Fabulist!

Portland-based artist Amy Crehore will be having her solo debut show in LA at Thinkspace Gallery next month, and the theme is dreamgirls and ukuleles. Have two things ever been more perfectly suited for each other? The show opens February 13th, with the opening reception featuring a special performance of blues, ragtime, and jugband music by Amy's band, the Hokum Scorchers. It sounds like a fun night both visually and sonically, so if you're in the area, lucky you.

From the press release:

"Amy Crehore’s solo exhibit will feature a new series of oil paintings of playful, iconic nudes and will introduce some new characters (in addition to her well known cats, pierrots and monkeys): a lion, a tortoise, and large flying insects. Ukuleles will play a role in these new narratives, giving the works musical ambience. Some of these dream sequences will take place in nature, others in curtained rooms.

Crehore has also painted over a dozen antique ukuleles as part of this special exhibit. Most of these instruments are from the American ukulele boom of the 1920’s. Crehore personally hand-picked a collection that represents a variety of styles and designs including banjo ukes, mahogany and koa ukes, as well as art deco novelty ukes. On these ukes, she will incorporate motifs from her paintings, plus she will be adding creative type and logo design. Crehore’s long-time music partner, Lou Reimuller, is also a luthier and he has lovingly restored each of these instruments. These ukes are all “players” as well as fine art objects."

(link)