Black and White - April 25, 2009

Black and White is a show bringing together three very different genres of art and effectively taking a cross section of formal, comic book, and abstract
styles that each present very different approaches to art that formally relies solely on the positive and negative spatial tension between black and white.

Three separate series will be featured; "MEN" by Tyler Matthew Oyer, Black Ink Noir by Shawn Martinbrough, and Black Ink Abstract Series by Anthony Patrick Jones II. Together they will create an exhibition focused on the aesthetic and intrinsically dualistic elements of black and white compositions.

Saturday, April 25th, from 6pm – Midnight

Location:
173 Waterfront St.
National Harbor, MD 20745

The event is FREE and open to the public.

Shawn Martinbrough’s client list includes Coca Cola/POWERade, LucasArts, Playboy, Vibe, Bad Boy Entertainment, Black Enterprise, McGraw-Hill, Penguin Books and Milestone Media. The bulk of his work has been done for DC Comics, Vertigo and Marvel Comics, illustrating books and characters ranging from Batman to the X-Men.How to Draw Noir Comics, an instructional book based on Shawn’s high contrast noir style, was published by Watson Guptill/Random House and currently, he is illustrating Luke Cage Noir for Marvel Comics. Shawn’s work has been covered by USA Today, Architecture Magazine, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Washingtonian, National Public Radio, SIRIUS/XM Radio, Black Entertainment Television, Vibe, The Source, AintItCoolNews.com and others.

Tyler Matthew Oyer’s MEN series was conceived as an investigation of the displaced male form. This displacement is a result of two specific social trends; the increased attention to the presentation of masculinity, and also the anxieties society has when viewing male beauty. This examination reveals the awkwardness many people experience when utilizing traditionally female nuances to address the increasingly considered male body. For some, the pairing of beauty and man in the same phrase brings a sort of ungrounded discord. The social definition of masculinity has evolved over centuries, often switching roles and exceptions with its female complement. This suite of 8 paintings attempts to present the simplified androgynous form in a manner which strips the man of his social presumptions and showcases a stylistically stamped masculinity which encourages equally the male and female speculation of beauty.

Anthony Patrick Jones II is a native Washingtonian that found himself in the world of Art by chance. As a youth, he was a bit of an eccentric to family and friends that accepted his abilities, differences and his pursuit of self-discovery. Not any different from other children that dream of going to the moon while playing in a cardboard box in a room, or an architect, or even a Rock Star. It has translated into a continued journey of self-discovery. Of finding a purpose to why Art chooses an individual to follow through with an idea given unto them. In 1994 while in Frederick, Maryland the Rorschach choose Anthony, to embark on a testimony of works that would not come easy. This venture would prove to be challenging and also a personal crusade into the genre. Anthony became more focused on the scientific aspect of the Rorschach and less on the art form. Anthony and his family of Rorschach have shown themselves in galleries in New York, and Wisconsin. There have been several articles written about Anthony in such publications as the “Badger Harold”, “Madison Times” and the “Wisconsin State Journal”. During the early years, Anthony’s Rorschachs found themselves in the possession of individuals such as Chuck Close, Jan Frank, Carlos Santana, Christian Bale, Betsy Johnson, Simon Le Bon, Fab 5 Freddy, Spike Lee among others. Maintaining the integrity of the Rorschach, in order to create the symmetry effect, is to maintain the principles of ink onto paper followed by a fold of the paper in which the ink composition lays and the psyche does the rest.