JOYENGINE: cause sharing is cool

On Friday, July 3, from 6pm to 9pm the Sellars Project Space will host a survey of sculptural work by Colorado artist, Joseph Shaeffer.  The survey will include work from three of Shaeffer’s past series; Manifest as Tension, Confront/(A)Void, and his latest body, Encroachment.  A brief of history of Shaeffer’s past works can be found here.

Joseph Shaeffer presents 3 bodies in 3 states: a survey of work from 2004 – 2009 – Opening Reception,  Friday, July 3, 2009 – 6 to 9 p.m. at Sellars Project Space

Tod Kapke is a Denver/Boulder area illustrator and photographer.  I was first turned on to his work a couple years ago by my pal Joseph Shaeffer.  Tod blurs his photography and illustration skills to produce some striking imagery.  And, if my memory serves, builds all his props, accessories, and handles all his costume design himself, in his studio.  You can view more of Tod’s process here.

Our studio mate and regular collaborator, Joseph Shaeffer just wrapped up his contribution to the SOFT&FURRY™ exhibition at the Plastic Chapel.  Gotta say it’s one of my personal faves.  Joe spent a couple days clamping and aligning GROOND on the mill, machining out some recessed little nooks and crannies and integrating a number of custom accouterments.  His backpack (not visible in the photo) is frikin’ amazing!!!

Over the weekend we finished makin’ our 100th member of the S&F™ family.  The studio got pretty torn up, and out of respect for Joe and Chris (our studio mates – that have been super chill while we made a massive mess) we spent some time cleaning, and in so doing organized all the materials we used to mold and cast our not so soft and furry friends.  Here’s pretty much everything you’d need to hand-cast a whole bunch of urethane toys and a shot of the studio relatively cleaned up.

On August 4th,1920, Russian artist Naum Gabo celebrated his 30th birthday by composing the Constructivist Manifesto to announce the first ever exhibition of Constructivist art. The open-air exhibit took place the following day on Tverskoie Blvd. in the heart of Moscow. 5000 copies of the Manifesto were posted throughout Moscow after being approved by the regional propaganda minister, who changed the heading from “Constructivist Manifesto” to “Realist Manifesto” due to local political reasons. Today the document is referred to as the “Realist Manifesto” by art historians. Very few of the original posters for the exhibit currently exist. From that first exhibit, through modern times, Constructivist art continues to have an enormous influence on the visual arts, in particular, graphic design and sculpture.

To celebrate the 88th anniversary of this seminal event in art history we’re having a Constructivist Arty-Party! Come the join the C13/JoyEngine crew along with Studio Joseph Shaeffer for some drinks, music……and maybe even some art for you to ponder.

VANATTA SPACE

1971 8TH STREET

BOULDER

80302

Our buddy, Denver art super hero, Jason Thielke is in the midst of building a new studio.  We got to see a few sneak peaks over the weekend and it looks like construction is coming along nicely.  We can’t wait to see where Jason takes his work with a little more space to let his mind roam.  it’s rumored that Jason has a new website in the works… Hopefully more on that soon.

And, continuing on the studio tip… we’ve been workin’ on a little arty spot of our own just down the street from our current studio.  We moved in with our pal, Joseph Shaeffer a few months back, but have yet to really get settled.  With a handful of art projects happening (Yay!) we’re gonna be in the studio a great deal more in the coming months (sorry Joe – you’ll be ok…).   Hopefully, we’ll get the place all dialed in and drop some pics soon.

Yep.  We’re doin’ it.  SBD and I.  Ridin’ fixed gears to Lefavor’s to celebrate our independence – from oil, or something like that…  This may be my last blog post.  So, Happy 4th!!!  If we make it… we’ll be meetin’ up with Alex and Mr. Shaeffer and takin’ in 7 cities worth of fireworks from Scot’s roooftop deck, Hopefully… droppin’ in on DJ Z Trip, hittin’ up Shitty’s show at The Shoppe, poppin’ in on Andenken, kickin’ Saturday at the “Super Fresh Block Party” – and gettin’ all arty with Lefavor and friends. Independence Day… hmm…

Joseph Shaeffer certainly lived up to his reputation as one of Colorado’s leading contemporary artists with his recent opening at Denver’s Artyard Sculpture Gallery.  The show was hung beautifully and the work consistenly striking.  Stop by Artyard at at 1251 South Pearl to catch a glimpse before the show comes down.

Joseph Shaeffer’s solo show CONFRONT/(A)VOID is tonight and we got a little more info on the prints that will be available. There will be a series of 24″x 30″ giclees on 300lb Summer Set velvet archival paper (top). The print is an edition of 50 and is $255 for just the print and $450 float mounted. There is also a 16″x 20″ print (edition of 20) laser etched into acrylic (bottom), those will run you $400. Both prints will be available at the show and afterwards you can contact Joseph Shaeffer to place an order.

Joseph Shaeffer will be presenting new work entitled CONFRONT/(A)VOID this Friday, May 23rd at Artyard Sculpture Gallery at 1251 South Pearl in downtown Denver, CO. This will be Joseph’s 3rd opening/installation at Artyard and in my opinion his best to date. Shaeffer has a knack for pushing the blurry lines bounding contemporary art, and in so doing exposing and addressing emotions and ideas rarely confronted. Joseph’s current body of work began with explorations into the void, predominantly working with cut paper. It has since evolved into various media, including paintings on canvas, laser-cut acrylic etchings, a series of prints, and an array of installations utilizing extensive mill and machine work. The body of work is stunning, consistent, and rooted in strong emotion. In an era where it’s easy to make art and pawn it off as fresh, current and hip with minimal thought and typically even less process, Shaeffer breaks the mold and raises the bar.

Joseph Shaeffer will be having a solo show May 23rd at Artyard Contemporary Sculpture. We share a studio space with Joseph and have watched the show come together piece by piece. The most fasinating part was watching Joe put together the installation – a huge, 6 ringed void made of over 50,000 zip ties. We managed to get a quick photo while the piece was test hanging in the studio. This hardly does it justice, but you can get the general idea. The body of work all surrounds the notion of voids and ranges from paintings, cut paper pieces to sculpture.