September 17th – November 15th
Opening Reception September 17th 6-9 pm
Artist Talk September 18th 5:30 pm
Patrick Berran – Ben Grasso – Jean Pierre Roy – Ryan Scully – Jeremy Mangan – Shintaro Okamoto
Circle of Friends (from Brooklyn to Tacoma) is an exhibition of painting and drawing curated by Tacoma’s own Jeremy Mangan. These artists met while living in Brooklyn NY in the early 2000s and were bonded by the challenges of their artistic practice. A practice that necessitates the production of compelling artworks in an increasingly noisy and fickle contemporary art world. Jeremy has been influenced by their combined experience, and shares these visions once again through Circle of Friends.
Both Brooklyn and Tacoma have proven themselves as cultural incubators for the development of ideas and artistic thinking. Sharing a similar history both places originate from a marginalized past and have blossomed into an artistic utopia. Fast-forward to the present and the similarities diverge. Today’s Brooklyn is unrecognizable from its humble origins, while Tacoma has evolved at a more sustainable pace, maintaining its original identity.
*Berran, Grasso, Roy, and Scully still reside and work in Brooklyn; Okamoto in Queens.
Special thanks to the Tacoma Arts Commission and the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program for funding this event.