Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Ave , Unit T5, Santa Monica , CA 90404
Ph: 310/829-2156
E-Mail: www.coprogallery.com
What: Femke Hiemstra "The Herring's Hairdo "
Opening Reception, Saturday April 4 - 8:00 - 11:30 p.m.
Dates: Exhibit runs - April 4 - April 25, 2009
Contact: Gary Pressman, Gallery Director Copro Gallery
'The Herrings Hairdo' is the name of Femke's fifth shared solo show (and
the first shared exhibition in the California area).She presents 11 new
stories in colour and black & white that tell dark, witty tales about
a world where banana's wear ink and snowmen get tricked during a game
of cards. Though the style of mixed media paintings and graphite
drawings may be precise and the surrounding or scene has a dark-fairy
tale gone wrong- twist, there is lightness and humour to be discovered
in the concept or the featured characters.
Every work she makes has romantic roots, coming from childhood memories
and characters from era's gone by. Part of that work is painted on
vintage objects such as wooden panels and books which gives these old
surfaces a new life as a frame for my tales. "I like working on vintage
materials because those cuts and damages tell a story of their own,
they breath life and uniqueness. Painting on those materials contiunes
my story."
The Herrings Hairdo is a personal interpretation of the expression
'the bee's knees'. This phrase was coined in 1920 by cartoonist Tad
Dorgan and it's used to describe someone or something remarkable. Tad
Dorgan's also the creator of similar expressions such as 'the cat's
pyjama's' or 'the canary's tusks'." I discoverd the work of Tad Dorgan
a while ago and besides his great sport featured work and cartoons
about dogs he was also well known for his prose".
With this in mind Femke came up with the Herring's Hairdo. In the words of Femke"It's a made up
title. 'Hairdo' alliterates nicely with 'Herring', and it has a
Dutch touch (Herring is the fish the Dutch eat raw). I thought it
would capture the atmosphere of my new series of work nicely. and the
title has the right Dorgan-ish 'hep'ness'."
