Art And Design Will Take You Every Which Way At The monOrchid In April

PHOENIX - March 26, 2013 - PRLog -- First Friday, April 5, 2013 marks the opening of two all new exhibitions at the monOrchid.  The monOrchid gallery will feature the show Every Which Way: The eclectic art of Jon Arvizu.  Arvizu has made his living for the past 15 years in the commercial art industry as an illustrative designer, with advertising clients the likes of the NFL, Popular Science Magazine, Frito Lay, Dell Webb, Yum!, Proctor & Gamble, Dole, and Oregano’s Pizza Bistro.  Jon’s experience in graphic design heavily influences his artistic aesthetic; his work is highly graphic but the artist’s hand is evident in each one of his works through the abstract and painterly qualities that he creates by manipulating the materials manually.  

Jon is preoccupied with ephemeral (throwaway) design and illustration of the golden age in advertising (1930s- 70's). Much like walking through a thrift store, his work swings wildly in many directions drawing inspiration from high art history to low-brow and folk art.  He states, “I want my art to be familiar, accessible, an immediate payoff for the viewer. It should speak to their gut, their past or present, something they can identify with.”  Arvizu is intensely interested in learning and refining his knowledge of various production methods, and he experiements with the limits and purposes of the materials and processes.  The exploration has amassed in a large volume of work that really does lead the visitor, Every Which Way.  The show includes large format Monoscreen prints, traditional serigraphs, small format letterpress prints, "rust resist" steel art and traditional paintings.  Together the individual artworks serve as an overview of the many bodies of work, or as he calls them “categories” that Jon has developed over the years.

Also during the month of April, the bokeh gallery at the monOrchid will feature David Miller Photoworks cinematic photo series Scream Queens.  The series was created using projection and shadows to emulate scenarios from old horror and sci-fi films.  The series pokes fun at both the ludicrousness of fantasy fear and the way women are portrayed in cinema, and in our society.

The exhibitions will be full of related events throughout the month of April:
•   Both exhibitions open Friday, April 5 for the First Friday artwalk (6-10pm) featuring a “merch” table of Jon Arvizu’s smaller work and unique items and a raffle for 2 3D Viewfinder’s with images from Scream Queens.
•   Friday, April 12 the galleries will be open from 6-10pm with a special guest, the Upper East Side Big Band ( www.bigbandaz.com ) will be playing vintage jazz and swing from 1950s to present in the monOrchid gallery.
•   Friday, April 19 join us for the Third Friday collector’s night (6-10pm), a much lower key event than First Friday.  The evening will include a short Q&A discussion with Jon Arvizu.  We will also be celebrating “Designer Appreciation Night”, the evening will include an industry partner discount for all sales made to interior designers, architects, and graphic designers.  To top off the evening our friends Tres Lunas (http://treslunas.bandcamp.com/) will perform their eclectic music at 9pm in the monOrchid gallery.
•   Friday, April 26 will be the last chance to view the exhibitions from 6-9pm, and then our friends at filmbar (www.thefilmbarphx.com) are throwing an after party for David Miller’s Scream Queens featuring cocktails, retro movie trailers and music videos from 9-10pm.

Located at 214 E Roosevelt St, in the heart of the arts district in downtown Phoenix, the monOrchid building offers space for events, weddings, photo/video production, art exhibits, and small businesses. The monOrchid is a 14,000 square foot space comprised of two art galleries, office pods, a coffee shop, and two world-class photo cycloramas. The varied connected spaces house multiple creative businesses and offer unique settings for cultural events within the masonry walls and soaring natural wood bow trusses. Originally a warehouse constructed in 1937 by Del Webb, the building is an excellent example of adaptive-reuse in the city’s core. Through years of renovation and invention, the building has morphed into a place for collaboration, creativity and celebration.  

The monOrchid building is open daily.  The galleries are open for public events every First and Third Friday from 6-9pm and by appointment with the curator, Justin Germain.  For more information about art exhibitions, event rental, or office space leasing please visit http://www.monorchid.com, “like” us on facebook, or contact the curator at art@monorchid.com