This Weekend: saki Opening, Grass Widow, "Visions in the Dark" Closing Reception, Do-Division Festival

June 2nd is going to be a busy day. There is so much great stuff going on!

We're very excited here at saki about our opening "The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky" that will be complete with free whiskey and spirits tasting for those of age from KOVAL Distillery! The opening is from 6-9pm, and will feature a DJ set by our very own DJ Karl Meier! definitely do not miss it!

Do-Division Festival is today through Sunday with amazing music from folks like Le Butcherettes, Soft Pack, Murder By Death, White Mystery, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, The Antlers, Black Belles, Besnard Lakes, and on and on and on.

Grass Widow puts on a late show at Beat Kitchen - hopefully playing some tracks off of their awesome new album Internal Logic!! Stream Internal Logic on Stereogum. I'll definitely be running from the saki opening to the Grass Widow show, hopefully recreating the magical snuggie moment to your right.

Finally, I'd love to highlight the closing reception of David Simpson's (aka Dabu) show "Visions in the Dark" at Calles y Sueños (1900 South Carpenter Street, Chicago). David Simpson holds a special place in our heart because he had the very first art on saki's wall and we continue to love and support him! The show highlights the imagination, experimentation, determination, and creations of three different artists with three different visual impairments. David Simpson is a whimsically surreal painter. The space, Calles y Sueños, is also a very valuable institution. In their words about this show, "[Calles y Sueños] has always explored the dilemmas associated with discrimination related to the inequalities of race, nationality, citizenship, and sexuality. With this show, Calles y Sueños will explore another frontier: breaking down social taboos, oppressive misconceptions, and narrow-minded expectations of what people with disabilities can or cannot do. This show concentrates on the special ability of these artists to create and contribute in their personal lives, their community, and the world. Our ability to create is the way we share our inner vision."

Hope to see you at ALL of these things, but especially Shawn's opening!

The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky

The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky, a set on Flickr.

The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky at saki

Saturday, June 2, 6-9pm

Taste whiskey and spirits from KOVAL Distillery, enjoy cool beverages from Cellar Rat, and food provided by saki.

This event is FREE. 

Shawn Stucky began his early work by taking the intangible passions and feelings that people share in music and translating them into physical form. This has progressed to reproducing what he calls his “silent film animations” that appear in his head on the verge of sleep. When looking for new sources of inspiration, Stucky later found it in the most personal of places. It was quietly lurking in that mysterious space between waking-life and dreams, hidden in plain sight. In these “silent film animations,” he sees films vividly playing in stop-motion. The imagery ranges from children on swing sets to odd-looking elderly men spinning chairs above their heads. Through these waking dreams, Stucky consciously collects the imagery to reproduce in his art.

Stucky was born red/green colorblind and moved from McPherson, Kansas to Chicago in 2002. He created his first screen print in 2006 and identifies that moment as the first time he was able to put his artistic visions onto paper. His process is based on simultaneously engaging his conscious and unconscious mind to express an intense emotion or complex thought based on personal experience. He utilizes the challenge of being red/green colorblind in his work by relying on value more than color.

Shawn Stucky has shown his work nationally and internationally in New York, London, Pescara, Italy, the recording studio of Sigur Rós in Mosfellsbær Iceland, Keflavík, Iceland, and Chicago.

RSVP on Facebook!

saki Gallery June Opening: Shawn Stucky

The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky, a set on Flickr.

The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky

Opening Reception Saturday, June 2nd, 6-9pm at saki. Free.

Hors d'oeuvres provided by saki 

Whiskey & Spirits tasting from Koval Distillery 

Beverages from Cellar Rat

Shawn Stucky began his early work by taking the intangible passions and feelings that people share in music and translating them into physical form. This has progressed to reproducing what he calls his “silent film animations” that appear in his head on the verge of sleep. When looking for new sources of inspiration, Stucky later found it in the most personal of places. It was quietly lurking in that mysterious space between waking-life and dreams, hidden in plain sight. In these “silent film animations,” he sees films vividly playing in stop-motion. The imagery ranges from children on swing sets to odd-looking elderly men spinning chairs above their heads. Through these waking dreams, Stucky consciously collects the imagery to reproduce in his art.

Stucky was born red/green colorblind and moved from McPherson, Kansas to Chicago in 2002. He created his first screen print in 2006 and identifies that moment as the first time he was able to put his artistic visions onto paper. His process is based on simultaneously engaging his conscious and unconscious mind to express an intense emotion or complex thought based on personal experience. He utilizes the challenge of being red/green
colorblind in his work by relying on value more than color.

Shawn Stucky has shown his work nationally and internationally in New York, London, Pescara, Italy, the recording studio of Sigur Rós in Mosfellsbær Iceland, Keflavík, Iceland, and Chicago.

Please join us Saturday, June 2nd from 6 - 9pm for the opening of The Sun Will Rise With Me: An Exhibition by Shawn Stucky. Enjoy a tasting table of whiskey and spirits from Koval Distillery, cool beverages from Cellar Rat, and food provided by saki. This event is FREE.

RSVP on Facebook