Plaza at 7 October 21, 2006

ALTERED SPACE GALLERY WELCOMES YOU TO “PLAZA AT 7”
An Opening Night with Acclaimed Dallas Painter, Michele Mikesell

Vivid. Evocative. Iconic. These are a few of the descriptors called to mind when viewing the newest series by artist Michele Mikesell – represented by Altered Space Gallery in Venice -- in which avian and human characteristics merge and separate through bold strokes of oil and enamel.
“These pieces are meant to provoke questions,” says Mikesell. “I use birds because they are symbolic [across] history and cultures. It is my hope that the viewer comes to these paintings with feelings of familiarity, as if they can relate themselves in some way to the ‘sitter’.”

To this end, the artist has given her bird-people familiar names like Max and Michelle – names that could easily belong to your cousin, your best friend, or your child.

Exploring the Timeless Theme of Universality vs. Alienation

Styles and colors, wardrobe and plumage, rank and custom, all of these are meant to define boundaries, but beneath these outer layers are more similarities than differences. “Some of the birds are in suits,” Mikesell explains, “illustrating a different sort of costume and perhaps a different lifestyle, yet [sharing] the same needs set forth by human nature.”

The title of Mikesell’s opening, “Plaza at 7”, is meant to convey the sense of openness and welcome that public plazas and courtyards signal to visitors and locals all over the world. And as we all know, from Trafalgar Square’s pigeons to the famous Capistrano swallows, plazas also signal welcome to flocks of our winged familiars.

On October 21, from 7:00pm to 10:00pm Altered Space Gallery will welcome all visitors – human or avian -- to Plaza at 7’s Opening Night which will include wine, cheese and a bit of wonder. Altered Space gallery is located at 1221 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice CA 90291. This exhibition will run through December 3, 2006.