Soft Blanket - Slow Thaw

Soft Blanket - Slow Thaw opens April 20th at Skylab Gallery in Columbus, Ohio.

Soft Blanket - Slow Thaw features print-on-demand blankets by:

Eva Ball
Glenn Cox
AJ Fusco
Timothy Hill
Martin Hugo
Adam Johnson
Harris Johnson
Shawn Khemsurov
Jessica Langley
Alexis McCrimmon
Meghan Murnane
James Payne
Greg Ponchak
Ben Quinn
Jack Ramunni
Samantha Rehark
Tim Rietenbach
Nicole Matta Santos
Nikki Skrinak
Cassandra Troyan

And more.

After the jump is an image of my blanket, and the flyer for the exhibition.

Documentation of Lotta Mattila's Gravitation

Documentation of Lotta Mattila's exhibition at Skylab Gallery, Gravitation, is after the jump.

Other News: 

* Columbus Alive previews the Prince Rama show at Skylab; in the Other Paper.

* Ben Quinn's Taking a Closer Look, the first of four ROY solo shows at the CML, opens January 10th.

* ImageOhio 13, which Wes Flexner, Alexis McCrimmon, me, and many others have work in, opens January 14th at the Shot Tower Gallery.

* Elijah Funk, Shawn McBride, and Samatha Rehark's exhibition opens at ROY on January 5th.

Forced Into Femininity at Cat Science (11/17)

More photos from Forced Into Femininity's show at Cat Science after the jump.

Other News:

* Beach Sloth on Keep This Bag Away From Children #2, another review here, KTBAFC also published another poem of mine online.

* Camille Martin blogs re: her reading at Skylab Gallery; Cold Front Magazine on the same.

* I blurbed re: Lotta Mattila's sculptures at Beautiful/Decay in advance of her exhibition Gravitation.
* Aaron Lake Smith on Anthony Poynter.

* Interview with Funerals at Local Autonomy. 

* Interview with Natalie Shapero.

* Interview with Wes Flexner at The Locals.

* Prince Rama comes to Skylab on December 18th.

* Wes Flexner on Elijah Funk and Martin Hugo's Skylab exhibit I Can See Through Your Tinted Windows A.K.A Arrest the President at the Other Paper.

Lotta Mattila: Gravitation

PHOTOS: DA'NIRO ELLE BROWN'S LUMINA

Blessure Grave at Skylab (9/4)

It's happening as we type/read. Flyer by Elijah Funk.

MARTIN HUGO: NOT GUILTY?

On August 31st at Skylab Gallery, Martin Hugo will be displaying his collection of O.J. Simpson-themed T-shirts that were made and sold before and during Simpson's criminal trial for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Hugo has been searching these T-shirts out over the past few years, shirts that were originally sold on the street by unlicensed merchants, which have now become collectible commodities that often demand high prices on resale sites like eBay. The collection captures an array of aesthetically intriguing "naive" graphic design choices while serving as an inlet to the larger political and social narratives of 1990s America - an era that is currently mythologized as a time of peace and prosperity, which, in reality, was a time typified by bitter, fractious domestic politics. From Simpson's trial to the Unabomber, Oklahoma City to Waco, the Michigan militia to the Rodney King riots, the Amadou Diallo shooting to David Duke, 1990s America was a cauldron of social paranoia and racial hatred. Hugo's T-shirt collection perfectly articulates the role of the Simpson trial as an avatar for America's deep racial divisions and prompts insoluble questions about the nature of commerce and justice in the United States of America.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a print publication, which includes an essay by Dylan Taylor-Lehman entitled "Translating the Untranslatable, Expressing the Inexpressible."

CJ the DJ will be playing music during the opening.

Other News:

* ROY G BIV Gallery's Emerging Artist Series posts its 2012 Yearbook zine online. EAS's DIY Fest takes place at ROY on August 28th at 6:00 p.m.
* Columbus "Alive" covers John Malta's CCAD welcome week presentation.
* OSU Urban Outfitters Arts Space releases details on its upcoming Mark Beyer exhibit, Mark Beyer: With/Without Text, comprised of local art enthusiast Tom Wagner's extensive Beyer collection.
* Ricky Crano and Andrew Culp interview Claire Fontaine at Radical Philosophy.
* Vice.com's Nick Gazin reviews Universal Slime, a zine edited by John Malta that includes a few pieces I made.
* Real Pain: Future Dead Friends Tour 2012 comes to Skylab Gallery on September 27th, featuring Megan Boyle, Sam Pink, Jordan Castro, Mallory Whitten, Scott McCalahan, and many more readers.
* Video of Shaver performing "Mental Convict" in Pittsburgh, PA.
* Video of Vivian Xiaoshi Qin's piece "Joy" at ROY G BIV Gallery.

Aidan Koch's Artist Talk

Aidan Koch: Trophy Room

Skylab Gallery's current artist-in-residence is Portland-based artist, cartoonist, and illustrator Aidan Koch. Koch's exhibition Trophy Room will have a one-night opening on June 29th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. 

Following the reception is a dance party with music by DJ Detox.

This event is free, all ages, and BYOB.

Skylab Gallery's artist-in-residence program is made possible through support from the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

Koch will also be giving an artist talk at 7:00 p.m. at the Wexner Center for the Arts on June 26th.

Other News:

* I featured David Berezin's stock-photo still lifes on Beautiful/Decay.

* David Leighty drew this Monster House group portrait.
* Caitlin McGurk on the Fantagraphics blog.

* Nasty Habit recorded a demo.

* A Saintseneca video.

* Known plagiarist tries to write, finds it doesn't suit him.

* Rolling Stone covers Against Me! singer's transition.

* ROY G BIV's Emerging Artist Series has a member artist page.

Jessica Langley's Killin' It

Jessica Langley's Killin' It opens tomorrow night (5/11) at Skylab Gallery. Pittsburgh-based artist Langley is Skylab's first artist-in-residence in an ongoing residency program at the gallery, which was funded by a Franklin County Neighborhood Arts grant administered by the Greater Columbus Arts Council. Langley will be in residence for the remainder of May, working on a new body of prints. The opening reception for Killin' It starts at 7 p.m.; refreshments will be provided. In addition, the exhibit may be seen by appointment until June 8th. To make an appointment, email skylabartspace@gmail.com.

Photos from Killin' It can be seen after the jump.

The World is a Wedding Opening

After the jump are pictures of Justin Clifford Rhody's The World is a Wedding exhibition at Skylab Gallery.

Other News:

* I featured Aidan Koch's Field Studies drawings on Beautiful/Decay.

* Wes Flexner writes about Slave Labia in the Other Paper.

* Elijah Funk has a new band, Alpha-Males.

* Zac Little recounts the story of Saintseneca.

* Chase Whiteside debates agent provocateur/hack James O'Keefe at Temple University.

The World is a Wedding: An Exhibition of Photographs by Justin Clifford Rhody

Justin Clifford Rhody, whose artwork I recently featured on Beautiful/Decay, is exhibiting his photography at Skylab Gallery on Saturday, March 3rd, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

Other News:

* Austerity Pleasures is a part of the Jacksonville Public Library's zine collection.

* Two new Slave Labia videos have surfaced from SL's show at Club Sandwich.

* Saintseneca did a Daytrotter session.

* Elijah Funk is co-producing a hardcore compilation, People Mostly Suck It, with Eat The Life records.

* The _______ ____ did a feature on The Sidekicks.

Button Interview

Alex Ross interviewed me about making one-inch buttons for a project at CCAD.

Other News:

* Columbus Street Style featured a small selection of my winter 2012 looks.
* There is a fashion label named "James Payne."
* Un Uccellino Mi Ha Detto posted a collage of mine.
* Wes Flexner wrote an article about William Berry's record label Amethyst Sunset.
* A video has surfaced of Hannah Stephenson reading poetry at Skylab on 11/27/11.
* Skylab Gallery just received a Franklin County Neighborhood Arts grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council to help support an artist-in-residency program - very exciting.

New Buttons

Other News:

* Tatyana Kagamas reads her short story "The New Piscina" at the OSU Urban Arts Space as part of Paging Columbus.

* Delay's album trailer for Rushing Ceremony; their bandcamp for the same.

* That "alternative" weekly blurbs the "Book as Art Object" panel I was on.
* Everything is Terrible is coming to Skylab on April 6th.

Skylab 11/27/11

Tonight (11/27) at Skylab Gallery (57 E. Gay St. 5th Floor): Angel One, Ben Bennett, Patrick Elkins, Ryan Jewell, Justin Clifford Rhody, and Hannah Stephenson.

New Work

Other News:

* Jack Ramunni and Alex Ross on the streets of post-apocalyptic Columbus, Ohio. 

* My piece in the Heat Space Art Collection.

* I'm on a panel December 1st discussing the art of the book at the OSU Urban Arts Space. 

Skylab Flyer Archive

       The flyer archive at Skylab Gallery is a new project started to preserve paper ephemera produced by the DIY music scene in Columbus, Ohio. The archive is housed in two flat files that Michelle Maguire generously earmarked for Skylab during the Ohio State University’s History of Art Department’s summer reorganization. 

       The flat files currently hold more than 500 flyers that were taken from my personal collection. We’ve organized these flyers according to venue, giving long-running spaces like the Legion of Doom, the 15^th House, or Skylab their own sections, and categorizing fly-by-night spaces by the type of venue they represent – whether it’s a house, an art gallery, or a record store. If possible, we’ve written the designer’s name and the year the flyer was made in pencil on the back of each flyer.

        As a community archive we’re eager to expand the collection through donations from people involved in the Columbus DIY scene. We’re interested in any and all flyers that represent DIY events in Columbus from any time period. If you wish to donate but you’re unsure about giving your flyers away, please consider making a temporary loan to the flyer archive.

        In addition to serving as a historical record, we envision the flyer archive being used for research purposes, design inspiration, and, most of all, entertainment. The archive is open by appointment to all. Make an appointment or schedule a donation by emailing Skylabartspace@gmail.com or by calling 614.323.9306.

Other News:

* I'm in the Ohio Arts Council's creative writer listing.
* Jack Ramunni reads one of my poems in this episode of Late Lunch Live.
* Addie Cheges assigns and illustrates an epitaph for the Monster House, which is scheduled to die in June of 2012. It's a saying I wrote in chalk on an overhang in the basement, "No Encores in Punk Rock."
* Aaron Miller updates a list I made of every band that's played at the Monster House in honor of its 200th show.
* My aunt Britta's son Erik Kish, who was in the band Hi-Fi and the Roadburners, recently passed away. A number of newspapers in Chicago published obituaries in remembrance of his life: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader, Time-Out Chicago, Huffington Post. I only met Erik once, but I feel that having his presence in my family (and his mother's - an artist herself) is one of the reasons that I felt, from a young age, that making a life out of creative endeavors is not just possible, but actually desirable. I also think that the first descriptions of "punk" I heard in my life was due to people explaining to me what he did. So, obviously, a big deal.