Justin Cooper started a series of paintings when he relocated from Fountain Square to the Garfield Park neighborhood to be part of Big Car’s Artist and Public Life Residency. Now, the Tube Factory artspace will showcase that work in Justin Cooper: Yard Work, geometric plant studies from Cruft Street.
The exhibit will open First Friday, Oct. 7, in the Guichelaar Gallery. Admission is free.
That same night, the Jeremy D Efroymson Gallery will host Send Nudes, a solo exhibit by Miquel Casco in partnership with Arte Mexicano en Indiana. The exhibit will feature a collection of watercolor and gouache portraits as an invitation to be collectively vulnerable, to create and archive that speaks of intimacy and eroticism. The exhibit will continue through Nov. 28.
The First Friday openings run from 6 to 10 p.m. The Tube Factory artspace is also open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
More about Casco: From an open call to the public in 2018 to date, Casco has invited people to share their nudes with him. He then transferred them to painting, “to see through the eyes of the person who sends them and portray the intimacy they share.” Born in 1991 in Puebla, Mexico, Casco holds a degree in plastic arts and a master’s degree in information design from Universidad de las Américas Puebla. His work has been exhibited in Mexico, United States and Germany. Since 2019 he is deputy director of the Museum of the Foreign Affairs, in Mexico City.
More about Cooper: “I’m an Indianapolis native who has worked as an artist here for over 20 years. I spent most of that time as a studio artist. Central to my artistic evolution has been independently developing my artistic voice while forming relationships with artists I connected with while maintaining studios at the Murphy Art Center, Wheeler Arts Community, and as an artist in Big Car’s Artist and Public Life Residency program,” Cooper said.
He said that when he relocated to Garfield Park, “It was the first time in my adult life where I was living on a property with a yard – a place where I could plant whatever I wanted. I remember my grandparents always having gardens and working in the yard with them. My folks were also avid gardeners. I was excited to connect with them on some level through gardening, our shared interest in plants.
“My artwork is deeply Influenced by observations of nature and my love of art history and architecture. Presenting a reflection of the relationship between humans and nature has been fundamental in my creative process. I’m fascinated by geometric formations, patterns and underlying structural arrangements found in nature.
“My most recent work has concentrated on depicting geometric interpretations of plants and flowers that have been growing in my yard and neighborhood in Garfield Park. Exploring structural elements of the plants while also documenting my time, and location in Indianapolis. Referencing the flowers and wildlife living in my area has become important to my work, to promote the appreciation of the beauty and individuality of the living things that surround us.”
PHOTO ABOVE: The Tube Factory artspace is located at 1135 Cruft St. in the Garfield Park neighborhood.
