souvenir part two

Carla Malone Steck

“Souvenir”

July 6 – July 31 2012

Todd Weiner Gallery

Finally, Carla Malone Steck wishes to introduce herself to you. She moved to Kansas City from Jefferson City in 2009. It’s about time and in the case of her first solo show in Kansas City, it’s about souvenirs and the memories they carry.

souvenir - suːvəˈnɪə(ɹ)

etymology: 1775 “a remembrance or memory, from the French souvenir, noun, also a verb “to remember, come to mind”, from the Latin sub – “up” + venire “to come”. Meaning “token of remembrance, memento” first recorded in 1782.

While art is her passion, a greater passion is bringing art to people. Carla exercised that passion of bringing with numerous projects under the "bringing" umbrella of Atelier CMS Inc. which takes art to outside plein air places where people can gather and enjoy. And the people she loves to connect with are children. She took a break from public space art creation, curation, and education to paint a few portraits, one of which being former Missouri Governor Bob Holden.

One can make fun, have fun, and in Carla’s frame of reference, she enjoys creating fun for others. She has fun doing it. It, in its latest form, is an installation of paintings painted upon lush brown cardboard. Images derived from the Belgian painter James Ensor whose art jolts and tickles in a way that’s not new now but was new in 1888 when he drew “Demons Thrashing Angels and Archangels”. With a pink neon “showlight” spelling out souvenir by her friend Thomas Cobian, “the Neon Warrior”, a jukebox playing tunes, most notably “In My Room” by the Beach Boys, and a few other yet-to-be-installed surprises, this is not your mother’s gallery solo show.

This written encapsulation is mere conjecture for as of this writing her show is not yet installed. True, the paint is dry. Carla’s packed and stacked the cardboard and painted a few cardboard frames for things needing framing. The process continues when she transforms the Todd Weiner Gallery into her room. With this act, artist becomes curator and the act of installation shares her memories and invokes more when people linger to absorb the space. Carla’s conjecture becomes someone else’s experience. Cardboard is fun. It’s difficult to frame Carla. Todd Weiner takes great pleasure in introducing Carla Malone Steck, her souvenirs, and the room she’s made her own from July 6 to July 31, 2012 in the Todd Weiner Galley.

Carla Malone Steck

MFA University of Missouri-Columbia

New York Studio School

BFA Missouri State University

Resident artist / curator / president Atelier CMS Inc. www.atelier-cms.com

-by Tom Ryan