Eric Matelski gets a show of his own tonight at Tenn Street Coffee

By Susan Froyd Fri., Oct. 5 2012 at 6:56 AM

Categories: Art, Arts and Culture, First Friday

"Me as an Artist," Eric Matelski.

Artist/artrepreneur Eric Matelski earned his Westword MasterMind award (class of 2010) largely for his tireless promotion of other artists. Over the years, he's gotten people talking at monthly events and shows hung at Dazzle and other bars and restaurants where people gather to enjoy themselves while they're looking at the art. He's rounded up artists for live painting sessions or to decorate street pianos and art guitars, labored over ephemeral chalk-art masterpieces, planted paintings in community gardens and organized themed affordable-art shows, including one -- The Bogeyman Art Show -- that opened last night at his own space, the MacSpa.

With all of that under his belt, it's a little hard to remember that Matelski is also an artist in his own right. Turnaround is fair play: Tonight he'll get his own show, Urban Sprawl, that opens with a First Friday reception from 6 to 9 p.m. at Tenn Street Coffee and Books.

Of the painting series, Matelski writes this statement:

My Urban Series is inspired from photographs taken by my grandfather, Ed Urban. I have taken a collection of my grandfather's photos, some of my own, and some that I have collected and created photo transfers on costume canvases. Most of the canvases are created from old drop cloths that I have used for painting. I have applied a patina to the canvas and let natural elements show through. With the photo transfers I have added a ghost-like under paint with an oil-pastel resist to create a preferred level of ambiguity. I call this current series "Urban Sprawl."

Musician Mark Hitchinson will perform at the reception, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight; the show will stay up at Tenn Street through October 28. For information visit the Facebook event page.

Following is an Urban Sprawl sneak peek.