The Modbo and S.P.Q.R. happily present March’s First Friday, opening on March 4th, 2016. Featuring Lupita Carrasco in The Modbo, with her new show “Paints Like a Girl (observations of the male experience) and artist Jess Preble in S.P.Q.R. with “First, Second and Third Person.” The shows will open from 5:30 until midnight on First Friday, and will remain up for viewing on subsequent Friday evenings through March, ending March 25th. The Modbo and SPQR are located at 17b and 17c East Bijou, 80903. More information at themodbo.com or by calling 633-4240 or emailing themodbo@gmail.com
Jess Preble is a Colorado native who has spent time studying art in San Francisco, Austin and Colorado Springs. She creates her art in a neo-impressionistic fashion, portraying as much emotion as possible in each individual brush-stroke, and using a vignette of detail – leaving completion and emotional conclusion to the mind of the viewer. About her new show, “First, Second and Third Person,” Preble says, “It is a part of my story – moments I’ve reflected in, and while giving you my representation of the moments of others, asking you – the viewers – for the final perspective and interpretation.”
Preble believes that art is raw information, which should not be hard boiled and spoon-fed to the viewers. As the most honest form of communication, art requires a dialogue between the artist and audience – one that will differ with each person’s contemplation of a piece. She believes that using loose strokes, and bold implications lacking refinement allows this exchange to occur in an open and lasting manner.
Artist Lupita Carrasco creates a wide variety of work, from mixed media landscapes and haunting organic abstracts to portraits laced with symbolism. Her paintings are as rich in emotion as they are in detail and color. Even as a very young child she felt compelled to create as a coping mechanism for an often tumultuous upbringing. Over the years, Lupita has remained passionate about her art, always seeking out new knowledge from other artists and her own experimentation to better express her emotions, dreams and view of humanity through various mediums. Lupita’s vibrant Mexican culture and traditional Roman Catholic upbringing demand a strong presence in her paintings. Drawing her inspiration from the natural world, religion and social and political themes, her creative process revolves around her life’s desire to investigate and merge the images and themes that surround her literally and in her creative imagination.
Paints Like A Girl (observations of the male experience) is a continued exploration of societal expectations and labels placed on individuals based on age, gender, race and appearance. Carrasco spent some time talking to men about how they see themselves as opposed to how the world sees them, discussing their fears, strengths and things they identify with. Some of the images originated from selfies that caught the artist’s eye as perfect representations or expressions of their personalities. This collection of paintings is an intimate view of male vulnerability and strength, the essence of men Carrasco knows and encounters explored through the eyes, hands and heart of a woman.