2014 LBPLV ARTISTS

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ANTHONY BONDI

Anthony Bondi is a native of Las Vegas. The distinction of the city and its cultural identity are recurring subjects in his work.  

Anthony’s work often involves transformation of materials away from their intended usages and toward new purposes. Pictures may be altered and re-made through collage. In sculpture, commercial and industrial products may have their purposes redefined by a new context being offered for their presentation.

www.anthonybondi.com

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SCOTT GROW

Scott Grow is an artist currently living and working in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He received his BFA in painting and printmaking from the Herron School of Art in 2001and earned his MFA from UNLV in 2014. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows across the country and abroad. 

I have long been interested in how the eye and the body experience and move about space, whether the visual space of a painting or the physical space in which the works are presented. I am interested in the exploration of materials, form, color and how the physical juxtaposition of objects creates a unique, visually aesthetic experience. In my recent, performative-based projects, I am interested in further questioning the realms of exploration, mystery and loss. 

www.scottgrow.com

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JEVIJOE VITUG

Jevijoe Vitug is a painter, art writer, curator and community activist. One of the most prolific Asian American artists working today in Las Vegas, he is known for creating his own imagined world that integrates Asian and Western cultures, history and contemporaneity, the local and the global. Vitug received his BFA in Painting (cum laude) from St. Scholastica’s College Manila, Philippines in 1998 and attended graduate school at San Francisco Art Institute’s MFA New Genres program in 2008. His work often deals with survival and global environmental concerns, his work and projects have been exhibited widely in Las Vegas and abroad. For the London Biennale Pollination in Las Vegas, Vitug will create a performance called “VIVAYLAN”, a word play from terms- Viva (Viva Las Vegas) and Babaylan, a name for spiritual healer in the Philippines. He will explore the concept of a modern-day shaman who grasps the spiritual and worldly dimensions of life in Sin City.

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SHELBI SCHROEDER

Shelbi Schroeder was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She received her BA for Fine Arts in Northern California at Humboldt State University. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada where she is pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts at UNLV.

Structure provides certainties. My body becomes a part of the structure to try and understand the allure.

www.shelbischroeder.com

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JK RUSS

JK RUSS is originally from New Zealand where she graduated with a BVA (photography) from MIT Faculty of Creative Arts in Auckland in 2001. In August 2010, Russ relocated to Las Vegas, USA, where she has become known for her mixed media works, video and collage installations. In August 2014, Russ will exhibit new collage works at Sin City Gallery, and in December, will undertake an artist residency with the P3 Studio at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Toe to toe, fingertip to fingertip – the linked limbs of JK Russ’ paper cut outs wander across spaces in jagged, linear explorations. Having created her first installation of cut outs at Art Odyssey at the Life is Beautiful festival in 2013, Russ will be creating a collaborative, site-specific work for the Pollination event.

www.jkruss.com

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MATTHEW COUPER

Matthew Couper was born in New Zealand and is based in Las Vegas after immigrating to the USA in 2010. His practice over the past decade has appropriated aspects of western Art History including Trecento, Quattrocento and the Baroque. Through these painterly investigations, he discovered that history oft repeats and helped him determine that the Modernist notions of originality held little interest for his practice. Couper uses the established narrative traditions of Spanish Colonial retablos and ex-votos to discuss the space between myth, religion and art politics. He recently stated that 'like any good Johnny Cash, Nick Cave or Pixies song, you've got to have sex, death and religion fueling the fire'

www.mattcouper.com

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YASMINA CHAVEZ

Yasmina Chavez is a long time Nevada resident. She was raised in Elko, NV and has lived and worked in Las Vegas since 2004. She graduated from UNLV in 2011 with her BFA in photography and is currently working for Greenspun Media Group as a Photo Coordinator for the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Weekly and The Sunday. In the fall of 2011, together with three other local artist she co-founded 5th Wall – a contemporary art gallery focused on encouraging artists to work conceptually with the idea of space and viewer interaction. Sheʼs had two solo shows at Counterspace Gallery: They Used To Be Animals in 2013 and Stranger Bond in 2012 with a third solo show coming up in July at Las Vegasʼ TastySpace gallery. Currently, in her second duo collaboration with artist Javier Sanchez, she has a sound installation at the Xeric Garden at the Marjorie Barrick Museum with the corresponding video installation at TastySpace gallery for their exhibit Derivative Presence. Chavez has participated in group shows throughout Las Vegas, including 2012ʼs London Biennale held at VAST Gallery, the 2012 short film festival Spring Flicks, and 2010ʼs Off The Strip new genres festival. She is an interdisciplinary artist and will be attending Alfred University in the fall for her MFA in their Electronic Integrated Arts program.

www.yasminachavez.wix.com/art

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JAVIER SANCHEZ

Born in the suburbs of Mexico City and now living in the United States, Javier Sanchez has been a resident of Las Vegas Nevada for the last ten years. In Spring 2012, he received his Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the University Of Nevada Las Vegas.
For the last five years he has been exhibit his work in different galleries and venues within the Las Vegas area including his first solo exhibition in 2010 “El Salon De Dibujo” at CSN College Of Southern Nevada, in the Fall of 2010 “Relative Perspectives” a photography installation piece installed inside of The Clark County Government Center (Rotunda Gallery) in downtown Las Vegas, and his most recent collaborative exhibition with Yasmina Chavez on May 2013 “ERISTIC” a video and sound installation piece at Alios Gallery in downtown Las Vegas. Javier Sanchez is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Las Vegas NV. He incorporates video, photography, sound, nature, and the community in to his art practice.

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DAVID RYAN

David Ryan was born in 1971, Texas and lives in Las Vegas. He gleans inspiration from the slick colors and lines of cars, electronic gadgets and household appliances to transform mundane, undesirable MDF into luxurious, enticing wall-sculptures. By creating multiple (literal) layers, Ryan explores the way line, shape and shadow interact to produce perceptual conundrums that intrigue his viewer. Thus his conceptually multi-layered pieces speak not only of glossy consumer products but also refer to phenomenology and complex art theories. His work explores the dynamic between craft and production, art and design, man and machine.
Ryan received his BFA from the University of Texas in Austin, TX before making the move to earn his MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (NV) where he studied under Dave Hickey and Libby Lumpkin. His work has been exhibited at the Laguna Art Museum (CA), Las Vegas Art Museum (NV), Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard (Paris), Seomi & Tuus (Seoul), Davidson Contemporary (NY), and James Kelly Contemporary (NM).

www.markmooregallery.com/artists/david-ryan/

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JUSTIN FAVELA

Justin Favela was born and raised in Las Vegas, growing up in government housing amid a tight-knit family of Mexican and Guatemalan heritage. Favela was a childhood fan of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and TV and popular culture live large in his interests, showing up in Favela’s often-humorous piñatas and other cardboard constructions.

“Part of my process in art making is problem solving with limited resources,” he says. “I can make something about nothing with cheap materials. And that’s Las Vegas. It grew from a pit stop to this with limited resources.”

www.justinfavela.net

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KADY MONROE-TRACEY

Kady Monroe-Tracey lives and creates in San Francisco, California. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute for her Undergraduate Degree in Painting, and is currently teaching art to underserved youth through the SFAI City Studio Program. Statement: I live in the midst of investigation--an endless quest for self-knowledge. I strive to be a conduit; an open door, exploring being and time. Acts of creation are brimming with human notion; an uncanny mirror. I have no aim. I create with little expectation of the future and with a non-destination seeking approach to existence.

www.kadymonroetracey.com

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GIORGIO GUIDI

Giorgio Guidi (Italy) lives and works in Las Vegas, NV. He holds a BA in Sculpture (2006, Accademia di Carrara, IT). From 2009 to 2013 his work has been widely shown across several countries, in public and private spaces. During the years he earned a copious set of skills, by working on different kind of projects with other artists, designers and architects. He has taken part in the "No Soul for Sale" festival at the Tate Modern (UK) in 2010 as part of the Viafarini archive, shown at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in New York City in 2012, and the prestigious “Musei in Mostra” show held at Artissima in 2012. His work was also shown at Soloway (NY) in 2012, and his first solo show was held at FaMa Gallery, Verona (IT) in 2013. In 2011, He was an artist in residence at VIR-Viafarini in residence in Milano (IT) and part of the show Lords of Dirt at the UGM in Maribor (SI). He studied music since the age of five, achieving goals in playing several instruments and composing. He is involved in two upcoming public art projects in Las Vegas (NV), the “Zap! 6” promoted by the Winchester Cultural Center, and a temporary installation at the Clark County Government Center.

www.giorgioguidi.com

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CARA SEYMOUR

Cara Seymour (USA) began her training in Ashtabula (OH) under the tutelage of Shelagh Dubsky and Clover Robinson. In 2011 she graduated from The Juilliard School (NY). Upon graduation, Seymour joined MOMIX Dance Theatre and toured internationally with Moses Pendelton's ReMIX for two seasons. Currently, she is performing as part of Spiegelworld's latest creation “Vegas Nocturne” in Las Vegas, NV. Throughout her career she has performed works by Gideon Obarzanek, Elisa Monte, Larry Keigwin, Stijn Celis, Paul Taylor, Alex Ketley, Ohad Naharin, and Mark Morris.