Open Studio Show & Sale!

That's right! Saturday, December 4th, 10am - 5pm. Just in time for all, or at least some of, your holiday shopping needs. Stop by, eat some sweet stuff and see what is on the walls. I'll have lots of work out, prints and some new cards. Any questions ahead of time, feel free to drop me an email. yuri@yuriarajs.com

PILOT exhibit in Austin, Texas

grayduck gallery presents:

PILOT

John Alspach, Yuri Arajs, Amelia Biewald, Tara Costello, Jennifer Davis,
John Diebel, JAO, Ben Olson, Terrence Payne, Amy Rice, James Wrayge

opening reception: thursday, october 14, 7-9pm

exhibition dates: october 14 - november 21, 2010
gallery hours: wed.-sat. 11-6pm & sun. 12-5pm

grayduckgallery.com | 512.826.5334
608 w. monroe st. | suite c | austin tx 78704

In 2005, an independent collective of artists in Minneapolis pooled their resources in an effort to gain national recognition for their innovative local art scene. That year they boldly introduced themselves with an ad in Dwell magazine and have never looked back. Pilot has become a highlysought-after group representing a diverse range of concepts and styles. These artists who are also curators, mentors and designers have brought a national eye to the Midwestern sensibility of creating art with substance and integrity. Since their inception, the group has dispersed throughout North America but not before gaining international notoriety showing in galleries from New York to Los Angeles to London. grayDUCK is thrilled to host a rare group show by this all star collective.

All members of the group are well-established full time artists. Each of the artists has their own, unique style they use in their work. John Alspach, Tara Costello and James Wrayge are abstract painters. JAO paints while in a state of intense aerobic activity to create work about energy and movement. Amy Rice and Jennifer Davis have an illustrative, whimsical feel to their work. Amelia Biewald creates cryptozoological "scapes". Yuri Arajs combines found material and precise mark making. John Diebel creates cartoon-inspired line drawings, while Ben Olson is a popular self-portraitist and Terrence Payne works in oil pastels. Each member brings to the group an individual vision and style, but a clever pop-art sensibility makes them coherent as a group.

www.grayduckgallery.com

Moss Street Paint-In print release

The Moss Street Paint-In is this Saturday and I'm releasing a limited edition print to celebrate the event. It's 11" x 17", full color, on heavy card stock, signed and numbered edition of 100 prints. I'll have them at the Paint-In and they are only $20! that's right! If you can't make it to the event and want to get one, send me an email. Shipping is $20 anywhere in the US and Canada.

Moss Street Paint-In 2010 is here again!

Once again I get to be in the annual Moss Street Paint-In. It's on Saturday, July 17, from 11am-4:30pm. There is a whole lot of art to see so come early and take it all in.
I'm going to be set up on the corner of Revercomb Place and Moss Street. I'll have some new work, some older work, as well as a few pieces in progress to show. I'll also have a Ltd Edition print just for the event which will only be $20! I'll post that shortly.

Here is all the info from the AGGV on the event.

TD Art Gallery Paint-In on Moss Street
Saturday July 17, 2010
Paint-In: 11:00 - 4:30 pm
Gallery Open House: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Food & Beverage Garden: 11am - 9:00 pm
Cynthia Davis Trio: 1:00 - 3:00pm
Dancing to Kumbia: 5:00pm - 9:00 pm

Vancouver Island’s largest outdoor visual art event is celebrating its 23rd Anniversary! Once again TD is demonstrating its commitment to supporting the visual arts as the Paint-In's Title sponsor.

The Paint-In is a community outreach initiative featuring over 100 invited professional and emerging artists from Victoria and surrounding areas. Artists take their studios to the street to display and produce their work on Moss Street between Fort Street and Dallas Road. The Paint-In is a free and fun-filled community-based art awareness and education event that sees 35,000 visitors and receives support from the City of Victoria.

Visitors to the event have the opportunity to meet with an enormous variety of artists and learn about their work and techniques. Ultimately, the event allows local artists access to a receptive audience while encouraging an appreciation of the arts among the visitors. Over 200 volunteers and participating artists dedicate more than 3,800 hours to make this exceptional community event possible.

Gallery 360 10th Anniversary Show

Gallery 360 presents a 10 year anniversary show featuring new works by the talented artists that have shown in the gallery over the last decade. Exhibiting Artists Include: Denise Abbott, Yuri Arajs, Kristen Arden, Chad Balster, Mary Bergherr, Josh Blanc, Dick Brewer, Mike Carina, Tom Cassidy, Jennifer Davis, Chank Diesel, Matthew Doubek, Natasha D’Schommer, Georgina Frankel, Pamela Gaard, Gita Ghei, Barbara Gilhooly, Norma Hanlon, Karl Herber, Orin Herfindal, Shawn Holster, Bethany Kalk, Mark Kawell, Stuart Klipper, Steven Lang, Cynthia Levine, Max Maddox, Mari Newman, Alexandra Rozenman, Matthew Rucker, Danny Saathoff, David Malcolm Scott, Dick Simonsen, Erik Sletten, Michael Sweere, Ellen Thomson, Sheryl Tuorila, Sharon Ulrich, Jill Van Sickle, Al Wadzinski, Kirsten Walstead, Maureen Welter and Mark Wojahn.

Each artist was invited to create a piece of art that culminated the last ten years of their art careers. Completed pieces range from oil painting to abstract sculpture embodying the media that each artist is primarily known for in the art world. Please join us for a special evening of art, food and entertainment, saxophonist Bill Lang will be perched on our roof, appetizers will be outside of the gallery prepared by Corner Table Restaurant, and 10% of the sales from this show will benefit Art Buddies program which pairs creative mentors with kids from low-income families.

The exhibition is June 5 - July 4, 2010 with an opening reception on June 5th from 7-10pm

The image above is the piece I'll have in the show. Go check it out!

SUMMER SALON @ View Art Gallery

Summer bring group shows. I'll be in the Summer Salon at View Art Gallery which runs until September 25th. There are 20 great artists from Canada and a could from the US. Including the awesome Amy Rice from Minneapolis. We rarely have our work on the same gallery walls at the same time. Stop by or go on-line to check it out.

New show on April 9th

I have a bunch of new work in a show opening on April 9th at View Art Gallery. I am showing with Christian Nicolay who's work is worth checking out. If you can't get to the gallery, go to their website after the opening and check out the show on-line at View Art Gallery. It's going to be nice.

"Red Tent 212282010" print release

I was recently inspired when I heard, from my mom, about an organization called The Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver. They do great work on behalf of the homeless including the new Red Tent campaign. They will be using red tents to visually bring awareness to the issue to the world media in Vancouver from Feb 12 - 28, 2010. A very important time to be doing this. Visit their website and learn more about what great work they are doing. www.pivotlegal.org

So I decided to make this limited edition piece of art to raise awareness and money to support this cause, plus a little more. First, I hope to do is raise enough money to give a $500 donation to the Pivot Legal Society's Red Tent campaign. Second, to buy $1,000 worth of art supplies and distribute it directly to artists in my community who are homeless or have experienced homelessness.

For just $25, you can help me achieve this and get a piece of my art as well!

Artwork information:
Title: Red Tent 212282010
Medium: Two color silk screen, grease crayon, ink
Paper size: 8.5" x 11"
Edition size: 125, Signed and numbered
Price: $25 US or CAN
Shipping $5 Anywhere in US or Canada

Payment: customers in Canada - Paypal, check, cash. customers in US - Paypal, cash.

To buy, simply email me at yuri@yuriarajs.com with the following information:
1. How many prints you want.
2. Your complete name and mailing address. Unless it is not being mailed. Then just your name.
3. How you would like to pay. If by Paypal, please include your account name and I will send you an invoice there.
You will receive a confirmation email from me which will include a mailing address to mail cash or check if you are paying that way.

Thank you for supporting my ideas, the arts and the homeless in my community.

The first exhibition for my new non-profit is...

The Victoria Fine Art Festival Society presents it’s inaugural exhibition,

Homeless Awareness: an Exhibition of Art Work by People Who Have Experienced Homelessness
January 15 – February 27, 2010
705 Johnson Street, Downtown Victoria
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm

Opening reception with the artists January 15, 5-8pm. Free event and open to the public.

Free Film events:
January 28, 7pm Anne by Katherine Surridge
February 25, 7pm The Cats of Mirikitani Directed by Linda Hattendorf

This juried exhibition features works for sale by: Vicki Bailey (painting/printmaking), Anne Campbell (drawing), Luke Garrison (digital collage), Jerry Hayes (painting), Paula Johnson (painting), Robert MacDonald (painting), Russell Maier (painting), Taras Masciuch (photography), Ian Morris (drawing/painting), and George Williams (wood carving).

Director and Curator for the Victoria Fine Arts Festival Society, Yuri Arajs, has a long history of producing social mission-based art exhibitions.
“I feel strongly about VFAF’s inaugural exhibit focus on one of the most tragic problems in Victoria – homelessness. This exhibition is a good example of something concrete that can be done to help people directly. The artists in the exhibit will have their work framed for them and receive 100% of sales. Homeless persons seldom are given the opportunity to have their opinions heard -- much less have their art valued in mainstream society.”


For more information visit our website at www.VictoriaFineArtFestival.org

The mission of the Victoria Fine Art Festival is to bring a better understanding of contemporary art to our community through the production of an annual, juried, contemporary fine art festival in September of each year. Beyond the annual festival, VFAF will produce other exhibitions throughout the year in various venues.