New works by Ron Copeland. Painting, installation and lighting inspired by and made up of signage from times past.

Ron Copeland is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Pittsburgh. His interests in recent years have focused on exploring abandoned spaces of the city. Taking fragments of what remains of houses or buildings, he recreates the space of a life left behind, using remnants of human activity in areas now fallen into decay.
Copeland started visiting and documenting these sites with his camera, but instead of using traditional photography, he shares his experience with the viewer by recreating the atmosphere of the space, using discarded materials such as plywood boards, pieces of tapestry, old frames. Found objects become symbolic of what society deems useless of saving. What once constituted a shelter, a home, a lifestyle, is now reduced to its bare elements: wood, metal, paper. The artist recycles them in an attempt to reconstruct the memories they carry.
Ron’s pieces embrace a collective memory about a place, a time, a community. The piece “In a Moment” (2011) epitomizes this idea. Using details of advertisements from the 1940’s and 1950’s, the work is a chaotic amalgam of clean, flat images, and coarse, manufactured elements. This vintage-looking snapshot is a collage of ephemeral moments. Each piece is taken out of its original context, creating an ambiguity in the interpretation of the details. The original purpose of each material is defeated: the wood that once built a house becomes a painting surface; the commercial value of an advertisement that originally promoted a product has been removed… In what ways can these things be perceived when their original existence has been taken away?
The artist also raises the issue of the modern suburban lifestyle, which condemns the old and cherishes the new at the expense of quality, style and charm. What are we leaving behind when we escape the city, and how does that exodus affect it? The city of Steel feels like an appropriate place for such concerns. With its rich industrial past, Pittsburgh has gone through migrations of people with the downfall of these glorious times, leaving many buildings abandoned in and out of the city. Barricaded windows, condemned stairways, weakened infrastructure, even ghost streets can be seen in many neighborhoods; houses that once belonged to middle-class families have been left behind, unsold and unused through the decades. The face of the city might have changed, but its structures remain as strong as before. How can they exist again under a new look?

We are very excited to announce that we’ve got a handful of copies of VIGILANTE VIGILANTE on DVD.

Each copy is signed by Max Good, the film’s director/producer/cinematographer. While VIGILANTE VIGILANTE is still playing in select theatres across the nation, Galerie F is proud to say we are the first Chicago in-store distributor.

Come on in and get your hands on this award winning documentary. What kind of awards, you ask? Well…

2011 Official Selection New Orleans Film Festival

2011 Official Selection New Hampshire Film Festival

2012 Official Selection FIFA International Festival of Films on Art

2012 Official Selection Goteborg International Film Festival

2012 Official Selection Victoria International Film Festival

It’s an incredibly challenging piece of filmmaking, and we highly recommend it. Head over to the film’s website for more information.

vigilantefilm.com

More details to be announced in summer 2013.

Blunt Graffix and Galerie F has teamed up to bring you the keenest print show in town. Tommy guns, pinstripe suits, and hidden aces will be abound in this gangster-themed exhibition located in the city of sin itself. The evening’s affair will be catered by Brian Merel – poster enthusiast and chef extraordinaire. This night is the Real McCoy. Stay tuned to the Galerie F dial to hear more updates, artists, and sneak previews.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS [as of February 4th]

Adam Pinney
aelhra
Alex Kirzhner
AJ Masthay
Branden Otto
Braulio Amado
Brian Ewing
Brin Levinson
Chris Garofalo
Chris Santoro
Clint Wilson
Clinton Reno
Craig Tapecat McCudden
David Welker
Delanorock
Devan Dieterle
Evan Yarbrough
Frank Kozik
Godmachine
Iron Jaiden
Jared Moraitis
Jason Abraham Smith
Jonathan Bergeron
JP Cuison
JP Valderrama
Lastleaf Printing
Lars P. Krause
LifeVersa
Marco Almera
Peter Adamyan
Peter Cardoso
Print Mafia
Rob Schwager
Rhys Cooper
Sail
Seventhfury – Matthew Johnson
Tbone & Aljax
Tim Jordan
Tim Oliveira
Tracie Ching

Also, check out our blurb on Inside the Rock Poster Frame!

 01/18/2013 TO 02/08/2013

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

IN A PERFECT WORLD invites the paintings and wheatpastes of the prolific artist and profuse illustrator, NiceOne and LUCX, off the streets and into Galerie F, where they will exhibit their collaborative and solo works like never before. Step into the lavish worlds they create, with a showcase of doodles, paintings and installations that tell tales of imaginary beings and universal truths, allowing us escape the wet socks of reality for just a moment and find ourselves right where we belong… in a perfect world.

Opening reception on Friday, January 18th from 6pm to 10pm. Sponsored by Revolution Brewing.

For more information on the artists, check out Nice One’s Flickr page and LUCX’s website.

Officially Limited is a full length contemporary documentary in the making about the cultural phenomenon of pop art culture. John Otterbacher has been hard at work for over a year, conducting pressing interviews and filming the nation’s biggest poster conventions and fairs. Now he is setting down the camera to delve into editing, another painstaking process on its own. Otterbacher is reaching out to the printmaking community, along with any kind-hearted philanthropist, to help fund the final stages of production. Back in December, we held a preview screening here at Galerie F. We are proud to be a sponsor for Officially Limited, and are happy to announce a limited art print release for the final hours of funding.

Otterbacher has commissioned Jay Ryan to make an exclusive art print for his Indiegogo campaign. This Monday marks the final day of the campaign – we will be showing our support by putting these beautiful prints up on the webstore. Proceeds from the poster sales will go directly to the Officially Limited funding campaign; combine your love for those cute Jay Ryan creatures and supporting positive projects this Monday at 2PM CST. This print is entitled “High Tide on White Lake” – read below to see the meaning behind this commission.

“High Tide on White Lake” by Jay Ryan. Signed and numbered by the artist. Measures 18″x24″.

Jay agreed to do a print to help raise funds for my documentary Officially Limited(which he is a participant in) and I love the piece he has come up with. When we talked about the concept, my only requests were that it somehow have a Michigan and beach/water theme. Jay and I both spent time as kids going to the area around White Lake, just North of Muskegon MI. Those summers and time spent with family are really special to me and something that I want to continue with my family and daughter and I know Jay feels the same way. One thing I love about Jay’s work is that it is so accessible to people with different backgrounds and different age ranges. I knew that not everyone would be interested in the movie poster art highlighted in Officially Limited so I wanted to offer a perk that anyone could be into and that would be family friendly. Jay Ryan’s work is art that I can put up in my home without upsetting my 3 year old(on more than one occasion, I have gotten “I don’t like that man” while pointing at a print) and she has now has her own little gallery of Jay Ryan prints that she asked to have put up in her room. I hope “Hight Tide on White Lake” will make it’s way into the rooms of other little people and families in MI and beyond. Thank you Jay Ryan. -John Otterbacher, Officially Limited

Our second printmaking exhibition, the End of the World, will be making a trip overseas. We are proud to announce our first traveling exhibition and our first of hopefully many joint shows with The Flood Gallery. A huge thanks is owed to Chris Marksberry and all of the EOTW printmakers for participating. Stay tuned for more details on the European release.

Check out the Flood Gallery website here :: www.thefloodgallery.com

Splitting the Atom by Delicious Design League

No Flag Large Enough by Justin Santora

Lifeboat by Dan Grzeca

Retrospectacular! by Justin Santora, 2009. 18″x24″ silkscreen print. Available for $60.

Year of the Ox by Dan Grzeca, 2009. 24″x18″ silkscreen print. Available for $30.

Grails by Daniel Danger, 2009. 12″x24″ silkscreen print. Available for $50.

We are proud to announce a collaborative exhibition for our first show of 2013. We’ve invited IPaintMyMind to display their amazing poster collection to increase awareness of their project here in Chicago. Check the description below, written by the organization founder Evan LaRuffa…

IPaintMyMind’s mission is 501(c)3 nonprofit public arts media group and advocacy organization. IPMM believes in serving as a conduit for artists to make their art viable. We want to encourage and help grow a climate in which artists and artwork are valued and supported. IPMM’s role is to expose people to inspiring art, music, and culture, not to sell your eyeballs to the highest bidder – thus, the fact that there are no advertisements on our website, ever.

The collection we’ve curated for the Galerie F show represents a cross-section of the screen prints, artists and printers we love. It includes work by Daniel Danger, Sam Flores, Jermaine Rogers, Zach Johnsen, Tara McPherson, Dan Grzeca, Justin Santora, Vidhya Nagarajan, and Iain Macarthur. Artwork printed by Fugscreens, Steve Walters’ Screwball Press, and many more.

Come in for the opening reception on January 4th, 2013 – from 7pm to 10pm.

The exhibition will be on display till January 13th, stop by any time during our open hours to check it out!

“They roam the streets, armed with paint and paste… its the GOOD GUYS! Featuring works by Brooks Golden, Clam Nation, Don’t Fret, Espir, Left Handed Wave, Lucx, Nice One & Nudnik.”

The HOTBOX team will be hanging out all day long at Galerie F for today’s Logan Square Art Walk. We are one single stop of many along Milwaukee Avenue in celebration of the first Art Walk of the hood. We’re also screenprinting shirts and totes with the Galerie F logo and some SOLVE swag. All donations go towards the SOLVE Sticker Foundation. Come check us out between 11am to 10pm today!