Opening Fri 4/17 @ 5 – 9pm
The world’s going to end! Think fast — what do you take with you?
That’s the concept of R!ch Cihlar and Bob Peck’s latest exhibition at e11ven 2 Gallery, aptly named Don’t Panic! These Cleveland artists have it all figured out — they’d take women, their toys and they’d do all this on rockets.
While the concept isn’t all seriousness, the work is serious in its quality. Both are well-established artists who have been friends for about 10 years. Though they’ve worked together on shows before, this is the first time they’ve collaborated on the same pieces of work.
Cihlar’s stencil color pallet seamlessly combines with Peck’s abstract color pallet into one final piece that looks like it was made by a single artist. Their styles are almost made to enhance the others’, resulting in vibrant, energetic, fun, retro-inspired pieces of art. But was it easy for two artists to work as one?
Says Cihlar, “The collaborative process was so smooth. We might have had one to two face-to-face meetings prior to running with the idea. And then when we started working, it was just handing off works to each other and letting go.
“Bob would finish what I started, or I would add to on of his abstracts, and it was like playing a sport. I’d set him up by creating intentional negative space, and he would just knock it out of the park.
“So knowing each other’s work, style, personality, and mark making, I think we were each able to be confident in what the other was doing, or going to do.
“I know it seems like a dull answer, but when you gel with someone so well, you just crank out sweet shit. I’ve never been so proud of finished works as I am with this show. It was a lot of work to create, but you had your friend right next to you fighting the same fight. So there was a sense of balance and motivation. I remember the feeling when Bob sent me the first photo of one of our paintings he just finished (it was the one on the front of our postcard ‘Firefly’). I was so giddy.
“That excitement threw my mind into overdrive, and finished show shows that excitement through paint marks, loud colors, explosive lines. The works are a blend of graphic stencils and abstract marks. There’s little narrative (besides the titles). They’re just cool works you’d want to hang in your home, that make you smile every day.”
Don’t Panic! will open Fri 4/17 and be on display through Fri 5/15. Look around town for various “free-bees” promoting the show. The artists will be installing 2×4 ft diecut paintings of rockets around Cleveland and will give out clues on their Facebook page and website as to where they’re at. It’s up to you to find them. And, if you do, they’re yours to take home.
Cihlar will also be handing out painted pennies that he used to hold down his stencils while making the show’s paintings. Additionally, they’ll be offering full color drink koozies made of two of the pieces in the show, along with various other “gimmicky propaganda.”
“I just hope everyone gets inspired by the work. I want artists who see to go home and pull out the paints and start creating, says Cihlar. “I’d like to know what we made perpetuated more cool art, and so on, and so on. And for those who don’t make art, I hope they feel creative in their own way and it encourages forward motion or productivity. The works are bold in color and give a good representation of what raw energy looks like. I also want the guest to have an experience. We have posters of most of the works, 3D glasses (Chromadepth) that make the works move and float in front of your face, we have koozies, and so many other fun little things to make it an art show to remember. It’s going to be a party with art.”
While it may not be the end of the world as we know it just yet, it’s always the perfect time for a party. Go out and get inspired.
Don’t Panic!, featuring collaborative works by R!ch Cihlar and Bob Peck, opens Fri 4/17 from 5 – 9pm at e11even 2 gallery, located inside the 78th Street Studios. Show runs through Fri 5/15.
https://richardcihlar.wordpress.com
https://e11even2.wordpress.com
http://wakemewhenimprofound.com
Cool Cleveland editor Sarah Valek studied art and writing at Ithaca College. After graduation, she came back to Cle and served two years as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. She can be found on all sides of the city in pursuit of homeschooling activities for her son and the perfect soy latte. Contact her at CoolEditorATCoolCleveland.com or via Twitter.
Cleveland, OH 44102