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FRANCESCO LOCASTRO’S WE’LL MAKE A LOVER OF YOU
ArtCenter/South Florida Announces Art Basel Exhibition
MIAMI BEACH – (November 7, 2006) – ArtCenter/South Florida presents curator and artist Francesco LoCastro’s We’ll Make A Lover Of You – an exhibition that explores the avant-garde urban contemporary and pop surrealism characteristic of the Lowbrow movement. Forty internationally renowned artists will show their paintings, installations and sculptures at the ACSF gallery (800 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach) from November 25, 2006 to January 21, 2007. The opening reception is slated for Friday, December 8, 2006 from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. during Art Basel Miami Beach. The event is free and open to the public.
“As a not-for-profit visual arts organization, our mission is to provide access to contemporary art and artists,” says Jeremy Chestler, Executive Director, ACSF. “We felt it important to host an exciting and dynamic exhibition of Pop Surrealist works during Art Basel in an effort to educate visitors about an under-represented and frequently misunderstood movement.”
R. Grimes and Francesco LoCastro are collaborating to create a mural painting as the backdrop for all We’ll Make A Lover Of You’s artworks. In deviation from the traditional white walls typical of galleries, this colored canvas will be the connector between the hanging pieces, installations and the physical space. The ArtCenter will be transformed into a venue that can be admired as a whole or for the individual works within the composition.
Exhibiting artists include Van Arno, Anthony Ausgang, Gary Baseman, Shawn Barber, Tim Biskup, Andrew Brandou, Ray Caesar, Colin Christian, Sas Christian, Richard Coleman, Dave Cooper, Curve, Dalek, Mike Davis, Cardiac Design, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Doze Green, R. Grimes of FACTION, Alex Gross, Thomas Han, Jim Houser, Yumiko Kayukawa, David “LEBO” Lebatard, Kris Lewis, Travis Louie, Mars 1, Chris Mars, Scott Musgrove, Niagara, Anne Faith Nicholls, Kevin Peterson, Chris Ryniak, Todd Schorr, Nathan Spoor, Jeff Soto, Miss Van, Jonathan Weiner, Robert Williams and Francesco LoCastro.
Exhibiting artists are showing their work courtesy of Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles;Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York City;The Shooting Gallery, San Francisco;
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City;and Francesco LoCastro.
“Lowbrow is beginning to enter the realm of the highbrow art world and is quickly becoming the voice of our society – a unique phenomenon which has not been documented within the constructs of past movements” says LoCastro, We’ll Make A Lover Of You curator and artist. “The goal of this show is to add a new facet to Art Basel and to introduce South Florida, as well as the international art community, to a fresh era in art.”
The Lowbrow movement is an underground visual art movement that arose on the West Coast of the United States sometime between 1950 and the late 1970s. Often associated with hot rods, auto pin-striping, original comics, punk, rock and roll, and pop cultures, LoCastro describes it as “fine art that speaks to everyone.”
Today, Lowbrow works have evolved into a brilliant blend of street culture, graffiti, pop art and surrealism. Whether artists are classically trained or self-taught, this movement has created a voice whereby the rules of aesthetics are consciously neglected and broken. We’ll Make A Lover Of You illustrates how contemporary artistic mediums and movements blur, leaving little room for convention.
We’ll Make A Lover of You was selected as part of the Juried Exhibitions program in Fall 2005.
After-Party & Silk Screening Session
R. Grimes of FACTION will be silk-screening live on Friday, December 8, 2006 at the We’ll Make A Lover of You after-party at The Catalina Hotel (1732 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach). Guests are encouraged to bring their own shirts as canvases or to purchase pieces from FACTION. The silk-screening session will take place from 11:00pm to 1:00 a.m. and the party will continue throughout the night.
Book Signing
On Saturday, December 9, 2006 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, ACSF will be hosting a book-signing event at the 800 Lincoln Road Gallery. Several We'll Make A Lover Of You artists including Sas Christian, Gary Baseman, Niagara, Shawn Barber, Yumiko Kayukawa, Jonathan Weiner, Richard Coleman, Jeff Soto, LEBO, Ron English, and Dave Cooper have published their own books and will be present to discuss and sign copies. T-shirts, prints and memorabilia will be on sale in the merchant area of the front gallery space.
Gallery Statement
Established in 1984, ArtCenter/South Florida is a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization that provides subsidized studio and exhibition space as well as teaching opportunities for emerging and career artists in their facilities at 800, 810 and 924 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. The mission of the ArtCenter is to advance the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts and culture in South Florida while providing affordable programming and work-space for professional artists. The ArtCenter/South Florida is open Monday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. For further information please call (305) 674- 8278 or visit the website at www.artcentersf.org.
More info and images are also available at www.francescolocastro.comArtBasel2006.html
Sponsors
The exhibition is made possible in part by
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Art Center/ South Florida
The City of Miami Beach
The Miami Dade Department of Cultural Affairs
The Walgreens Company
Florida Art and Culture Division of Cultural Affairs
Tropiculture
The Florida Arts Council
Alternative Apparel
Arte City Condominiums
Juxtapoz Magazine
Sweat Records
9mm Books
Press coverage
We'll Make A Lover Of You is so far receiving coverage in the following publications:
SPIN Magazine
JUXTAPOZ Magazine
The Miami Sunpost
The Miami New Times
The Miami Herald
The Sun-Sentinel
Flavorpill
The Official Art Basel Miami Beach 2006 Catalogue
Artkrush Magazine Official Art Basel Guide
Antikulture Magazine
City Link Magazine
Mun2 (Telemundo 2) TV Channel