This is a new year.

"Wait until it gets worse," 2010
color pencil, paper, & string on paper; 19"x25"

Hello everyone, and a happy new year to you. I have some good news to start the new year - I will be in some group shows in the next couple months and a solo show in the not-so-distant future.

First off, I will be in a group show at OhNo!Doom Gallery in February. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, February 5th from 6 to 10 p.m. It will be up until February 26th. Do check it out if you can!

Also in February I will be in another group show at Robert Bills Contemporary. There will be an opening reception for that on Saturday, February 12th from 5 to 8 p.m. and it will be up until March 15th. The other artists included are Tiphanie Babinet and Steve Frost - it is going to be a great show, please stop by!

I'm also involved with an artist's book project at the Paper Crane. There will be an opening reception for that exhibit on Saturday, March 12th from 5 to 8 p.m. The Paper Crane is run by two awesome ladies, Dee & Leslie. They blog, they put on shows, and they teach classes and they're going to run this town one day - so watch out! I'm excited to say I will also be having a solo show at their space in September. It's a ways off, but it's going to be here sooner than I think. I'll have more details when it's closer to autumn.

And last, but not least, here is a link to some new work. It is from this past fall & early winter, my first 5 months living in Chicago. Who knows, you may see some of it somewhere soon. Enjoy.

news! press! interviews!

"The point where it breaks," 2010.

Hello friends, I am living in Chicago now. Good things are happening, and I think some great stuff may be just around the corner. A few weeks ago I met Ariel from Fill-in-the-Blank Gallery, and after a conversation, a review, and numerous e-mails back and forth, I have my first interview up on their website. You can see it here.

Also, my work is included in New American Paintings No. 89, which is the Midwest Edition. I was fortunate enough to have my drawing "Timing is everything" used for the cover. Quite appropriate, I think. You can order that here.

I've been drawing away to start off my time in Chicago, and with some good fortune I will be able to show them to you all soon enough. You can always take a peak at what I'm doing, via the galleries, and be sure to check out the front page as well.

spring & summer drawings

hey hey, here are some things i've been working on lately. i've been looking at a lot of francis bacon lately. good stuff. check it out: here.

pyramids

"try."

For images click here.

Here are some drawings from March that take a triangular format. A year or so ago I had made some "pediments" that I constructed drawings into, which I had sort of forgotten about. I had wanted to make a change in the recent work and thought maybe the shape could do something to trigger new ideas. Here is what came out of that.

"start spreading the news"

so i'd posted this before i finished it - i'd forgotten the snow. it looks much better now. i'm hoping to start on a new drawing within the week to continue this "winter madness" series - even though it is feeling incredibly spring-like today.

a new artist statement

"break," 2010

6 x 6 inches, color pencil & paper

hello people,

so i needed to come up with a new statement for the work i've been producing since getting out of graduate school and i thought about posting it here to get some feedback. it's built upon by some part's of my last statement, since there are certainly related elements. here are links to the galleries that this statement is referencing:

http://www.brooklynartproject.com/photo/albums/6x6x6-1

http://www.brooklynartproject.com/photo/albums/winter-madness

http://www.brooklynartproject.com/photo/albums/drifting-1

any help or feedback will be much appreciated.

thanks,

-Nathan

Artist Statement:

The need to communicate is important. As an inhibited person my artwork often ends up expressing my thoughts visually much more than I do verbally. Most recently the work has been referencing my transition out of graduate school and into reality. As someone who tends to procrastinate, trying to find footing for the next step in life has been a challenge. Looking through the work one may notice a sequence arranging a narrative. By animating my body language, inserting carefully composed symbols, and utilizing text I create a visual conversation with myself and the viewer. I suspect the feelings and emotions I depict are universal, but they come from specific, personal experiences.

Blue's and red's create an intense vibrancy in the color, both attracting attention and visually disrupting the viewer. Fragmented cinder blocks along with shallow water refer to instability or insecurity, alluding to ideas that I am adrift and wading through unventured territory in my life. The presentation of my subconscious world has led me to arrange many pieces with a theatrical display. This dominant feature has been a curtain in the midst of being raised or lowered - either elegant and still or uneven and disheveled. With this work I compose scenes from the stage inside my brain.

Nathan Vernau,

March 2010

the beginning of winter madness

"so this is what adulthood is"

25 1/2" x 19 1/2"

color pencil, paper, & googly eye

this is the start of the newest series, entitled 'winter madness.' you can make of that what you will. what i can tell you is it involves me in my longjohns, wearing a rabbit mask, and wielding a chainsaw.

the next one will involve dancing.

stay tuned.