Ripple: Art Effecting Oceans - June 21, 2008

Join us at our new location in National Harbor, MD:
173 Waterfront St.
National Harbor, MD 20745

JUNE 21st Noon-Midnight
National Harbor, MD, Art Whino (www.artwhino.com) announces: Ripple: Art Affecting Oceans. Ripple will be an all day event kicking off at noon with live music, live painting by artist Erik Abel, and children’s and adult craft and environmental awareness activities. Activities and entertainment will be FREE and run until 5pm.

Then, at 6pm, Art Whino hosts the opening reception for the solo show of California artist Erik Abel, and featuring the work of 5 new Art Whino collaborative artists: Joshua Krause, Spencer Reynolds, Dustin Oritz and Scott Szegeski.

For directions please visit www.nationalharbor.com/Drections.aspx . National harbor is also accessible by water taxi. Please visit www.potomacriverboatco.com for more info and schedules.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10 am – 10 pm
Sunday and Monday: Noon – 6 pm

Gallery Phone: 301.567.8210

The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves, and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research, and education. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.

DC Surfrider represents residents from the greater Washington, DC, area, including western Maryland and Virginia. It naturally draws coastal transplants who have found themselves landlocked, as well as river-, bay-, and snow-oriented natives. Because of our location amidst lawmakers, the chapter's efforts include legislative agendas as well as river/bay/beach clean-ups and public education. Most importantly, we realize that, despite physically being hours from the nearest beach, our actions locally can significantly affect the health of the coast, the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, the Chesapeake Bay, and the rest of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Current chapter campaigns include River-Friendly Gardens (to encourage use of native plants and safe fertilizing methods) and Rise Above Plastics (to inform the public about the effects of plastics and ways to reduce their impact).

Proceeds from the event will benefit DC Surfrider's water quality monitoring and education programs.

For more information about the organization, visit www.dcsurfrider.org or contact chapter chair Julie Lawson (julie@com-vis.com, 202-347-0412).

With an unquenched thirst for knowledge and understanding of the world around him, Erik Abel assembles his experience into a complex visual language, one which alludes to some primitive yet thoughtful origin. Abel’s rough style and obscure subject communicates a sense of wonder, experimentation, discovery and balance.
Being heavily influenced by and involved in the surf/skate/snow sports industry and working as a freelance graphic designer and art director for over 10 years, Abel‘s method of bold, graphical imagery fused with his loose brush and pen work seems to find a growing niche of it’s own in the fast rising “Urban Contemporary” art movement.

Elements from inspirations such as ancient civilizations, cycles of nature, the ocean, plants, symbols, systems, mechanics, icons, and politics, combine to call attention to his findings about our past, present and future.
Originally from Ventura County, CA, Abel returned to Portland, Oregon in early 2007 to professionally pursue his passion for art. He currently works in his home studio and shows in galleries throughout the country.

I grew up where the ocean is cold, rough, and the skies are often cloudy. The coast is mysterious and majestic; in my opinion one of the most beautiful places on the planet. My hometown was a modest blue collar place full of loggers and fishermen located on the Southern Oregon coast. My older brother had a cheap foam body board made out of that Styrofoam used for ice chests; a cloth mesh encased the board holding it together. I dreamed of surfing this thing that closely resembled an ironing board. On my tenth birthday my parents gave me one of my own and also a life jacket. I still remember the rush of catching that first white water, riding it to shore and thinking "I must be doing 40 mph" as I slid up the sand.

By the age of thirteen my parents started letting me head to the beach with my friends. We would strap our crude foam boogie boards to our backs, hop onto hand me down bikes some with mismatched wheels and race to the water. We were first generation Southern Oregon breed surfers, embracing the little exposure we had to the 80's, neon t- shirt surfing culture. Our parents resisted buying us wetsuits thinking that surfing was a phase and we would grow out of it. We didn't care that our bodies turned blue from being cold, or about any other obstacles. Our excitement for this newfound thing was enough to keep us coming back for more. The place where we ventured into the ocean was not a typical surfing spot. It was often a murky windblown shore break with waves coming from three directions. Surfing there was more akin to riding an angry bull, or maybe a pissed off goat (the waves we were riding weren't that big). Waves tossed us into the air without mercy and we loved every minute. Like bull riding we became familiar with how the wave bucked and quickly learned how to ride it as long as we could. But we were far from conquers, the wave had a mind of its own, and occasionally it would rear up to kick us off; our bodies resembling a cowboy getting bucked like a rag doll. We spent every possible minute we could at the beach challenging this mutant wave.

Out of these experiences my story was born. It isn't extraordinary; there are no tales of riding sixty foot waves or discovery of world class surf spots. The importance of sharing my story lies in my early excitement for my friends, surfing and the ocean. These elemental experiences I had in my youth are what motivate my artwork today. Child like discovery, beauty, and reverent joy of creation are abundant themes through out my paintings. Surfing was a part of the catalyst for these life qualities I commonly portray through visual art.

Joshua Krause is a primarily self-taught artist driven by hope and humor. His art is an obsessive search to find his individual path in a world that seems to be on another page. Influenced as much by dreams as by stupid movies, Joshua relies on intuition and the unconscious to guide his work. Born in NYC in 1977, and raised in Florida, Joshua lives and works in San Diego, CA.

The earliest memory I have of surfing is one day, I would say mid to late 1970’s, I remember going to the beach with my father and stopping along the boardwalk to talk to a buddy of his (I think the guy’s name was dean Murphy, big dog NJ shred from back in the day). He sat me on a wall and I remember hearing a radio playing a sweet 70’s love song, The Climax Blues Band “ooh, I love you”. Rockin’ out on a wall, bright sunshine and an earshot away from the water.

I can’t remember the water that day, not even the waves, but in my mind they were chest to head high, light offshores and peelin’ off those awesome 1970’s sandbars. Weren’t all the jersey sandbars bitchin’ back in the day?

I plan on trying to re-create the scene in a photograph sometime this season. I have the tight Birdwell’s, the boards and the boombox, what I need now is that tan you used to have as a young kid who surfed. All fun and no work make Scott a happy boy.

I guess the reason why I paint/draw/scribble/dream is just a constant effort to get back on that wall, hearing that music and surfing those sandbars..

Some animals are born with an instinct to hunt, build shelter, mate in the Spring... Humans are gifted with the instinct for, well...the seven sins, I suppose. Once in a while you will run into someone that is naturally drawn to create. No explanation, no excuse, and not for pride, but satisfaction. Dustin’s creativity level is enough to break any normal human. work is more rooted in passion than greed. If you know Dustin, he is horrible at returning phone calls, emails, text messages….all the modern day technology gluttony. I guess life goes on without manmade conveniences. Instead of getting angry when he won’t answer the phone, I like to think he is observing pelicans in flight at the beach, spending time with family, or has hands covered in paint. Sometimes putting yourself out there as “creative” can be both a blessing and a curse. With all artwork comes outside opinion that can break an artist into doubting their own style. However, before any wrath is taken upon himself, Dustin is quick to remember that even though nobody likes fluorescent colors, he has all the right in the world to wear them becasue it makes him happy...not them. Or, chances are that you’ll be envious at how much Dustin has accomplished at twenty-three years old, and leave the show wanting to create something yourself. I’d say you are on the right path…away from the well-practiced seven vices of today’s society. - Peter McBride