The FUTURE PRESENCE Gallery Celebrates Timely One-Year Anniversary

Official Flyer for Future Presence 5 Art-a-Whirl 2012

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

With the nation's largest open-studio art crawl starting tomorrow night, the members of the artist collective The FUTURE PRESENCE Gallery have been hurrying to prepare for their namesake group show, FUTURE PRESENCE 5, as well as their one-year anniversary in their current location. Originally started as a rotating and alternative gallery, the group found roots at 1126 2nd Street NE, in an abandoned store-front in the Arts District. Seeing as their first show was last year's Art-a-Whirl, it is only fitting that the Gallery celebrates it's strongest show yet with the fifth installment of its namesake showcase series with FUTURE PRESENCE 5.

The FUTURE PRESENCE showcase series was founded on the simple belief that Minneapolis contains an incredible pool of talented individuals, and that by showcasing some of the more recognized and strongest talents alongside newer and less established artists that an important dialogue would open up. This model - experience combining with enthusiasm - would ultimately lead to a string of incredibly successful shows combining art, performance, music and community involvement. It also lead to the belief that although titled "a gallery", The FUTURE PRESENCE group has ultimately succeeded in creating a unique and exciting project space where ideas and connections are created and the future of Minneapolis' burgeoning art scene is forming.



WUNDR finishing mural in the EON Soundspace, alongside work by BIAFRA, Inc

 In this blog we have dubbed this rotating group of artists/musicians/creators as Minneapolis' Untitled Movement - loosely affiliated by working or showing together, through solo or collaborative projects, and sharing a wide but with a similar group of themes and connections. Our last show, May 5th's UNDR MPLS, was the perfect example of this. An "art examination" rather than an exhibition, UNDR MPLS explored the underground street art, light painting and urban exploring communities in Minneapolis and ultimately contained work by some 20 artists.  Some 400 or so people stopped through the Gallery for a one-night exhibition, and I personally have never heard that many people say that they had just seen the best art show ever. What I think was truly the most exciting part about this show was how obvious it was that artists and the Gallery itself truly believed in the power of this work, and the fact that it was created together. The two floors were mutated every night for two weeks, with each artist adding their own fingerprint not just with their work, but by inviting friends over during installation, or inviting them to collaborate on a new, spontaneous piece. One graffiti writer would finish a piece on one of the EON Soundspace walls, and leave several cans of paint for the next artist to continue the work in the their own style but linked by the same colors. This kind of collaborative feeling has been building at The Gallery for sometime, and surely culminating with our upcoming Art-a-Whirl show.

FUTURE PRESENCE 5 will feature local favorites and nationally recognized talents in Chuck U, Jesse Draxler, Michael Gaughan, Nick Howard and WUNDR. Frequent Gallery collaborators Nathaniel, Bryant Locher, Jonathan Delehanty, Scott Anderson, Josh Wilichowski, Russ Olson and Justin James Sehorn will be joined by international artists Stephan Tillmans and Plástica . And joining the series for the first time are playful designer and screenprinter Boxy Mouse and boundary-pushing oil painter Samuel Bjorgum. With collaborations and installations between several artists, (including Gallery founders Nathaniel and Bryant Locher's modern take on omni-present art muse St. Sebastian taking center stage in the Gallery) the visual artists collected in FUTURE PRESENCE 5 are truly topnotch, and unfortunately all too rare considering the talent we have surrounding us.

As is common at the Gallery, the weekend will also include music to accompany the visual art, starting Friday night at 9PM with The FREAKONOMIQUE Music Series presenting The Beatles' Everyday Chemistry, with live accompaniment by Jacob Grun's All Star Band. Grun, owner of the Sound Gallery and leader of local favorites Me & My Arrow has worked with the gallery in collecting a local supergroup of sorts in Jacob Mullis (Fort Wilson Riot), Greg Reese (Demografics) & Hicks (Red Daughters) to play live alongside a truly unique cassette tape. Everyday Chemistry is reported to be a compilation tape from another dimension where The Beatles never broke up and are still performing together. Recorded on early 70's analog technology and featuring John, Paul, George and Ringo's post-Beatles solo projects spliced together with original compositions, this extra-dimensional mixtape is quite convincing and sure to be an interesting performance for Beatles and music fans alike.

On Saturday, May 19th, the Gallery's EON Soundspace will play host to a night of local music following the same mission as the visual art upstairs by showcasing experimental projects alongside established bands, including frequent collaborator Mark McGee (To Kill A Petty Bourgoisie, VOTEL)'s newest project, Father You See Queen, Seated Heat, Aureola and throughout the day DJ sets by SOLID GOLD.

Of course, our friends at the number one rated food-truck World Street Kitchen will be parked outside the Gallery Friday & Saturday nights from 5-10PM, and Red Stag Supperclub will be serving Lagunitas IPA, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Joia! All-Natural Sodas and mixed drinks throughout the night inside at the bar.

We hope to see you there at what will truly be a unique and unforgettable Art-a-Whirl weekend.

Nathaniel

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