, while Aaron Ashcraft’s sculptured ceramics focus on the
relationship of textures found in nature in his exhibition called Conversations. The exhibitions run
August 9 through September 27, with an artists’ reception on Friday, August 9
from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with additional evening hours during the Salt Lake Gallery
Stroll on August 16 and September 20, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. All events are
free of charge.
Justin Wheatley has lived in Salt Lake
City for the past seven years and now calls it home. For the last few years,
Wheatley has been creating a body of work about Salt Lake City, and these
pieces will be exhibited at the Finch Lane Gallery. Though the show lacks
imagery of people, the people of Salt Lake City are the subject of it. Salt Lake City: Chain Link and Welcome Mats
explores the different sides of our city, where people are welcomed and also where
they are asked to keep out. Wheatley uses photos, acrylic paint, and collage to
create these works.
Wheatley
says of his work, “During the day I spend time as an artist and teacher with
students on the west side. Many of them are struggling financially. Through exhibiting
my work I have become acquainted with many people from the east side who are
financially more stable. Both sides of the city are full of good people. Both
sides have many secrets.” This exhibition explores and exploits some of those
secrets.
Wheatley’s
recent exhibitions include the 2013
Spring Salon at the Springville Museum of Art, the 2013 35 x 35 exhibition at the Finch Lane
Gallery, the Bountiful/Davis Art Center, and a 2010 solo show at the Kimball
Art Center. He was named an “Artist to Watch” in Southwest Art Magazine in 2011. Wheatley’s studio is located at
Poor Yorick Studios and he is represented by Coda Gallery in Park City, the 15th
Street Gallery, and at Evergreen Gallery.
Although
he has been working in ceramics for many years, Aaron Ashcraft began a new series in 2011. This work was begun by drawing
on flat slabs of soft clay with a variety of tools and media, replicating
textures found in nature. Dark brown iron bearing clay was brushed with white
slip clay, and the interaction of the two clays provides greater sense of depth
when fired in the kiln. Additional black brush lines compliment the textured
marks in the clay. Glazes provide contrasting areas of color and smoother
textures. Ash sprinkled on the surface adds a final layer.
Three
dimensional works quickly followed the slab pieces and stiff, angular forms
began to turn and twist with cutout sections to mimic the human form. Ashcraft
notes, “It’s all about creating a dense combination of textures, glazes and
colors that enhance form and make the viewer look closer, spending some time to
really understand what’s going on.” He invites viewers to join the “conversations”
happening within each piece.
Ashcraft
serves on the boards of the Red Kiln Clay Studio and Gallery and Clay Arts,
Utah. He recently exhibited at Art Access Gallery with his 2013 exhibition Biomimicry, at the 2012 Utah Statewide Show at the Rio Gallery, and with the Clay Arts Utah Group Show in 2012 at the
Patrick Moore Gallery. He is currently represented by galleries in Arizona and
Colorado, and at Patrick Moore Gallery in Salt Lake.
Who: Artists Justin Wheatley and Aaron
Ashcraft
What: Finch Lane Gallery Exhibitions
When: August 9 through September 27, 2013
Where: Art Barn, 54 Finch Lane
in Reservoir Park
Finch
Lane Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and during
monthly gallery strolls from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. For additional information,
contact the Salt Lake City Arts Council, 801.596.5000 or visit www.slcgov.com/arts.
