WHAT: NIGHT OF ART, MUSIC AND SPECIAL GUESTS FEATURING THE OPENING OF SYMBOL OF... AN EXHIBIT OF EMERGING ARTISTS CHERIE SHOWN, SEEFDRO TVNEIK AND NIKO VARDAS.
WHEN: OPENING JANUARY 26TH 6PM-9PM, SHOW RUNS JANUARY 26 THROUGH FEDBRUARY 22ND.
WHERE: ENERGIE COFFEE BAR 3203 BIDDLE AVE WYANDOTTE
CONTACT: WWW.ENERGIE.CC OR 734-246-7600

Symbol Of... a show of emerging artists opens January 26th 6pm-9pm at Energie Coffee Bar.

Energie Coffee Bar in Wyandotte is the new show space in the Downriver area for emerging artists from all over the metro Detroit area.

Jeremy Hansen, Design Director of the River's Edge Gallery, curates the shows. While working at the River's Edge Gallery in Wyandotte Hansen noticed many new talented artists would inquire about a place to show their work. "Most emerging artists don't have a space to have their first shows," Hansen says, "which every aspiring professional artist needs in order to build their resume."

Hansen's main goal with these shows is to create a more art friendly atmosphere in Downriver Michigan one art show at a time. Hansen, also an emerging artist, is fortunate to work in an atmosphere that helps him to learn what is necessary to become a professional artist.

Hansen says, "I look at the shows that I curate as a low cost way to build an artists resume and art show experience so they are ready to show at an art gallery."

Symbol Of... is the fifth show at Energie for Hansen which features the work of Cherie Shown, Niko Vardas, and Seefdro Tvneik.

Cherie Shown has been consistently creating artwork for over 6 years. Her figurative paintings on canvas go from abstraction to realism to surrealism and so much more. She paints what she wants and doesn't stay within a certain style.

Niko Vardas ,a Westland native , has been painting with a variety of matierials and media for over seven years now. Everything from oil,acrylic,pencil and crayon, to housepaint,oilsticks, and ink are used to make the colorful and strange subject matter of his work.

Seefro Tvneik says "My work is a celebration of color and composition. The process of my work starts with the calculated experiences of my life. I like to use emotion and translate it through the use of color and composition. The structures or compositions can at first seem ambiguous within my composition. Although this is far from the intention in my creativity. The work is layered, with each layer carefully scrutinized for optimum visual experience. The compositions are complete when the structure radiates an energy which is fulfilling to me. Usually the aesthetics process within my work has many layers and can take several months to a year to complete. My colors are rich with pigment to help intensify the visual experience. The work is described by me as having a rough ,beautiful, chaotic aesthetic which ultimately works brilliantly within the composition. The work ultimately reflects my visual window of humanity and the endeavors our emotions work with."

The opening for Symbol Of... is on January 26th from 6pm to 10pm.

3024 Biddle Ave. Wyandotte (734)246-9880 or riversedgegallery@wyan.org

Opening January 19th 6pm-11pm
Dr. Arnold Dreifuss and Jim Slack were hard working "lifers" devoted to creating art.

Both of these highly collected artists died in the midst of a creative fury that left an uncomparable legacy of artwork.
Many considered their distinctive painting styles to be their extended finger prints. Their highly expressive work appears to have come from the same school of learning although they would truely be considered "outsider" artists, a very popular collectible art form where the artist does not derive his style from a formal education.
Sculptural Works and Oils on Canvas created on many unusual substraits have incorporated non-traditional and traditional techniques. Pieces often include more than one medium and multiple materials: printmaking, quilting, chicken wire and painted glass to name a few.

Although Dreifuss and Slack never met, they were kindred spirits.

ALSO:Nancy Byrum presents her new photo realism pieces on the first floor. Her paintings of various birds and animals have sold all over Michigan and have won numerous awards.

Patricia Izzo's dark and light side will come together in her studio and adjoining third floor gallery when two travelling displays called 20/20 come together. The 20/20 series has garnered critical acclaim in numerous metro-Detroit newspapers and weeklies.