susanne hilberry

If I had a list going of best detroit gallery openings, then Summer Pack II made it into at least the top 3!  It was seriously one of the best shows, diverse mix of collectors and artists, mix of established and emerging artists, and place to people watch!  The opening was "packed" and the energy was great!  People were outside in large groups talking and inside looking at the art and talking with the artists.  Everyone was not only interested in being there but I noticed more "art looking" which sometimes doesn't happen at openings.  The giant, life-sized helicopter by Shannon Goff was a stunning eye catcher.  The piece was made strictly out of cardboard and adhesive.  The blade even twirled as Susanne came around and started to push it in circles.

Mitch Cope had one wall of his graphite and marker drawings.  They were just tacked to the wall but had a mapping quality or reminded me of layout plans pinned up on the wall. The drawings were all of detroit/hamtramck locations.  Some distorted perspective while a shopping cart seemed to hold a tree and a house while others were tight, rendered drawings the ranged from parking lots to people standing/walking in a barren landscape.



This is a detail shot of the giant frieze by Matthew Blake.  The frieze was quite amazing!  The large piece could be seen from the street and was comparable the greeks! 

Well, maybe not a relic found from ancient greece but this frieze contained all contemporary objects including Transformers, Barbie dolls, toy soldiers and just about any toy or figurine.  They then were all painted with oil paint to make the piece have a historic feel and blend together.



Giant encaustic paintings by Mona Shahid!  These paintings softened the show and were nicely executed.  They had a fogginess to them that made the confronting figures disturbing but in a good way. 



I loved this piece with the awkward stare and protruding teeth!  Her portraits reminded me of early Chuck Close a little bit with the expressions.



More friezes...you have to look for yourself!













Oh ,yeah there was also a strange performance by a lady who sang and played accordian.  The music was nice and kept people talking even longer.  There is nothing worse than a quiet, tense opening. This one was like a giant party of art goers who all were supportive and enthusiastic!  It couldn't have been a better summer night!