Please join us for The Modbo and S.P.Q.R.’s first art opening of 2013 on February 1st. The Modbo will host “Zugraphos” by Erin Jones, a promising young artist who has just returned from an art studies program abroad in Italy and Greece. S.P.Q.R. will feature alumni of the many art classes which have been taught at The Modbo by Brett Andrus over the past four years. Please join us from 5:30 pm until midnight on Friday, February 1st. The show will run through Friday, February 22nd. The Modbo can be reached at themodbo@gmail.com or 633-4240.
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Erin Jones, 22, is a Colorado Springs native. She graduated from Palmer High School, having taken Advanced Placement and IB Classes in art. Her first and most prominent art pursuit began with FutureSelf in 2003. She studied countless art media under dozens of local artists as a student while also moving forward in the program as volunteer, artist assistant, event coordinator and teacher, until the program’s end in 2011. Erin worked extensively with local artist and mentor Spica Stolfus and the Black Kiowa Gallery from 2006 to present. There, she executed dozens of art projects, shows, and installations throughout the community. From 2007-2008, Erin worked at the Smokebrush Foundation of the Arts as a gallery assistant and an assistant curator. In 2008, she was accepted into the highly esteemed annual juried art exhibition “Wunderkind” at the Business of Art Center. This exhibit spotlights 12 of the top high-school art students in the Pikes Peak region. Erin fell in love with oil paint in 2010 while studying under Brett Andrus at The Modbo/ SPQR galleries. Heavy participation in the Arts Alley District with Brett and Lauren Andrus has provided Erin with ample amounts of gallery exposure and recognition throughout the community.
In an attempt to broaden her horizons in art and travel, Erin applied last year to the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts and was accepted alongside 26 participants worldwide to undergo an intensive abroad study in Italy and Greece for the fall of 2012. The first month in Italy was dedicated to the study of master painters, sculptors and architects of the Italian Renaissance. She witnessed hundreds of masterworks in Rome, Venice, Florence, Siena, Lucca, and Pisa, while also attending classes at Villa Rospigliosi, her main housing in the small Tuscan town of Pistoia. Her focus shifted dramatically when the course moved to Athens, Greece, and then more permanently to the Kykladic island of Paros, Greece. Here, she was able to take advantage of the school’s facilities, nestled in the Parian village of Paroikia. Hours upon hours were spent in the classroom, her studio, and also outdoors in the beautiful wilderness and waters of the island. This settling gave her the ability to apply her inspiration from Italy and move forward with technical skill in drawing, figure studies, oil painting and printmaking, as well as a new historical exploration of the astounding artistic accomplishments of Ancient Greek civilization. Erin’s transformation is evident even beyond the curriculum shown. The Aegean Center’s thriving environment allowed Erin to seek a new richness and the act of artmaking and life as a whole. She has gained many powerful new relationships/ mentorships and is thrilled to continue exploring her days actively and curiously.
The Modbo/ SPQR Galleries will be showcasing Erin’s abroad studies on February 1st, 2013. Entitled “Zugraphos” for the Greek word for painter (literally, “transcriber of life”), the show will include a collection of prints, drawings, and paintings created in Greece, along with a series started upon her return to Colorado Springs in December. Her new work applies her new-found oil painting techniques to her original love of portraiture. All portraits painted have a common theme of projection, where specific images are projected on each of the subject’s faces/ bodies. All artwork sold will contribute to Erin’s return to the Aegean Center for the Spring Semester in Paros, Greece.
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Since 2009, artist and Modbo co-owner Brett Andrus has been teaching a variety of art classes to adult students at The Modbo. These classes cover topics such as oil painting, drawing, mixed media, art history, and theory. Taught in a casual and friendly environment, the classes strive to find the potential in each student, cultivating a love of the process and a willingness to work hard and accept new challenges, regardless of the students’ level or prior knowledge. This second-ever Modbo Classes Alumni show will feature work by Christian Medovich, Dave Tweedy, Susan Fletcher, Korri Oxford, Miguel Espinosa, Monique Viger, Cole Bennett, Jean Cuchiaro, and others.