Concrete Ocean Art Gallery: Friday, 19 March 2010

Colin Michael Shaw and Jeffery Sass at Concrete Ocean Art Gallery, 2257 S. Jefferson Avenue on Friday March 19th . An artist’s reception from 7pm ­ 11pm will include top shelf hors devours and drinks, as well as a special guest performance by Mr. Shaw’s acoustic musical group, The Good Medicine Revival Show at around 9pm.

Moving to St. Louis in 1997, Shaw began showing his work wherever he could while honing his emotionally charged, mercurial approach to art- a labyrinth variety of internal symbolism and approaches to working evolved over the next thirteen years. Mixed media works from the artist’s last six years will reveal fantastical whimsy, social commentary, as well as examination concerning the mythos of the artist as subject.

“For well over a decade my painting has been the real work of my life. My paintings are about color and design, materials and methods, exploration and experimentation. Many of these paintings are about the deep and unseen parts of the individual; they are about the hearts of men. A very personal language of sorts has begun to evolve inside this work- pictograph forms that return throughout, themes recur as well. If the simple vocabulary of my work can deepen the viewer's sensitivity to the subjects of my paintings, perhaps it will ultimately bridge the emotional gap of our detached society. Much can be learned from small beginnings, in which our most basic, initial understanding of one another can form our greatest appreciation for each other. I am most convinced of this when on occasion someone narrates the story of one of my paintings to me upon viewing- they are really telling me their own story. Soon we are exchanging ideas, learning about each other, and so it begins… what was my painting has now become a small part of us together.”
-CM Shaw

I look for the small things, things that are becoming rare on our landscape. I want to show bits of our collective culture that’s on the way out, replaced by the always expanding franchises, chain restaurants and stores. I want to document what’s out there before it isn’t anymore. I feel that this is important because we as a people should not forget what it was like to have ice cream stands shaped like huge cones, or drive in theatres that resembled cities of the future. We shouldn’t forget what it was like to create each town and city from the ground up, each with its own character and creativity. They say that today if you take someone, blindfold them and transport them to a totally different city, they’ll be unable to tell that they’ve made a trip. Through my work, I want to celebrate the audacity of a uniquely American spirit, its neighborhood treasures and roadside attraction attractions.
-Jeff Sass