Foundry Vineyards is pleased to announce the opening of “I don’t care! I’d rather sink!” by Brooklyn based artist Kevin Stahl. The opening reception will take place on Friday, November 1, 2019, from 5 pm-7 pm as part of the festivities of Fall Release Weekend in Walla Walla, Washington. The art show will be on display through January 26, 2020.

“I don’t care! I’d rather sink!” is a grouping of recent work by Stahl who uses mixed media to explore ideas around mortality and death through the lens of pop culture. The show’s title is taken from the famous Roy Liechtenstein painting, “Drowning Girl” (1963), which depicts a drowning woman being swallowed up by waves while exclaiming “I don’t care! I’d rather sink -- than call Brad for help!” Like this work by Liechtenstein, Stahl’s exhibition shares the connection of a tragic scenario treated with a humorous detachment.

The show is comprised of three bodies of work - floral spray sculptures, paintings of night, and a life-size human snare trap. The combination of these works together is intended to serve as a funeral, though for what or for whom is left ambiguous.

The floral sprays are wall-hung sculptures constructed of wood that has been burned with a torch before being coated with molten lead. The works are then sealed and painted with bright colors that ultimately define an arrangement of flowers with supporting green foliage. The paintings are of landscapes at night, all titled “Night’s Net.” This series is the most recent of the works in the gallery, painted this summer in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. They reflect on the isolation and fear that can form when faced with the unknown.

These 2 groups of work are hung on the walls around the enormous human snare trap sculpture Stahl has installed in the center of the gallery; facing the viewer with a challenge if they want to get closer to the enticing works surrounding it.

WORDS FROM THE ARTIST: MEMORIAL FOR MARK ANDERSON

Mark Anderson's passing dramatically changes the context of the work presented in my exhibition "I'd Rather Sink!!" My sculptures that were hung on the walls of Foundry Vineyards' gallery as art when the exhibition first opened are now functional objects and mementos that pay tribute to Mark's impactful life. For this to be the art exhibition presented at Foundry Vineyards synchronous with Mark's passing feels uncanny and predestinate. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to show these works at Foundry Vineyards, for Mark to have seen these works completed, and for my sculptures to be forever linked to Mark's memory. The gallery at Foundry Vineyards is no longer host to my exhibition; it has transformed into a memorial to his legacy... Mark's love of creativity was boundless. We invite you to use this heartache as a creative force to bring healing and inspiration to yourself and others.

-- Kevin Stahl