MERGE: Alumni Exhibition. Featured artist Jason Lee Gimbel

Each week, from now until August 28, the Office of Alumni Relations will do a short Q&A with one to three artists who are featured in the Center for Visual Art’s MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition 2010.

This week’s featured artist is Jason Lee Gimbel. Gimbel graduated from Metro State in 1998 with a BFA in Drawing and Printmaking. His work has displayed in venues throughout Denver.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Jason Gimbel: My art can be described as a deconstruction of my own processes and ideas. I am a conceptual figurative artist.

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
JG: The pieces that I’m creating are digital assemblages of my figure drawing. Most on my work consists of destroying and rebuilding my own work.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
JG: Reflecting back on my Metro days, I see how certain influences dominated my art and how I slowly broke away from that influence. I try to be mindful of how external noise seeps into my work.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
JG: I focus more on mastering what I do; it’s about the refinement of my process and tapping into deeper thoughts that create a narrative. When I was in college, I was more concerned with earning a degree.

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
JG: I am proud to be a part of the Metro Alumni and fully support the CVA and its staff. I think that it’s an amazing facility and happy that the CVA has a permanent home in the Arts District. Why would I not submit my work?

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
JG: By being included in this exhibition, I feel that I am helping to continue grow the legacy of the CVA and Metro’s Art program. It’s an honor !

MS: Is there anything I’m not asking you that you want to share with me?
JG: I have a sweet tooth; I’m a smart ass with random epileptic attacks of seriousness and somewhere in the murky mess of my life I manage to be an artist.

For more information on Jason, please visit his Web site.

Fun and refined, Metro State College of Denver alumni Sean Brown's art delivers smiles

Sean Brown hopes his artwork will make you smile. The playful colors, shapes and textures of each of his unique, handmade pieces of jewelry and framed art are sure to make you crack a grin.

Brown creates one-of-a-kind fired ceramic clay and mixed-media jewelry, as well as larger works to brighten the walls of any home's décor. Contemporary and compelling are both appropriate adjectives for Brown's work. The “C” words come from his creative use of form and juxtaposition of textures.

Brown is well known for his works depicting dogs, cats and, especially, birds. Each animal is whimsically shaped by hand with ceramic clay. This is just the beginning of Brown's elaborate process. Next, vibrant colors of underglazes are applied, and the pieces are fired in a kiln at temperatures reaching 2,000 degrees. After a second firing, Brown uses special pens and fine brushes to apply an overglaze of 22-karat gold. The pieces are placed back into the kiln a third time, with some works receiving up to five firings.

After the pieces cool enough to handle, Brown thoroughly inspects each one and occasionally sandblasts them to give a rich, matte finish. Certain pieces are adorned with more elements, typically 14-karat gold beads, sterling silver and semi-precious stones. Brown's birds receive soft, natural parrot and pheasant feathers to soften the slick glazed look of the fired clay.

Each material in Brown's work adds yet another layer of visual interest. The arduous processes and strict attention to details and materials used gives Brown's work a very distinct personality. The end results are always both fun and refined. Whether the finished product is a piece of wearable art or a delightful find for your home, Sean Brown's work brings joy.

Brown has been showing off his work publicly since 1989 and has used his art to support such important organizations as the Denver SafeHouse, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities and more. He holds a fine arts degree from the Metropolitan State College in Denver and still calls the city home. Brown is trekking up the mountain this weekend to host a demonstration and show off his newest works at the Art on a Whim gallery in Breckenridge.

Art by MSCD alum Tom Oliver.

Check out MSCD Alum Tom Oliver's art on his blog.

1976 Alum Steve Tracy has art work featured in NC Gallery

While surfing the web I came across information about MSCD graduate and artist Steve Tracy. Exploring further, I discovered photos of his artwork online. He is an incredible artist. I have no skills in the area of assessing artwork, but as I scrolled through the pages I kept saying to myself, "Wow."

Steve graduated from Metro State in 1976. Since then he has won countless awards for his art. Among other places, his work is now featured the gallery, A Boy & His Dog Fine Art, in Asheville, NC. To check out the work at this gallery, click here.

You can also go directly to his website for more information. Like I said, "WOW." It is worth checking out.