Lucky Gallery invites you to a book release party for Here in Red Hook, a photography book from Red Hook photographer, Andy Vernon Jones, at 360 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, on Thursday, November 17, 2011, 7 – 10pm. After a long hiatus Lucky gallery is pleased to be hosting this event in the community of which the book reflects and having this opportunity to work again with artist Vernon-Jones.

Here in Red Hook presents a body of work that Vernon-Jones has been working on for nearly five years and presents the series in its entirety for the first time. The book is composed of photos taken in the streets, alleys and abandoned lots of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook and combine a documentary approach with an art-photography sensibility. The photos express the beauty and struggle of life in Red Hook. Many of the portraits are of young people who are at the cusp of adulthood; their gazes show their toughness and their hope for the future.

Vernon-Jones manages to capture the many layers of the neighborhood that the average person does not see traversing the main street. There is a sense of nostalgia and romanticism in this work a sense of timelessness; it is hard to tell the time frame of when this work was made. He is so at ease with his subjects and the neighborhood he unobtrusively captures their spirits and weaves together a narrative, through desolate landscapes and candid portraits, of one of the most unique neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Red Hook.

The party will include food, drink, music, and book signing with the artist. There will also be limited editions of photos for sale of Vernon-Jones imagery from Here in Red Hook. For more information email laura@luckygallery.com.

This event is sponsored by, The Good Fork, Steve’s Key Lime Pies, Sixpoint Brewery, Baked, Brooklyn Ice House, Esser Vineyards, and Breuckelen Distilling.

And special! special! thanks to Scott Pfaffman for the use of 360 Van Brunt Street!

The installation conveys the progressive nature of western technology juxtaposed with the organic world and the affect it has on today’s modern lifestyle. It questions the benefits and detriments of the Western world’s techno-scientific advancements in relation to the natural world. Presented in a lighthearted fashion, the installations borrow and relate to the pace, aesthetic and feel of contemporary Western media.

The installation includes sculpture, video, music, painting, poetry, and photography, from artists Benjamin Ayers, Jeremy Holmes, Michael Kondel, Emily Gosweiler, Timothy Shipman, Andrew Rowley, A.M. Breakups, Krystal Kaler, Claire Dickinson, Patrick Lamothe, Ani Sevag, Kelsey Bozler and Kipton Hinsdale. The installation transforms the Lucky Gallery space to create discussion within the community about the ongoing topic.

“Arc Angle” is directed and curated by Yagil, in collaboration with Amy Weng.

On June 19th from 7-10PM, Lucky Gallery is pleased to host opening reception for “Front End to Back End” a Lucky Gallery Artist in Residence Exhibition, a group show presenting the work of three Lucky Gallery artists residents, Maria Baraybar, Stephanie Homa, and Kathleen Murray and special guest artist Hiroshi Shafer.

In keeping with our mission statement, Lucky Gallery’s Artist in Residence program provides affordable studio space and an opportunity for artists to interact with the community and with each other, sharing creativity and ideas in a supportive environment, and an opportunity to showcase their work in a gallery setting.

“Front End and Back End” a computer science and technology concept, is a generalized term that refers to the initial and the end stages of a process. The “Front End” is responsible for collecting input in various forms from the user and processing it to conform to a specification the “Back End” can use. The “Front End” is an interface between the user and the “Back End.”

“Lucky Gallery’s resident studio behind the gallery is the ‘Front End’ in this analogy,” says Laura Arena the Director of Lucky Gallery. “The studio is where the artists are creating and collaborating in preparation for the ‘Back End’, which is the actual gallery itself. Even our guest artist, Hiroshi Shafer will have his studio webcasted with the other artist’s working spaces. The exhibition in Lucky Gallery will act as the interface between the public and the artist.”

Maria Baraybar’s works for this show involve a juxtaposition of her own poetry and Artie, her comic-style drawings. Her search for meaning and absurdity shares one space whether it is comfortable or distressing to the human mind.

Stephanie Homa’s work aims to explore the endless rigid things that spook her with their insignificance, lightness and disappearance, carrying the simple title “reality”. Her practice as a painter transforms thought to a sort of visual copy, revealing emotions and ideas that are neither right nor wrong, mean everything and nothing and in the end, create a fraction of the whole, like a missing piece of a puzzle.

Kathleen Murray’s prints and paintings are all of urban environments with the benefit of the absence of people. Murray re-interprets urban structures as clean, crisp landscapes of muted colors and abstracted lines, breaking them down to their simplest components (a square, a rectangle, a curved line) then rebuilding them, removing whatever feels unnecessary. In the end, we are left with a simple structure that can be understood at its most basic levels.

Hiroshi Shafer, a Japanese artist now living in Brooklyn, is the guest artist for the resident exhibition. His conceptual use of video, sculpture, the human body and movement compliments the resident’s artist’s two dimensional works. Shafer’s most recent work “Your Future Camera” mixes playfulness, fantasy and function, with the debut of his wearable and functional camera obscura.

A special Lucky Gallery evening featuring paintings, words, music and libations.

Saturday evening, May 15th, from 6-9PM, Lucky Gallery hosts an evening that will be a feast for your senses. See fresh new works from painters Valerie Kelemen and Maureen O’Leary, both DC transplants now working in New York. At 6pm, hear the words of six New York-based writers, reading poetry and fiction, Elizabeth Chakkappan, Julie Novacek Godsoe, Travis Godsoe, Susanna Kohn, Michael Novacek, and Michele Serros. At 8pm, because you are so Lucky, take in the guitar work of famed world jazz composer and performer Francis Jacob. All the while drink deep the taste of sparkling prosecco and feel the good vibes around you.

The concept behind the exhibition is to introduce to the public the wide range of artistic capabilities of local artists and to provide an atmosphere to encourage the exchange of ideas between artists and the public. The artists’ production is presented through different mediums including photography, drawing, video, book making, collage, painting, contemporary crafts and sculpture.

“Made in Red Hook” is curated by gallery director and participating artist Laura Arena and Ana Bogdanovic, who plan to transform Lucky Gallery into the traditional setting reminiscent of Salon de Paris, the annual public exhibition of the French Royal Academy in the 18th and 19th century that displayed the actual artistic production and presented the cities most established artists at the time.

Artists’ works will be exhibited floor-to-ceiling and the artists and visitors are invited to spend time in our seating area where there will be literary materials and videos to view.

Its our anniversary, it is Brooklyn Open Studios, it is “Made in Red Hook” – get yourself here get LUCKY in Red Hook!

Elizabeth Tomasetti

Lucky Gallery is a proud sponsor and participant in the Red Hook & Carroll Gardens 2010 Open Studio Tour, when artists open up their studios to the public. This is a great opportunity to get an intimate look at this thriving artist community. Meet directly with the creators of photography, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, video, ceramics, glass, installation, paintings, sculpture & etc. in their own working studio environment while enjoying wine and food. Tour maps will be available.

Lucky Gallery participating artists:
Todd von Ammon
Laura Arena
Maria Baraybar
Stephanie Homa
Andy Vernon-Jones
Christina Kelly
Heather Phelps-Lipton
Nate Luce
Rachel Mosler
Kate Murray
Julia Oldham
L. Nichols
Anna Ortiz
Joshua Ray Stephens
Eric Taylor
Elizabeth Tomasetti
Beriah Wall

Saturday, May 22 & Sunday, May 23 from 12PM-6PM

Visit brooklynstudiotours.com for updates, tour maps and the virtual online tour.

Chubrub Productions & The Speakeasy Crew present: PDA -The Daily Porn Closing Party, Saturday, March 6, 7-10PM

This will be a night of visual and aural delights designed to encourage connectivity and creativity.

Music: DJ D’hana (Indie/Pop/Electro/Tropical/Other)
Visuals: The Speakeasy Crew
Games: All Of You

“Daily Porn”, a pornographic bonanza of erotic books, collages, drawings, sculpture, and performance by artists Greg Beyer, Will Kurtz, John Lennon, Morgan Miller, Mark Mulroney, Kevin Muth and Iulia Toacaci, exploring the ever-changing role of pornography in the realm of the contemporary art.

Figure Drawing in Red Hook at The Luggage Factory. Short to long poses in a comfortable, creative environment. Bring a drink or snack to share if you like! Every Monday night 7:30-10pm, 19 Delavan St., studio 2M, $10/person.

For more information email laura@luckygallery.com.