JAO Flying, 2007 / paint on paper
Hennepin Avenue + 7th Street : 2nd floor
www.jaoart.com

"The major theory behind my work is that ideas occur in a nanosecond. One travels from not having an idea to having an idea very quickly. My paintings are an effort to capture that second. I want to access the actual energy that propels a person to create and visually represent it. Therefore, I paint fast. In the process of painting fast, I make some decisions, while an unidentified force makes others. The more I let this unidentified force take over, the better the paintings transmit energy. I paint because I have a desire to bring to life a very specific sentiment that conveys a vast and universal message, that the experience of raw creativty generates powerful energy and inpires creativity in others."

RICHARD BONK Inside Out—Urban Innards Revealed, 2006 / digital transformations of urbanscapes on canvas
7th Street : ground floor
www.richardbonk.com

Bonk's works reveal the unseen and unexpected through the "turning inside out" of urban elements. These images originate as photos taken from the interior and exterior of this building and surrounding environs, i.e., textures, architectural elements, streetscapes, passing pedestrians and vehicles, trash, etc. These elements have been transformed via artist orchestrated digital processes into abstracted energy portraits of their "parent" sources, then stitched together to form a sense of an inter-related whole, an integrated, flowing slice of urbanscape-presented in a vertical banner format-reminiscent of fabric tapestries or oriental screens. The artistic goal is to generate an ambience that is at once somehow subtly disquieting, yet calmly seductive, a scene that soothes and invites introspection yet necessitates alertness, where the viewer's mind is co-participant in the process, filling in the aesthetic and meaning-making gaps.

MICHAEL WONG Making Magic, 2006 / digital enlargement of drawing on vinyl
Hennepin Avenue : ground floor
Click to see Michael's original drawing

“This drawing depicts the creation of the universe. The Chinese cosmic architect, Pan Gu, is shown throwing comets containing the characters for future, power, grace and love. These characters comprise a narrative of poetic optimism about humanity and the universe. My most recent work focuses on the themes of dreams, myths, and the city. I believe that these three concepts reflect the collective strength and ambition of humanity through a visual and oral tradition. More specifically, these themes mirror the evolution of our technological and cultural advances in the manner of how we process, record and re-interpret our surroundings. Conversely, these concepts also serve as poignant reminders of how much we have lost in terms of a spiritual connection to our natural environment. It is my intention with these larger, sculptural drawings to expand on my philosophy of spiritual activism that, as its name suggests, re-animates the human spirit, much in the same manner as ceremonial tokens made to celebrate holidays such as Mexico’s Day of the Dead and the Chinese New Year.”