Together Gallery is proud to present “The Influence of Matter” featuring new works by two multi-talented artists… Ryan Jacob Smith and Mark Warren Jacques.

Mark Warren Jacques

I have no idea how most people work and live and find meaning enough to move in the morning. & I certainly know little about what artwork does for people. I do not really think that it can be made into words. That makes these Art statement things seem strange to me. I do know that it seems natural for me to make things and that I find immense joy in the act of thing making. & for that reason I do it every day. Usually when I wake up I think about the last thing I made. Then I pet the cat and walk to get coffee, or sometimes I try to make love to my wife. About half the time we make love. Then for some reason I think about making things again. I am constantly fascinated by the game that is always being played with images. The way a typeface sells an idea, or how a photo of a girl with no clothes on can sell tons of clothes, or how color can make you feel peace. The mystery of aesthetic is in there too. It’s a lot to think about. So I make things about some of it. That’s a good thing because, I am a terrible writer.

Ryan Jocob Smith

Ryan Jacob Smith is a graduate, with honors, from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California (2001). He lives and works in Portland, Oregon where he enjoys collecting old science books and ephemera from thrift stores, skateboarding and buying records. He was raised in Orange County where he passed his early days rock collecting, bmx riding, skating and cub scouting. His work has been shown at Pigman Gallery (SF), Society of Illustrators (NY), Rocket Gallery (Tokyo), and more.
(source: Motel Gallery.)

Opens: Thursday, February 28th at 7pm
On Display: Through March

Derek Olsen

Derek Olsen was born in Virginia in 1973. He has traveled and created art since childhood. He now lives in Portland, Oregon and is co-owner of the small silk screened apparel company Detour Graphics and is currently in a tattoo apprenticeship. This collection is a celebration of life, death, folklore, friends, legends, and the soundtrack that ties them all together.

Kendra Binney

Kendra Binney was raised in a small mountain town with no shoe stores. Most of her time was spent barefoot treading through the minuscule world of spiders, snakes and all things hiding in the grass. She transfers this closeness with the small and obscure into her paintings. Through scenes of dripping landscapes and insecure, vulnerable characters, she illustrates a world draped in memories, remorse, and fragile realities. Seen through pastel washes and shiny candy coatings of resins, her works evoke both nostalgia and contempt. They are at once gentle and cruel, sweet and unsettling.

Kendra currently lives in Portland Oregon. She spends her days all alone in a small studio with no windows. Here she paints, daydreams, and paints some more.

Opens:
On Display:

For the month of March, Breeze Block will be showing work by Jeremy “Raskoe” Nichols and Chris Semer. Raskoe and Chris will be flying to Portland from Columbus, Ohio to paint a mural in the back of the gallery which will be filmed and edited into a time-lapse documentary.

Opens: Thursday, February 28th at 7pm
On Display: through March 27th
Music: DJ Lob Robster
Dance Competition : choreographed Britney Spears vs. Justin Timberlake