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Community Corner

GREETINGS FROM THE OC-New Work From David Blake

“GREETINGS FROM THE OC”
ALL NEW WORKS BY DAVID BLAKE
An art show for
anyone who has ever set out to discover him or herself in Orange County
March
6-30, 2014
Artist Reception: 1st Thursdays Art Walk, March 6,
6-9pm
Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow presents “Greetings From the OC,” a

debut solo show by San Clemente screen-print artist and painter David Blake.

Presenting more than 15 original, all-new pieces, Blake reflects on the biggest move of his life, summertime seven years ago, when he was a

Chicago-raised transplant newly settled in southern California. This show

marks his sixth time exhibiting at AR4T. It is his inaugural solo show in

California.
Blake uses silkscreen-printing techniques, painting acrylic and
encaustic layers – some infused with melted-down Sex Wax – on wood. He

sources imagery from vintage ‘60s and ‘70s surfer magazines, replicates

 patterns familiar to consumerist popular culture, and creates geometric patterns
and colors to represent Orange County’s sea-to-mountains landscape. The
all-new works, as large as 36” x 48”, offer
more complexity than previously
seen from Blake.

Says the artist:

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“Throughout art history, artists have painted their
environment, and that’s what I want to do. I’m not trying to make any
judgment, it’s just a way I look at it. If you grow up in the Midwest you’re fed
this idyllic
version of the surfer lifestyle where everyone’s laid back on

the beach, but my experience was really different than that.” Through his

visions of faces masked with geometric patterns, animal heads depicting native
fauna of California, and the ‘60s surf vibe, viewers will get insight into

Blake’s expectations of California, interpretations of the reality, and perhaps

an alignment of their own journey --  animalistic or otherwise.
“David Blake
is one of a few dynamic up-and-coming artists from Orange County who are
revolting
against the idea that Southern California culture is not relevant.

His work has consistently been a favorite of collectors across the country, and
we are excited to host his first solo exhibition in California,”
explains
gallery owner Torrey Cook.

Blake is among a carefully curated

platform of exciting, ascending artists that
Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow and
Vans, in collaboration for the entire year of 2014, are committed to bringing
to the southern California art movement.
“Greetings From the OC” opens on

Thursday, March 6, 2014, from 6 to 9pm during Laguna Beach’s First
Thursdays
Art Walk.

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About the artist:
David Blake’s visually appealing, abstract
pop/street artworks offer bold commentary on the various complexities and
ironies of popular culture. His mixed media paintings have been shown in group
gallery exhibitions in Southern California and Nevada, as well as a solo
exhibition in Las Vegas in 2012. Fusing a love for musical icons and a
cross-examination of politics with reflective expression on the rebellious
attitude of punk rock and street art, his screen-printed layers of resin and
vibrant oil-infused resin form a signature style that wakes up the senses.

Representations of pop culture icons chained to their thrones for all time, as
well as the poignant immediacy of current affairs, aim to point the finger back
at society.
David Blake is originally from the Midwest, where he was raised on a healthy
diet of rock ‘n roll and small town boredom. He got his feet wet in the Chicago
gallery scene as a self-taught artist, taking on screen printing after studying
Andy Warhol and observing early 2000s Parisian street art first-hand. In
addition to various exhibitions, David has contributed artworks to fundraisers
for the Japanese Red Cross, Wounded Warriors Project, and Little Kids Rock. He
currently lives in San Clemente, California with his wife Kim and daughters
Frankie & Hunter Tru.


About Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow:
Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow is a
contemporary art gallery in Laguna Beach, CA dedicated to the support of
emerging and mid-career artists who not only make amazing works in the studio,
but are leaders in life –travelers, curators, musicians, skateboarders,
surfers, teachers, builders. AR4T gallery specializes in original works,
prints, books and more. In 2014 we are excited to welcome Vans as a partner in
continuing our mission to create a larger platform for new artists.


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