PREVIEW - Peter Ferguson’s BLACK JUBILEE @ Roq la Rue [Seattle]

I’ve spent my morning arguing with another asshole stranger on the internet today. SURPRISE! It’s not uncommon for us to receive requests from people that would like to post some form of advertising with us, but unless you have a website where you have to deal with that jive yourself on the regular, you might be surprised that some of these devious methods even exist. I’ve had advertisers contact me in the past under the guise of people who wanted to write for us and I’ve even entertained that idea to the point of receiving a completely finished unsolicited article from them and to where I was asking them to provide an author bio, before recognizing that both the article and the bio included the same very specific links embedded into them for a leather furniture manufacturer. These days, an all too common method of advertising involves trying to hide the links within content. That’s something that I don’t even have that much problem with. What I do have a problem with is the idea that content is being specifically crafted like a trojan horse just so that it can facilitate links. What I find an even bigger issue with is that I keep getting emails from people “offering” to write and supply content for us with their hyper-links already in them, because I feel that it’s not only a reflection of their lack of respect for the readers, but for the site as well; especially when we were offered a total of $10 a pop to allow these shitty, fake articles to infest our content. When I was contacted today, I explained how little respect I had for the entire approach/angle and for anyone who would agree to the terms on their own sites. I also equated what they were doing to asking someone to allow you to post one of your paintings of a corporate logo in their gallery show or to asking for time on stage during someone’s concert set, just so that you could play a song about your company. The guy told me that I needed to get off the internet if I didn’t like it. I told him that, if he has no idea who he’s contacting, then it isn’t a business proposal, it’s spam. Try emailing the same “offer” to provide your own faulty content to a site like The Huffington Post or Pitchfork and then think about how absurd it is. It’s an implication that neither us or our readers matter or care about content. It’s offensive. It’s also the antithesis of what we stand for.

If having standards means that you don’t belong in operation or that you will never succeed, nobody told that to Roq la Rue gallery owner/curator Kirsten Anderson. While a lot of galleries have begun embracing underground contemporary art over the years, they are often not discriminating enough about the work that they present. Seattle‘s Roq la Rue, on the other hand, was one of the most prominent early champions of the movement and, while remaining focused on only the most high end, awe inspiring artists working in the industry, Kirsten has proven time and time again that you not only don’t have to pander to the lowest common denominator, providing the latest flavor of the month, but that there will still continue to be a large enough pool of talent to pull from that actually meets the standards that she’s set forth for the world-renowned gallery. She’s been knocking show after show out of the park for years and the latest dual exhibit of Peter Ferguson and Seamus Conley is no exception. So, instead of posting a fake article that’s trying to convince you to buy some sort of worthless product that you don’t need and doesn’t even speak to our demographic, or one that is simply link bait drawing in unsuspecting readers for seo purposes, we’re going to post previews for another amazing exhibit involving people that we actually respect. You know, the type of content that we are not only pleased to include, but honored.

A lot of the time, we post work by artists that we’ve been fans of for quite some time and it’s exciting to be able to share their information with those out there who might not otherwise have been exposed to them. When it comes to the artists in this show, however, it’s even more exciting, because I’ve never even seen their work before and it’s genuinely impressive. Peter Ferguson‘s “Black Jubilee” consists of a collection of paintings that showcase a talent that one would have to imagine must have been diligently slaving at his craft for years to get to the point where he is right now. There is a familiarity to his work, yet something uniquely foreign, which might be explained by the fact that he is from Canada. The textures and depth in these paintings are accentuated by a subtle, yet masterful, grasp of light, and the way that it plays off the subjects within the frame summon up the same emotional content generated by a landscape at dusk. When something is well made, it possess a timelessness and Ferguson‘s work is definitely timeless. While it appears to exist in a period gone by, it’s a period of time when quality mattered, and there’s something solid and resilient reflected in his imagery. The inclusion of nature though land, sea, and wildlife offer a very solid foundation, grounding the pieces, but, there are clear hints at absurdity that not only prevent the art from becoming boring, but also infuses the provided structures with a more whimsical element and an incredible sense of the surreal, welcoming the viewer into the folds, without trapping them in the mundane once they get there. They’re nice enough to look at on the internet, but, from experience, it’s clear that these are the type of paintings that are going to look beyond immaculate if you have a chance to see them in person.

The following information comes via the official press release for the event:

Montreal-based painter Peter Ferguson shows intricately detailed paintings, evocative scenes of explorers and adventurers with a 1940’s National Geographic meets HP Lovecraft twist. Peter Ferguson’s meticulously painted, darkly humorous narratives also evoke early 20th century small town Americana (or Canadiana as the case may be). Combining the fantasy of the great ages of exploration with a distinctly paranormal bent, Ferguson’s work hovers along the lines of fantasy without ever fully teetering into full scale camp, and his work retains an air of both wonder and occasional melancholy.

Check out preview images for the exhibit below the following event details…

WHAT:

Roq La Rue Presents – “Black Jubilee“
New Paitings by Peter Ferguson

WHEN:

Opening:
Friday, March 8th
6pm-9pm

WHERE:

Roq La Rue Gallery
2312 2nd Ave
Seattle, Wa 98121

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Opening is ALL AGES w/NO COVER
Exhibit will be on view until April 6th.
The gallery is open from 1 – 6pm from Wednesday – Saturday.
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/487061948003544/

[click images to enlarge]