B Sides -flowers for my friends
April 15 - May 22, 2022
Monaco is pleased to present B Sides -flowers for my friends, an exhibition featuring works by Jake Boggs, Kalani Largusa, Dhehee Lee, Nick Schleicher, and Shawn Spangler, organized by Nick Schleicher. Please join us with an opening reception on Friday, April 15th from 6-9pm. The exhibition will run through May 22nd, 2022, with viewings available on Saturdays from 12-4pm and by appointment.
B Sides - flowers for my friends celebrates communion of covalent artistic practices that have been bound by shared history, maintained by a mutual commitment to aesthetic pursuits, and fostered by deep friendships. The initial exhibition flowers for my friends was organized in 2019 by Kalani Largusa at Aupuni Space in Hawaii. It marked the convergence of four individual artistic practices: ceramicist Jake Boggs and three painters, Kalani Largusa, Dhehee Lee, and Nick Schleicher. With the addition of fellow ceramicist Shawn Spangler, B Sides further explores the nebulous act of creating, refined through years of conversations centered around abstraction, representation, mark making, ontology, the primacy of material, and the interplay between presence and absence.
Both the original show and B Sides - flowers for my friends highlight undercurrents that develop, consciously or subconsciously, as independent practices merge and diverge. This fluid exchange mimics the pattern of movement between the artists themselves, at various points sharing physical space with one another: from school in Chicago, to studios in Hawaii, to calls that span multiple countries. This continued discourse produces varied outcomes as the work functions distinctly, yet harmoniously, to exemplify the motivations of making and elucidate the empathetic core of artistic endeavors.
BIOS
Jake Boggs is a Hawai’i based artist, curator, arts educator, and administrator concentrating in ceramics and contemporary craft practices. He is the Ceramics Studio Coordinator at the Donkey Mill Arts Center, an arts non-profit in Keauhou, HI. He also serves on the board of Hawai’i Craftsmen, a statewide crafts centered nonprofit. Jake holds an MFA from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (2016), and a BFA from Eastern Kentucky University (2013).
Kalani Largusa is a local Hawaii artist from Kapahi, Kaua’i. He divides his time between painting on his home island and working out of his studio on O’ahu. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from University of Hawaii in the spring of 2016. Kalani previously studied drawing and illustration at the California College of Arts [CCA] and received his Bachelor of Fine Art in painting studio practice from the School of Art Institute of Chicago [SAIC] in 2013.
Dhehee Lee lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, where he is currently pursuing his MFA from the Seoul National University. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. His paintings examine aesthetic dichotomies coexisting within a limited frame: the merging of warm and cool colors, application of transparent and opaque layers, and the use of rough and delicate brush strokes. Through a process of masking and the accumulation of layers, opposing elements appear as organic forms. They recall natural patterns - such as vines - labyrinthian yet impromptu. Through various post-work interventions, Lee disturbs the hierarchy of layers, obfuscating the initial application.
The once smooth surface has become populated with a network of structures reminiscent of Penrose stairs. These illusory paintings, entitled “Melting Pot” form Lee’s latest body of work, as they investigate the relationship between distinct components reborn within the frame, as they collaborate and coexist with each other.
Nick Schleicher received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011 where he focused on painting and sculpture. His work ranges from color field abstractions to sculptural forms inspired by domestic display. Most recently, his practice investigates the relationship between object, painting, sculpture, and void. His latest series of shaped canvases dissolve the exactness of hardline abstraction and overtly reject clinical crispness in pursuit of something more human. Schleicher’s practice embraces ambiguity, as he utilizes abstraction as a vehicle for projection, and engages with the empathetic potential of minimalism.
Schleicher also co-hosts the visual arts podcast Cool WIP with Silver Space STL founder Marina May. Cool WIP is a bi-weekly podcast of conversations with artists, curators, gallery owners/operators, and anyone interested in creative pursuits. Check out Cool WIP on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
He currently lives and works in Saint Louis, MO where he is a member of Monaco USA. His work can be found on the web at nickschleicher.com as well as on Instagram @nick_schleicher
Shawn Spangler, a Pennsylvania in native, is a ceramic artist currently living and working in Hawaii. Spangler's work draws inspiration from craft, industrial design and digital technology. His installation projects raise questions concerning authorship and commoditization of objects, highlighting the connections and margins between digital and analog processes of producing ceramic vessels.
Spangler holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University and recently finished a residency at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA. He has shown internationally and has taught workshops at numerous art centers, colleges and universities throughout the United States. Spangler is currently an Assistant Professor at The University of Hawai'i.
For all inquiries and appointments please contact:
Nick Schleicher nickschleicherart@gmail.com or Monaco at info@monacomonaco.us