Artist Statement
Recently, in my coming-of-age realizations, I have struggled with issues of cultural and social identity. This struggle for answers has inevitably lead me back to my own personal history. The history of a place, as well as its land and inhabitants, are all vitally important in defining a community’s environmental and social conditions. In my prints I romanticize this idea with the use of rural landscape and landmarks. These rural devices serve to emphasize the ever-growing abandonment of small towns and farmland of the Midwest. With the medium of serigraphy, or screen printing, I can express the man-made qualities of rural architecture with a photographic stencil technique. Simultaneously, I evoke changing atmosphere within the land and skies by using monoprint and paper stencil techniques. Within the prints and photographs I bring an awareness of current conditions to a regionally based audience, who are concerned with the emigration of small town populations and the gradual disappearance of local history.
Artist Bio
Justin Marable was raised in Robinson, a northeastern Kansas farm town. He, along with his four brothers, experienced the realities and everyday existence of being small town children of the Midwest. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Justin learned and wandered within the boundaries of his hometown, observing the landscape and landmarks of the surrounding areas. It was not until he returned home from his first year of attending the School of Fine Arts at KU, that he fully realized the importance of his rural experience. At the university an interest in photography and printmaking, particularly serigraphy, became his methods to express social issues and past recollections of rural towns in and around the Kansas landscape. Justin lived and worked in Lawrence for three years and graduated from KU in May 2005 with a B.F.A. in printmaking. He is now happily married, living in Topeka, and working as a full-time artist.
NEWS
Group Print Exhibit in Topeka
I will have work as part of a group print exhibit at Beauchamp's Gallery and Frame Shop in Topeka, 3113 SW Huntoon St. The opening will be this Friday, Feb. 15th from 6-8pm. There will be lots of fantastic prints by well known printmakers of the past and present. Hope to see you there!
Exhibit at the new Merc Gallery
I currently have artwork displayed at the Community Mercantile in Lawrence, Ks, 901 Iowa St. The natural food coop is an amazing, unique, and conscious place to shop and visit. The store has just been recently renovated with a new cafe and many other new and exciting additions. Within the cafe, wall space has been designated for a small art gallery. Exhibits rotate every few months, so if you are in the area or frequent the coop often, check it out!
Opening dates and times
As I said previously, I am posting the specific dates and times of the exhibits. In Kansas City at Apex Gallery in Crossroads Dentistry, I have a show that opened on October 18th and will be up through Dec. 18th. The first artist reception has come and gone, but there will be a second reception on Dec. 7th, 6-9pm during the First Fridays Gallery Walk in the Crossroads District. On November 16th, 5-7pm in Wichita, I will have another show opening at the Wichita Center for the Arts, 9112 E. Central, Wichita, KS. 67206. This show will continue through January 6th. A third exhibit will then open on November 30th at Signs of Life Gallery in Lawrence, 722 Massachusetts St., Lawrence KS. This will be my first solo exhibit at Signs of Life and the gallery will be filled with new and past work. Opening time I am not sure but anywhere between 6 and 10pm would be a good time to come. Hope to see you at one of the many!
Upcoming Shows in October and November!
I will be having work in multiple venues this month and next. The first exhibition will be at Apex Art Space at Crossroads Dentistry in Kansas City on October 18th. I will have two openings at this space, one during both November and December First Friday Art Walks. Another exhibit will then be going up at the beginning of November. The official opening for that show will be Nov. 16th at the Wichita Center for the Arts. The third exhibition will be at Signs of Life Gallery in Lawrence at the end of November. The opening for this show will be on November 30th. I will post more details as I figure them out as far as times for all these openings, but for now mark your calendars for all or any of these shows and hopefully I will see you at least at one.
Upcoming Lawrence gallery opening
I will be exhibiting a new work in a brand new gallery opening in Lawrence called 6 Gallery. 6 Gallery at 716 1/2 B. Mass. St. (the old Richard's Music space) will be having its inaugural show "Thresholds" featuring 42 artists with Lawrence connections. 6 Gallery will be having six group shows annually, each with a different unifying theme or concept. Donations to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Douglas County will be accepted. The grand opening of the show and gallery will be the evening of September 7th, 7-10pm. The work I will be showing is brand new unlike anything I have done. Come check it out!
Art Showing in Topeka
Through the month of August my artwork will be on display at Warehouse 414 in Topeka. Warehouse 414 is a nice furniture store housed in an old renovated warehouse, located at 414 Se 2nd St, downtown Topeka.
Exhibit at The Bourgeois Pig
I will be having a new show open on July 22nd at 7pm at the Bourgeois Pig at 6 E 9th St. in Lawrence the show will be in the space until August 26th. The show will be be called 'Alternatives'and will exhibit lots of new work including drawings and prints all dealing with ideas about alternative energy and transportation.
Lawrence Neighborhood Exhibit
On February 3rd a new group exhibition at Signs of Life Gallery in Lawrence will be opening. The exhibit will feature art created by 5 to 6 local and regional artists including me. The art will depict various scenes within a mile radius of the gallery in downtown Lawrence. There will be photographs, paintings, and prints with an array of subject matter within the neighborhood.
Highland Community College Art Exhibit
My solo exhibit at Highland Community College in Highland, Kansas from January 2nd-31st, is now on display. The work will be exhibited in Yost Gallery on campus. The college is located at 606 W. Main, 66035. I will be having an artist reception on Jan. 13th 6-8pm for those who would like to meet or for those who live in the area.
LOYO 2006 at the LAC
Three of my prints will be on display as part of this year's Lawrence-Own-Your-Own art exhibition. The exhibition is a juried annual showing of local artists. This year it will be held at the Lawrence Arts Center Dec. 5th - 16th. Grand opening will be on Dec. 9th. 6-9pm.
Golden Maps : Roadside Treasure
My solo exhibit at the Olive Gallery in downtown Lawrence is currently on display. The show is filled with new prints as part of a larger installation on the walls of the gallery. Don't miss it, there are only 2 more weeks. The show will be up through Nov. 29th.
September 7, 2006
Another Olive Gallery Solo Exhibit is in the making! The opening reception for the new show will be on November 4th, 2006. Its just a few months away and I am busy, busy creating many new works. The show will be called Golden Maps: Roadside Treasure. The Olive is located in downtown Lawrence at 15 East 8th Street. Also, I will be part of a group print show at Strecker Nelson Gallery in Manhattan, which opens on November 3rd, 2006. What a weekend! Come support the arts one of the nights or check the exhibits out sometime during the month of November.
august 8, 2006
A few of my black and white prints are on diplay at Signs of Life in the south gallery as part of a group exhibit. The show consists of various works of art in several different mediums. All works are black and white.
july 14, 2006
Current Exhibit with Bob Swain at Beauchamp's Frame Shop and Gallery, 3113 SW Huntoon (in the Westboro Mart) Topeka, Ks. 66604. Show will be on display July 14th-August 23rd.
june 1, 2006
Current group exhibit at Signs of Life Gallery in Lawrence has been extended for another 6 weeks. The show will be up until the middle of July in the north gallery at Signs of Life Gallery, 722 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Ks.
may 10, 2006
Justin's new show at Signs of Life Gallery in Lawrence will be closing on May 27th. Please bring all purchases to the front register.
april 23, 2006
New work posted in the gallery. Please have a look, and let Justin know what you think.
march 31, 2006
Justin is opening a new group show at Signs of Life Gallery in Lawrence. He'll be showing with crop artist Stan Herd, photographer Bill Snead, sculptor Jim Brothers & illustrator John Hendrix. The show is called "Dear Old Kansas: Views of Kansas History Through the Lens of Art." Justin designed promotional posters for the show.
