EXCHANGE: A COLLABORATION BETWEEN VAR GALLERY AND REAL TINSEL

The Happy Happy Killjoy Show: Brian Schneider and Brian Hibbard (At REAL TINSEL)

Humor allows subversion of defense mechanisms. Recalling one's childhood evokes a state of mind where defense mechanisms were not yet present. Allowing one to feel comfortable leaves one open to feelings and thoughts they would otherwise be resistant to. To face what is difficult to face.

Death is apart of life; there is no way around it. Humans as a species, in an evolutionary sense, have certain primal instincts within us. We've had to battle enemies along the road to becoming the society we enjoy today. Some of these warring instincts manifest themselves in toy guns and bomb pops. Evolution alone, as a concept, is somewhat absurd in it's epic proportions. As artists, we enjoy being absurd. 

This show shines a light on some of the absurdity in today's pop culture and children's toys as well as viewing media.  In a way, we are highlighting challenges surrounding raising children in today's society.  In another, more literal sense, We are using dark humor to poke fun of children's toys.

Out of the Cellar, Selections from the Flatfiles (at Var Gallery)

Bjorn Akerblom

Tom Berenz

Demitra Copolous

Michael Davidson

Scott Espeseth

Makkeal Flamini

John Hitchcock

Thad Kellstadt

Jessica Merchant

Mike Paré

Andy Rubin

Ian Sonsyadek

LaNia Sproles

Scott Zieher

Three years ago, REAL TINSEL began the long process of building a registry of work on paper from artists throughout the state. Ove the past few years the files have continued to grow, reaching almost 100 artists and over 1000 individual works. This ever-expanding project is located in the basement of REAL TINSEL.

As satisfying as it is to peruse the files in this privately curated environment with a record playing, we felt that a little walk around the neighborhood would be good for work. So in the first gallery exchange with Var Gallery, selections from the flatfiles will emerge from their sanctuary and travel into the larger viewing universe for the first time.

We hope this curated selection from the Files will showcase the breadth and quality of the work in the registry and encourage those who haven’t yet experienced them in person to take a trip to REAL TINSEL to visit the rest of the project. And finally, we would like this exchange to encourage new artists to participate in the project so that it will continue to grow and cross-pollinate with the greater above-ground artworld for years to come.