Last Friday (the fourth of march, 11) I attended Basement Gallery's opening, at which was featured work by Craig Mederios and Robert Khasho, both of whom I had the pleasure of interviewing. Craig showed two pieces both of which were hand etched onto plexi-glass. By compiling shop manuals he was able to render with detail full diagrams of industrial parts, revealing the aesthetic behind the ergonomics of design. When I talked to him, he told me that he wanted to celebrate the beauty inherent in the craft of machine building by inviting people to take a serious look at the complexity and industry that goes into the creation of the seemingly mundane, and yet wonderfully complex machines that we typically take for granted. The inspiration for his piece, "Honda -CB360" came from his experience rebuilding his motorcycle (which is of that make), an endeavor he had never before undertaken. Craig considers the piece a tribute to the Japanese engineers who designed the bike and illustrated the shop manuals he used in its reconstruction. A large part of his decision to use industrial materials such as etch in order to create these pieces was driven out of his admiration for the creation of the actual items he depicts, but also from his history as a craftsmen, a trade he learned from his father.
The work of Robert Khasho featured several light boxes of his own construction that depicted images strongly tied to personal experience. Robert combines nostalgia and his present emotional state in order to create work that is wholly subjective. His light boxes are an extension of his history as a stencil artist. However, he was turned off by the graffiti/counter culture element inherent in "just making stencils." It was for that reason that he began pushing his style into new directions, which included the appropriation of items such as Light Bright pegs. Using his background in stenciling Robert is able to create complex images and color tones by combining different colored paper to a metal grid, which is then mounted on a series of diffused lights.
You can catch the next opening at Basement Gallery (1905 SE Clinton St.) on FRIDAY APRIL FIRST!