MARTIN MAZORRA & MIKE HOUSTON "HILLBILLY HOUSEWARES:
CANNONBALL PRESS IN 3D"
COlab is proud to present "Hillbilly Housewares: Cannonball Press in 3D" by artists Martin Mazorra and Mike Houston. New York's premiere printing press of primal graphics presents a battery of handmade backwoods wares for the home and beyond, in an exclusive showcase available only at COlab. The show opens Saturday, December 6th and runs through the 23rd.
In 1999, Mazorra and Houston co-founded Cannonball Press an alternative pirate press publishing limited editions of emerging artists's work. Their mission is to produce high quality graphics and artwork at accessible prices. "Hillbilly Housewares" will bring this aesthetic and collaboration to life for the first time in an array of media. Roadside inspired stands will be filled with artist-made objects including hand-crafted furniture, general caveman décor, and the infamous Tar Pit Hair Goop. The show will also include paintings, signage, and Cannonball Press editions. Carnival style Saturday events on December 6th, 13th, and 20th will feature the artists on hand to hawk their wares and more than a few surprises.
Martin Mazorra's work explores a love for bold color, voluptuous design, and strong graphic images. As the oldest son of a Cuban exile in West Virginia, Mazorra developed his aesthetic submerged in Appalachian economics and pre-Castro nostalgia. Though the references are not images are based on the common appreciation and importance his Hispanic father and rural community each placed on their automobiles, machines represented in form and function pride, optimism, and freedom. It is his desire to reflect the spirit of these things in his artwork. Mazorrašs surfaces are crisp and clean, much the same as a polished and pristine new car. Also incorporated in his imagery are retro and pop culture inspired color combinations derived from corporate logos, sports teams, and stock cars.
A native North Carolinian, Michael Houston works in various media, including painting, printmaking, instrument building, film and video. Houstonšs style of punk surrealism revolves around a steadily growing stable of images that tread the line between abstract and representational. Inanimate products of industry, twisted science and fantasy are brought to life and collide on vinyl scrolls, aluminum panels, ink drawings, woodcuts and silk-screen prints. These narratives are often presented in glossy, highly charged color schemes, and reflect Houstonšs fascination with the tactile, absurd, and shiny. He received a BFA with High Honors in Studio Art from Dartmouth College and has worked as an artist in San Francisco, CA, Siena, Italy, and Calcutta, India.
Over the past 4 years, Mazorra and Houston have worked extensively with the artist collective known as the Barnstormers. The group have painted murals on some fifty aging tobacco barns in rural North Carolina and have mounted public art projects and exhibitions nationally and internationally. They are widely recognized for their films that combine time-lapse photography, large-scale installations, collaborative painting performances, and sound.
Gallery hours are Thursday Sunday, 12-6pm and by appointment:
487 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Directions:
2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave. and M, N, R, W to Pacific St.
Contact:
917-365-6168
info@colab-projects.com
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