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JULY
2009
Night and Day by Sumi Ink Club and Shawn Reed/Night-People  Thanky is thrilled to present an exhibit by Sumi Ink Club and Shawn Reed. Sumi Ink Club's free-spirited lines climb up the gallery walls with lots of magical details and secret faces hidden amid the mostly black and white ink drawings. Washes of color seep in here and there through their large scale paper works. The Thanky hallway has been turned into a brilliant corridor of color with Shawn Reed / Night People's screen-printed ephemera. Shawn Reed devotes his distinct aesthetic and artistic talents to his label Night People. Arranged in a pyramid of shelves, the rainbow-like array of cassette releases reminds us of a display at a candy store and features tapes by bands such as Peaking Lights, Teeth Mountain, and many others. The installation also includes show posters and a variety LP covers for acts like Russian Tsarlag and Kites. Sumi Ink Club is a Los Angeles-based drawing collective founded by Sarah Anderson and Luke Fischbeck. The pair hosts drawing parties with the goal of promoting peace and friendship through collaborative drawings. Sumi Ink Club is non-hierarchical: all ages, all humans, all styles. Sumi Ink Club's sister musical project is Lucky Dragons—a glitchy glitchy ya ya collage of beats and loops that swirl and flow like a friendly river spirit of sound. Their live performance reflects the inclusive community-awareness attitude of their art-making with spontaneous audience collaborations and interactive pieces. Lucky Dragons has released records on Teenage Teardrops, Marriage Records, and more. In one permutation or another, Luke and Sarah have shown art or performed all over--at the 2008 Whitney Biennial, Museum of Modern Art PS1, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Philadelphia Institute for Contemporary Art, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, The Kitchen, The Smithsonian Institute's Hirshorn Museum, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and the Hope Gallery. Shawn Reed has an MFA from the University of Iowa's fabled printmaking program. He has exhibited at Little Cakes in New York City and HaNNa in Tokyo. In addition to his screen-printing wizardry, he currently makes music as Wet Hair and previously in the band Rac-oo-oon. Here, Shawn explains the appeal and practices of Night People, “Time is cruising by pretty fast, so it's just me trying to document a little bit of what is flying by that I find interesting or that I feel a connection to musically. [...] I want it to be a factory label, and what I mean by that is that as much work as can be done for it is done in-house, literally in my house; if I could press the vinyl here I would. I'm obsessed with the work of it, hating and loving it at the same time. [...] It's not a political thing or some idea really, it's just wanting total hands-on control.”  Contract All Y’All by Max Hubenthal and Travis Robertson  Thanky is proud to present a show of fresh work and secret hits by Travis Robertson and Max Hubenthal. Contract All Y’All features wall paintings and works on wood, mystical figures and weird shapes, curvy shelves and sacred text. Travis received a BFA in Printmaking from James Madison University. He spins natural myth-ink into mind-melt screen prints from his meticulously arranged home studio. For this show, he eased up on the Speedball and showcased some straight-up fine brushwork. His art has been displayed at fine galleries around the world, including Space 1026, Cinders, Lump, and Nonesuch. Travis is also responsible for creating gorgeous album art work for bands like Ultra Dolphins and The Great White Jenkins. For the past two years, he has curated a group art show/canned goods swap called Foodist Colony to benefit the Central Virginia Area Food Bank during the holiday season. He also recently became the father of a beautiful baby girl, June Bell. It's no secret that Max sold his soul to some higher power at the crossroads in exchange for carpentry powers. It might have been Jesus or it might have been the Devil, but regardless Max became a class A black magic wood-working wizard. These skills compliment his brilliant fractured fairy-tale aesthetic revealed over the years in drawings and paintings. He received a BFA from James Madison University where he was also awarded the Art Achievement Award and Scholarship. Max has shown his art at Quirk Gallery, Lump, Space 1026, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Max and Travis dreamed up the Central Virginia Multiple Makers Society, or CVaMMs, an art collective based in central Virginia. They have collaborated on exhibits, zines, prints, and the painted wooden sign that hangs in front of Thanky. Max and Travis were also central figures in creating The Drama, a now-defunct quarterly arts publication that featured interviews and art by many luminaries of the contemporary arts scene including Brian Chippendale, Ron Regé, Jr., Matt Leines, James Jean and many others. Max and Travis also helped to create and run Thanky and serve as our resident gurus and life-savers. Thanks Max and Travis!  MAY 2009 "The Cartoon Utopia" by Ron Regé, Jr. Thanky is proud to present "The Cartoon Utopia", a show of new work by Ron Regé, Jr., a cartoonist and musician from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Ron Regé, Jr. began publishing his own minicomics while attending Massachusetts College of Art in 1988 and has since been published by Kramer's Ergot, Buenaventura Press, Drawn & Quarterly, Highwater Books, Fantagraphics, and McSweeneys. His illustrations have appeared regularly in The New York Times and Canada's National Post. Ron Regé, Jr. currently lives in Los Angeles where he plays drums in the band Lavender Diamond. Regé possesses a big heart and a steady hand, creating intricate lines and patterns, cute cartoon people and creatures that inhabit a fantastic universe with stories that dive into the deepest or darkest notions of our shared experience. His perception of human nature is keen and precise and his work vibrates with a joyful energy. He has exhibited at The Hope Gallery in LA and at the Librarie Drawn & Quarterly in Montreal. As a performance art act, Regé performs solo as the Discombobulated Ventriloquist.  Here is an explanation of the origins of his show at Thanky in his own words: At the beginning of 2008 – I started to create a series of numbered 4x6” drawings as an exercise - to start to flesh out ideas for a kind of “science fiction universe” that I’ve been slowly imagining over the last few years - the idea of a “Cartoon Utopia.” So many imagined futuristic “fantasy worlds” seem to be “dystopian” in nature –dark and pessimistic. I thought it would be nice to imagine a “futuristic” fantasy where humanity had progressed in a more positive way. Find out more at Ron's blog: http://ronrege.blogspot.
The
opening reception featured performances by the
Discombobulated Ventriloquist and Dearraindrop. Dearraindrop are an art
collective from Virginia Beach that make intensely colorful,
mind-expanding art and ear-amplifying music. They have exhibited
around the world including PS 1 MoMA, Arken Museum of Modern Art
Denmark, Katherine Mulherin Contemporary Art Toronto and Perugi Arte
Contemporanea in Padova, Italy. We were thrilled to have them
perform at Thanky. You can learn more at www.dearraindrop.org.
 APRIL 2009 "Some Shit" by Geneviève Castrée Thanky is proud to present "Some Shit", a show of new work by Geneviève Castrée. A native of Québec, Geneviève Castrée now makes art and music and delicious food in Anacortes, Washington. She has written and illustrated several books with the Montreal-based publishing house L'Oie de Cravan, and her work has been featured in a volume of the Drawn and Quarterly Showcase Series. Performing music as Woelv, her most recent album, Tout Seul dans la Forêt en Plein Jour, Avez-Vous Peur?, was released on K Records in 2007. Her show at Thanky will be "something in between humor, ugliness and public service announcements." "Her drawings deal with the dark side of modern life, while being themselves light, undogmatic, and even verging on hopeful." -Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York, NY  You can find out more about Geneviève's work on her website: http://www.opaon.ca/ (in French and English) To see photos of Some Shit, visit our Flickr page. The exhibit will close on April 24th. There was also a performance featuring Geneviève's musical project Ô Paon and Ultra Dolphins on Sunday, April 5th. MARCH 2009 "Friend of the Innocent" by Kevin Hooyman  Kevin Hooyman lives on an aging farm somewhere in upstate New York where he splits his time between repairing his home and making art. He is a prolific, creative soul whose attitude and warm watercolors are reminiscent of a gently psychedelic Maurice Sendak. This show will feature black and white drawings and some water color works. His drawings often take a philosophical turn, featuring thoughts or fears or ideas, clearly spoken by characters who seem maybe from another world, a world where these kind of thoughts and fears are spoken of. Still, there is a lightness, a hopefulness to Kevin's work. Perhaps it is especially good to show his work at this time of year, as our city shakes off its winter blahs and gets ready for spring. Kevin has work in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and the Chicago Art Institute. He has shown at Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn, Space 1026 in Philadelphia, and other good places. His last two books, "The Themes of the Day" (2006) and "The Language Change" (2005) earned much critical praise.  "Kevin Hooyman's intricate drawings of animals, people, plants and hybrid creatures come alive in his dense imaginary landscapes..." -Printed Matter You can see a selection of Kevin's drawings on his website: http://www.kevinhooyman.com You can read an interview with Kevin Hooyman here: http://billdonovan.wordpress. The musical group Dark Dark Dark will perform on Sunday, March 8 as part of the exhibition. Dark Dark Dark recently collaborated with the artist Swoon and playwright Lisa D'Amour on "Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea", a flotilla of rafts that sailed down the Hudson River, culminating in a performance at Deitch Projects in New York City. You can hear songs by Dark Dark Dark at myspace.com/ /// FEBRUARY 2009 "Small Floor Plan" by Kyle Field  Thanky is pleased to present "small floor plan," a show of drawings and sculpture by Kyle Field. Kyle is an artist and musician who lives in California. His small drawings, done in pen & ink and watercolors, echo faded ocean waves, or maybe Rip Van Winkle discovering a prism. When we look at his art, we think about how happy we were drawing when we were kids. Kyle performs music under the moniker Little Wings. He has released recordings on K Records and Marriage Records. His first book of drawings, Put It In A Nutshell, was published by Ahornfelder. As a special treat, our friends in CVaMMs have collaborated with Kyle Field to create a limited edition silkscreen print of one of his drawings. These prints will offer an affordable way for folks to take home a work of art from the show. You can see a selection of Kyle's drawings on his website: http://www.kyledraws.com You can read an old interview with Kyle Field here: http://www.dreamgeo.com/LittleWings.html You can learn more about Kyle's book of drawings here: www.ahornfelder.de/media/presskits/Kyle_Field_-_Put_It_In_A_Nutshell.pdf  /// DECEMBER 2008 Foodist Colony 2: Temple of Food! - Group Show  Last year's edition of Foodist Colony was held at the former Nonesuch Gallery and raised over 300 pounds of food. Like last year, all donations will benefit the Central Virginia Food Bank. Artists involoved in the show were a diverse group with close ties to central Virginia, curated by Travis Robertson including: Alex Lukas, Andy Jenkins, Allyson Mellberg, Archie Lee Coates IV, Dash Shaw, David Abbott, Dolan Geiman, Garrett Morin, Jeremy Taylor, Joel Speasmaker, Josh M. Powell, Kate Duffy, Kate Horne, Kristin Smith, Lump Lipshitz, Massimo Pacchione, Matt Leech, Matthew G. Wells, Max Hubenthal, Mike Ball, Nathanael Roney, Oura, Patrick Costello, Paul Goode, R. Nick Kuszyk, Ryan McLennan, Scott Eastwood, Sto, Studio 23, Thomas Dean, Tim Skirven, TJ Huff, Travis Robertson, & Tyler Thomas. There will be an opening reception featuring complimentary cupcakes and holiday fare on Friday, December 5th from 6pm to 10pm. /// NOVEMBER 2008 "Technicomfort" - Group Show
Thanky was happy to present "Technicomfort," a group art show featuring work by Joseph Buzzell, Dearraindrop, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Megan Whitmarsh, Crystal Stokowski, Mumbleboy, Leif Goldberg, Raphael Lyon, Jesse Spears, Brian Blomerth, Andy Jenkins, Travis Robertson, Apak, Patrick Costello, Kristin Smith, Molly O'Connell and more! Artists in Technicomfort work in collage, painting, embroidery, screen- print, drawing, and sculpture -- all in glorious saturated life-like and death-like colors! Curated by Victoria Long. There was an opening reception on First Friday, November 7th from 6 to 9 pm. Complimentary cupcakes were served. Thank you to everyone who came out! Technicomfort closed on November 29th. You can read some press about the show here and here.  by Dearraindrop
 by Megan Whitmarsh  by Joseph Buzzell /// OCTOBER 2008 "Noted Guerillas" by Erin Womack
Thanky was delighted to present "Noted Guerillas" by Erin Womack. Erin creates a world both deeply rooted in the natural world and tied to outerspace. Her new work explores an interest in the Civil War. Noted Guerillas featured drawings, paintings of shaped wood, handmade masks, and a wall painting of a scene from Erin's new comic book. Erin graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has exhibited at Mountain Fold Gallery with C.F. as part of the two-person show Deafholds, at Space 1026 as part of Fuzz, at the Pinkard Gallery with Crystal Coven and Paper Rad as part of the two-collective show Maximum Approach, and many other fine places. She has also gotten to touch R2D2 in real life. We celebrated Noted Guerillas with an opening reception on Friday, October 10 from 7 to 10 pm. Erin screened some of her short films, including one she finished over the summer that featured masks she exhibited in Fuzz last May. She also showed us parts of Turkish Star Wars and we are grateful. Complimentary cupcakes were served. The exhibit will close on Friday, October 31. You can see more photos of Noted Guerillas on the Thanky Flickr page.  /// SEPTEMBER 2008 "Herd Here" by Kristin
Smith
Thanky was pleased to present "Herd Here" by our good friend Kristin Smith. This short but sweet exhibit featured drawings, prints and an installation of handmade piñatas depicting animals such as a buffalo, an owl, an anteater and an 8-foot beluga whale! The title Herd Here referenced a world where animals and people share the same space. Kristin's work imparts a sincere reverence for animals and imagination along with an appreciation for the comforts and weird parts of gatherings and celebration. Kristin has exhibited at Space 1026 in Philadelphia, The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative in Charlottesville, and elsewhere. She has a pet dog named Pete. The opening celebration for Thanky and for Herd Here was held from 7 pm to 9 pm on Saturday, September 27 and featured complimentary cupcakes. A closing reception was held on First Friday, October 3 from 6 to 9 pm, and included a performance by the Summer Drone Club. 
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