#christopher stout

[field-projects-gallery]

Work by Christopher Stout. Check out more of his work at www.christopherstout.com

[hyperallergic]

A new gallery is opening on Meserole Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, next month, and according to its eponymous director, Christopher Stout, it will have a “program of showing subversive and difficult art.” Stout told Hyperallergic that the gallery will “focus on performance and video work … art making that confronts socio-political issues, particularly with a profound anti-commercial approach. This kind of work, Stout explained, “tends to deal with or come from artists whose practices have a queer identity or feminist identity, or anti-capitalist concerns.”

New Bushwick Gallery Promises to Exhibit “Subversive and Difficult Art”

[otremor]

Christopher Stout

2009

[artsinbushwick]

Bushwick goes to Fountain

by Nicole Durbin

Earlier this month Bushwick artist and community mainstay Christopher Stout showed his work at Fountain Art Fair, the leading fair for independent, experimental, and avant-garde art. For readers who don’t already know Stout, you should! He organizes the monthly Bushwick Art Crit Group, works out of his studio at Brooklyn Fireproof, and is an active contributor right here at the Arts in Bushwick blog.

This year’s Fountain Fair took place in the massive 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Ave. Walking around is a little surreal; a prefab gallery city where the walls don’t reach the ceiling. Director Elizabeth Tully made the decision to show Stout’s work at Fountain in part because of his status in the Bushwick arts community. As Stout explained, “[AiB Press and Sponsorship coordinator] Samantha Katz made the initial introduction between [Tully and I]. Then Beth came out and did a studio visit, and we kept talking, and Samantha came out and we shot a video together, and things got a little bigger and a little bigger and a little bigger, and I decided I’d do the show.”

There are lots of good reasons why artists participate in art fairs- to gain exposure, to connect with collectors, to sell work. Unsurprisingly, Stout especially relished the opportunity Fountain provides to connect with other artists. “I am connecting with so many people who are coming to the shows who are artists. I feel a very huge sense of being inside the circle. And there’s so many times, as an artist, where you don’t feel like you even fit in the art world sometimes.”

At first glance Stout’s work looks imposing. Several pieces are large, and all use the ominous color pallet you see in a lot of Italian Futurist works (dark grays, rust, black). But closer inspection presents a contradiction - many of the pieces have visible printed phrases, and the text undercuts the severity of the presentation. “It’s all about obsequious emotional things… You get close to it, then you realize that you can read, and the phrases are usually nonsensical, things which are not convenient. ‘Casting off of.’ ‘Often and alone.’”

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Christopher Stout’s work will be on view as part of Bushwick Open Studios, May 30 - June 1, 2014.

[artsinbushwick]

Second Meeting of Bushwick Art Crit Group Introduces 16 Artists

by Juniper Alcorn

Last Wednesday night the Bushwick Art Crit Group held their second meeting at Brooklyn Fire Proof East. Founded by Christopher Stout in March, the group is designed to provide a supportive network for local artists to preview their work and receive critical and creative feedback. There is no fee to present, and the public is welcome to attend meetings. The typical meeting structure presents six area artists, each allotted 10-minute presentations of their work accompanied by a slide show, including question and answer with the audience.  

  The second meeting was a “preview” of a selection of artists who will be exhibiting work at Bushwick Open Studios. With sixteen artists, presentation time was limited to three minutes apiece with only two slides of images. Presentations were also more guided than a typical Crit Group meeting: artists were asked to comment on their relationship to Bushwick, their previous work, and the work they will be presenting at Bushwick Open Studios. Q&A was meant to be limited to three minutes per artist but at ten artists in it was clear the meeting would be going well over time to get to everyone.

Given that it was a “preview” meeting, the variety of work covered, which ranged from film to ceramics to wax sculpture to photography to drawing, was a brilliant microcosm of the work you will see around Bushwick at the end of the month. However the number of artists presenting was a bit ambitious, and the goals of the meeting a little bit unclear: critique? PR? Exhibition? A number of artists presented without comment or receiving only a single superficial comment (“What are the dimensions of the piece?” was a favorite, and received no follow up). Surprisingly, even after a number of people left at the official 8:30 end time, discussion became liveliest toward the end of the meeting. Even then, however, it was limited by the display of work by each artist. With only two slides to accompany a three minute presentation covering their relationships to Bushwick, their background in the arts, and their current work, it was rare that discussion focused on a particular image at all, rather than the entire project which could only be hinted at. For works in progress, this must be helpful, but the breadth of presentations, accompanied by narrow examples and limited time for discussion, seemed to preemptively abbreviate consistent contributions from the audience.

  Bushwick Art Crit Group will return to their original ten minute format for their next meeting in July. Artists interested in presenting for critique at the next meeting can contact Christopher Stout for more information.

[artsinbushwick]

New Bushwick Art Crit Group Offers Valuable Support Network to Artists

by Holly Shen Chaves

  Every artist has vivid memories of the bemoaned art critique. But for most, those tedious feedback sessions with professors and fellow studio-mates  are a thing of the past, a touchstone of bachelors and masters fine arts programs. But that doesn't change the fact that thoughtful criticism is a fundamental element of artistic growth. This is what spurred Christopher Stout, a Bushwick-based artist, to launch the Bushwick Art Crit Group two months ago. The group's first meeting took place on March 20th at Brooklyn Fireproof East and will continue to convene every other month, with the next critique session scheduled for this coming May 15th, also at BFE (scroll to bottom for more information about participating).

The mission of Bushwick Art Crit Group, self-described as, "a newly formed networking and creative development community," is to provide Bushwick artists a nurturing environment in which to share and preview their work in order to receive feedback and creative input.

BACG is an artist-run organization and there is NO fee to present your work or attend BACG meetings. All are welcome.

Each session, six Bushwick artists give 10-minute presentations of their work using digital slides shown via projector and answer audience questions. The artists may present ANYTHING they want, and speak about their work in general, recent work, or utilize the audience to hear criticism about work they are having issues with in their studios. Meetings, which run about 70-90 minutes in length, are followed by drinks and networking in the BFPE café and bar. Participants and audience members may offer a critical eye, but are also asked to keep their questions and comments respectful, as this is intended as a community-building forum.

Debut artist participants of the inaugural session included: Linda Griggs, J.F. Lynch, Sarah Reynolds, Ian Sklarsky, Emily Wolfer, and Jeanne Tremel. To give future participants the artist’s perspective about sharing their work at an art crit, we asked each of our March participants to share a few words about their experience at BACG and what insights they gained about their own practice and work from presenting.

Our very FIRST presenter in our very FIRST meeting was painter Linda Griggs, who Stout met through the E32 art crit group in the Lower East Side, which Griggs tireless ran.  Says Griggs, “I do story art and I learned I can’t count on myself to remember the stories verbatim.  I have to have my notes in front of me in large format so I can read them in the dark. I also learned from sitting on the other side of the projector, how encouraging it can be to just have someone see and respond to your work.  I never felt that with my own project, E32, because I was busy running the show and couldn’t relax and enjoy the moment and also because I had picked myself to be in it.  It kind of doesn’t count in a way.  It felt completely different to be able to be invited by Christopher and to present only as an artist. I think the time is ripe for projects like these.  There’s been a lot of focus on the damaging aspects of the hyper-inflated art market which keeps artists from interacting creatively with each other. Bushwick Art Crit Group and E32 bring artists together to challenge and encourage each other, something that for many abruptly ends after art school.”   

The second presentation of the evening was given by J.F. (John) Lynch, who shared his drawings. Lynch reflects, “It was wonderful having the chance to present new work to such an interested and knowledgeable group of people. It is always great to be able to come back to the studio with fresh perspectives on language, history and theory.” 

Sarah Reynolds, the third artist to participate, also previewed new drawings, and the audience seemed to enjoy being able to compare and contrast the two drawing presentations given back-to-back. Writes Reynolds of the experience, “I often find myself wanting my work to speak for itself without the assistance of me explaining the concept. When I was asked to participate in the first BACG Art Crit, I forced myself to dig deep to find some of my truer intentions for my work. Thus, realizing my childhood goal of becoming a surgeon and my previous bouts with OCD had greatly guided my love for charcoal and my refined aesthetic.”

The fourth presentation was given by Ian Sklarsky, who works in illustration, specifically with blind contour drawing. Ian recounts his participation, “Reaching out to an art community is something I NEED. This was a fantastic night to present, and while it was my first time in a while, I felt everyone showed amazing work. As we explained our art, I felt everyone engaged in the method and slides, it was a great night to meet so many wonderful artists and to expand into a new world of community.”

Painter and assemblage sculptress Jeanne Tremel, whose studio is in Brooklyn Fire Proof East, also had a positive experience, "My approach to talking about my work is nearly the same approach as doing the work – the paintings & sculpture - which is really ‘play.’ I just wing it, awkwardness and all, and hope the mix invites a response. What I appreciated about the evening was the presenters’ genuine-ness and the audience warmth and receptiveness – the sense of community being the goal.”

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Bushwick Art Crit Group meets again on Wednesday May 15th at 7pm in the gallery at Brooklyn Fire Proof East.

For May, BACG will have a SPECIAL program specifically tailored for artists who are participating in Arts in Bushwick Open Studios.

Please join us and support your local artists in Bushwick!

Written in collaboration with artist and Founder of Bushwick Art Crit Group, Christopher Stout, along with the BACG March artists. Lead Photography image contributed by stylist Glen Proebstel.

[artsinbushwick]

As we prepare for this year’s 7th annual Bushwick Open Studios, two contributors to our blog team, artist Christopher Stout and videographer Ashley Maas met with artist and photographer Megan Jolly in her live/work space at the Loom on Flushing Avenue, capturing the studio visit and interview in this new video clip!

Given this is Megan’s THIRD year participating in BOS, she was able to provide a veteran's perspective on being part of the festivities.

Click to enjoy our studio visit and video interview with Megan Jolly and mark her on your list for this year's festival!