About the Town 11-8-10

The Corporate Center Business Complex on West Sunset was the site for a November 4th A.R.T. Revolution (Artistic Relationship to Thought) “Meet the Artists” Reception, featuring the work of four emerging artists in sculpture, photography, mixed media and abstract acrylics.

Brushfire, Acrylic on Canvas, Bonnie Kelso

Amid the hors d'oeuvres (served by students from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas) the assembled guests viewed a large and varied body of artwork, displayed in two buildings on three different floors.

Porcupine, Welded Steel, Barry Ferich

Hosted by BRAND (Creative Marketing Solutions) and Stable Development (commercial real estate) the event was sponsored by Vin Sauvage, DiVine Event Productions, Fiji Water and SilverState Marketing.

The reception showcased the talents of sculptor/painter Carlos De Las Heras, (mixed media) sculptor Barry Ferich, (metal) photographer/artist William Haugse (film, photographic negatives, pigments) and artist Bonnie Kelso (abstract acrylics).

A1, Mixed Media, Carlos De Las Heras

Carlos De Las Heras, a Madrid native and UNLV graduate, creates pictures of icons like Jesus, Mohammad, and even Death, dressed unconventionally and holding items not usually associated with their legend.  His mixed media paintings are three-dimensional in some areas, heaped with compounds that contrast with the flat surface, creating alternative spaces.

Carlos De Las Heras and Heaven

Original Bookmarks, Carlos De Las Heras

Colorful wall sculptures, like decorative diamonds sparkle in both bright and pastel hues.  De Las Heras explains it this way:  “Objects become symbols; they allow us to explain and describe space.  …manufactured materials…act as markers in time and space.  …wall sculptures satisfy an urge to make sense of my surroundings.”  He is the owner and designer of Ology Design Studio and currently exhibits at The Venetian.

12 By Carlos De Las Heras

Bonnie Kelso’s paintings can vary in size from a jewelry box to a giant work incorporating four pieces.  They can be abstract landscapes of color or depictions of stylized sea life.  Some of them have visible strokes through thick paint layers, which Kelso says she creates with a plastic tool, eliciting another manner of composition to the piece.

Bonnie Kelso

The petite redhead’s work evokes a sensation in the viewer that nurtures a connection or relatability.  Kelso works in acrylics and frequently creates painting in three or four pieces which comprise one larger work.  Kelso, an alumna of Rhode Island School of Design, has had shows in Las Vegas and California. She donates a percentage of her profits to nature conservation programs

Bean, Acrylic on Canvas, by Bonnie Kelso

Hitching, Acrylic on Canvas, Bonnie Kelso

Barry Ferich is an award-winning sculptor and self-taught welder who is a “texture kind of person.”  The former home builder/plumber knows his metal.  Working in steel and aluminum (his personal favorite) the artist can nevertheless simulate movement though his formidable medium.  Hard, silver kelp and flora seem to wave at you.  Even the large bowls made of 18-wheeler gear rings seem to have a secret life they want to tell you about.  It’s Ferich that gives them that voice.

Barry Ferich and Windswept (aluminum)

Ferich incorporates the rebar (reinforced steel) used in political signs in some of his projects, forming them into an urban/medieval blend of armor and utility, as if they were his own legion of contemporary knights.  You could say this metal army takes up the artistic fight against the mundane and the boring.  He melds, he welds, he recycles, and he’ll show his art at his private local studio by appointment only.

Circle, Welded Steel, Barry Ferich

Kelp Forest, Aluminum, Barry Ferich

William Haugse is a talented mixed media photographer/artist whose trademark collages of digitally remastered negatives are all framed under glass – which means that reflections (of lights, people, camera flashes) can be visible.  “That’s all part of it,” says Haugse, a Los Angeles resident.  The Omaha native is an Emmy and Oscar nominee who marries photos with vibrant colors and his own compositional narrative.  A swimming pool becomes a surreal oasis, while living and dying flowers combine with female torsos to form “Ballet” one of the artist’s personal favorites.

He uses French Watercolor Paper (aka Archival 100% Rag)  and Archival Photo Paper to capture his images, which invade the space between frames with bursts of color and organically (sometimes geometrically) delineated artscapes within the bigger picture.  The more you gaze at a Haugse, the more you’ll discover.  He’s had shows in California and Las Vegas.

New Floral #1, William Haugse

The evening’s Fab Four were all on hand to talk about their work, dispensing personal tidbits about themselves.  Kelso likes to be photographed with her larger works because, “I’m short,” she declares matter-of-factly.  Ferich admits that sometimes he’ll turn a work-in-progress over only to find that he likes the underside of the piece better.  De Las Heras prefers to let society tell him what he has created rather than the other way around.  Haugse’s favorite earth tone is “monk’s robe orange.”

Their paintings, sculptures and photos tell you the rest of the story.

The Odyssey Foundation (under the aegis of the National Heritage Foundation) uses Las Vegas’ annual Odyssey events (a world of food and wine combined with the visual, musical and performing arts) to raise money for charities, which include the Las Vegas Le Cordon Bleu School culinary scholarship program and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Founded by Mark and Virginia Martino in 2000, The Odyssey Lifestyle also includes an event planning division and other ancillary professional assets, including the resources of BRAND, Ltd., a full service integrated marketing firm established by the Martinos.