Thoreau may have been right, saying: "This world is but a canvas to our imagination." However, the entire world is an unnecessarily large canvas for most local artists, as Nihon Gallery proved in late April.
On Saturday, April 24, over forty artists came together and submitted more than seventy works for Nihon Gallery's very first open-submission 8 1/2" by 11" show. Curated by Robert Amador, all works submitted to the gallery were shown, and the world--seen through the eyes of Fresno's most innovative and progressive artists--was condensed into individual pieces of art none larger than a typical sheet of office letterhead.
Submissions to the show included photographs, paintings, pen and ink drawings, mixed media works, and showcases of street and graffiti art. "We have semi-established artists mixed with those who only make art sometimes," explained Robert Amador, the curator of Nihon. Amador came up with the concept of the 8 1/2" by 11" show to provide a venue for local artists who may not have as many opportunities to publicly display their crafts.
From Dominique Ovalle's intricately detailed pen and ink portrait of a goddess, to Mike Howe's paintings as intensely structured as full-size wall murals; from Terrance Reimer's intimate photographs of Fresno terrain, to Bob Perro's hyper-kinetic snapshots of frozen moments at dance parties; from Brandon Drake's black and white screenprints evoking Xerox copies of scrambled cable signals, to Zach Welch's donated abstract paintings like sectioned sheets of rusted metal--these along with works from dozens of other artists in distinct mediums coincided within the gallery's walls, depicting an enormous array of Fresno art styles and local visual languages.
The show also found Nihon Gallery playing the position of catalyst, wherein the call for open submissions created an easy opportunity for more timid or perhaps less motivated local artists. "There's an advantage for people who would never otherwise show," claimed Steve Ruppel, the preparatory at Nihon. With an open, un-juried playing field, no one who was interested in being a part of the show had to worry about finding their work denied or passed over.
Writing by Daniel Schultz and images by Terrance Reimer
