Toledo Meets Albany, NY's Eggcellent Standards

Eye On Art | 08/01/2012

One of the many perks of working at Toledo.com is having the opportunity to share my love and gratitude for all the people and entities that make this city an ideal place to call "home." Being able to express that enthusiasm with 200,000 viewers each month is nothing I take lightly. It's all part of being a self-proclaimed Toledo Ambassador. Lucky for me, Toledo area artists make this mission almost too easy. Because of this tight-knit, yet open-minded community, I am able to help promote Toledo's arts and entertainment scene to people across state lines and beyond. And sure, while every individual artist appreciates their own personal cheerleader, something they truly value is the place that inspires them the most: Toledo.

Tomorrow, I embark on a ten-hour journey to Albany, New York. It's a city--not unlike Toledo--where talented artists reside and create their own pieces of public art; where graffiti artists are commissioned to paint murals on the side of independent movie theaters; and where monthly art walks are enjoyed by hundreds of Capital Region residents. I know all about this not from the things I've read, but because I lived there once upon a time.

My partner and I are driving the distance overnight, with the work of nine Toledo artists in tow. We're bringing with us 12 pieces total, a collection of paintings, photographs, collage and mixed media. The work aims to capture the essence of Toledo's art scene, and it's something I've been eager to share with out-of-state viewers for a good five years.

By a strange and magical turn of events I connected with Laura Decker, one of the curators of the Hudson Disco-Tek. Decker and gallery owner David Rabin were ecstatic to invite us to exhibit during Albany's First Friday Art Walk at their welcoming little venue. The show, "Toledo is Eggcellent," is a pun off of one of Albany's own music venues, The Egg, which happens to be quite a piece of art itself.

The original artwork of Timothy Gaewsky, Danielle Howard Herrera, Isaac Klunk, Heather Lehmann, Zak Lyons, Nate Masternak, Nathan Mattimoe, Crystal Gale Phelps and Ian Welch will grace the walls of the Hudson Disco-Tek this Friday, August 3rd, as well as the evenings of Friday, September 7th and Friday, October 5th. Four of the nine artists are members of the brand new Launch Pad Cooperative, which opened its doors this June. One of the cooperative's main goals is to offer its members solo and collaborative shows in cities across the country. Just two months old, and the dream is going to be realized.

It is my intention to not only connect Toledo artists to fans and collectors in Albany, but to do the same with Upstate New York artists wishing to get some unexpected exposure right here in Toledo. Be on the lookout for this show in the winter/spring of 2013.

In the meantime, make sure to follow our Tumblr account for photos and updates about this artistic endeavor. And if you're feeling adventurous, the Hudson Disco-Tek will be showing some familiar works on select dates over the next few months. The Hudson Disco-Tek is located at 283 Hudson Avenue, Albany, New York.