SATCH ART SPACE

SATCH ART SPACE has officially closed.

More later.

Thank you.

22 Bananas

The Circle City Industrial Complex is an excellent incubator not only for artists but for art collectors too.  Affordable studios and straightforward access for visitors to First Friday’s open studios and exhibitions makes for an outstanding opportunity for artists to show their work and for patrons to collect their work.

As the first new tenant to sign a lease in January of 2015 with the current owner, Teagan Development, I have seen the Circle City Industrial Complex blossom into a bustling hub for the arts.  But, that does not always correspond to an increase in sales for artist’s work.

At Galerie Perrotin’s booth at Art Basel Miami in December 2019, Italian artist Maurizio Catalan sold a banana duct taped to a wall entitled, Comedian, for a cool $120,000.00, and then another for $150,000.00.  The absurdity and the extravagance of it all became an international phenomenon overnight.

Here in Indianapolis, I knew there were artists that desired the same attention and satisfaction from selling work that they created.  I decided to do a take off on the “banana art” phenomenon and promote twenty two Indianapolis artists with an exhibition in the Stokol Gallery, adjacent to my gallery, Satch Art Space.  The exhibition, 22 Bananas, was meant to be fun and it was meant to poke at the ridiculousness of the original duct taped banana at Art Basel Miami, and it did.  On a more serious note, it was also to inform visitors to the exhibition that buying art directly from the artist is a sincere affirmation of support.  Today, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, now more than ever, artists thirst for and can benefit from that affirmation.

Dan Grossman, Editor of NUVO in Indianapolis included my exhibtion in this article,
A pre-COVID-19 artwalk in Indy part three: A bananas art scene

Participating Artists, Writers and Creatives
in the exhibition:
Emily Gardner, Kent Brinkley, Kristi Quinn, Circle City Metal Works, Raymond Gray, Robin Toulouse, Mary Mindiola, Shaun M Niles, Larry Lad, Stephanie Doty, Ron Kern, Satch Artist, Roberta Avidor, Guy Davis, Sylvia Gray/Sara Love, Lydia Burris, Bertha Davis Books, Amelia Rose, Susan Peters, Anonymous Artist, Beatrice Waker Books and Sivavis Art.

 

Blasko Artist/Satch Artist

SATCH ART SPACE presents a duo exhibition of artwork by Blasko ( Steven Edwards) and Julie “Satch” Kern.  The exhibit’s opening is on First Friday, December 6, 2019 from 6 to 9 p.m.

•Blasko (Steven Edwards) grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from North Central High School. He majored in Studio Art graduating in 2010 from the University of Southern Indiana. Returning to Indianapolis, Blasko opened his studio at the Circle City Industrial Complex on the city’s near east side.

“I started trying to develop a style once I got my studio. A lot the early work I was doing a lot of expressionistic landscape and symbolic self-portraits that looked nothing like me. From there, I basically was trying to get deeper into my own psyche. I started using spray paint and other paint media instead of just oil paint to get to something more believable that wasn’t artificial.” (From an article by Dan Grossman in NUVO, July 1, 2015)

Blasko is an original contemporary whose art is evocative, and it addresses matters of the soul, the world’s state of affairs and identity.

Blasko has exhibited in many solo and group shows, and is being shown at Satch Art Space for the first time.

Blasko by Ron Kern

The Midwest Museum of American Art and Gold!

On Floyd’s Porch – Photo by Ron Kern

The Midwest Museum of American Art has placed into its collection a piece of my art entitled, Origins of Medical Practice, a mixed media assemblage of found objects.  It was donated to the museum by Dr. Steven Conant of Indianapolis, Indiana, a well known collector of modern and contemporary fine art. Dr. Conant is active in several Indiana museums, including serving on acquisitions committees of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Midwest Museum of American Art in Elkhart, Indiana.  A sincere thank you to Dr. Conant for his appreciation of my art and his thoughtful consideration in donating my work to the museum.

Over the past dozen years my work has been collected into private collections in many cities in the United States and across the world, which is wonderful.  Having my art placed in the Midwest Museum of American Art’s collection is a special privilege that I deeply appreciate and respect. And, it gives to me a positive spark of creativity that will carry my art forward.

For 2019, I have been chosen as the “Gold” winner for Best Local Visual Artist for the Indianapolis Star’s “Best Things Indianapolis.”  This award coming on the heels of having my work being accepted into the Midwest Museum of Art’s collection is incredibly gratifying.  Thank you to everyone that voted for me!

Origins of Medical Practice

Transcendent Presence – New Work by Ron Kern at SATCH ART SPACE

Transcendent Presence is a portfolio of seven new abstract photographs by Ron Kern.  The exhibition has been very well received, and I am very pleased to present this new work by Ron.  Recently, the exhibition was reviewed by Dan Grossman of NUVO:

Last stop of the night was Circle City Industrial Complex. Ron Kern had some striking work in Satch Art Space, the gallery space named after Julie “Satch” Kern, an artist working with assemblages and collage.

Kern was making abstract black-and-white digital photographs informed by solid, real-world subjects. His exhibit is titled Transcendent Presence. Kern has shown his more abstract photography before, but his usual photographic subject is small-town Indiana.
I was drawn to one particular photograph because it engaged me, with the intricate and peculiar forms in grayscale against a white background. The photograph being abstract, of course, makes it infinitely open to interpretation — that is, wherever your mind wants to take it.

It made me think of the Jewish concept of tikuun olam, translated as repair of the world, and the goal — through performing good deeds and practicing love and compassion — of raising divine sparks of light to conquer the darkness.

Kern used a computer program in place of a dark room to accentuate certain features on this engaging image captured in the real world.

Jill Ditmire, on Instagram checked in about the exhibition:

Capturing the abstract in the natural world thru the lens of this talented photographer. Gorgeous presentation- see it thru September.

These are single shot photographs- get in close and discover the abandoned beauty. Must see!!

Ron Kern describes the exhibition:

I’ve always been interested in the abstract within the natural world. While on the surface, this idea appears to be a dichotomy, the abstract and natural world are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, in my mind, the natural world is comprised of various abstract elements and components that are a result of nature’s processes over a period of time, within the environmental realm.

This photographic portfolio presents seven works that renders a found natural process into an abstract visualization.

Click here for the exhibition reception’s Facebook Event on Friday, September 6, 2019.

Stand Tall – Kerrigan Clark & Julie “Satch” Kern

Stand Tall, an exhibition of fine art by Kerrigan Clark and me, is currently open at Saks Fifth Avenue at Keystone Square, Indianapolis, Indiana.  The exhibition runs through March 10.  Stand Tall comes from the title of a Neil Young song that is about ecology and social justice.

The exhibition showcases our new work in an exceptional environment on the third floor of Saks.  Thanks to Jill Ditmire and Jim Longfellow for inviting us and hosting this fantastic opportunity to show our work.  Here is Jill Ditmire’s piece on the exhibition for WFYI’s, Curious Mix:

You are invited to an artists reception on Thursday, February 21 from 6 to 8:30 pm. Kerrigan and I will be talking about our work and answering questions. We look forward to seeing you at the reception.

We are excited about the music for the reception  which will be provided by Ovation Audio + Video.  They will be playing vintage jazz record albums on an audiophile stereo system, which promises to provide an exceptional listening experience.  These are the albums that will be played:

REDACT: the words you wanted – an Installation by Satch

Motivated by the freedom stifling dictate of censorship, and following up Banned Book Week, Satch presents, REDACT: the words you wanted. Inspired by the banned book by D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, Satch has created an installation that examines and portrays the power of the written word within the context of free speech and the powers that impel the desire to deny that fundamental right. Lawrence’s, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, was first published in 1928 and was banned in the united States in its unexpurgated version until 1960. Satch’s REDACT: the words you wanted, turns back the clock on the reality of our past social landscape and then brings the possibility of banning books, censoring news coverage and restricting freedom of speech into the very times that we are living in, every day.

REDACT: the words you wanted is being exhibited in the Stokol Gallery adjacent to SATCH ART SPACE in the Circle City Industrial Complex.

The exhibition opens on “First Friday,” October 5, 2018 from 6 to 10 p.m. It continues through October 30 during regular business hours at the Circle City Industrial Complex.

Opening September 7, 2018 – Clark & Satch

Satch Hosts LONG LIVE FRIDA

Satch Artist is pleased to host 36 regional woman artists showing over 50 works of art all inspired by Frida Kahlo. The juried show includes many forms of art-painting, mixed media, print, assemblage, cut paper, tattoos and jewelry. “Some high brow, some low brow and some unibrow”, something to delight everyone!

Here are some photos from the opening reception on First Friday July 6th, which was Frida’s 111th Birthday. The closing reception is August First Friday the 3rd, from 6-10pm at SATCH ART SPACE and the adjoining Stokel Gallery in the Circle City Industrial Complex located on the vibrant near north east side of Indianapolis at 1125 E Brookside Ave Indianapolis IN 46202. All welcome, free parking across Brookside Ave from building. Look for LONG LIVE FRIDA banner above entry door.

wUG LAKU Art Dedicated at SATCH ART SPACE

On the evening of Friday, June 1, 2018, an artwork by wUG LAKU will be dedicated to a place of permanent exhibition, on First Fridays, outside of SATCH ART SPACE  at the Circle City Industrial Complex.  This piece is a part of the Kern Collection that was purchased from LAKU’s estate and the purchase price was donated to a foundation under wUG’s name at the Indianapolis Arts Council.

From this NUVO article by Dan Grossman, dated July 8, 2017

From 2007 to 2013 (wUG) ran wUG LAKU’s Studio & gARAGE, a gallery that gave many Indy artists their first solo show. Not only that, but his work and his presence were crucial to developing a critical mass of art makers (and patrons) that have turned CCIC into a major arts center in Indianapolis.

wUG LAKU always was a proponent for the recognition and patronage of local artists’ work and dedication.  In a 2011 Indianapolis Star Article by Erica Smith, wUG had this to say:

“We need patronage. We’ve got to have patronage. We get lots and lots of people coming out and looking, but it’s all looky, looky. Nobody’s spending money. I sold one light box Friday night. That was it.  “The arts community’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness is how resilient it is. Because there’s no reason, considering the kind of backing we’ve got both publicly and privately, there’s no reason that this (the arts community) should be thriving like this. I mean, none. “It’s just stubborn will power.”

It is fitting that a piece of wUG LAKU’s art will be present at every First Friday outside of Satch Art Space as his spirit is alive and well, and thriving at the Circle City Industrial Complex.