Roq La Rue Gallery presents

Sarah Joncas
“Shadow Play”
new paintings

Ciou
“Mysterious Flowers”
paintings and drawings

Sarah Joncas new show focuses on the theme of shadows. Her work is primarily narrative portraiture, but is imbued with a sense of cinematic spatiality and a contemporary noir sensibility. Influenced by artists diverse in scope as Van Eyck, Lautrec, Hopper, Varo, Mucha, and Frida Kahlo, Sarah was also greatly influenced by the newly emerging Anime scene as a child. As Anime became more pervasive in US culture, it was readily embraced for its approach of using complex narratives and emotional maturity within a cartoon framework. This use of a cartoon as a form of fine art “character” has been one of the staples behind the Pop Surrealism scene and Sarah’s melancholy heroines are examples of the range of subtle nuances that can be achieved using that as a base despite its seeming limitations. She has exhibited her paintings in New York, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Rome.

Ciou hails from Paris, France. Her work features the admittedly well worn standard of spooky girls and their animals consorts, however Ciou’s unapologetic punk style (reminiscent of teenage notebook scrawls dialed up to 11) breathes a new brash life into the theme. Her sweet and sour heavy metal nymphs live out their wild carnivalesque fairytales on found vintage papers, taken from old medical books, dictionaries, and nature manuals. Her overwhelmingly ornate line-work is by turns thickly layered like decadent rocker girl eyeliner and then meticulously thin and ornate like stitchwork. Ciou has exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam,Brussels, Toulouse,Berlin, Los Angeles, Rome,and Barcelona. This is her first US solo show. She also has a book about her work entitled “Chat Siamose”.

Opening Friday February 12th 6-9pm
Show runs through March 6th

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DD Contributor and Roq la Rue owner, Kirsten Anderson just gave us the heads up on her upcoming show with Jim Blanchard. Kirsten tells us:

“We will be opening a new show on September 11th by artist and painter Jim Blanchard. Jim is probably one of artists we have exhibited the longest, in fact he was in Roq La Rue’s very first exhibition in 1998! We are pleased to welcome him back yet again for his solo show, “Personality Parade”, featuring his trademark and wildly colorful portraits of off kilter pop icons and on-point idols of true hipness and bad assery.”

Read more about the show on Kirsten’s blog here:

All me know is that we love the pop-icons and sweet 70’s vibe.

Roq La Rue
Jim Blanchard
“Personality Parade”
Opens Friday Sept 11th 6-9
70’s funk and Italian film soundtrack cuts spun by DJ Vodka Twist

It’s going to be Halloween in August when Travis Louie’s new show opens this Friday, August 21st from 6-9pm…if you are in the area come by and meet Travis!

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Travis Louie’s hypnotic “portraiture” is compelling for its blend of the hyper realistic with the blatantly unreal. Fantastical creatures gaze out from paintings so technically refined (using transparent layers of acrylic paint over a tight graphite drawing on a smooth flat surface) that they look uncannily like old photographs. Adding to the discomfiting presence these animal/monster like chimeras have are the human expressions- even if the creature in the paintings looks a bit bizarre, it also looks spookily familiar as well. Often in his work Louie seeks to create mythological ancestors…long-lost “relatives” captured in Victorian cabinet card/ tint type images. His own interest in Noir imagery, German Expressionism, and personal dream imagery. Each painting comes with a “bio” about each character, written by the artist.

This exhibition will feature 8 larger scale works by Travis. The artist will be in attendance at the opening and signing copies of his new book “Curiosities”, which will be available at the gallery.

Roq La Rue Gallery
2312 2nd Ave Seattle WA 98121
www.roqlarue.com

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Just taking a quick breather from getting ready for the Roq’s new show this Friday, featuring Italian (Ok, San Marino based) artist and illustrator Nicoletta Ceccoli, and new wunderkind on the block Eric Fortune. Here is a quick blurb about each and some sneak peeks from the show!

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Camille Rose Garcia " Little Elorphant"

Roq La Rue has announced the release of a new print with Camille Rose Garcia! Camille graciously created a new work in order to create a special print run to raise money for wildlife in need. This print is published by Roq la Rue and ALL proceeds will go the The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which rehabilitates orphaned elephants and rhinos in Kenya.

A pretty great way help support this innovative and effective organization!

DD guest blogger Kirsten Anderson just posted some previews of her show this weekend with artists Travis Lampe and Chris Crites here. Take a look and get a sneak peek into what looks to be a solid show from our friends in Seattle.

Chris Crites and Travis Lampe
RoqlaRue
Friday June 12th 6-9pm

Roq La Rue
presents
“Lush Life”
painting group show opening Friday May 8th 6-9pm

Joe Sorren, Chris Berens, Chris Conn Askew, Mia Araujo, Melissa Forman, Travis Louie, Madeline Von Foerster, Martin Wittfooth, Kukula, Ryan Heshka, John Brophy, Tin, Brian Despain, Glenn Barr, Dan Quintana, Femke Hiemstra, Laurie Hogin, Lisa Petrucci, and Andrew Arconti

While many galleries in the “underground”/Pop Surrealism art scene have increasing turned towards street art, Roq la Rue has decided to instead focus on the more formal, Symbolist -inspired painters in the genre. “Lush Life” brings together painters in both the alt-art world as well as contemporary art scene, who all work within a guideline of tight technical craftsmanship as well the use of opulent and decadent imagery to convey higher inner truths and emotions. This take on “Neo-Symbolism” is different from it’s predecessor in that while it still mines the unconscious for a sense of mythic gravitas, it incorporates American culture’s pervasive pop culture-flavored and cartoony aesthetic. This is the gallery’s one group show this year and we are thrilled at all the exceptional work pouring in- here is a first look!

(Please contact us to be on a preview list, or if you have any questions!)

Work below by: Laurie Hogin, Mia Araujo, Chris Berens, Melissa Forman, Madeline Von Foerster

For April, Roq la Rue is pleased to present two solo exhibitions featuring new works by two painters who work with dramatically different styles and tone but approach similar subjects in different ways. Here is a super sneak peek for Daily DuJour readers while we are busy with installing the new show…which opens Friday April 10th…hit us up for the full preview by emailing kirsten@roqlarue.com.

Preview after the jump:

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Kirsten Anderson up in Seattle sent us this info on her upcoming show with Christian van Minnen and Yoko d’Holbachie:

Here’s what we are working on at the gallery…looking forward to the timely opening on Friday…the thirteenth! The gallery will be filled with Christian latest works, a combination of the grotesque and the beautiful, painted in a northern renaissance style. We are very thrilled to be hosting a show of truly original works by an amazing emerging artist.

Roq la Rue Gallery
presents

Christian van Minnen
“Neo- Grotesque”

opens Friday March 13th 6-9pm
runs through April 4th

also showing: Yoko d’Holbachie

Roq La Rue is pleased to present a solo show by (recently transplanted to Seattle) painter Christian van Minnen. Van Minnen’s works feature biological monstrosities painted in portrait form with a Renaissance formality. Like a strange cross between Giuseppe Arcimboldo, H.R. Giger, and a natural history museum, van Minnen’s painting straddle the line between disturbingly ugly and serenely beautiful.
His newest work is his “Keyhole” series, in which a painted riot of organics ooze and flower on panel underneath another panel that has been cut out with the outline of a famous historical painting and burnished in rusted metallics and placed over the top. Van Minnen will be exhibiting 11 new paintings and a small selections of works painted in 2007-2008 that showcase his “Neo- Grotesque” style, a term that was recently coined for the resurgence of artists working with subject matter traditionally deemed unattractive or repulsive, but representing them in a sympathetic manner in a highly formal technical style.

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Last Friday Roq La Rue opened it’s first new show of 2009 with two solo shows by Stella Hultberg and Andrew Hem. Both shows looked great and both artists really made an effort to step it up for this show which was most appreciated. You can see the show here, and here is a little gallery of pics I managed to snap when not running around trying to be the hostess with the mostess at the opening!

Andrew Hem, one of DD’s new favorites is opening his show at Roq la Rue in Seattle tonight. We are told that Kirsten Anderson will be posting some show pics on her blog with us, but in the meantime here are some preview shots and a link to see the whole show if you are not fortunate enough to live in Seattle this weekend.

Opening Night: Friday, February 13
Show runs to March 07, 2009

Friday night we were in Seattle with Tessar Lo for the opening of his 2 person show with Moira Han. Tessar had spent a few days working up an installation and I was fortunate enough to be able to just watch its progress.

After 2 days of non-stop Seattle rain, the weather actually let up a bit for the show and the opening had a great turnout. Local Roq la Rue represented artist Brian Despain came out – and even picked up one of Tessar’s paintings.

The show looked well put together, Roq laRue owner Kirsten Anderson was fantastic, and Seattle fans seemed to really enjoy the show. You can see it all online at: RoqlaRue.

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Maison du Project and Daily D featured artist Tessar Lo opens up his show this Friday (11/7) at Roq la Rue in Seattle. I will be heading up and joining a few other artists in checking out what is a great body of work.

You can see the preview online right now at: RoqlaRue or discuss the show here:

Just added some images from Seattle, as Tessar prepares his installaton…

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