Jul 19, 20183 min read

Artcrib 18 at Bonehouse Bridge

ArtCrib 18 at Bonehouse Bridge. Photo credit: Kristine Schomaker.

Artcrib 2018 at Bonehouse Bridge

Curated by Alice Marie Perreault

June 16th, 2018

By Jacqueline Bell Johnson

An excellent way to start off the summer art season, Artcrib 2018, hosted at Bonehouse Bridge proved there is nothing better than those vibrant yet casual pop-up art events. School is out for summer, the gallerists are travelling to the art fairs, and the summer heat lead to slowing down, experimenting, and sometimes not taking things too seriously. As we see the market and the gallery scene shift (read: bust) and budgets of non-profits dwindle, artist-run presentations such as this will be how art enters and lives in the community. And it should. The model of the Pop-Up show puts the power into the hands of the artists. The settings are often very chill, with open-house style receptions serving as platforms for long and in-depth conversations that continue where the art left off. In their more relaxed approach, these events solidify community in a way a flashy Culver City opening with its guarded, dressed-to-impress old standards and perky up-and-coming socialites never could.

Conceptualized and curated by Alice Marie Perreault, the event was dedicated to her son, celebrating his graduation from high school. Midway through the opening, Perreault gave a toast describing her journey, owing her current self to being a mom and learning how to advocate for him. This is what inspired the subject of the show: “the accessibility of art and the shape shifting ways it slips into lives…”

The exhibition space is a residential setting that places the art into a personal domestic context. Ideas hit close to home, so to speak. Without the clean white-walled cube, the viewer may find themselves asking “Is this part of the exhibition?” to anything and everything. In this setting, it takes a bit of effort to see all the art, but art goers are left with the delight and surprise of finding Easter eggs.

Some hightlights:

Chelsea Boxwell’s Jill and Jack consists of painted fabric drapes over two storage sheds at the back of the property, turning these structures into generic house forms that repeat and reflect the actual house across the yard. The bright colors activated the surface and illuminated the space in a way flowers can only dream.

Betsy Lohr Hall’s light and airy mixed media piece Doorways, Dream Ladders and Proximate Wonders includes paper, thread, and mirrored mylar stitched and strung together in a slim white frame. The openness of the sculpture incorporates the context of the surrounding environment. The shiny and reflective surfaces take into account the things you may not see, such as the wind that also impact the space as well.

Scott Froschauer’s street signs can be seen throughout the property, that is, if you find them. The signs are identical to actual street signs, and placed with such a logic, that one may not notice it is not supposed to be there.

Scott Froschauer at ArtCrib 18 at Bonehouse Bridge. Photo credit: Kristine Schomaker.

Pocket Resin sculpture by Chris Collins is a clear pouch filled with red rocks and clear resin, hung so the light could shine through. In the context of Artcrib’s outdoor space, it became a miniature contained landscape, a still from the birth of the Grand Canyon.

Previously the white cube is considered a crisp presentation without context to invade artwork, giving viewers a “pure” experience of the art as envisioned by the artist. Antithetically, the pop-up show in someone’s backyard was be considered “casual” viewing. These ideas are expired: nothing is pure and it is up to the viewer to invest in their experience. Furthermore at a social event such as an art opening, the mark of good art is art that creates the context of the conversation. And many great conversations were had at this one.