Art Saint Louis is pleased to showcase work by a collection of St. Louis regional artists at 1533 Washington Avenue. Featured artists include Greg Barth, Mark Horton, Paul LaFlam, Megan Rieke and Brian D. Smith. For sales inquiries, phone Art Saint Louis at 314-241-4810.
FROM ARTIST PAUL LAFLAM
"Each painting is started and completed in my mind several times before I even start an actual painting. This is so I do not get distracted (as much) by wonderful things I did not anticipate. I then coax the paint or as of late, I have had to reign in it's energy to achieve the piece I had envisioned in my head. With the exception of three paintings, my paintings are completed in one session, I prefer the instant gratification and if one takes even one day longer I find it increasingly difficult to remain focused.
I paint large for a couple of reasons; because it is fun and I want to get the viewers attention from across the room, maybe even from across the street, then pull you in closer and closer, so enjoy the journey, within each painting there are many small worlds to be discovered." - Paul LaFlam
Check out Paul LaFlam's website for more samples of his work.
FROM ARTIST MEGAN RIEKE
"As a painter, I'm free to evoke my emotions through visible struggles. Without having to digest and evaluate them, they remain raw. My paintings are intended to be an honest interpretation of my world colored by my emotions.
The motif of my struggle is showing how ugly can be pretty. Rust, corrosion and foulness are beautiful to me because they are honest. The paint itself is the central character of my works. By utilizing the material's fluidity, my struggle becomes palatable. In a world scared to live truly, the ugly underbelly of our existence is the foundation of everything beautiful.
The point? To accept the world's imperfections and our own imperfect selves." - Megan Rieke
Check out Megan Rieke's website for more samples of her work.
• Greg Barth, photography featured in pop-up gallery at 1424 Washington Avenue
• Mark Horton, painting featured in pop-up gallery at 1204 Washington Avenue
• Brian D. Smith, painting featured in pop-up gallery at 1224 Washington Avenue
You can help your favorite Pop-Up STL artist win a $250 Audience Choice Award by tweeting your vote to @ArtStLouis and hashtagging your favorite artworks. Hashtag details are included on showtags in each gallery.
Special thanks to U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation for program sponsorship, and to the
Downtown Community Improvement District and the Chicago Loop Alliance for their help with program development.
We value and pursue excellence in all our programs and exhibitions, from our selection of program partners, jurors and curators, to our communications and relationships with civic leaders, private donors, grant makers and corporate sponsors.
Driven by a conviction that the relevance and impact of art goes far beyond the circle of those who create it, we are passionately committed to an ongoing, art-inspired dialogue with our community, developing and engaging new audiences and fostering connections between and among artists and audiences for their mutual benefit.
Through dynamic exhibitions, outreach programs and applications delivering the art of our region to an ever-widening audience, our modus operandi is inspired by the ever-evolving work of our artists that consistently refines and defies expectations.
In the panoply of arts organizations at work in the St. Louis area, including (especially) institutions with resonant interests in visual art, we recognize and enthusiastically pursue opportunities for synergistic collaboration to cross-fertilize and multiply the intellectual and cultural capital of our region.